As I don't often read romance (but I want to be able to recommend it) this was an enjoyable read that I would suggest to the customers looking for a LGBT romance novel. A bit trope-y but I think that's what a lot of people enjoy in romances. And the care taken in developing the relationships, not just the main romantic partners, was very sweet!

This was one of those books that sucked me in from the beginning and didn’t let go until I finished! I thought it was well written, with absolutely flawlessly done characters, and absolutely unputdownable.
The storyline was brilliant and fascinating you won't want to miss this novel!

A big thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for letting me read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Delilah Green Doesn't Care is a queer romcom by first time romance author Ashley Herring Blake.

Delilah Green is an up-and-coming queer photographer in New York City who has to return to her childhood home of Bright Falls Oregon to photograph her stepsisters upcoming wedding. For the next two weeks Delilah is stuck walking down memory lane in a town that holds a lot of memories of a less than happy childhood, spending time with her estranged stepsister and her group of friends. The story is told in third person through the eyes of Delilah and her romantic interest Claire, who is the best friend of Delilah's stepsister Astrid. What follows is a chain of events including a bet, wedding shenanigans, a hotel stay with only one bed, rollerskating and bonding with an emotional tween. This was a light, amusing read with a steamy sapphic romance!

Now for some of my personal thoughts about the book.

Our main characters Delilah and Claire have what I'd describe as "insta-attraction", their first meeting as grown-ups is based on a mutual attraction that seem to be the driving force behind most of their interactions. I'm a bit confused as to why they actually like each other, other than them finding each other attractive, they also only had a 2 week period of getting to know each other and falling in love. Whilst the words "I love you" isn't uttered aloud I wish we'd gotten to spend more time getting to know the two of them together after the 2 weeks had passed, in a way the ending felt rushed and the romance unfinished.

My biggest issue was that I felt we only got to know the main characters on a surface level. Delilah is the quintessential queer woman, an artist and a commitment-phobe afraid to get close to anyone and her childhood trauma affects everything about her life. Claire is the bi woman who doesn't do casual, a mother of an 11 year old, a total sweetheart who worries about everyone. These aren't bad traits per se, but in my opinion that's about all there is to know about these characters and I just wish we'd gotten to know them more, on a deeper level.

Another thing that bothered me was how we we're constantly reminded that "this is queer, they are white, this is straight, queer people do this, cis-het men do that" I know this is a queer romcom and I also think the readers of this book will already be aware of that before they start reading it. There is no need to keep pointing it out, I think it would have made a bigger impact if they'd just let the descriptions work for themselves without always branding them as this or that, that is my personal opinion.

What I liked most about the book was the cast of supporting characters, namely Delilah's stepsister Astrid and her and Claire's other friend Iris. I loved to see how Claire and Iris slowly let Delilah into their friend group and how Delilah started to embrace not being on her own. The relationship between Delilah and Astrid was what kept me the most interested towards the end of the book, learning about how they'd both avoided each other as children when all they'd wanted was to include or be included in the other's life. Seeing them slowly starting to understand each other and wanting to bridge the gap, I think that's what I found the most touching about this book.

Whilst this wasn't the best romance book I've ever read and I would have liked more dept to the characters and their bonds, I still found it enjoyable! I'm very excited for the sequel, which will be Astrid's book and I'd definitely read more books by Ashley Herring Blake in the future.

I will be posting a review on my YouTube channel closer to the publication date of February 22!

This was just about the cutest book I’ve ever read with such a wholesome story!
Following a queer women who returns to her home town to photograph her stepsisters wedding, for a large cheque, which is great, because Delilahs behind on rent and surviving on cheap food and random hookups at bars.
Returning to a place you never really felt wanted is hard enough, but now Delilahs come face to face with her step sisters “coven” and feelings are developing, which doesn’t really help when you don’t plan on sticking around once you’ve got your money and then you’re discovering the past wasn’t exactly what it seems.
This was just such a great read, and I was hooked from the very first page.

This was such a quick and easy read that I couldnt put down. It was gripping and engaging with well developed characters and a well written and relatable storyline. A really enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Piatkus for this ARC of "Delilah Green Doesn't Care" by Ashley Herring Blake.

I loved this book!! Not once did I feel bored, I was consistently hooked onto the way Herring Blake describes the characters and changes POV from Delilah to Claire. Throughout the book, I kept wondering more about Delilah and her history and the full conclusion behind her story made such sense and I just felt connected to her. I feel like everyone could find a character in this book that they relate to. Thank you to Ashely Herring Blake for writing a realistic women love women romance which featured true and genuine love.

