ARC Review: Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake

Everyone around Iris Kelly is in love. Her best friends are all coupled up, her siblings have partners that are perfect for them, her parents are still in marital bliss. And she’s happy for all of them, truly. So what if she usually cries in her Lyft on the way home. So what if she misses her friends, who are so busy with their own wonderful love lives, they don’t really notice Iris is spiraling. At least she has a brand-new career writing romance novels (yes, she realizes the irony of it). She is now working on her second book but has one problem: she is completely out of ideas after having spent all of her romantic energy on her debut.

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 (vomit and crying are regretfully involved). To get her mind off everything and overcome her writer’s block, Iris tries out for a local play, but comes face-to-face with Stefania—or, Stevie, her real name. When Stevie desperately asks Iris to play along as her girlfriend, Iris is shocked, but goes along with it because maybe this fake relationship will actually get her creative juices flowing and she can get her book written. As the two women play the part of a couple, they turn into a constant state of hot-and-bothered and soon it just comes down to who will make the real first move…

• Title: Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date
• Author:  Ashley Herring Blake
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication Date: October 24, 2023
• Genre: Romance, Contemporary 
• Targeted Age Range: Adult
• Content Warnings: infidelity, gaslighting, emetophobia, biphobia, misogyny 
• Rating: ★★★.5 

Ashley Herring Blake’s Bright Falls trilogy feels like it’s everywhere on my bookstagram feed, and so when I saw Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date available on Netgalley, I jumped at the chance to request it. Full disclosure — I enjoyed Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, and was really looking forward to Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail, especially since I loved the bits of Astrid we saw in Delilah’s book, but really struggled with Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail (I blame the insta-love), so I wasn’t really sure what to expect with Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date. Still, curiosity — and the promise of fake dating — got to me. 

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is told in dual POV, following Iris Kelly, and Stefania “Stevie” Scott. With all of Iris’ friends coupled up, her family constantly trying to set her up with someone, and the looming deadline of her second book hanging over her head, it’s hard for Iris not to spiral. Especially when given the fact that she’s got a serious case of writer’s block. When she goes to a bar in Portland, she has a memorable night with a stranger, Stefania, that goes south. Deciding to listen to her agent, she auditions for a local play only to come face to face with Stevie. Unbeknownst to her, Stevie’s told her friends that the two of them are together in an attempt to get them off her back, and to prove to her ex-girlfriend that she’s moved on. Stevie and Iris make a deal — Iris will play along as Stevie’s girlfriend, if Stevie provides romance fodder for her next book. 

In a book that’s called Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, I was a little bit shocked that one of my main criticisms of the book was around Iris’ storylines. I felt like a lot of Iris’ storylines felt unfinished, or underdeveloped, in comparison to Stevie’s. Particularly around Iris’ dynamics with her family — I felt like I was missing a conversation between Iris and her siblings, or at the very least, her parents, and I was left pretty disappointed on that front. In a way, it almost felt like Herring Blake relied on readers remembering and loving Iris from her two prior books, and since it had been a while since I last visited Bright Falls, I was left feeling a little empty.

On the other hand, I absolutely adored Stevie. Stevie was such an easy character to root for, despite the initial secondhand embarrassment, and the way that Ashley Herring Blake wrote Stevie’s anxiety really resonated with me. Following Stevie’s storyline and watching her become more comfortable in her own skin, advocating for her own needs, and standing up for herself was so lovely to read. I particularly treasured watching Stevie integrate herself within Iris’ friend group — getting to see how Delilah and Claire were doing after all this time was very sweet, and I particularly loved Claire’s bond with Stevie. The two of them felt like character foils in a way, and given that Claire was one of my favorite characters from the Bright Falls series, I’m not even remotely surprised that Stevie & Claire’s dynamic was one of my favorites. The Bright Falls friend group has always been one of my favorite things, and catching up with them was a true delight.

As someone who loves theatre, I was really hoping that the cast of As You Like It and the show itself would have a bigger role in the book. In fact, if Ashley Herring Blake wrote another book about the theatre company itself, I would jump to read it. The concept behind that specific production was so cool, and I really wish I could watch it come to life. As You Like It felt a bit like a vehicle to get Iris and Stevie from point a to point b in a small amount of time, and a bit like a movie montage. It was simply more telling than showing, and I personally prefer being able to see more of the more mundane, smaller moments in books. 

I think that Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date could’ve benefited from being longer, and just from being more fleshed out. There were a lot of plotlines and characters that were introduced, and I felt like they either felt incomplete, or just dull. There was a lot of potential and that was what was most frustrating for me. I also felt like the pacing felt off, and that the last 20% felt really rushed. 

Still, fake-dating is a superior trope, and I did really enjoy Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, despite my criticisms. I particularly loved how Iris and Stevie both come to realize that while their friends love them and may have their best interests in mind, their friends can still be misguided and not know what’s truly best for them — especially if they aren’t ready for it at that point in time. I’m a bit sad to know that this is the end of Bright Falls, but can’t wait to see what Herring Blake writes next! 

Links for Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop