Dramas & Plays
![Ashley Herring Blake - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B01GY8M05Y.jpg)
Delilah Green Doesn't Care
A clever and steamy queer romantic comedy about taking chances and accepting love-with all its complications-by debut author Ashley Herring Blake.
Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls-nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it's a different woman every night, but that's just fine with her.
When Delilah's estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid's stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there's some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all.
Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. Though they've known each other for years, they don't really know each other-so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they're forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations-including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé-Claire isn't sure she has the strength to resist Delilah's charms. Even worse, she's starting to think she doesn't want to...
Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls-nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it's a different woman every night, but that's just fine with her.
When Delilah's estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid's stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there's some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all.
Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. Though they've known each other for years, they don't really know each other-so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they're forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations-including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé-Claire isn't sure she has the strength to resist Delilah's charms. Even worse, she's starting to think she doesn't want to...
Editorial Reviews
"Blake captures all the complications of family, friendship, and romance with humor and heart."-Kirkus
"A fun hometown romance, planned as the start of a series of Bright Falls–set queer romances."-Library Journal, starred review
"There's family drama, trauma, childhood memories, love, romance, diverse relationships between not just the main couple, but everyone in the book, that'll have you on the edge of your seat. The novel also does a great job of inputting a queer love story in the middle of an enticing read."-USA Today
"Delilah Green Doesn't Care is a hot, frothy romcom with a relatable heart beating at its centre. I loved every hilarious character, every outrageous shenanigan - and most of all, I loved Delilah Green. I can't wait for the rest of the series!"-Talia Hibbert, New York Times bestselling author of Act Your Age, Eve Brown
"A truly exquisite romance about second chances, new beginnings, and the fragile joy of letting people in. I can't even count the number of gorgeous lines I highlighted. The setting, the scheming, the spice-Ashley Herring Blake paints every scene with a lyrical, tender brush. I'm wildly in love with this book."-Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of Weather Girl
"A classic in the making, Ashely's adult debut is a warm welcome home from the first page. A swoon-worthy, laugh-out-loud romp of a romance, this rom-com deserves to be amongst romantic titans like You've Got Mail, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Sleepless in Seattle."-Kosoko Jackson, author of I'm So Not Over You
"A spectacular debut brimming with yearning, swooning, and healing. Delilah Green Doesn't Care reads the way realizing your crush likes you back feels. Ashley Herring Blake is a romance star on the rise."-Rosie Danan, national bestselling author of The Roommate
"Delilah Green Doesn't Care is the dreamy, steamy, utterly satisfying answer to your craving for an outcast-and-former-mean-girl romance, with complicated step-family relationships thrown in for extra delight. Ashley Herring Blake draws her characters with such beautiful, loving depth, and infinite compassion for the many ways relatives and friends can both hurt and heal each other. And let's not forget the snappy banter and seriously scorching chemistry; you'll need a very cold shower after this read!"-Lana Harper, author of Payback's a Witch
"Charming and entertaining, Delilah Green Doesn't Care entrances the reader with the redemptive power of love. Blake's masterful blend of sexual tension and growing affection will have readers swooning."-Karelia Stetz-Waters, author of Satisfaction Guaranteed
"Blake's well-crafted adult debut ...
"A fun hometown romance, planned as the start of a series of Bright Falls–set queer romances."-Library Journal, starred review
"There's family drama, trauma, childhood memories, love, romance, diverse relationships between not just the main couple, but everyone in the book, that'll have you on the edge of your seat. The novel also does a great job of inputting a queer love story in the middle of an enticing read."-USA Today
"Delilah Green Doesn't Care is a hot, frothy romcom with a relatable heart beating at its centre. I loved every hilarious character, every outrageous shenanigan - and most of all, I loved Delilah Green. I can't wait for the rest of the series!"-Talia Hibbert, New York Times bestselling author of Act Your Age, Eve Brown
"A truly exquisite romance about second chances, new beginnings, and the fragile joy of letting people in. I can't even count the number of gorgeous lines I highlighted. The setting, the scheming, the spice-Ashley Herring Blake paints every scene with a lyrical, tender brush. I'm wildly in love with this book."-Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of Weather Girl
"A classic in the making, Ashely's adult debut is a warm welcome home from the first page. A swoon-worthy, laugh-out-loud romp of a romance, this rom-com deserves to be amongst romantic titans like You've Got Mail, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Sleepless in Seattle."-Kosoko Jackson, author of I'm So Not Over You
"A spectacular debut brimming with yearning, swooning, and healing. Delilah Green Doesn't Care reads the way realizing your crush likes you back feels. Ashley Herring Blake is a romance star on the rise."-Rosie Danan, national bestselling author of The Roommate
"Delilah Green Doesn't Care is the dreamy, steamy, utterly satisfying answer to your craving for an outcast-and-former-mean-girl romance, with complicated step-family relationships thrown in for extra delight. Ashley Herring Blake draws her characters with such beautiful, loving depth, and infinite compassion for the many ways relatives and friends can both hurt and heal each other. And let's not forget the snappy banter and seriously scorching chemistry; you'll need a very cold shower after this read!"-Lana Harper, author of Payback's a Witch
"Charming and entertaining, Delilah Green Doesn't Care entrances the reader with the redemptive power of love. Blake's masterful blend of sexual tension and growing affection will have readers swooning."-Karelia Stetz-Waters, author of Satisfaction Guaranteed
"Blake's well-crafted adult debut ...
Readers Top Reviews
Olivia (@plumpaperba
4.5 stars I love most romance books, but the sapphic ones have a special place in my heart because those are the ones I relate to the most. I’ve read and enjoyed many of Blake’s MG and YA books, and was excited to try her adult debut. Right away, the characters in Delilah Green Doesn’t Care felt so real, as if they could step off the page and into the world at any moment. I instantly took a liking to Delilah, and not just because she’s snarky and has dark hair and tattoos and that’s absolutely my type. Beneath the snark, she’s coping with a lot of unresolved pain and grief from both her childhood and adult life thus far, which she’s forced to confront due to the circumstances of the story. Even though our experiences haven’t been the same, I could relate to her, and found her character development admirable. I really liked Claire too. She loves books, has a small friend group and finds most socializing of either platonic or romantic nature intimidating, which… same. All of it. Same. Her crush on Delilah is also all too relatable. Anyway, jokes aside, her character development was also admirable. She’s dealing with insecurity and self-doubt in more ways than one, regarding her strenuous relationships with her pre-teen daughter and said daughter’s flighty father, as well as whether or not, with all of her issues, she’s “too much” to love. I loved seeing her gain more confidence as she sorted everything out. Delilah and Claire had such a great dynamic, and seeing them turn into friends and then more was delightful. I also loved the scenes with Delilah and Ruby, Claire’s daughter, who’s spunky the way a lot of kids her age are but also such a sweetheart. She instantly took a liking to Delilah (see, it’s not just me!) and that, combined with the fact that the feeling was mutual, warmed my heart. 10/10 little family. <3 I think my only issue with this book was that the biggest conflict actually involved a side character’s relationship instead of either of the protagonists, and their own conflict seemed shallow in comparison. Not to mention, if that side character had just kept her mouth shut instead of letting her emotions get the best of her and exaggerating a situation that didn’t really involve her, there wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place. Classic miscommunication, except someone else was meddling. I don’t know; maybe I’m misreading the scene entirely, but these are my thoughts nonetheless. Despite that, and that it’s not ~quite~ a new favorite, I still thoroughly enjoyed Delilah Green Doesn’t Care. It was a brilliant blend of sweetness, sass and spice, while also dealing with heavier topics in a respectful but not overpowering manner. I’ll definitely be reading Blake’s next romcom. <3 Representation -bisexual protagonist -lesbian protagonist -sapphic romance -bisexual...
LGBTRepinBooks
Trigger Warnings: Deceased parents, sex, alcohol, bullying, single parent, past break-up, past cheating, parental abandonment, break-up, controlling parent, toxic masculinity Representation: Bisexual, Lesbian Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is the story of photographer, Delilah Green who works the wedding of her step-sister. While working, she reconnects with an old peer, Claire, the single mother who runs the town bookstore. Together they work with the other maid of honor to attempt to save the bride from a toxic groom, all while getting to know each other after all of these years. I absolutely loved this book! Please keep giving me all of the queer adult women!! The story is great- I loved the pacing and the detail. I loved how this book stayed true to the expectations of a romance but also felt very queer. The parts of Delilah that showed how fierce and independent a woman can be without a man was so relatable and feminist. I loved how integral queerness was to each of them, rather than just a label. The author does a fantastic job with her characters, as well as telling a compelling story. I loved the focus of this story on Delilah and Claire, with a background story that never felt pushed aside or ignored. I felt all of her side characters were necessary and brought greater depth to our main ladies. I loved the character development in Astrid and Josh. I can’t say enough good things about this book! And I’m sooo excited for the next one!!
