Review: Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake

Thank you Berkley for my copy! All thoughts are my own.

The Bright Falls series is one of my favorites of the last couple years. I’m a little sad to be saying goodbye to this group, but I loved their ending so much. Astrid Parker still remains my favorite of the series, but it was really special to have a book feature one of my favorite plays (Much Ado About Nothing) and dive into my profession (Acting). I had a great time reading this book!

Synopsis:

Everyone around Iris Kelly is in love. Her best friends are all coupled up, her siblings have partners that are perfect for them, and her parents are still blissfully married. And she’s happy for all of them, truly. Iris doesn’t want any of that—dating, love, romance. She’ll stick to her commitment-free hookups, thanks very much, except no one in her life will just let her be. Everyone wants to see her settled down, but she holds firmly to her no dating rule. There’s only one problem—Iris is a romance author facing an imminent deadline for her second book, and she’s completely out of ideas.

Perfectly happy to ignore her problems as per usual, Iris goes to a bar in Portland and meets a sexy stranger, Stefania, and a night of dancing and making out turns into the worst one-night stand Iris has had in her life. To get her mind off everything, Iris tries out for the lead role in a local play, a queer retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, but comes face-to-face with Stefania, whose real name turns out to be Stevie. Desperate to save face in front of her friends, Stevie asks Iris to play along as her girlfriend. Iris is shocked, but when she realizes the arrangement might provide her with some much-needed romantic content for her book, she agrees. As the two women play the part of a happy couple, lines start to blur, and they’re left wondering who will make the real first move….” —StoryGraph

What I Liked:

  1. The Theatre Aspects—When Ashley told us about the premise of this book on the podcast, I absolutely freaked out. And I LOVED seeing the theatre world of the PNW in this book.

  2. The Characters—I loved getting to know Iris better and fell in love with Stevie. Her anxiety was something I could totally relate to.

  3. The Setting—I have built up Oregon and Washington State so much in my head that I worry when I finally go there, I am going to be disappointed. I LOVE it.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

  1. Missed Some of the Small Town Charm—I love the Bright Falls series so much and I loved getting to see another part of the PNW, but I missed Bright Falls.

  2. Tropes Didn’t Work—It’s said to be fake dating…and it is…but it didn’t feel like fake dating! Maybe it’s because I did the audiobook or it felt like they spent most of their time alone, but I didn’t click with the use of it! And I LOVE fake dating so I’m not sure what happened.

Character Authenticity: 4/5 Spice Rating: 3/5 Overall Rating: 4/5

Content Warnings:

anxiety, panic attacks/disorders