I'll fully admit, this wasn't entirely my cup of tea. I ADORED the first book in this trilogy, and the longer I sat with the 2nd book, the more I realized I had several issues with it. And reading the 3rd book confirmed that those issues hadn't gone away.

First of all, I felt like the main characters were on the shallower side; yes they talk about their problems, but there doesn't seem to be as much self-reflection & development going on as in Delilah Green. Because of that, even though I could buy the MC's being attracted to each other, I didn't care as much about them. Also, even if you know there's going to be a HEA, I have to properly feel that tension to believe the conflict in the 3rd act; for me, that was missing.

Also, there's one aspect of this book & its predecessor that drives me BONKERS: the way Blake introduces characters & discusses side characters. Characters are introduced with really awkward descriptions, including their race -- and while I get that the author wants to make their cast inclusive (I want that in the books I read too!!) it happens in a way that feels performative and brings the reader out of the moment. The side characters are not only introduced weirdly, but they are incredibly insubstantial, often on page for a paragraph and then never mentioned again.

I definitely want to try more books by the author in the future (since Delilah Green was SO good and I love Blake's middle grade work), but I did not super love this installment. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a wlw romance but don't care too much about the afore-mentioned issues.

There is just something so relatable about Iris Kelly. She doesn't fit anyones mold, and she does whatever she wants. After being left by her longterm boyfriend for not wanting the same future as him and then being slighted by her last lover, Iris has sworn off love. Been there, sis.

Enter Stevie, Stefania if you're fancy. Stevie just got dumped by her girlfriend and is...struggling. She doesn't know how to be alone, and she doesn't want to be alone, but her generalized anxiety disorder makes it hard for her to meet people.

(we want to say that we appreciate Ashley 𝘚𝘖 𝘔𝘜𝘊𝘏 for her very accurate descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks)

Iris and Stevie try to have a one night hook-up, and it goes hilariously wrong! Then they find themselves face to face again as the leads in a very gay rendition of 𝘔𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘈𝘥𝘰 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
They concoct a scheme to fake date and watching these two women fall in love was absolutely fantastic. Seeing Iris realize that she 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 want the romance, and that she wants it with Stevie was so satisfying.
We loved meeting Stevie's friend group (hellooooo can we get a spin off about Ren 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘) and we always love visiting Bright Falls with our favorite gals.

Please pickup this book, you will not regret it!

It's so sad to say goodbye to this wonderful group of friends and the special small town of Bright Falls but the author gave us the very best finale to the series and the final scene was utter perfection!!

Iris Kelly oh I adored her. Pegged as the good-time bisexual queer girl who never seems to be anyone's idea of a long-time girlfriend, she's given up on finding love but has promised her publisher another romance.

Enter Stevie, recently dumped by her long-time girlfriend, she's trying to move on and stop having all her friends pity her. Cue up the perfect scenario for an epic one-night stand disaster! Oh dear, Stevie's generalized anxiety disorder gets the best of her and it's equally hilarious and mortifying.

I loved Iris and Stevie together and watching them fake date and slowly fall in love was beyond satisfying. Stevie tries to show Irish the romance she doesn't think she needs but also gets offered a chance to act in New York - her dream. While there is a third act break up that left me a touch frustrated, the resolution was soul-meltingly swoony!!

I could go on and on about how much I loved this book but just go read it for yourself. All the gang is back PLUS we got to know Stevie's friend group too. This was a funny, heartfelt summer romance that you don't want to miss. Definitely read the first books too for the best effect though. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Anita Kelly, Meryl Wisner and Alexandra Bellefleur.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I voluntarily read this and all opinions are my own.

Steam level: slow burn, open door and SIZZLING hot! (sex toys and strap-ons are involved).

I have loved this entire series and am so sad to see it end. Iris Kelly was the perfect addition to the Brighton Falls girls.

My favorite of the Bright Falls books so far! A woman who's given up on finding love and an actress with an anxiety disorder pretend to date after a disastrous one night stand. But despite their fears and protestations, the feelings between them are all too real. So cute and sweet and a bit steamy. Iris and Stevie are just the cutest.

It was great! It really picked up towards the end. One of the better fake-dating adaptations that I've read. I will say though, the scene where Iris is cleaning up Stevie's vomit gave me so much second hand embarrassment. It just made me cringe really strongly. That was the only part that gave me the ick though.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review .

