Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is the best of the Bright Falls bunch

If there’s one thing we rarely see in traditionally published romance books, it’s sapphic romances yet Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date flips all those ideas on its head.

Whether you’ve read all of the Bright Falls books or not, you should at least be familiar with Ashley Herring Blake. She’s written some young-adult books, middle-grade books, and now: adult romances.

Frankly, there isn’t much Ashley Herring Blake can’t write which is why I was so excited to dive into Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date. In addition, it ended up being featured in my upcoming Pride Month romances but after hearing the pitch, I was hooked.

Thank you so much to Berkley for sending me both a digital ARC and a finished copy as I ended up tabbing it a lot while reading.

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is the best book in the Bright Falls series.

If you’re unfamiliar, the Bright Falls series features Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail, and is rounded out with Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date. Iris is the lone wolf of the friend group as she’s the only one uncoupled yet she’s down to be free as a bird.

All of that changes when she meets Stevie or Stefania. The two immediately have instant chemistry and are all set to get together until Stevie freaks out. We quickly find out that Stevie has an anxiety disorder and is reeling from a recent break-up and just needs some help which is great because so does Iris.

Iris needs some romantic help as she’s a romance writer while Stevie needs her friends to get off her back. The two end up fake-dating and it goes from there. Honestly, this book surprised me with all of the tropes it managed to pack in without feeling like it was going overboard.

It had fake dating, a romance writer heroine, a disastrous meet-cute, sex lessons, and lots of pining from both sides. Coupled with the adorable cover, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date felt like such a refreshing story as it featured a more intense case of anxiety and gave us a look at the girl being the “player” which we rarely see.

Coupled with the adorable cover, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date was a steamy and sweet sapphic romance. As with the previous books in the series, I do think the book could have been cut down a bit. It did feel a bit meandering at points yet that’s more of my problem than the actual book. I’m honestly still shocked by how much I liked this and I’m happy to see this was a great ending to Ashley Herring Blake’s Bright Falls series.

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake is out now where books are sold.

Will you be picking up a copy of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date this October? Let us know in the comments!