Nobody is more sad for this rating than me. Delilah Green and Astrid are two of my favourite romance books and I had the highest hopes for this book.

Problems -

1. The owner of the coffee show has a cockney accent but is from Liverpool. What in the geography lesson???!!!

2. Stevie is in LOVE with her ex and you can't tell me otherwise. Playing in to the lesbian stereotype of being friends with your exes is fine but let's drawn a line Ashley

3. Stevie has anxiety and this was cute for the first 20% of the book but honestly is an absolute wet sap after the 358237273567th time it's mentioned

4. The author tries to hit every number on the diversity bingo card but refuses to make any non binary, trans or POC a main character. Instead just slips them into a sentence as a non-relevant side character and moves swiftly along

I'm sure I will think of a few more once my rage dies down.

4 to 4.6 stars

This book is so good!
I cannot tell you how swoony and sweet this book is.
The chemistry between Stevie and Iris was incredible. This is defo a comfort read for me!
Fake dating is one of my favourite tropes and so whenever I see it, the book becomes a must-have and oh my does this book deliver!

Loved this book so much

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for this ARC

Another fantastic book by Ashley Herring Blake. If you liked Delilah Green Doesn’t Care you will love this.

Iris doesn’t date, likes to sleep around and have no strings attached but it’s not for ever.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Ashley Herring Blake was inside my BRAIN for this one, y'all. Steve is me, I am Stevie. Us chaotic queers with crippling anxiety especially when it comes to pretty girls need representation too!

This book is right up there with Happy Place as my favorite romance of the year, and I didn't think that would happen ever. Truly laughed, cried, hid my face with embarrassment, grinned like an idiot and kicked my little feet up in the air at the ending--plus, the steam (CHAPTER 29?). Yes, Ashley Herring Blake is at the top of her game and she better not ever stop writing sapphic romances.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC!!

My thanks to the Publisher & NetGalley for the ARC.

Having had a glimpse of Iris being extroverted, say it as it is with no filter lind of a person in the previous books, I was really intrigued in reading Iris's story. Paired alongside Stevie, Iris's opposite, I knew I was in for a good time. While I'm personally not a theatre lover myself but I hope this is something theatre lovers would enjoy.

However though this book had the potential to be perfect ending to the triology, it fell a little short for me. The book started off great and on the right notes but towards the end Iris wasn't aligning with what her character proudly stood for in the beginning. Apart from that, it was a good read.

Sadly a DNF from me, I started and stopped this book 3 times and had to accept in the end that it just was not for me. I couldn't get on with either of the main characters and the little random inconsistencies (accent references differing from locations) just kept pulling me out of the book.

Given the subject matter and all the good points I really hope this book gets into the right hands and that readers love it!

DNF

Sadly, this was a DNF for me. I was looking forward to this book, especially because I loved Astrid’s book so much, but I didn’t vibe with either of the FMCs in this one. Who knows, maybe I’ll come back to it another time but I just felt this was lacking something.

Iris Kelly doesn’t date after several scorned relationships have left her with a passionate no to all romance. A hate of relationships makes it pretty damn difficult for a romance author to read her next Happily Ever After. Following a disastrous one night stand which left her cleaning up sick, she finds herself in a fake relationship with vomit girl on the agreement that she gives her some inspiration for her romance novel.

This has great mental health representation and does a really great job of exploring insecurities in relationships which I felt I could really relate to. I loved reading about the gang from the first book and discovered I haven’t read book two .. which I’m promptly off to do. This was easily read in one sitting, had me laughing and had great sapphic love stories.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date is the third and last book in the Bright Falls series. Iris has been burnt one too many times and now she just wants to have fun, no attachment, nothing serious. And then, Stevie shows up. They have a great night turning out into an awful night and then, they meet again by chance and Stevie pretends they're dating. And they start spending a lot of time together and maybe they're not actually faking anymore??

I absolutely loved this one. I loved Stevie, with her flaws, her anxiety and her strong ass will, she was so layered and I loved seeing her grow and stand up for herself. I loved Iris, of course, but I already knew this. I wanted to throttle her family and fell ever harder for her as the book went on. I was so taken by the plot from beginning to end and I laughed so much, and cried and raged. I really just loved it. I loved seeing more of Claire and Delilah and Astrid and Jordan. I just loved everything about this like I did this entire series. But this might be my favorite one out of the three! I cannot wait for more books by Ashley Herring Blake.

If it wasn't for all the adulting I had to do, I would have finished this book in one sitting, however, that being said, I still read Iris and Stevie's story in under 24 hours! I absolutely loved this book. I didn't think Delilah and Claire's story could be beat, but as personal preference, I think Iris and Stevie just about dethroned them. I could relate and see myself a lot within both Iris and Stevie, it was like my personality had been split between the two of them, which was very comforting to see. The portrayal of Stevie's anxiety was really well written, her blossoming character development was beautiful. Iris also had an insane amount of character development - their relationship was filled with so much passion, love and queer joy, I was swooning at every single page.

It was really lovely to be reunited with the other two gorgeous couples of the group. We saw plenty of them, we was definitely not starved of appearances. We was also treated to a gorgeous epilogue focusing on one particular couple we all absolutely adore and it really tied all three stories together perfectly. A perfect ending, to a perfect series.

I loved the whole series! It’s so refreshing to see positive sapphic romances. I liked that it had mental health representation.

I absolutely adore the fake dating troupe and this was done so well, I’ve been a fan of Ashley Herring Blake’s books since the first in the series.
I loved Iris and Steve’s story, returning to a well known found family and introducing a whole new dynamic with Stevie’s friends. It was nice to see such a well depicted representation of anxiety within the character of Stevie.

