No one does sapphic love stories quite like Ashley Herring Blake!!! Obsessed with this trilogy! Iris is my FAVORITE character!! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review!

BERKLEY SENT ME AN ARC IM CRYING

I did not think it was possible for me to love a story more than Delilah Green Doesn't Care when it came to the Bright Falls trilogy, but the amount of love I have for Stevie is endless–we were literally given the best love interest on a silver platter. I mean, I don't know anyone who wouldn't want a shy lesbian theatre nerd in their life.

Also why do I have absolutely zero recollection of Iris being a romance author before this book?

Whilst I loved the first two installment in this series, this third one didn't quite wow me. I found it very hard to root for Iris.

I have truly enjoyed the Bright Falls series, and this is no exception! Though Delilah and Claire will forever be my favs, I have loved Iris's personality since the first book. While I didn't particularly care for the romance in this one, the energy of Bright Falls kept me coming back, and the pacing was fast enough to keep me engaged. I love that I've gotten to know the characters over these books and how the side/former main characters still find time to shine even when they aren't the main couple. This one did feel in line with others in the series, so if you loved the first two as I did, be sure to pick this one up as well!

cozy and extremely heartfelt! This book is such a fun continuation of the series. I love this friend group so much, and I'm so glad we are getting all of their stories. I will gladly handsell this title all day long.

My least favorite of the series but still a very cute conclusion. I found myself so not-into the romance, and I’m not really sure why, except I felt like it was lacking a bit of depth. Maybe it was the fact that I listened to it? Who knows. Still very enjoyable! Just didn’t hit the same as Delilah and Astrid. Thank you so much to Berkeley for my copy!

Herring Blake effectively wraps up the Bright Falls series with this entry! All of the love interests in this series are great, but I think that Stevie may be my favorite.

The fact that I read this after the disaster (for me) of the second book is a miracle. Full disclosure, this was a book club pick, so I had to.

I was pleasantly surprised! This book had fast pacing, great character development, and a realistic ending. It felt authentic and the connections felt real and the chemistry was amazing.

Stevie wants to be a state actress. Iris wants people in her life to take her seriously and stop bothering her to get a partner. When the pair meet at a nightclub and have a disastrous attempt at a one-night stand, they both think that's the end of it. But when a queer community theater production of "Much Ado About Nothing" has Stevie and Iris playing romantic leads, they are thrust back together again. Stevie asks Iris to pretend to be her girlfriend to save face in front of her close friends (including the director of the play, Stevie's ex who is now dating another member of their friend group). Iris agrees, as she needs romantic inspiration for her second book, and she's all out of ideas.

Stevie struggles with generalized anxiety disorder, and she wants to be able to hook up with someone without vomiting (which is what she did to Iris in their failed fling). Stevie also wants to break into real acting, to do it as her job, but the Portland scene is too small for that. Iris wants everyone to leave her alone, to accept her as she is: not interested in marriage or babies. Her family keeps on setting her up with blind dates and her closest friends have all coupled up and think she should, too.

Iris agrees to give Stevie "intimacy lessons" so she will feel more comfortable in the bedroom with future partners. Stevie learns to be more assertive in bed and it's VERY effective. (There's a strapon! It's fantastic!) In turn, Stevie takes Iris out on dates in her own "romance lessons," that quickly become Stevie wooing Iris, showing her that she's worth love and all that comes with it.

Their relationship is believable and Stevie's experience with anxiety feels authentic.

However, some characters super suck in this book and they deserve the worst. Perhaps it is realistic they get away with their shitty, insensitive behavior, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Stevie's ex, Adri, broke up with her six months before the start of the book. Two months after that breakup, she starts dating Vanessa, another member of their close friend group. Then she makes out with Vanessa AT STEVIE'S PLACE OF WORK. She also convinces Stevie to take on a role in her play, even though Stevie has given up community theater because it doesn't pay and she wants to break into professional stage acting in a real way. Adri is awful to Iris; it's clear that Adri doesn't want Stevie to be outside of her sphere of influence, regardless of their romantic connection. She talks down and over Stevie, infantilizing her because of her anxiety. Vanessa isn't actively awful, but she was there at the makeout sessions, too! Ren, the fourth member of their friend group, steps over boundaries and doesn't help Stevie push back against Adri's awful behavior. And Adri gets away with, water under the bridge. Gross.