Another five star book from Ashley Herring Blake. I think this one is my favorite one yet because I personally relate to Iris. I also enjoy the fact that this book does not just skip over the mental health issues that are brought up but brings a wonderful sense of how a healthy relationship can work. Partners can help one another through days when one or the others mental health is not great without being fully dependent on your partner for your happiness and fulfillment. As heartbreaking as the ending was, I believe that it was the right move for both characters. I would’ve honestly been annoyed if had been handled any other way. One of my biggest pet peeves with romance these days seems to be when an author makes a character dependent on their relationship with their partner for their happiness. I don’t want characters who give up their dreams to be with someone. I want characters who know that they need to have and to attain their dreams with a partner who will support them and stay by their side, even if that doesn’t mean physically being by their side. This is oddly the second book that I have read this year with characters who have the potential for a long distance relationship, but they figure it out in a way that everyone gets to be happy and fulfilled and ultimately in the same geographical location. So if a book can figure it out, I don’t see why real people can’t figure it out.

as an anxious girly myself, Stevie was so relatable and i know so many of my friends that give major Iris energy… this is such a perfect installment to the series!!

"Iris Kelly Doesn't Date" is a triumphant conclusion to the "Bright Falls" series. Ashley Herring Blake's heroines are fully developed, relatable characters that you can't help but root for.

This Bright Falls series is such a true delight. I think the loveliest thing about it is the found family in Iris, Clare and Astrid. That said, I really enjoyed how Stevie's found family showed that they can be as complicated and messy as a bio family. I also think Ashley Herring Blake really knows how to write spice. She knows when in the book to introduce it and how much to put in to keep us folks who like it engaged. I could spend more time in Bright Falls, just saying.

LGBTQIA+ Pride Month #8 ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

rep: bi, lesbian

As evidenced by my Astrid review, I am reading these out of order. In my defense, Delilah Green Doesn't Care has a monstrous wait at my library.

I got into this series because of Ekene, who always recommends the best books, and because Ashley spoke so devotedly about this series at LA Times Festival of Books. Hearing an author talk about their books really brings them to life for me.

I fell in love with Astrid's story. Not that these books are terribly long by any means, but I read it in a couple of days.

I did not fall in love with Iris' story. I found her rather unlikeable in Astrid's book, and that somewhat continued in this one. Two points I will make that endeared her to me: 1) Growing up Roman Catholic with immigrant parents, and 2) Knowing her own mind and leaving a partner that she loved because she knew she never wanted children. I don't know how many times I had to explain the latter to my parents. They insist I haven't met "the right man." So in this way, I found Iris' parents entirely unbearable. So, too, were her siblings. Be understanding. It doesn't hurt you any.

Even with all of this, I think Iris will be my least favorite of the three. Delilah is a tattooed woman from New York. I know I won't hate that. It gives Jane Su energy.

I just felt Iris deserved more. Stevie was fine. Clearly hung up on her ex and anxious to a tee (I know this is her disorder, it just felt a little repetitive). I hated her friend group. Ren was also fine. Her ex is absolutely fucking trash. Vanessa felt a little pick-me.

Yes, I read more romance now. Diverse romance, anyway. Do I still hate the third act breakup? And the ensuing drama? Yes, yes, and more yes. Will I continue to torture myself? Probably yes.

Last note, but an important one. I realize this is an ARC so it hasn't gone through final edits yet, but Colombia the country is spelled with two Os. Not a U. Please please can someone fix this?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

A satisfying third entry in the Bright Falls series. I will say, this one does some unique and well-thought-out twists on the fake dating trope, but fake dating still isn't for me.

This is an easy 5/5 stars. Technically 4.9999/5 if only because Delilah and Claire are still THAT couple for me, but we round up in this household. I was not planning on burning through the whole book in a day, but Ms. Blake had other ideas for me, it would seem.

