small town romance – LairOfBooks

Title: Astrid Parker Doesn’t Care

Author:Ashley herring Blake

Pub. Date: November 22nd 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance/LGBTQIA+

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 368

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆╮

☆☆This review may contain spoilers for Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (Bright Falls #1)☆☆

We’re back in Bright Falls with my favorite cast of queer women and this time the spotlight is on Astrid Parker. We first met Astrid in Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (my review) as the estranged step-sister of Delilah who Was set to get married and live the ideal life her mother had always dreamed of her having. Fast forward to a year later and Astrid Parker is a single woman who is laser sharp focused on her career/family owned business in interior design. The only thing is that the phones aren’t ringing and the projects have slowed down, Astrid is looking for a lifeline. When Pru Everwood asks Astrid to be the designer for the Everwood Inn whose renovation is being broadcast on the popular home improvement show Innside America, Astrid seizes the lifeline. What she wasn’t expecting was having all of her design ideas sabotaged by Pru’s frustratingly attractive granddaughter Jordan Everwood. The Everwood is also in need of a liefeline, its been a long time since guests have booked the place. If this renovation and media coverage don’t change its fortune, Pru Everwood may have to shutter its doors for good.

Jordan and her twin brother spent summers in the Everwood Inn and she feels Astrid’s clean linen and modern/sleek designs don’t quite capture the character of the place. As the lead carpenter on the project, she begins to make some changes to Astrid’s designs that result in some tension build-up while being filmed for the show. The show runners are LIVING for it and want them both to kind of play it up some more for the ratings which would result in good publicity for them both. This was never Jordan’s intention, after having her relationship fall apart unexpectedly and her work deeply affected by it…she was just looking to get back on track and prove to her brother and grandmother that she’s climbing out of her depression.

*•.¸♡ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧. 𝐒𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐀𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. ♡¸.•*

Soulmates and Tarot. Need I say more?!? ok there’s also the BEST character redemption arc I’ve come across in romance. I was not a fan of Astrid at all when I read Delilah green Doesn’t Care and when I started reading this book, I still wasn’t sold on her. Then I started seeing Astrid for who she really is, when all the need to meet her mother’s expectations just stops. This is when we really start seeing Astrid, a 30 something year old who is late to discovering who she really is but is choosing to step out and do so anyways. She’s exploring her sexuality and questioning her career choices. It’s not often that we get stories centered around woman in their 30’s redefining their lives. Jordan however is my favorite MC, she’s had her heart broken by someone she cared deeply for and thought was her soulmate. This doesn’t stop her from believing her soulmate is out there, her tarot cards won’t let her forget. Second chances in love and life, soulmates, and rediscovering passions while having an amazing group of supportive friends/found family…I may love this one more than Delilah Green Doesn’t Care? but good luck making me choose!

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Title: Delilah Green Doesn’t Care

Author: Ashley Herring Blake

Pub. Date: February 22nd 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance/LGBTQIA+

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley Romance

Pages: 384

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*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*

Twelve years have passed since Delilah Green turned her back on Bright Falls and started a new chapter of her life in New York City. The small town holds a lot of memories, many of them sad and painful. After the loss of her mother, Delilah’s father re-married and that came with a step-sister she never quite felt comfortable around. When her estranged step-sister Astrid comes looking to hire her as a photographer for her wedding, Delilah is torn between ignoring the request or returning to a place she had sworn away. Life as a waitress/wedding photographer sustains her real dream which is art through a lens that focuses on queer people. She can’t really pass up the chance to make some real money from Astrids gig so she decides to go with no real plans to stick around. That all changes when she crosses paths with Astrid’s “stuck-up” BFF Claire Sutherland and decides to place a bet with her step-sister who is super protective of her besties.

Claire Sutherland is a single mom raising a an 11 year old girl who also runs the towns local bookshop. In between dealing with her ex and his unreliability, she hasn’t had much time for dating and she doesn’t do random hook-ups. Her relationship with her child’s father has left her with some trust/abandonment issues. She most certainly doesn’t think someone like Delilah Green who is flighty & into casual sex, is a good idea to start something up with. Wedding preparations along with some sideline hijinks to stop Astrid from marrying the absolute biggest chauvinistic jerk on the planet, force these two to work together. It’s definitely a case of instant sparks flying paired with undeniable chemistry that WORKED!

Christina Hendricks (Pinterest)

Laura Prepon (IMDB)

*Images respectively from Pinterest & IMDB

CW: Cancer, death of a parent(s), grief, cheating, misogyny, abandonment

I’ve never been one to fan cast while reading any book but these characters were so well fleshed out that only Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) & Laura Prepon (OITNB) came to mind. From the vintage pin-up style Claire so flawlessly executes to Delilah’s more wild devil-may-care attitude, these two had chemistry that jumped off the page. I LOVED them both and got so invested in their lives and the baggage they each were carrying. At its core we have a story about acceptance and learning how to allow yourself to be loved both romantically and platonically. The female friendships go back for these women to their childhood days and tied to that are feelings of being excluded and made out to feel like an outcast. Some of these characters (including supporting cast) are working through grief, co-parenting relationships, toxic relationships, feeling like they have to seek validation, and abandonment issues. Yes it’s absolutely a full on romance but it also has a huge emphasis on friendship which made it all the more sweeter. When I was in the book I didn’t want to put it down & when I was away from it, all I thought about was my next free moment to jump back in. I’m 100% the type of bookworm who loves character driven books but I was pleasantly surprised by the subplot and how much fun it added to the main storyline. Also! I can’t not mention this. The love shown to a woman’s body post having had a child was SUPER appreciated by this bookworm and just downright beautiful to see on the page. This is my first read from Ashley Herring Blake and I can already tell I may have found a new favorite author. There’s an excerpt to the next book in this series which follows one of the characters in this book and even that was *Chefs Kiss* enough to keep me holding on haha!

Things to look forward to on February 22nd…

📚An Idyllic small town with a cute Bookstore
📸Single Mom finding love
📚Bookworm MC’s
📸A tight knit female friend group
🏳️‍🌈Sapphic main characters
📸Photography explored
📚Co-Parenting ups/downs
📸Complex sibling relationship
📚Campsite Pranks
🌶Steamy AF sex scenes

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