Iris's family also thinks her life isn't worth much because she is single. Iris's ex broke up with her because he wanted kids and marriage and Iris didn't. Her family still brings him up. They think she's not successful, even though Iris got a two-book deal with a publisher and has an agent. Iris's youngest sister doesn't even come to her book launch in Bright Falls. There is no confrontation where Iris can express these things to her mother and father, and they actually absorb what she's saying and promise to do better. Gross.

Still, despite all that, I liked this book a lot! I think there's more room in Bright Falls if the author wants to continue with it in some capacity. This is the last book planned in the Bright Falls universe, though, and even if it is, this was a great conclusion for the friend group.

If you've read the others in the series, you know what to expect. A darn good-enough entertaining queer romance with a super likeable cast of characters. Does it do everything perfectly and have all the representation possible and done correctly? No. But does it allow some marginalized groups to see themselves in print? Yes, and that's good enough for me.

The perfect ending to this cute series! I loved Iris and Stevie and the way they started fake dating. Add that to the fact that the story Iris was writing coincided exactly with what was happening IRL in the book?? SO FREAKING CLEVER.

I don’t know anything about theatre but I feel like I should go watch a community play after this 🎭 Stevie and Iris were so good for each other and they worked through their fears together which I loved. The ending was also a huge green flag because they made amends and figured out what they wanted for themselves before putting the other one first. Loved the maturity.

This was my definitely my favorite of the series and the ending was too cute. If you’re fine with reading series out of order - I’d recommend this one first 😊

Yet another smash hit from Ashley! I enjoyed every minute of this book. Iris is seriously so awesome. This was funny, lighthearted, and steamy. I currently have it on display for our romcom table.

Absolutely love this book! All her books are amazing, and this one definitely stands up to the rest! Chefs kiss for sure!

I don’t know how Ashley herring Blake is able to make me fall head over heels with each of the books in these series but by god, she’s done it again. Iris was always my favorite side character so I’m so happy she got such a beautiful story of her own!

This was a sweet, sapphic romance. I really enjoyed the characters, and felt connected to them. I really cared about the romance. Definitely recommend!

I didn't really like how Iris' character was portrayed in book two. In book 1 she was this feisty powerhouse of woman and I was here for it!
In book 2 she became fluffier and as a result she was less appealing for me.
I was so happy she was back to "herself" in this book.
I adored this one, and the spicy scenes were pure fire!

I loved the conversation surrounding sex and Iris as a protagonist. The romance was thoughtful and cute and fake dating was handled with care. However I'm less fond of how it nicely tied up the trilogy.

Ashley Herring Blake does it again! This whole series has been a delightful read but I think this one might have been my favorite.

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date ended up being my favourite of the Bright Falls series, which took me by surprise given how much I adored Delilah Green Doesn’t Care. In addition to Iris getting much-needed page time and development after so often being relegated to ‘supportive and sassy best friend’ in the previous two novels, Stevie was a great addition and fully fledged in her own right. With an important discussion of what less traditional relationship paths look like in comparison to the series’ first two entries, stellar anxiety representation, and a central relationship that struck just the right balance of seriousness and fun for me, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date knocked it out of the park.

If you like charming, cozy sapphic romances set in small towns with lots of found family energy, the Bright Falls series is worth picking up. Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date may have been my favourite, but I recommend the series as a whole.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
SPICE: 🔥🔥🔥

I have loved this series from the first word to the very last! But Iris and Stevie were hands down my favorite couple! They drew me in and captured my heart from the beginning, and I related to them in a way that I haven’t felt in a while!

I loved the bisexual rep in this as well as the anxiety rep because both of these things can get glossed over both in fiction and in real life so it was refreshing to see!

I loved the way Iris and Stevie connected! Fake dating is one of my absolutely favorite tropes and I adored how this played out! I loved seeing the growth between both characters as well, and as a theatre girlie, loved seeing that as well!

The romance and spice were great and I found myself swooning with the grand gesture!

I’m so sad to be saying goodbye to this world and these characters but I have LOVED being a part of their stories!

I love this series. Delilah Green will always have my heart but this plot and story by the author is by far her best one yet.
The chemistry was not as strong as in her other books, however the strength in her individual characters made it so the chemistry (or lack of) didn't bother me since I loved the characters anyway.
From family dinner with iris and her family to stevies found theater family, I loved every page.