If there's one thing that I want known about me as a reader, it's that The Charm Offensive is one of my favorite books of all time, and Iris and Stevie gave me Dev and Charlie vibes like CRAZY in the best ways. The fake dating, the mental emotional blocks, the hiding behind masks, the blurred lines of who was in need of fixing and who was the most traumatized by their past. It gave and it gave and I ate it up. The sex scenes didn't feel as spicy as the other two books, or maybe I'm just more used to her writing by this point, but still carried the appeal of the growing relationship, and I really loved how the romance of it all was treated as an entirely separate entity for them to build. I liked the mental health conversations around Stevie, and the blend of sexual/romantic identities the book got to represent. Even a tiny conversation about someone being aromantic and presenting it as a genuine possibility with no judgments attached was wonderful. The backdrop of the queer community theater putting on genderbent gay as hell Shakespeare was also everything to the little theater kid ruminating somewhere in my heart.

The only thing that borderline threatened to drag the book down for me was the absolute IRRITATION I felt for like every member of the supporting cast. Not a single side character in this entire book could look at a boundary and actually respect it. Iris and Stevie were on very similar journeys with respect to their social groups with the whole "everyone thinks they know what's best for me" elements, and it got really repetitive to go through the same journey twice. Obviously it wasn't bad enough to drop it any stars for me, but I would've liked to see more differentiation there.

But this is a must book.

Ashley Herring Blake’s Bright Falls trilogy feels like it’s everywhere on my bookstagram feed, and so when I saw Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date available on Netgalley, I jumped at the chance to request it. Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is told in dual POV, following Iris Kelly, and Stefania “Stevie” Scott. With all of Iris’ friends coupled up, her family constantly trying to set her up with someone, and the looming deadline of her second book hanging over her head, it’s hard for Iris not to spiral. Especially when given the fact that she’s got a serious case of writer’s block. When she goes to a bar in Portland, she has a memorable night with a stranger, Stefania, that goes south. Deciding to listen to her agent, she auditions for a local play only to come face to face with Stevie. Unbeknownst to her, Stevie’s told her friends that the two of them are together in an attempt to get them off her back, and to prove to her ex-girlfriend that she’s moved on. Stevie and Iris make a deal — Iris will play along as Stevie’s girlfriend, if Stevie provides romance fodder for her next book.

In a book that’s called Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, I was a little bit shocked that one of my main criticisms of the book was around Iris’ storylines. I felt like a lot of Iris’ storylines felt unfinished, or underdeveloped, in comparison to Stevie’s. Particularly around Iris’ dynamics with her family — I felt like I was missing a conversation between Iris and her siblings, or at the very least, her parents, and I was left pretty disappointed on that front. In a way, it almost felt like Herring Blake relied on readers remembering and loving Iris from her two prior books, and since it had been a while since I last visited Bright Falls, I was left feeling a little empty.

On the other hand, I absolutely adored Stevie. Stevie was such an easy character to root for, despite the initial secondhand embarrassment, and the way that Ashley Herring Blake wrote Stevie’s anxiety really resonated with me. Following Stevie’s storyline and watching her become more comfortable in her own skin, advocating for her own needs, and standing up for herself was so lovely to read. I particularly treasured watching Stevie integrate herself within Iris’ friend group — getting to see how Delilah and Claire were doing after all this time was very sweet, and I particularly loved Claire’s bond with Stevie. The two of them felt like character foils in a way, and given that Claire was one of my favorite characters from the Bright Falls series, I’m not even remotely surprised that Stevie & Claire’s dynamic was one of my favorites. The Bright Falls friend group has always been one of my favorite things, and catching up with them was a true delight.

As someone who loves theatre, I was really hoping that the cast of As You Like It and the show itself would have a bigger role in the book. In fact, if Ashley Herring Blake wrote another book about the theatre company itself, I would jump to read it. The concept behind that specific production was so cool, and I really wish I could watch it come to life. As You Like It felt a bit like a vehicle to get Iris and Stevie from point a to point b in a small amount of time, and a bit like a movie montage. It was simply more telling than showing, and I personally prefer being able to see more of the more mundane, smaller moments in books.

I think that Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date could’ve benefited from being longer, and just from being more fleshed out. There were a lot of plotlines and characters that were introduced, and I felt like they either felt incomplete, or just dull. There was a lot of potential and that was what was most frustrating for me. I also felt like the pacing felt off, and that the last 20% felt really rushed.

Still, fake-dating is a superior trope, and I did really enjoy Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, despite my criticisms. I particularly loved how Iris and Stevie both come to realize that while their friends love them and may have their best interests in mind, their friends can still be misguided and not know what’s truly best for them — especially if they aren’t ready for it at that point in time. I’m a bit sad to know that this is the end of Bright Falls, but can’t wait to see what Herring Blake writes next!

