Book Details
Publication Date: February 2022
My Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Page Count: 390
Listening Time: 11 hours 42 minutes
Print Publisher: Berkley
Audio Publisher: Penguin Audio
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care Book Review
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is a debut romance novel by Ashley Herring Blake, and the first in a series. It’s queer romantic comedy with a lovable protagonist, Delilah, who is returning to her hometown for the wedding of her estranged stepsister, Astrid. There’s clear tension and underlying issues between the siblings and Delilah just wants to complete her job of being the wedding photographer and head back to her life in NYC.
The story is an interesting mix of plotlines. There’s steamy attraction turned real feelings between Delilah and Claire, Astrid’s best friend. There’s estranged siblings trying to reconcile the differing experiences they both had as children to the way they feel about each other in adulthood. There’s grief Delilah is processing as she returns home to place where she lost both parents at a young age. There’s mother / daughter strain between Clair and her daughter, during her coming-of-age years. And there’s the undercurrent that Astrid is marrying a controlling and mean person, much to the distress of her friends.
I loved all the plot lines and thought it gave depth to the story, but it also made it challenging to really connect with everyone’s story because there was only time for the surface. Delilah’s pieces were the most developed so her personal grief and her relationships with both Astrid and Claire had me quite invested.
Knowing that this is the start of a series and that I’ll likely get to read whole books on the other characters has me excited. From that perspective, it’s a solid strategy. As a standalone, I was wanting a bit more from Astrid and her story publishes in November – perfect!
Overall, a really solid debut novel with lesbian and bisexual representation and a sprinkling of spicy scenes, paired with a coming home reconciliation of childhood traumas. If that sounds appealing to you, I recommend giving this a read!
Content warnings: Sexual content (moderate), Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Toxic relationship
Click to purchase (affiliate links): Amazon | Bookshop.org
