Iris Kelly Doesn't Date (A Bright Falls Novel)
A fake relationship after a horrible one-night stand is anything but an act in this witty and heartfelt new romantic comedy 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, 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....
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....
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Community Reviews
I really really really loved Iris Kelly doesn't date. This is my first book by the author and I know that it's the last book in the series but I get it whenever my Libby holds clear.
I already have book one on my shelf and I'll be starting that soon. I find iris to be, funny, brass, sassy, dramatic, pure, kind, vulnerable, and just lovable. She's very easy to love and it was tough to see her character struggle so much with even believing that she was worthy of love. And I really liked Stevie's character. Both of them needed different elements for their character growth and I Liked how each of them complimented each other in this book.
Most of the time I found Stevie's generalized anxiety disorder emulated what it feels like on the page but other times it felt like the author was playing it up a little too much. This coming from someone who actually has GAD, I could relate to a lot of how Stevie was feeling in certain situation, but not over the top or just intense it was in general. And among the two I think Iris may have had the more supportive group of friends, which is why I was happy to see a little bit more of them in the story overall. This is the book I would highly recommend and a book I could see myself rereading.
I already have book one on my shelf and I'll be starting that soon. I find iris to be, funny, brass, sassy, dramatic, pure, kind, vulnerable, and just lovable. She's very easy to love and it was tough to see her character struggle so much with even believing that she was worthy of love. And I really liked Stevie's character. Both of them needed different elements for their character growth and I Liked how each of them complimented each other in this book.
Most of the time I found Stevie's generalized anxiety disorder emulated what it feels like on the page but other times it felt like the author was playing it up a little too much. This coming from someone who actually has GAD, I could relate to a lot of how Stevie was feeling in certain situation, but not over the top or just intense it was in general. And among the two I think Iris may have had the more supportive group of friends, which is why I was happy to see a little bit more of them in the story overall. This is the book I would highly recommend and a book I could see myself rereading.
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