Hear me out but … I think this might be the best installment in the Bright Falls series??? Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date was fun and heart warming and bittersweet and absolutely brought tears to my eyes. Ashley Herring Blake did it again and has left me bereft that there isn’t another book to pick up right away. Highly recommend!

I am in love with Iris Kelly Doesn't Date. From a terrible hookup to fake dating your terrible hookup to impress your ex-girlfriend, this book had me not wanting to put it down. The pacing is really good and the plot is very easy to follow along with (especially if this is the your first Bright Falls series book) (but I would honestly read Delilah Green Doesn't Care first, then Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail second) (I wish I read those books first before reading this one).

Cute story about a woman who has writers block and what she does to overcome said writers block. I would recommend

Phenomenal. Perfect. No notes. The best end to the trilogy of Bright Falls.

Ashley Herring Blake stan for life!!!!!!!!!!!

This series just gets better and better!!!

This is sassy, swoon worthy, and I cannot recommend it more!!!!

The gesture scene was the single most romantic thing I have read in a romcom. I literally geared up by how perfect it all was!!! Read it! Read it!

I included the link to my Amazon profile as the review has not been approved yet

3.5 stars

I was entertained and engaged with this story. I've read the rest of the series and looked forward to this last piece of it. However, this falls into the trap a lot of rom-coms fall into - it lacks the necessary build up, tension, banter, connection between the two leads. I want to swoon with these characters. I want to feel that this other person is their person - that they complete each other. I want to see and feel that connection. I don't think that was here. Instead, parts that could have shown their connection and growth into something more were glossed over in montages. Steve is wooing Iris, so here is a quick list of the dates they went on. No! Show me pieces of those dates - their conversations! Something!

Also, the fake dating set up is barely utilized. Which, is fine. I didn't go into this book because I am ravenous for fake dating. But they kind of fake date in one or two scenes and then it feels kind of dropped. Honestly, this isn't a bad or good thing - in fact it could have made this story more interesting if that was leaned into more. But it felt more like the author just dropped it or got bored of it.

I know third act break-ups are a point of discussion and disagreement right now. And while I don't have a problem with them, they need to serve a purpose. I would like to see more stories not do a third-act breakup, just for something new. So, once we hit that point in this story, I started getting my hopes up. It seemed like the story was going to do something different and not have that. Stevie was fighting for Iris and asking her to stay and talk through their conflict. And it felt like Iris was going to...and then she just leaves. And the story cemented itself into a 3 star, average, nothing special rom-com again.


Oh and one more thing - Stevie's friends were the real villains in this story and I would not have forgiven Ren so easily.

https://lesbrary.com/tag/iris-kelly-doesnt-date/

First, a confession: I never liked romance novel covers. For the first thirty-five years of my reading life, I had no idea what went on between the covers of romance novels (well, okay, I had some idea), but if it had anything to do with what was on the cover—hard pass. Now, I am aware that some genre purists detest the illustrated cover trend, and I get that. For how many readers, though, has the illustrated cover been a gateway drug to the romance novel? It was for me. And that brings us to Delilah Green, the town of Bright Falls, and their creator, Ashley Herring Blake.

From the very first chapter of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (2022), I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Delilah Green, Claire Sutherland, Iris Kelly, Astrid Parker, and anyone else to whom Blake would introduce me. Yes, even Astrid—who, by the way, gives off such extreme Lemon Breeland vibes that I’ve since had to go back and rewatch a few episodes of Hart of Dixie. Blake balances the sibling tension between Delilah and Astrid with the main romance plot between Delilah and Claire, all the while developing the setting of Bright Falls, Oregon. Another confession: I have been trying to escape from coastal Georgia for a while now, hoping to end up in Oregon. If the Bright Falls that Blake wrote about was real, I would have moved there immediately. Delilah needs a GenX friend who can go toe-to-toe with her sarcasm and eyerolls, right?

Imagine my surprise when I discovered what was waiting for me in the sequel, Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail (2022). Blake introduces her readers to a new character, Jordan Everwood, who has arrived from—yes, serendipity and irony are real things, folks—coastal Georgia. (It is less surprising if you know that Herring lives in coastal Georgia. But no less serendipitous.) After a crushing breakup that challenged her sense of self, Jordan finds herself an unlikely match for Astrid. Astrid learns to loosen up (sort of), and everyone in Bright Falls is happy. Almost everyone. Something truly unfortunate happens to Iris Kelly in Astrid Parker, which serves as the setup for the third Bright Falls novel.

Oh, and the plot of Astrid Parker revolves around an HGTV-esque renovation reality show. If that sort of thing matters to you.

Blake is not the first person to create a charming small town in which romance and hijinks occur. I know I said that I didn’t know what went on within the pages of romance novels, but I’ve seen Hart of Dixie, remember? For what it’s worth, though, I’d take Bright Falls over Bluebell, Virgin River, or even Stars Hollow (yes, Stars Hollow) any day. The best feature of Blake’s Bright Falls series is the way that she examines the trauma that her characters have had to face. Whether it’s the death of a parent, an overbearing mother, a devastating breakup, or a bad reputation, Blake takes her readers through what it means to be wounded by life and by the people in it. Trauma doesn’t just “scar” us; it lives on, at least until it is dealt with. Nothing, and I mean nothing—not even the illustrated covers—gets me more in a romance novel than one character telling another that their trauma is real and then helping them deal with it.

Iris Kelly doesn’t date because anyone she dates will inevitably let her down. Blake provides us with a catastrophic example of this maxim in Astrid Parker. When we meet up with Iris at the beginning of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date (2023), she’s done with it all: cheaters and liars, people who think being bisexual means being greedy or hypersexual, and people who are convinced that Iris does not have her life priorities straight. And that is how Iris ends up at Lush, a club in Portland, where she spots her next one-night stand. All is going to plan until the stranger responds to Iris’s seduction technique by vomiting all over her.

I wonder sometimes if there are people out there who are as forgiving as the characters in romance novels. I’m sure there are, but I have no interest in the world of people who are securely attached. Another thing I’ve learned about what goes on between the covers of romance novels: no one seems to have a secure attachment style. And I am here for it. Because the fantasy (or heightened reality) of people helping each other process their traumas while finding love is one I can wholeheartedly support.

I almost didn’t write this review because, as I suspected, it was too easy to discuss what has resonated with me in the Bright Falls series rather than actually review Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date. I would argue, though, that those are not two separate things. I felt a lot of sympathy for Iris, but Stevie’s anxiety is something that I have actually felt. (Not in the way that she felt it during her first interaction with Iris, I should clarify.) Stevie is a fawner who is still friends with her ex. She also lets people tell her what she thinks (or should think), and she struggles with who she is on multiple levels. I am much more interested in those issues than I am with the fake dating plot of the novel. As far as fake dating plots go, this one’s pretty good—it involves an extremely queer production of Much Ado about Nothing.

If that sort of thing matters to you.

What I am going to remember about the Bright Falls series is thinking about how it must have felt for Delilah, Jordan, and Stevie to (re)discover a magical place that is a thousand times better than Narnia. (There is a White Witch—it’s Astrid. And Delilah and Iris have some fierce manes. Also, Astrid makes a caramel dark chocolate seven-layer cake, so those Narnia kids can just keep their Turkish Delight to themselves.) I don’t want to leave Bright Falls, and Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date certainly lives up to the first two novels in the series. As a standalone novel, Iris Kelly would still merit a solid four stars. The Bright Falls series, however, is greater than the sum of its parts. Five stars for six people who I would be glad to know in real life.

If I have to, though, I’ll settle for Delilah Green cameos in every single one of Blake’s future novels.

I'm convinced that each one of these is better than the last. Stevie is perhaps my favorite character in this trilogy and I love her to death. A lot happened in this book, but it all was done well. I loved the support from our older couples as well as all of the side characters.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This was great! I honestly can't decide which of the stories I like best, but I do love how Iris and Stevie help each other to grow and then realize they're in love with the other! Great ending to the Bright Falls series!

Another great book in this series! I feel like this one dealt with more emotions than the previous two. Iris and Stevie both had their own things to work through and while it all started under false pretenses I could see the growth and realization between both of them as the story went on! I ended up listening to the last half and the audio was great!

Ashley Herring Blake’s IRIS KELLY DOESN’T DATE is a fun very and very sweet romcom featuring an actress with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and a romance-nonbeliever romance-writer with the worst case of writer’s block. Their chemistry is off the charts, and they’re so so kind and gentle with each other it was like a breath of fresh air. I love books about how messy gay relationships and friendships can be, while still being communicative.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing a copy for advanced review.

Ahhh Ashley Herring Blake, I adore you. I'm SO SAD this series is over and will miss my besties (yes, we're friends now) so very much. I was really excited to finally get to Iris's story. She was my second favorite character (to Delilah of course) and to see her get her love story was wonderful. I was cheering for Iris and Stevie the entire time and loved watching them heal together. Highly recommend. I'll miss this world and these characters very much.

Thank you for the eARC!

This is such a wonderful conclusion to the Bright Falls series. I loved seeing Iris get her HEA/HFN, and Stevie as well. There are so many good messages in these books, and so many characters to both see reflections of ourselves in and also to see into the experiences of others. It made me cry a couple times, it made me feel so happy and warm and fuzzy. And did I mention how hot the sex scenes were?! At the end, my heart was full as Iris accompanied her best friends down the aisle. I will miss them!

Thank you for giving me this arc!

I really loved the concept of it. This was my first book from Ashley Blake.

Although I felt disconnected in the middle I think it really picked up the pace! This was a cute (but spicy) romance

I used to think I didn't like romance novels but I absolutely love Ashley Herring Blake's series! This one didn't disappoint, except that I know the series is over now. I will definitely be recommending it, if we can keep it in stock at the library!

This review hurts to write. I loved Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail, but this one just didn’t work for me and here’s why:

1) I love a good fake dating trope, it’s a favorite of mine, but when it ends up as sex lessons, I’m out. Their arrangement was unbalanced and felt too awkward.

2) As a person with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, I looked forward to relating to Stevie, instead, I was highly annoyed most of the time. It was 90% of Stevie’s personality and got old really fast. I understand what living with anxiety is like, and I know it’s not someone’s entire personality. I wanted to know other things about Stevie.

3) As for personalities, Iris’s was sex? And commitment-fobia? The characters felt two dimensional and weren’t fleshed out like the other characters in the prior books leaving me to question whether they had actual chemistry.

4) I really hate reading the words *ussy and *unt in sex scenes and they were used a lot. Maybe I’m just not a dirty talk person (I’m definitely not) but I’m also not a prude. This just felt excessive and unnecessary.

5) Every single person in this book was queer except for Iris’s family who all really sucked. I’m all for some representation, but it felt like it was trying too hard to represent everyone. It was a quality vs quantity type thing.

I turned the audio speed up and sped through it while getting ready for work for a couple days as I just wanted to finish it.

I did really enjoy the ending (a cute HEA) and being back in Bright Falls with the girl gang, Delilah and Jordan and my fictional besties, but this one just didn’t have the magic that the other two did.

Thank you to @netgalley and @librofm for the advanced copies.

I think Bright Falls and all its inhabitants might be my favorite fictional town of all times. Every single book i just fall in love with Iris, Astrid, Claire, Delilah and their significant others and friends even more. The characters are so flawed but in a loveable and believable way and I love that each of them finds exactly what they need in the end. I hope someday we maybe get to jump to the future for a story featuring an older Ruby but for now this ending was just perfect and I will continue to shout from the rooftops about this entire series to make sure everyone gets to experience the immense joy reading these books has given me

I love the Bright Falls crew, and this was no exception. It was a little weird to be reading about Iris writing books that are really similar to the other Herring Blake books, but ultimately I didn't mind. I love this series because we get to see the characters grow into themselves together.

I loooove love loved this one!!! Iris is the most relatable character (and also sexy as hell 😮‍💨). I loved everything about this story and it definitely was my favorite of the whole series. Also a perfect ending for all characters in Bright Falls