This is my favorite book of this trilogy!

This book was somewhat cliché and gimmicky but in a good way. This book knew what it was and leaned into it. It was a fake dating story that also made fun of the fake dating trope. It was done in such a wonderful way that had me laughing along the whole way. It was hilarious and heart warming, but it was also so freaking hot. It was steamy and I got blue balls so many times because it was a little bit more of a slow burn but did such a good job of making me want these characters to get together.

Stevie and Iris were both such wonderful characters and they worked so well together. I may be slightly biased because I am a bisexual who was a theater kid for almost my whole life. I loved this book so much and I am so sad that one of my favorite trilogies of all time is over now.

A sweet conclusion to the bright falls series. This one took me a little longer to get into than the previous instalments, but I enjoyed Iris’s growth throughout the series and especially this book.

I have a mixed relationship with this series, but I actually really liked this book! The characters were fun and I enjoyed the plot and all the tropes. Recommended to romance readers especially.

4.5 Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date kick started a romance binge for me.

I absolutely loved this book!! I relate so much to Stevie and her struggles with anxiety and it was nice to see her working through that. I can’t tell if I want to be Iris or if I just want to kiss Iris but I LOVE her!! She is so fun and has such a spunky personality so I was happy to dive into her story more! She had me giggling the entire book and I couldn’t put it down. It was also nice to see Delilah again <3 love love love.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC

Iris Kelly, wild middle child, has been hearing an ongoing tune from her family for years: Get Serious. Her agent, reminding Iris about the deadline for her second romance novel, only repeats the theme. And when Iris looks around at her best friends Claire and Astrid, seeing the HEA sparkling in the heart-eyes interactions with their partners, she can see that they have Gotten Serious and would love for Iris to find her own HEA as well.

But since Iris is struggling with writer's block and the lingering aftereffects from two "relationships" gone wrong, all she wants to do is escape with a quick hookup. When she meets Stevie at her favorite queer bar, Iris is intrigued by Stevie's shy but sexy demeanor, but after an abrupt ending to their evening, she doesn't think she'll ever meet Stevie again. Instead she decides to take her agent's advice and to try something creative to break her writer's block -- like auditioning for a play.

Stevie, a regular fixture in the Portland theatre scene, is kind of stuck in a comfort zone that is no longer comfortable. She's still good friends with Adri, her ex, and Vanessa, Adri's current partner -- after all, Adri runs the community theatre where Stevie regularly appears on stage, including in an upcoming queer production of Much Ado About Nothing. But her anxiety prevents her from breaking free of the pull Adri still exerts on Stevie's life, and it definitely prevented her from enjoying a one-night stand with the gorgeous Iris. To save face in front of her friends, Stevie says she's dating Iris -- which makes things really challenging when Iris is cast as Beatrice to Stevie's Benedick.

Book 3 in the Bright Falls series is a banger! Iris's character gets some impressive development here, with a deeper look into what forces have led to the creation of her playful and super-sex-positive persona. This plot makes it clear that Iris is much more vulnerable than she seems, and even with all her confidence, she has a challenging road to her HEA. Stevie has her own challenges to deal with: her Generalized Anxiety Disorder diagnosis, a toxic relationship, and her long-time habit of allowing others to speak for her because it's easier than speaking up herself. The two bring out the best in each other, except when they retreat behind old habits, and the healing and HEA they get by the end is *chef's kiss*.

I have to add, the plot thread about Iris's second novel felt very meta -- a big wink and a wave from AHB herself!

Everything about this book -- the character development, the mental health rep, the banter, the friendships, the steamy sex -- made for a perfect ending to the series. 4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you, Berkley Romance and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

this book was such a fun read! the chemistry between both iris and stevie was amazing to read about, they seemed to fit together so well! but, as much fun as this book was to read, the overall story fell a bit flat for me. the plot felt like it just fell through about halfway which caused the story to sort of just sit there. there were also a few moments where there would be side characters introduced through weird descriptions, an example being "a black woman with box braids" or "a brown latinx guy" which just didn't hit the way I'm sure the author intended it to. overall, this was an enjoyable read and the characters were super fun to read about but by the end this was just a simple read that unfortunately didn't meet all my expectations.