A review by hermanthemoth
Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

It's not really a review, more an explanation of why I rated this book so low, because I barely ever rate 3 stars, not to mention going below that.

Warning! It may get spoiler-ish!

I'm going through highly stressful time rn and I picked this book on purpose to have a way to calm my thoughts and cheer up a little whenever I have a second to spare for some easy reading. I enjoyed previous two books a lot so I was confident it's going to be a foolproof choice. Well xD


It started very promising, first few chapters and introduction into main charas' heads went well and I even found Stevie relatable, which is always a plus for me. But unlike Delilah with Claire or Astrid with Jordan, Iris and Stevie lacked chemistry for me. Sure, their interactions were funny and even sweet at times, but I had a hard time to believe them when they claimed how hard they fell for each other for some reason. And, what also pissed me off: for a book that's the last part in a trilogy about a super close group of friends we hardly ever had those friends on pages. I get it's Iris' story, but in previous books all women were a huge part of the plot. Here Iris mainly avoided them or was (rightly so) mad at them for meddling and then we get the epilogue where suddenly they're all super close again just so we can get a supposedly touching scene of the four of them walking down the aisle?? Not to mention all they did when they did appear was to push Iris into romance when she clearly said she's not interested. How were they any better than Iris' family? And yes, I know it's a romance novel and romance is the whole point, but then it could have been handled in a less toxic way.
And speaking of friends, Stevie's were even worse, clearly only there for the drama (if I were in her shoes I would never forgive Ren that quickly, wtf??) and then once they served their purpose and moved the plot along they were barely mentioned again. 


So yeah, I'm really disappointed and tbh if it wasn't the last part of a trilogy I'd DNF it around 40%.