I will be buying my own copy of this book and already, I have convinced 3 people to order the book. I honestly have never loved a romance book more.

I’ve never read a book by Ashley Herring Blake before but after this being my first I definitely think I should read more! A good romance book just makes my life whole and complete, I just love them so so much. This book was so easy to read and the story just flowed well and characters were well written, it isn’t only a rom-com but had a kind of modern day Cinderella ish vibe when speaking about the step-mum/sister. I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it 🤩

Rating: 4/5 stars

Content Warnings: death of a parent

I've been on a bit of a contemporary romance binge since I got a kindle a couple months ago so this book fit in absolutely perfectly! I found this novel to have an excellent balance of romance and other plot elements, both of which I was really invested in.

Delilah Green Doesn't Care is a dual POV contemporary adult romance, featuring lesbian and bisexual protagonists. Delilah Green is pulled from her life as an up-and-coming photographer in New York City to the small town where she grew up to work as the photographer for her step-sister Astrid's wedding. Returning to her hometown brings up a lot of lingering emotions for Delilah from an unhappy childhood. At the same time, she's dealing with a growing crush on one of Astrid's bridesmaids, and quickly realises that Astrid's life (and upcoming wedding) may not be as perfect as they seem.

There was a lot to like about this book. The main characters were multidimensional and complex - they have plenty of flaws and sometimes you want to scream at them, but overall they felt relatable and real. In particular, Delilah, Claire, and Astrid - who I didn't expect to like but really ended up loving - were all very well developed characters, and the relationships between them were similarly fleshed out and realistic. I really enjoyed the romance - Blake hit a good balance between sweet and sexy, and Claire and Delilah felt believable as a couple for me (I was rooting for them!) It's not hugely common to read a romance book where one of the romantic leads has a child, but I also liked this element. Claire's daughter Ruby didn't feel like an obstacle to Claire's relationship with Delilah for the most part, and I loved the scenes where watching Ruby and Delilah interact made Claire feel all gooey inside - that's such a cute trope. Speaking of tropes - the only one bed trope popped up in here too, which I'll never complain about. As much as I enjoyed the romance in this book, I think I actually found the development of Astrid and Delilah's relationship more compelling. Their relationship is allowed to be confusing and complicated, but I really enjoyed the portrayal of their tentative reconciliation.

That said, here are my nitpicky complaints. The 'I bet you I can sleep with her' plotline. Ugh. Not my favourite trope by any stretch of the imagination, since it just serves to breed miscommunication (another trope I do not like). It felt pretty unnecessary to the plot and I don't think much would have been lost by leaving that element out. Thankfully, it didn't end up being such a large part of the overarching plot of the book so as to be a dealbreaker, but I definitely cringed when this trope cropped up. Another issue I had was that this book, where the titular character is pretty clearly a lesbian, only uses the word 'lesbian' one time, and in a joking context at that. This is such a pet peeve of mine, as a lesbian, since I feel like the refusal to use the word (particularly in contemporary romances) when it's applicable feeds into the problematic idea that 'lesbian' is a dirty word. I don't think this would be an issue for the majority of readers, but once I noticed the lack of the word lesbian in a book where the main character is a lesbian, I couldn't stop noticing it.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable read for me, and a relatively quick and easy one. I'd definitely recommend it!

4.5 stars

Delilah Green Doesn't Care follows the story of Delilah, a hotshot queer photographer living in New York who reluctantly agrees to photograph her estranged step-sisters wedding in a small town in Oregon. There she meets Claire, a sweet single mom who happens to be her stepsisters (Astrid) best friend and maid of honour. When sparks fly between them and wedding plans are thrown into chaos - life will change forever for them both.

I adored this book so much!!! After a few disappointing sapphic romances this book truly delivered - the chemistry was excellent, the sex scenes were super hot, the characters were very loveable and there was just the right amount of mess, drama and vunerability.

I really loved both Delilah and Claire. Delilah has a complicated relationship with her hometown and step-sister and step-mother leading her to be quite carefree, act like she doesn't care about anything and seem super cool. I thought the author did an excellent job with Delilah's character as often this kind of character archetype I find a bit annoying but I loved Delilah and you could really feel all her inner vunerablities and secret fears. Also she wasn't a total asshole, just gruff sometimes and I think this made her a lot more likeable than other similar characters I've come accross. I also really liked the relationship between Delilah and her step-sister, Astrid. It is very fraught at the beginning of the book but I loved seeing it develop throughout the book and the message it is never to late to forgive misunderstandings and try to get to know one another. Additionally I really liked how neither of them was completely in the wrong, it was a bit of both - I thought this was a lot more realistic to real life. Also I cannot wait for Astrid's book - how am I supposed to wait an entire year?!?!?!?! and after that tease at the end T___________T