The dialogue was witty, laugh out loud funny while the downs had me crying along with the character, it was such a well written story that will have me returning to the first book to start again.

I usually don't read romance books, but Bright Falls Bright Falls is such an amazing series. I read all three books in a single month which was very unusual for me. I loved every character so much. Each character in the series has a unique personality that stands out. In the third and final book, we finally get to read the happy ending of Iris Kelly's story. Iris Kelly is a vibrant character, while Stevie is her polar opposite. It was delightful to read about their journey and experiences. I laughed a lot and shed a few tears. I can't wait to read more books from this author and I highly recommend this series to every reader, not just those who enjoy romance novels. Give these characters a chance, and I assure you, you won't be able to put these books down. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy.

First I would like to say thanks to Netgalley for giving me early access to this book prior to release.

This was the perfect conclusion to the Bright Falls Trilogy. I am so sad that this is over however this was a masterpiece and to be honest I smiled the whole way through. Delilah and Astrid both got a solid 4 star from me but Iris was 4.5 stars!

Who doesn't love a fake dating theatre kid trope. Iris for me was a very relatable character, but the real star of the book was Stevie. Anxiety rep is such a hard thing to get right but Ashley nailed this with Stevie, it was never something to carry the plot it was just something that was part of Stevie's story. And to be honest kinda inspiring for many.

Stevie and Iris are such polar opposites that it was hard to see the attraction at first but that slowly melted away by the banter between the two and the funny nicknames they gave each other. I also loved that consent was such a huge part of the relationship, in some romances this can be skimmed over but for Iris and Stevie it was very pertinent as a way for each to be in control of their own bodies.

I liked the way that both Iris and Stevie were leaning on each other for different things and yet these merged towards the end as they both were really just looking for reassurance from someone else that they were worth it.

The Friendships in this book were also beautiful, we got to see the bright falls gang back together for one last hurrah before the series draws to a close, along with Stevie's childhood friends. It's refreshing to see friends genuinely want the best for each other even if they don’t always go the right way about it.

To be honest this was the best Happily Ever After anyone could wish for.

Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this one, it wasn't my favourite of the series, but I was really happy that Iris got the development she deserved and a brilliant love story.

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date centres around Iris, an author, and Stevie, an actress, who originally meet when they have a disastrous one night stand. Then when Iris shows up to audition for a queer retelling of Much Ado About Nothing where Stevie is playing the lead and Stevie's ex girlfriend, Adri, is the director who is under the impression that Stevie and Iris are dating, they enter into a fake relationship. They agree to fake date until the play's final show so Stevie can save face in front of her friends and Iris can get inspiration for her next romance novel.

I absolutely adored this book and binged it in less than 24 hours. The characters felt very realistic and I loved that they had insecurities and flaws which we could relate to. I thought that Stevie's anxiety was portrayed really well and it was great seeing her character development throughout the book as she became more confident. The romance between Iris and Stevie was adorable and I loved the chemistry between them. This book radiated so much queer joy and it just felt like the book equivalent of a hug!

I do however regret reading this as a standalone and would definitely recommend reading the other two books in the series first and the characters from the first two books feature quite heavily in this book and having not read the other books in the series I did find myself getting confused as to who was who. In general I'm not a fan of third act breakups so I did find the third act breakup in this book slightly frustrating but the ending more than makes up for it.

Overall I loved this book and would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a fun, cozy romance. I will most certainly be going back to read the first two books in this series and any other books I can find by this author!

Oh my god this book just hit me hard in the feels. I read it in one sitting, finishing at 2:30am and crying my little heart out. This book yanked at my heartstrings and I'm not mad about it because I absolutely loved everything about this book.

So whilst this can be read as a standalone I definitely recommend reading the other books in this series as all the characters make an appearance in this one! I loved having this group that's grown over the series all come together and it honestly just made me so happy.

This book focuses on Iris who has gone through some horrific situation when it comes to her love life and has done everything she can in order to protect herself. I loved watching her character grow throughout this book and especially loved seeing her try new experiences. I loved her connection with Stevie and just how understanding and caring she was when it came to Stevie's anxiety and shyness, especially after their disastrous meet-cute.

I found it really easy to relate to Stevie and her anxiety and I will continuously praise Blake for how she wrote about this topic. Everything that Stevie felt, every fear and every concern is something that I have felt in my own life at some point. Stevie is such a strong and amazing character whose character growth is phenomenal.

Honestly I could gush about this book for days and I've ended up changing all my posting plans to make sure that this review went up asap! I loved the tropes, I loved the characters and I loved the whole premise of this. I'm sad that this series is over (I'm secretly hoping we get more books in the future because I need these characters in my life forever) but I'm so glad I got to experience them! I cannot wait for Blake's next book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars!

Enjoyable read. Had some cute moments that I liked but also something that it lacked. I'm not sure what, maybe more banter chemistry? I don't know but sometimes I wanted to shake Stevie and Iris. Enjoyed this though

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review!

This was probably my favourite in the series. I was anticipating Iris’s book and this delivered. I love a fake dating plot and I really enjoyed myself.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was sweet and I understood why the characters would be drawn to each other. I felt like most of the friendships that had been previously established were well developed while some of Stevie's world felt a bit flat. The writing was generally good and not overwritten, save for a few places.

A gripe I had with this book, as with many in the genre, was that I felt like it tried to shoehorn in representation without it meaningfully impacting the book. Each character, main or not, was described by their race and gender first, as if the most important thing was for the book to be "diverse". It seems a bit like lip service... of course, I want to read books about people that have experiences both like and unlike mine, but I hate feeling pandered to. The characters identities are only labels and don't really inform their experiences in the world. Particularly with Stevie's friend Ren, they seemed to be there only to serve the story and the development of Stevie's character.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley.