Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail
Thank you to Berkley for gifting me a review copy of Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake. This is the second book in the Bright Falls series, and both of them have made my list of favorite books for 2022!
Astrid Parker is an over-achieving interior designer, and she likes things the way she likes them. When she ends up working on a remodel for a local bed and breakfast she’s thrown together with Jordan Everwood, the Inn owner’s granddaughter and carpenter. The two of them couldn’t be more opposite, but the more they clash, the more their chemistry seems to grow.
Astrid is still figuring herself out, and is largely in denial about being attracted to women, so there is a lot for her to work through. Jordan really gives her the support she needs to figure things out though, as well as deal with the fairly toxic relationship Astrid has with her mother. In return, Astrid pushes Jordan to be her full self as well.
I don’t know how the author managed to write characters that felt so real, relatable, often messy, and just completely loveable. I didn’t think I could adore Bright Falls any more than I already did, but here we are. My bags are packed and I’m ready to move in.
Ashley Herring Blake became an auto-buy author for me after her last book, and I hope you’ll pick up a copy of them both for yourself.
Synopsis:
For Astrid Parker, failure is unacceptable. Ever since she broke up with her fiancé a year ago, she’s been focused on her career—her friends might say she’s obsessed, but she’s just driven. When Pru Everwood asks her to be the designer for the Everwood Inn’s renovation that will be broadcasted on a popular home improvement show, Innside America, Astrid knows this is the answer to everything that is wrong with her life. It’ll be the perfect distraction from her failed love life, and her perpetually displeased mother might finally give her nod of approval.
However, Astrid never planned on Jordan Everwood, Pru’s granddaughter and lead carpenter for the inn’s renovation, who despises every modern design decision Astrid makes. Jordan is determined to preserve the history of her family’s inn, particularly as the rest of her life is in shambles. When that determination turns into a little light sabotage, ruffling Astrid’s perfect little feathers, the showrunners ask them to play up the tension. But somewhere along the way, their dislike for each other turns into something quite different, and Astrid must decide what success truly means. Is she going to pursue the life that she’s expected to lead, or the one she wants?
