Queer as Books | Delilah Green Doesn't Care

Delilah Green Doesn't Care

Ashley Herring Blake

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A clever and steamy queer romantic comedy about taking chances and accepting love—with all its complications—from the author of Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail.

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...

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Posts about this title from Queer as Books

Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Apr 2

📚 24 Sapphic Book Recs 🩷🤍💜

Because sapphic stories deserve to be celebrated loudly and lovingly.

24 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Apr 2

\ \ Join for free or login](https://queerasbooks.binderybooks.com/item/QTcZ4nKAUBrY3bfu5MO1/)

📚 24 Sapphic Book Recs 🩷🤍💜

Because sapphic stories deserve to be celebrated loudly and lovingly.

24 books

Wanderland Reads\ \ Sayer\ \ • Dec 12 2025

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Identity exploration and normal variability deserve better marketing. Why do so many people expect identity to arrive fully formed, laminated, and unchanged or like with a flashing neon sign that gives you the answer. If only it was that easy, I'd be out of a job.\ \ Identity, for many people can often be fluid across years because development responds to context. Research in developmental psychology shows identity formation continues across adulthood, not only during adolescence. Stay with my because I'm about to nerd out for a second, Erikson described identity as an ongoing task across the lifespan. Later researchers expanded this view. Kroger and Marcia (more dead psychology researchers) tracked identity statuses across decades and found shifts tied to relationships, work roles, parenting, loss, and social pressure. Longitudinal studies show stability in core values alongside movement in expression, labels, and priorities.\ \ Society sells a story promising "one big self discovery" moment. Cue montage music and some 90s mega movie stars in dressing rooms. Real life looks closer to repeated software updates. Some updates fix bugs. Others introduce new ones. No release notes included.\ \ Think about it like the kids you went to high school with who knew what they wanted to do with their life, went to college for exactly that, and now 25 years later are doing the same (my brother and sister actually...for sure not me) And there are people like me who tried on about 35 different identities and personalities until the perfect shape fit into the whole (wait this analogy is getting too sexual ... you get it) My identity did not break, it adapted, it evolved.\ \ So just like figuring out who we want to be when we grow up, attraction patterns shift. Gender expression shifts. Political views shift. Faith shifts. Nervous systems mature. Trauma responses soften or flare. Social roles change. Identity tracks survival, safety, meaning, and belonging. Consistency across all contexts would signal rigidity, not health. I was "straight" for like 20+ years, then I was bisexual, then I was non-binary, then I was trans-masc, now I'm feeling gender fluid, maybe lesbian? Maybe pansexual, who the fuck knows and honestly labels aren't as important to me as knowing what's true for me.\ \ Neuroscience supports this view, not of me being pansexual, but like the science of change. Brain development related to self concept, emotional regulation, and perspective taking continues well into adulthood. Research on narrative identity by Dan McAdams shows people revise personal stories across life stages to integrate new experiences. Each revision keeps coherence while updating meaning. Identity behaves less like a statue and more like an ongoing draft.\ \ Relationship research adds another layer. Studies on attachment and intimacy show people shape identity in response to connection and rupture. Falling in love reorganizes priorities. Ending a relationship does the same. Chronic stress reshapes self perception. Identity responds because survival demands responsiveness.\ \ For queer and trans people, fluidity often reflects honesty rather than confusion. Research on sexual orientation and gender development shows variation across time, especially when safety increases. As environments grow safer, our exploration expands. Suppression decreases. Labels change to match lived experience rather than external demand.\ \ Here comes the practical takeaway. If your identity feels different from five years ago, nothing went wrong. Development simply continued. Here's a ti: curiosity helps more than panic, reflection works better than force. Asking what fits now supports mental health more than clinging to outdated roles.\ \ Questions worth asking:\ \ What feels true in daily behavior rather than fantasy?\ \ What drains energy versus restores energy?\ \ Which identities emerged during safety versus during threat?\ \ Which parts feel chosen versus inherited?\ \ Now the book recommendations because like, that's why we are all here. Each title supports identity exploration without promising fixed answers. Most are non-fiction but I've thrown some fiction into the mix too.\ \ Queer. Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker.\ \ Gender Trouble by Judith Butler\ \ Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg\ \ Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashely Herring Blake\ \ Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters a piece of classic lesbian literature\ \ On the Same Page by Haley Cass\ \ Late Bloomer by Mazzy Eddings\ \ The Color Purple by Alice Walker\ \ The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett\ \ The Pairing by Casey McQuiston\ \ The Stories We Live By by Dan McAdams\ \ What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo\ \ Identity changes because life changes. Stability comes from values and self awareness, not from freezing identity in time. Growth looks messy. Growth looks human.\ \ Join for free or login

