Book of the Month: Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

Fresh out of the publishing oven, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake is our book of the month for March. You know us, here at Q+ Magazine, we love giving all queer books a chance no matter how old or new – we don’t discriminate. We love recommending queer stories and giving them the spotlight they deserve. And this book, which incidentally was published just last month, is one that you simply cannot miss.

It’s no secret that although queer stories are now more prevalent in literary spaces than they were ten years ago, there’s still a distinct imbalance between sapphic and achillean love stories, with the latter receiving the most attention overall. So when we heard that Ashley Herring Blake was releasing a sapphic contemporary romance – her first novel for adult readers – we immediately added it to our TBR lists and read it the moment it hit our bookshelves.

If you love a good almost-enemies-to-lovers romance with lots of dry humor and awesome supporting characters, then this book will definitely check all the boxes for you. Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is not only fun, sexy, and sweet, but it’s also so unapologetically queer that we’re sure you’re going to love it.

But let us tell you a bit more about this amazing book!

A trip back to Bright Falls

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care follows Delilah Green and Claire Sutherland, two queer women whose paths cross again when Delilah is somehow pressured to return to her boring hometown of Bright Falls, Oregon, to be the photographer at her “evil” step-sister Astrid’s wedding.

Delilah is a lesbian photographer and artist with very serious trust issues who makes her way through casual hookups to avoid the complications of a serious relationship and protect herself from another potential heartbreak. She has a very complicated past with her step-family and the place she used to call home but ran away from when she turned 18. Claire, on the other hand, is a bisexual single mom doing her best to raise her 11-year-old daughter, Ruby, while simultaneously running her own business (a bookstore), dealing with her highly unreliable ex Josh, and helping her best friend Astrid with her upcoming wedding.  

At first glance, this book appears to be just a romantic comedy that can easily be turned into a Hallmark Channel movie, but surprisingly, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is much more than that. It’s a book about navigating difficult family dynamics, leaning on ride-or-die friendships, exploring introspectively, reflecting on missed opportunities and misunderstandings, healing old wounds, and taking chances with people. All characters involved have their own very defined lives and personalities, and the dynamic between all of them is simply exquisite. 

Hey,” Iris said with her own fluffy robe in place, her red hair piled on top of her head just like Claire’s. She glared at Delilah. “Are you always like this?”
Delilah looked up. “Define this.”
“Annoying bitch?”
“Iris,” Claire said.
Delilah’s smile was beatific. “For you, I put my best foot forward.”

(Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, by Ashley Herring Blake)

There’s a lot of banter, a lot of sass, a lot of drama, and a lot of romance, and we enjoyed every bit of it!

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, or Does She?

It’s very rare to find sapphic books in which the two main characters are equally likable, relatable, have great chemistry together, and are well-rounded. But Ms. Herring Blake pulls it off masterfully, alternating chapters from Delilah and Claire’s perspectives and giving us enough context to make us root for them as a couple from the get-go.

And that’s quite literally. From the moment these two ladies meet again at the town’s bar and hit on each other (Claire doesn’t recognize Delilah AT ALL), sparks ignite between them and you can’t help but root for them. Even when it’s clear that a serious relationship between them seems almost impossible.

Why do you ask? Because 1) Delilah doesn’t do serious relationships, 2) Claire isn’t wired for casual, 3) Delilah has a very long beef with her step-sister, who’s also Claire’s best friend since high school, 4) Delilah doesn’t seem to care, 5) Claire cares a lot.

Delilah watched her for a beat. She could tell her. She should tell her. She should open her mouth right now and say, Hey, remember me? 
Or.
She could flirt with this gorgeous woman—maybe even more than flirt, fulfilling every daydream teenage Delilah had about Claire Sutherland—and see what happened. Claire was clearly attracted to her. She wouldn’t be standing here right now, lashes fluttering, if she wasn’t. A warm and fuzzy feeling filled Delilah’s chest, thinking about waking up in bed next to Astrid’s mean girl BFF…and then telling her.”

(Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, by Ashley Herring Blake)

But like in any good romance, all of these reasons why a serious romance between the main couple seemed impossible at first begin to unpack and fix themselves one by one as the story progresses. So even though they hesitate a bit, Delilah and Claire inevitably end up falling for each other. Is their love story perfect? No, but it’s realistic and while it felt a tad predictable at times, that didn’t make it any less beautiful.

If we can say anything about this book it’s that the romance is well-balanced with humorous and emotional moments that will have you hugging your pillow with happiness or throwing it across the room in sheer frustration. Also, the sexuality of the characters is just part of who they are. Their identities are never questioned or used to make the reader (or the characters) question whether or not they should be together. They are who they are and that’s it. AND WE LOVED THAT!

A plan to destroy a wedding to save a friend

Another thing we loved about this book is that it wasn’t all about romance. Sure, the love story is beautiful and funny, very steamy, and it had us screaming the whole time. But family and friends are another important aspects of the book, and each character has a different take on what those close circles mean to them. 

Delilah, for example, goes from feeling like she has none at all (family or friends), to understanding and reflecting on what she and her step-sister went through since they were little, and finally giving herself the opportunity to let people into her life – romantically and platonically. Claire comes to terms with what it means to co-parent with Josh and gives herself a second chance at love with Delilah.

Delilah had completely cleared her plate and drained her third glass of wine before she realized it.
She’d been laughing.
A lot.
With Claire and Iris.
Like they were actually friends and not a tangle of complicated histories simply tolerating each other for the night.”

(Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, by Ashley Herring Blake)

The dynamic between Delilah, Claire, and Iris that starts as a “forced” friendship is as amazing as the romance itself. We don’t want to spoil what happens, but the book really reaches a new level when Iris and Clare enlist Delilah to help sabotage the wedding and save Astrid from her horrible fiancé. Seeing these three ladies plotting and trying to take down the patriarchy one dickbag at a time is just *chef’s kiss*

It was a strange thing, to feel something you hadn’t felt in a long time. It made her realize how much she’d missed it, how important the sensation was. For years, she’d been getting by, mistaking physical closeness with someone for a night as actual happiness. But holding Claire’s hand right now, sneaking glances at her and watching Claire light up in response, this was something altogether different.”

(Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, by Ashley Herring Blake)

Brilliantly written and with a strong narration, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is the rom-com you didn’t know you needed, but that your queer heart will be so glad it exists. The story is heartfelt and realistic – the two things needed for good storytelling. We really hope that the second book in this series, where Ms. Herring Blake will explore Astrid’s story, is equally enjoyable, if not more.

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Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is available for sale through most booksellers. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!