Kaitlyn Tomeno
Parts of this story moved me to tears and I the loved the relationship that blossomed between Delilah and Claire…couldn’t put it down! Write more queer romances please!
Brice Culhane
I've thought for a while now that there are not enough sapphic rom coms and this fits the bill quite nicely. I loved all the characters and the relationship building in this. It was near perfection.
Bridget Ratliff
This book was such a good read! I immediately felt a connection to Delilah as someone who is a bit different. Ms. Blake's characters had real dimension and even growth. When we first meet Astrid, for example, she is written as a complete preppy rich girl. As the story progresses, however, we start to feel sorry for how she has been treated all of her life. Later, she becomes who Delilah needed as her sister. Delilah learns she is capable of love and being loved. That's sometimes a hard lesson in itself. Claire learns to trust her ex Josh, Ruby's father, and we see h mature. It is a bit steamy in places and is very much an LGBTQ+ plot line. All in all, I really enjoyed this one!
Short Excerpt Teaser
ChapTer One
Delilah's eyes flipped open at the buzz on the nightstand. She blinked the unfamiliar room into focus, once . . . twice. It had to be at least two in the morning, maybe later. She fumbled for her phone, silky white sheets tangling around her naked thighs as she twisted to silence the vibrating, which seemed loud enough to wake up-
Oh shit.
She'd done it again. The name of the woman lying next to her slipped and slid in her memories from the previous night, the letters nearly impossible to grasp through the art show at the tiny Fitz gallery in the Village-a few of her photographs on the walls, a handful of patrons nodding and praising but never actually intrigued enough to buy anything, the champagne that never seemed to stop flowing- followed by that florid bar up on MacDougal Street and a whole hell of a lot of bourbon.
Delilah glanced over her shoulder at the sleeping white woman next to her. Dark blond pixie cut, creamy skin. Nice mouth, full thighs, phenomenal hands.
Lorna?
Lauren.
No. Lola. Her name was definitely Lola.
Maybe.
Delilah bit her lip and grabbed the still gyrating phone, squinting at the name flashing on the bright display in the dark.
Ass-trid
She barely had time to smirk at the way she'd spelled her stepsister's name in her contacts before she hit Ignore. An instinct. In Delilah's experience, a phone call at two in the morning was rarely a good thing, particularly when Astrid Parker was on the other end of the line. And who the hell even called anymore? Why couldn't Astrid text like a normal human?
Okay, fine, there might have been several unanswered texts in Delilah's messages, but in her defense, she was a useless sack of skin lately, with another month's rent looming and preparing for the Fitz show, at which her work only appeared because she knew the owner, Rhea Fitz, a former fellow waitress whose dead grandmother left her enough money to open her own gallery. The past few weeks had been a scramble of waiting tables part-time at the River Café in Brooklyn and working freelance portrait jobs and weddings, all of which barely paid enough to cover her apartment and food. She was one catastrophe away from having to move to New Jersey, and if she ever wanted to break into the ruthless New York City art world, New Jersey wasn't going to cut it. She'd sold a piece or two, sure, but her photography was niche, as one agent had told her while declining to represent her, and niche wasn't an easy sell.
So, yeah, she'd been too busy busting her niche ass to talk to her stepsister. Plus, it wasn't like Astrid even liked her all that much anyway. They hadn't seen each other in five years.
Had it already been that long?
Hell, it was late. Delilah dropped the phone to her chest while Jax drifted into her thoughts for the first time in a while. Months. She squeezed her eyes closed tight, then opened them and stared up at the ceiling, which was covered with those glow-in-the-dark star stickers. She sat up, a cold panic shooting through her veins. Was she in a college dorm? God, please no. Delilah was nearly thirty years old, and college girls . . . well, she'd been there already, lived that part of her life. She preferred women her own age, always had, and was happy to leave behind all the fumbling and fluttering lashes she remembered from her early twenties.
She relaxed as the room came into focus, felt the softness of expensive sheets under her fingers. The bedroom was filled with modern furniture, all straight lines and cream-colored wood. Sophisticated art dappled the walls, expertly hung. An open door led into a living area, which Delilah now distinctly remembered as the scene where-Lana? Lily?-had pushed her onto a very posh white couch and slid Delilah's underwear off, tossing it over her own bare shoulder.
Definitely not college-level kind of furnishings. Not even Delilah Green-level kind of furnishings, and she was a full grown-up. Also, what Lilith had proceeded to do with her mouth was definitely not a college-level kind of skill.
Delilah flopped back down onto the bed, boneless at the memory. Her eyes had just started to feel heavy enough to close when her phone buzzed again. She jolted fully awake, peering at that same unlikely name and pressing Ignore for the second time.