Why does identity feel fluid across years?

12 books

Rachel Skye Reads\ \ Rachel\ \ • Jul 23 2025

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Pride Month Reading Wrap Up!

Pride Month Reading Wrap Up! 📖 The Friendship Study 📖 Volatile Memory (out July 22! Thanks @Tor Publishing Group for the ARC) 📖 Delilah Green Doesn’t Care 📖 The Darkness Outside Us 📖 Winging It With You 📖 ARC of the Universe (thank you @Nikki Alexander | Author for working with me at @The Nerd Fam) 📖 Blood and Brujas #readqueerallyear #lgbtqbooks #bookrecommendations #pridemonth #diversebooks

7 books

Peppered Ink\ \ Mary\ \ • Jan 30 2025

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Happy Hour with a Few Favorites

In which I sip my favorite cocktail and yap about SOME of my favorite books.

Follow me on Bindery here to enter the GIVEAWAY! https://pepperobrien.binderybooks.com/

The books up for grabs are...

"Strange Beasts" by Susan J. Morris — gothic, thrilling, and mysterious

"Inferno's Heir" by Tiffany Wang — adventurous, heartfelt, and fast-paced

"House of Frank" by Kay Synclaire — whimsical, warm, and hopeful

"And the Sky Bled" by S. Hati — tense, fantastical, and thought-provoking

Comment which one you're most excited to read in this post, and you're entered! (Make sure you're following me first.) https://pepperobrien.binderybooks.com/item/VCTRfUlPpfs7TeyuyDjs/

14 books

Sapph-Lit\ \ Nina\ \ • Jan 5 2025

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Sapph-Lit in Conversation with Ashley Herring Blake

Watch our interview with Ashley all about their latest book MAKE THE SEASON BRIGHT on YouTube!

5 books

Sapphic and Proud \ \ Amivi\ \ • Feb 14 2024

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Happy Valentine’s Day from your fav black lesbian 🧡🤍💖 \ \ Here are some sapphic books you should re

Happy Valentine’s Day from your fav black lesbian 🧡🤍💖

Here are some sapphic books you should read. Still reading outdrawn with my sapphic book club and loving it, and sadly she gets the girl isn’t on here cause I don’t have a physical copy of it 😭

Also obviously D’vaughn and Kris plan a wedding had to be on here 🤭

#sapphicbooks #sapphicromance #wlw #wlwbooks #dvaughnandkrissplanawedding #outdrawndeannagrey #delilahgreendoesntcare #somethingtotalkaboutbook #bookishromance #kissheronceforme #romancebooks #valentinesbooks #lesbianbooks

5 books

Sapphic and Proud \ \ Amivi\ \ • May 22 2023

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here with all the recs #sapphicbooks #sapphicbookrecs #thebalanceoffates #sapphicbooktoker

12 books

Fantasy & Frens\ \ Zoranne\ \ • May 9 2023

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@TheRippedBodice IS MY DISNEYLAND 🥰 #romancebooks #therippedbodice #indiebookstore #zorannereads @KTN

9 books

Sapphic and Proud \ \ Amivi\ \ • May 2 2023

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boyfriend how about GIRLFRIEND 🤨 #lesbianbooktoker #sapphicbooks #bookgirlfriends #dvaughnandkrisplanawedding