While on the topic of friend groups we know how I feel about the amigo squad established in the previous two books and they do not disappoint here. Every interaction between Iris & Simon melted my heart; how she leaned on him + how he showed up for her including his patented tough love as needed. Obviously Delilah's delicious snarky quips, Claire's unwavering if sometimes overwhelming support, Astrid & Jordan's steadying input + wee Ruby's wonderful additions were so welcome and always added to the story never taking anything away from the turmoil the MCs go through to find themsleves 🙃 All of the characters in the book feel so two-dimensional. I hoped that this was a trait that was reserved for the side characters but even the main characters of the book suffered from this. Stevie is an actress with anxiety who is struggling to break out of the Portland theatre scene. She is begged by her ex/friend to play the lead in a "queered up production of Much Ado" because they know that she will sell seats as a big name in the scene (she's big enough to sell out a theatre but not to be offered any other roles???) . Iris Kelly is struggling to get her love life together because she's "really good at sex" but struggles in relationships. She learns that her best friend is engaged and she makes the entire situation about herself. She runs a successful business and is a published writer but the author wants us to believe that this woman is incapable. She's perfect at everything that she sets her mind to. she gets the co-lead in the play by falling into the audition on a whim . These characters are supposed to be in their late 20s to their early 30s and they all behave like teenagers at any given moment. okay, so i think out of the two i have read (i haven't read delilah's story yet), i would say this one if currently my favourite.

The main characters from the previous installments return in this book, again with muted personalities and importance to both the plot and the characters. What I liked: I found both Iris and Stevie relatable in a lot of ways. I love seeing anxiety rep in books, AND awesome bisexual rep! Stevie’s anxiety, while different from mine, also felt so familiar. My heart ached for the way her friends took advantage of her, the way she made herself small to be more likable. Watching her journey throughout the book was so wonderful. With Iris, I really related to the way everyone in her life was constantly pressuring her to live life the way they thought was best. Truly, these two characters are the closest I have felt to fictional people in a long time. They were nuanced and real and didn’t always make the right choices, and I loved them. And then putting them together?? Absolute magic! Their love story was so sweet, it had me wishing for a real life romance just like it. Iris Kelly isn't interested in love or relationships (so she says), and Stevie is looking for a way to get over her ex and their long-term relationship! When an attempt at a one-night stand goes disastrous, Stevie tells a little white lie, and Iris decides to play along! Ashley Blake has a great way of righting these couples who seem like they shouldn't fit together but making you route for them to fall in love! Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is a perfect conclusion to Ashley Herring Blake'ssexy-cozy Bright Falls series. It's sweet, it's spicy, it's sapphic, it's satisfying—everything readers of Blake's work have come to love."—Elissa Sussman, bestselling author of Once More with Feeling

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Iris and Stevie meet at a bar one night and after a hookup gone wrong, they don't expect to see each other ever again. Two talented chess players challenge each other on and off the board in bestselling author Hazelwood’s YA debut.

Stevie & Iris are legit messes in their own adorkable ways in this and yes the paths they chose tug at even my broken heartstrings. The growth they both undertake to get where they need to be for each other despite their lesbe honest [ sorry not sorry] failed attempt at fake dating from disastrous first encounter through swoony woo'ing to the often inevitable third act breakup (I saw what you did there AHB having Iris be an author who loves this trope - sadly I rarely do) culminating in a very sweet GG (yes you got me again 😬) There is a conversation between Iris and Stevie about asexuality and being aromantic, which was fantastic, and I thought handled really well. And Iris is a hopeless romantic, but the fact that her mum, and her siblings, couldn't fathom her not wanting to be with someone was just. Yeah. Not it. This was a spicy and romantic book filled with a wonderful cast of characters. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and the execution was well done and led to some of the best forced proximity. I loved all the cameos from the previous two books in the series, especially seeing Delilah and Claire get an extra special HEA. I also think the side details about Stevie’s acting and Iris’s romance writing process added a lot of richness to the story. There are a few small reasons why I am giving this 4 stars over 5, but I still highly recommend this!

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Ofc the characters have a "disdain for literary fiction" and think it's pretentious. Boohoo a book makes you think and doesn't rely on tropes