Claire was probably my favourite character though. I loved her personality; she is so sweet and kind-hearted and reminded me a lot of myself haha. She also has a tendency whenever something upsetting happens to take herself off somewhere private and have a good cry and honestly relatable T_T She had a baby very young and so is now a single mom to her 11 year old daughter Ruby (making her a total milf hehe) and I really loved Claire and Ruby's relationship and the hardships but also joys of parenting. Claire has a lot of trust issues due to her baby daddy coming in and out of their lives and her own father, making her relcutant to trust Delilah at first as Delilah is a bit flighty.

I already talked about loving the relationship and I just want to reiterate that again!!! I really loved the friendships as well, they felt like great supportive adult friendships (especially Iris and Claire - Iris is such a fireball ahha). I loved the balance as well between the romance and other plot points and personal growth for the characters. Additonally I liked the amount of sex scenes - it wasn't balls to the wall erotica but also there was a decent amount and not just one measly scene towards the end.

My only tiny criticism is I would have liked a bit more time at the end of the book, the conclusion felt very slightly rushed.

Overall an excellent new romance book I would highly reccomend for anyone looking for a sweet, fun, steamy sapphic romance that serves as a great escape from an increasingly depressing world.

Delilah Green Doesn't Care is a queer romcom about a woman who has to return to her hometown for her estranged stepsister's wedding. Delilah lives in New York City, trying to make it in the world of photography, and staying at arms' length from everyone. When her stepsister Astrid, who she's never gotten along with and tries to avoid speaking to, asks her to be the photographer for her wedding, Delilah needs the money, so she finds herself back in Bright Falls, facing memories of her father's death. At the same time, Astrid's best friend Claire is trying to manage co-parenting with her ex and keeping Astrid happy during her wedding. When Claire and Delilah run into each other after years, sparks start to fly.

This is a romcom that deals with quite a lot of character stuff whilst also building up the romance, especially around Delilah and Astrid coming to terms with their childhood and how they see each other, and Claire working out how to put herself first and give her almost-teenage daughter (and previously unreliable ex) room to grow. The premise is a classic romantic comedy one, with someone forced back into a place they left for a wedding, and some pre-wedding activities giving structure and chances for the protagonists to see each other. The chapters move between the two main characters, giving both perspectives, and Delilah in particular is a flawed character, too quick to just try and get a rise out of someone rather than really engage, and who has to learn to give people another chance.

I particularly liked the way that Delilah built up a connection with Claire's daughter, teaching her about photography, as it made the book feel like it wasn't an 'oh, also I've got a child', but the love interest actively taking an interest in them. Astrid's fiancé being terrible, and therefore the wedding that sets up the plot being a bad idea, is a classic trope, and the book, perhaps unexpectedly from the premise which might sound like it's more of a 'character escapes from conservative little town and has to go back', shows queer characters realistically uniting to help stop the awful cishet guy. There's a few questionable actions by characters which aren't really dealt with, but that tends to be true of most romcoms, which typically need to be read with a dose of 'that was discussed properly by the characters later'.

With a sequel about Astrid on the way for people who want more of these characters, Delilah Green Doesn't Care is a fun romcom about two women reaching their thirties and working out where they are and what they want next. It's easy to get gripped by it and stay up too late reading it, which tends to feel like the mark of a good romcom novel, and the chemistry is good. A book that does what it says on the tin, whilst letting the characters be vulnerable and grow.

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is a steamy and sweet romance that will be perfect for fans of Talia Hibbert and Casey McQuiston.

This delightfully queer story revolves around Delilah and Claire, who couldn’t be more different. Delilah is a big city artist with a penchant for casual hook ups, while Claire is a small town single mother who doesn’t do casual. The two of them are flung together by the wedding of Delilah’s step-sister Astrid who happens to be one of Claire’s best friends. Delilah and Claire are attracted to each other from the start, but their relationship is complicated by their life situations and past heartbreaks.

I loved this novel so much! Delilah was a really relatable character for me and I loved how badass and at the same time vulnerable she was. It was a story about Delilah coming into her own and overcoming past trauma. I enjoyed her relationship with Claire a lot since they really worked together as a couple, but I equally enjoyed Delilah’s burgeoning friendships in the town as well. And the relationship with her step-sister Astrid to me was one of the emotional cores of this book.

