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Book Review
May. 4th, 2024 04:52 pmAstrid Parker Doesn't Fail
by Ashley Herring Blake
This sapphic romance centers around Astrid Parker, uptight interior designer, and Jordan Everwood, a carpenter and furniture maker who find themselves clashing over the design for the renovation of the Victorian inn Jordan's family has owned for decades. Astrid is pushing the clean, ultra-modern look she has been trained to favor, while Jordan wants something in tune with the building's history and roots. Naturally, despite their sparring, the two fall in love.
Unfortunately, I found this romance largely unsatisfying. Both characters have some heavy things to deal with. Astrid has been raised by a cold, exacting mother who expects her to perfectly execute and inhabit a specific look, career, lifestyle, etc., and Astrid is finally realizing she doesn't really like or want any of that. Jordan is coming out of a tailspin provoked by a devastating divorce. The book tried to be both a romance and a story about Astrid dealing with the clash between her own emerging dreams and desires and what her mother has molded her into. I don't think the way Herring Blake combined these two elements worked particularly well. Too much comes too late in the game. Thus, the last quarter of the book was pretty good, but the previous three quarters were a bit frustrating.
by Ashley Herring Blake
This sapphic romance centers around Astrid Parker, uptight interior designer, and Jordan Everwood, a carpenter and furniture maker who find themselves clashing over the design for the renovation of the Victorian inn Jordan's family has owned for decades. Astrid is pushing the clean, ultra-modern look she has been trained to favor, while Jordan wants something in tune with the building's history and roots. Naturally, despite their sparring, the two fall in love.
Unfortunately, I found this romance largely unsatisfying. Both characters have some heavy things to deal with. Astrid has been raised by a cold, exacting mother who expects her to perfectly execute and inhabit a specific look, career, lifestyle, etc., and Astrid is finally realizing she doesn't really like or want any of that. Jordan is coming out of a tailspin provoked by a devastating divorce. The book tried to be both a romance and a story about Astrid dealing with the clash between her own emerging dreams and desires and what her mother has molded her into. I don't think the way Herring Blake combined these two elements worked particularly well. Too much comes too late in the game. Thus, the last quarter of the book was pretty good, but the previous three quarters were a bit frustrating.
