Delilah Green Doesn't Care
By Ashley Herring Blake
Publication date: Feb 22, 2022
Series
Bright FallsPurchase
Bookshop.org AmazonTags
F/F Dead parent Small townReview
I think I have abandonment issues with really good books. Think about it! Every book you've ever loved, ever craved to wedge yourself between the lines and live among the fictional world, is finite. Even as part of an ever-sprawling series, inevitably you get to the last page of the last chapter of the last page ... and it's over.
Both the titular Delilah Green and her love interest, Claire, seem to have (justifiable) abandonment issues of their own. Delilah (dead parent alert!) hasn't had any family to rely on since she was young, so she books it to NYC as soon as she can and stays there. She's only brought back by the lure of much-needed cash from wicked stepsister Astrid Parker, but she's coming and going just as fast as she does in any relationship - quickly, and without remorse.
That is, until she meets one of Astrid's BFFs, Claire. Suddenly she's consumed by the thoughts of this girl and her manic pixie dream daughter, and just mayyybe it's enough to keep her sticking around ...
Isn't it useful how the Lothario, only-in-it-for-themselves types always turn out to have secret mushy hearts that just need the right queer person unlock them?
I jest! Things can be tropes simply because they happen often, not because they were written to follow said trope. Delilah is a wonderfully fleshed-out character, and the progression in all the relationships feels justified and well-earned. And hey, who can blame Delilah? I'd stick around and shack up with Claire if only I knew she wouldn't leave me before the acknowledgments.
Oh, Claire. We could have been so good together. Instead, I'll just have recommend others spend their time with you and hope that can satisfy your insatiable craving.
Synopsis
A clever and steamy queer romantic comedy about taking chances and accepting love—with all its complications—from the author of Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail.
Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s just fine with her.
When Delilah’s estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid’s stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there’s some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all.
Having raised her 11-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. Though they’ve known each other for years, they don’t really know each other—so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they’re forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations—including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé—Claire isn’t sure she has the strength to resist Delilah’s charms. Even worse, she’s starting to think she doesn’t want to...