e-Audio, 11:41:25
Narrated by: Kristen DiMercurio
Release Date: February 22, 2022
Published by: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Read from: March 3-9, 2022
Bright Falls, #1
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Mentions death of a parent
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary Romance, Small Town Romance, Adult, LGBTQ+ (1 MC was Bi and the other was Lesbian), Realistic Fiction, Sparkly CoversA clever and steamy queer romantic comedy about taking chances and accepting love—with all its complications—by debut author Ashley Herring Blake.
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 eleven-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…
*MY THOUGHTS*
After continuously adding Ashley Herring Blake books to my TBR, I finally settled on this one to read. I’m not even sure what called me to this one. Maybe it was the cover that drew me in? Maybe it was all the fact that Delilah was going to a wedding and y’all know those in books are my jam? Or maybe it was the fact that I had a co-worker who was waxing poetic about Claire everyday since she had finished it? Whatever it was, something drew me to this book and now I’m immediately trying to read her backlist.
Bright Falls is not a place that Delilah wanted to be ever again. But when her stepsister’s wedding comes up and she’s offered a pretty penny to be the photographer, she knows she has no choice but to make the trip. She wants to be in and out, but she meets Claire who changes her mind, not just about Bright Falls, but everything. Claire is a single mom whose just trying to make things work with her daughter and a flaky ex. When she finds Delilah again, its quite the surprise. Can she handle the surprise?
It took me a while to warm up to Delilah because she was so stand-offish. But I knew since she was the MC I knew she had a story and I wanted to find out what it was. She was just misunderstood! (And it was the kind I didn’t mind because *SPOILER* It wasn’t between her and the love interest.*END SPOILER* Then there was Claire! She was such a sweet heart! She definitely was the right one to help Delilah shed her armor and become soft. It was so much fun to watch this transition! And the spice was nothing to write home about. Definitely like a 2.5. There was sex on the page, but it wasn’t explicit. More on the tame side. So like a really low 3.
However, as much as I liked the two main characters, I did not care for the stepsister, Astrid. She was just so rude to everybody. Including the people who loved her and knew her best. That always bothers me. These people who know you so much wouldn’t lie to you. Like what would they have to gain from that? And then at the end where she did what she did to hurt not only Delilah but also Claire? She didn’t have to do that and it made me dislike her more that she did it anyway. But then I went and saw that she has her own book coming out later this year…. It has a synopsis and cover and everything and man, I’m already invested, so I gotta read hers too lol Hopefully this will be more to the redeeming arc of her story since in this one it was only like 5%. I really hope she’s less insufferable in her own book.
But as much as I enjoyed this rom com, it unfortunately wasn’t funny to me? Normally I laugh at literally the smallest things. And I thought for sure I would have laughed at the camping thing, or the river thing, but nope, nothing. In fact I don’t think I even cracked a smile? It was more like I just kept going with it. I just wasn’t partial to the humor, so the com part of this wasn’t there for me. I’m sure there are others that enjoyed it tho.
The narrator was AWESOME! Literally every character had their own distinct voice. And it was cool that they also did those changes to their voice when something happened in the story. Like the nose punch?! I thought it was boss how it actually sounded like they had gotten hit! To be able to play all those different characters as well as fo the special effects? That’s pretty awesome. I wish I had talent like that lol
This book was a surprise! Not only did it leave me wanting to read her backlist, but I’m also excited for her future books. This book has made me a new fan. I’ll be surprised if I’m not caught up on her by the end of the year.
Overall, I give this