Layton stirred next to her, turning over and squinting at Delilah, mascara smeared under her eyes. "Oh. Hey. Everything okay?"
"Yeah, sure-"
Her phone went off again.
Ass-trid
"Should you get that?" Linda asked, tousled hair falling adorably over one blue eye. No way this sex goddess's name was Linda.
"Maybe."
"Then do it. When you're done, I've got som...
Delilah's eyes flipped open at the buzz on the nightstand. She blinked the unfamiliar room into focus, once . . . twice. It had to be at least two in the morning, maybe later. She fumbled for her phone, silky white sheets tangling around her naked thighs as she twisted to silence the vibrating, which seemed loud enough to wake up-
Oh shit.
She'd done it again. The name of the woman lying next to her slipped and slid in her memories from the previous night, the letters nearly impossible to grasp through the art show at the tiny Fitz gallery in the Village-a few of her photographs on the walls, a handful of patrons nodding and praising but never actually intrigued enough to buy anything, the champagne that never seemed to stop flowing- followed by that florid bar up on MacDougal Street and a whole hell of a lot of bourbon.
Delilah glanced over her shoulder at the sleeping white woman next to her. Dark blond pixie cut, creamy skin. Nice mouth, full thighs, phenomenal hands.
Lorna?
Lauren.
No. Lola. Her name was definitely Lola.
Maybe.
Delilah bit her lip and grabbed the still gyrating phone, squinting at the name flashing on the bright display in the dark.
Ass-trid
She barely had time to smirk at the way she'd spelled her stepsister's name in her contacts before she hit Ignore. An instinct. In Delilah's experience, a phone call at two in the morning was rarely a good thing, particularly when Astrid Parker was on the other end of the line. And who the hell even called anymore? Why couldn't Astrid text like a normal human?
Okay, fine, there might have been several unanswered texts in Delilah's messages, but in her defense, she was a useless sack of skin lately, with another month's rent looming and preparing for the Fitz show, at which her work only appeared because she knew the owner, Rhea Fitz, a former fellow waitress whose dead grandmother left her enough money to open her own gallery. The past few weeks had been a scramble of waiting tables part-time at the River Café in Brooklyn and working freelance portrait jobs and weddings, all of which barely paid enough to cover her apartment and food. She was one catastrophe away from having to move to New Jersey, and if she ever wanted to break into the ruthless New York City art world, New Jersey wasn't going to cut it. She'd sold a piece or two, sure, but her photography was niche, as one agent had told her while declining to represent her, and niche wasn't an easy sell.
So, yeah, she'd been too busy busting her niche ass to talk to her stepsister. Plus, it wasn't like Astrid even liked her all that much anyway. They hadn't seen each other in five years.
Had it already been that long?
Hell, it was late. Delilah dropped the phone to her chest while Jax drifted into her thoughts for the first time in a while. Months. She squeezed her eyes closed tight, then opened them and stared up at the ceiling, which was covered with those glow-in-the-dark star stickers. She sat up, a cold panic shooting through her veins. Was she in a college dorm? God, please no. Delilah was nearly thirty years old, and college girls . . . well, she'd been there already, lived that part of her life. She preferred women her own age, always had, and was happy to leave behind all the fumbling and fluttering lashes she remembered from her early twenties.
She relaxed as the room came into focus, felt the softness of expensive sheets under her fingers. The bedroom was filled with modern furniture, all straight lines and cream-colored wood. Sophisticated art dappled the walls, expertly hung. An open door led into a living area, which Delilah now distinctly remembered as the scene where-Lana? Lily?-had pushed her onto a very posh white couch and slid Delilah's underwear off, tossing it over her own bare shoulder.
Definitely not college-level kind of furnishings. Not even Delilah Green-level kind of furnishings, and she was a full grown-up. Also, what Lilith had proceeded to do with her mouth was definitely not a college-level kind of skill.
Delilah flopped back down onto the bed, boneless at the memory. Her eyes had just started to feel heavy enough to close when her phone buzzed again. She jolted fully awake, peering at that same unlikely name and pressing Ignore for the second time.
Layton stirred next to her, turning over and squinting at Delilah, mascara smeared under her eyes. "Oh. Hey. Everything okay?"
"Yeah, sure-"
Her phone went off again.
Ass-trid
"Should you get that?" Linda asked, tousled hair falling adorably over one blue eye. No way this sex goddess's name was Linda.
"Maybe."
"Then do it. When you're done, I've got som...
