Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail
By Ashley Herring Blake
Publication date: Nov 22, 2022
Series
Bright FallsPurchase
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F/F Enemies-to-lovers Small town Queen B(itch)Review
Astrid Parker is kind of a bitch.
I'm sorry, she is? I'm understanding about people growing up in bad situations (truly, the overall family dynamic as well as how specifically her mother treats her was and is pretty bad), and needing to grow, but Astrid just ... doesn't?
I mean, we literally spent an entire book blowing up her wedding because she was marrying some (presumably) MAGA chump (forced it into it by her mother) who thought he should buy a house several hours away without telling his fiancee and ... didn't see it? Didn't care? Hard to tell, really.
But that wasn't enough! Even though Astrid Parker has already Failed, she's determined to make her interior design business (forced into by her mother) succeed by renovating a historic old B&B on some home renovation show. But the carpenter/contractor, Jordan, has her own ideas. Better ideas. They're just straight-up better. It took Jordan almost no time to come up with them. Astrid Parker is almost entirely superfluous. But we can't say that because .... reasons?
Look, I know contrivances are part and parcel for genre novels, especially romance. But that on top of Astrid just being a straight-up dick most of the time really made me struggle to finish this book. I have absolutely no idea what Jordan saw in her other than 🔥, and that doesn't always come through in books, y'know?
It's not bad writing! It's just an annoying character. I can recommend this book out of completeness' sake for the Bright Falls series, but otherwise there are plenty of other, better options for your time. And Jordan, you can do so. Much. Better.
Synopsis
For Astrid Parker, failure is unacceptable. Ever since she broke up with her fiancé a year ago, she’s been focused on her career—her friends might say she’s obsessed, but she knows she’s just driven. When Pru Everwood asks her to be the designer for the Everwood Inn’s renovation, which will be featured on a popular HGTV show, Innside America, Astrid is thrilled. Not only will the project distract her from her failed engagement and help her struggling business, but her perpetually displeased mother might finally give her a nod of approval.
However, Astrid never planned on Jordan Everwood, Pru’s granddaughter and the lead carpenter for the renovation, who despises every modern design decision Astrid makes. Jordan is determined to preserve the history of her family’s inn, particularly as the rest of her life is in shambles. When that determination turns into some light sabotage to ruffle Astrid’s perfect little feathers, the showrunners ask them to play up the tension. But somewhere along the way, their dislike for each other evolves into something quite different, and Astrid must decide what success truly means. Is she going to pursue the life that she’s expected to lead or the one that she wants?