Getting to know the town of Bright Falls and its surrounding nature (there is a trip to some hot springs and god did I want to be there myself!!) was super fun and I’m glad we’ll get to revisit the town and its quirky residents in the future (apparently there is a sequel coming about one of the side characters…).

This books was emotional, fun, hot and engaging and I was hooked until the last page. Would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for their next romcom.

(Thank you to NetGalley, Ashley Herring Blake and Little, Brown Book Group, Piatkus for providing me with an eARC for this book in exchange for my honest feedback. All opinions in this review are my own.)

A copy of this review will be published on my Goodreads account closer to the publishing date of this novel.

I was not sure what to expect when I got approved for this novel, but I am incredibly glad I did. "Delilah Green Doesn't Care" has quickly risen to the top three of my favourite sapphic romances I have ever read thanks to the author's captivating and funny writing. Herring Blake really created two women that are incredibly easy to relate to, and made them interesting and unique in their own ways.
I especially enjoyed Delilah's point of view and her story, her growth. The audience really does understand her ways of coping with the world and where they come from, and it is very easy to sympathise with her both when she is being difficult and when she reveals her softer side. Her chemistry with Claire was over the moon, and I appreciated how the author never shied away from including Claire's daughter into the conversations about the two women's future.
Lastly, I admit that I would not be opposed to another novel focusing on Iris, as I believe it would be even more hilarious than this one.

This was a near perfect rom-com--fun, sweet and steamy with a likable cast of characters and decent amount of depth for good measure. I liked the central romance between Delilah and Claire, and found myself really enjoying Astrid's character development as well, I'm excited to read her story in the second book of the series!

(Many thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the eARC.)

Did I honestly stay up to nearly 3am to finish this? Absolutely I did! I finished this book in 1 day!

It was so nice to read a non stereotypical lgbt romance. Just 2 people falling In love! I thought it was fantastic really enjoyed the character development and the twist ending with a change in perspective of the whole book.

I finished this book in 12 hours. The pace was perfect, it was gripping and just a bundle of fun. The story follows an estranged family brought together for a wedding. Step sisters who have separated themselves since childhood through the trauma of losing parents and a seeming dislike of each other. Delilah is returning to photograph Astrid, her step sisters wedding for a big pay cheque; even though this wedding is likely to be her own version of hell. Delilah immediately doesn’t ‘fit in’ with her style, tattoos and no care attitude which proves to be extremely entertaining.. but not for her prim and proper step mother and sister.

On arrival to her old home town Delilah goes to a local bar where she is approached by Claire who has been tasked with getting one phone number, by her friend Iris. Claire doesn’t recognise Delilah as her other best friends sister and begins to flirt with her. Delilah finds this amusing, knowing who Claire is, but plays along.. until Astrid walks in and Claire realises who she is talking to with great embarrassment.

The tension between Claire and Delilah was developed really well with you almost immediately hoping they were going to overcome their obstacles and be together. The author described the disappointment the characters felt really well through their gestures and inner monologue; you really felt hurt for them.

I also really liked that this wasn’t a group of teenagers on the cusp of adulthood which I have read of before. This was woman all around 30 years of ago, queer woman, woman who didn’t want children for no other reason than they simply didn’t want children and woman fighting controlling families and men. So many important, relevant themes that I felt was so relatable.

For me, this was a book of self care providing proper laugh out loud moments, really likeable characters and and just all the heart warming feels.

I would be really keen to read more about this friend group because every character was really interesting. Iris was probably my favourite because her sarcasm, wit and the way she stood up for her friends was just hilarious. This is the friend group you want!

This was sent to me through netgalley and Little Brown Book Group and I am very grateful to have had a chance to read it in advance. I will post this review to goodreads closer to the publication date.

Ugh. This book is just utterly perfect. It’s got so much appeal to it. It’s queer. It’s funny. It’s sad. It’s heartbreaking. It’s a big old sapphic hug in a book. Makes my little queer loving heart happy and full

This book was a lot of fun to read, as it had a very humorous undertone and a lot of characters with very carefree and spontaneous personalities. The romance and friendship was written well, and was really nice to see develop, and a lot of the scenes where they were together and having fun were most memorable, and very cute. The friendship dynamics were a lot of fun, the tension between Delilah and everyone was always very comical and witty, which was enjoyable and helped elevate everyone's personalities.

For an 800 page E-book, I read it very quickly and enjoyed every single page, and am very excited to read the second book about Astrid, and hopefully expand to more characters, as I would love to read a book about Iris. A full review of Delilah Green Doesn't Care will be available on my goodreads closer to the publication date 22/2/22.