Delilah Green Doesn’t Care

03 · Reader evidence

What the evidence says

What readers repeatedly liked

• Complex Characters. Side characters like Ruby felt like proper characters with realistic behavior for their age; Other characters were fleshed out and felt real rather than just propping up the FMCs; Astrid and Iris were nuanced and sometimes more enjoyable to read about than the main couple. Supported by 7 sources (source 29, source 32, source 33, source 10807, source 10808, source 10810, source 11398).
• Character Growth. Reader found it jarring how Delilah suddenly transformed from a chaos beast into someone just present; Reader felt Delilah forgives her childhood bullies a little too easily; Delilah and Astrid reconciling their stepsister relationship gave the reviewer happy feelings and felt like the real heart of the story. Supported by 5 sources (source 32, source 10807, source 10808, source 10810, source 11398).
• Explicit Heat. Reader loved the spicy romance that hit the mark from the start; The romance is described as steamy; Sexy and spicy. Supported by 5 sources (source 29, source 32, source 33, source 10807, source 11398).
• Strong Chemistry. There is raging sexual tension between Delilah and Claire; Claire and Delilah’s chemistry jumps off the page; Romance was okay and kind of cute. Supported by 5 sources (source 29, source 32, source 33, source 10810, source 11398).
• Humorous. Humor appears on every page and the love story develops hilariously; The reviewer highlights that the book made her laugh; Made reader laugh out loud multiple times. Supported by 5 sources (source 29, source 32, source 33, source 10810, source 11398).
• Likable Lead. Reader liked Delilah and wanted her to hold grudges against everyone; Reader loved Delilah’s chaoticness and how little she cared even when it reflected poorly on herself; Reader liked Delilah a ton as a character. Supported by 4 sources (source 29, source 10807, source 10808, source 11402).
• Emotional. The book packs an emotional punch with real, wild emotions; The book made the reviewer laugh, swoon, and cry; Reader cried multiple times while listening. Supported by 4 sources (source 29, source 32, source 10810, source 11398).
• Balanced Romance Plot. The book weaves romance together with family, motherhood, grief, and art themes; There is an amazing balance between the romance and other aspects such as friendship and family; Works as both a swoon-worthy romance and a story about female friendship and sisterly relationships. Supported by 3 sources (source 32, source 10810, source 11398).
• Strong Narration. Kristen DiMercurio’s narration was excellent, bringing personality and nuance to each character, and kept the reviewer going; Love for the story grew when listening to the audiobook. Supported by 2 sources (source 32, source 10808).
• Easy Comfort Read. Reader found it cozy and chill enough to be a nice easy read; Simple and easy to read without needing to double back, good for before bed; Reads like a Netflix teen movie or LGBT Hallmark movie, silly and fun. Supported by 2 sources (source 29, source 10807).
• Strong Prose. Reader felt the writing was much better than most contemporary romance; Writing is divine overall, though one running joke was cringe-inducing. Supported by 2 sources (source 32, source 10807).
• Emotional Intimacy. The love between the leads develops gently and sexily; Claire and Delilah truly see each other even when they don’t see it themselves. Supported by 2 sources (source 10810, source 11398).
• Found Family. Reader appreciated the friendships, sister, and mother-daughter relationships outside the main romance that felt real and important; Celebrates female friendship and sisterly love alongside the romance. Supported by 2 sources (source 32, source 10807).
• Cozy. Reader found the book cozy and comforting, like snuggling into a sweater; Described as cozy and chill enough to make a nice easy read; Despite issues, reader still found it a nice, cozy read. Supported by 2 sources (source 10807, source 11402).

What readers repeatedly flagged

• Character Growth. Reader found it jarring how Delilah suddenly transformed from a chaos beast into someone just present; Reader felt Delilah forgives her childhood bullies a little too easily; The protagonist’s fear of commitment is introduced but fades too easily from the story, reducing its substance. Supported by 2 sources (source 33, source 10807).
• Unlikable Lead. Reader found Delilah’s character insufferable and irritating; Claire annoyed the reviewer with her constant hostility toward her child’s father, helicopter parenting, and trust issues; Delilah acts childishly, knocking over a champagne tower and putting cayenne pepper in someone’s underwear as juvenile pranks. Supported by 4 sources (source 29, source 10807, source 10808, source 11402).
• Weak Prose. Dialogue was stilted and amateurish, like a high schooler’s first creative writing assignment; reader had to DNF; Reader notes it was not the best book with the best writing or well-thought-out scenes; Writing feels unnatural and forced, particularly in descriptions and dialogue. Supported by 3 sources (source 29, source 10807, source 11402).
• Weak Plot. Reader wanted more exploration of family drama between Delilah and Astrid, feeling it was unmined; There was so much baggage to unpack but the story never really got into it; Reader wished they touched more on Delilah being made to feel like an outcast; the brief scenes were not enough. Supported by 3 sources (source 33, source 10807, source 10808).
• Flat Characters. Character Ivy tried too hard to be funny; Character voices across the series including Delilah Green aren’t distinct enough, making the whole series feel generic. Supported by 2 sources (source 10807, source 11402).
• Uneven Pacing. Romance seemed rushed and Delilah forgives childhood bullies too easily; Everything happened so quickly, including Astrid kicking her fiancée to the curb which was very rushed; The first half is engaging with sweet, sharp, satirical elements, but the second half becomes less full-bodied with more familiar beats as the relationship’s edginess is smoothed away. Supported by 2 sources (source 33, source 10807).
• Weak Chemistry. Reader was not really invested in the main romantic relationship; Reader liked Delilah but did not feel the chemistry between the main couple; Beyond liking each other’s looks, there were no sparks flying between the main characters. Supported by 2 sources (source 10807, source 10808).
• Insta Love. Reader felt the romance was insta-love and weird given the protagonist was only there for two weeks; Reader agreed the insta-love was very apparent, though wrote it off as technically childhood acquaintances; Reviewer felt the romance was a little heavy on insta-love despite the slow-burn label. Supported by 2 sources (source 10807, source 10808).

Where reader reactions differ

• Complex Characters. Side characters like Ruby felt like proper characters with realistic behavior for their age; Other characters were fleshed out and felt real rather than just propping up the FMCs; Astrid and Iris were nuanced and sometimes more enjoyable to read about than the main couple. Supported by 7 sources (source 29, source 32, source 33, source 10807, source 10808, source 10810, source 11398).
• Character Growth. Reader found it jarring how Delilah suddenly transformed from a chaos beast into someone just present; Reader felt Delilah forgives her childhood bullies a little too easily; Delilah and Astrid reconciling their stepsister relationship gave the reviewer happy feelings and felt like the real heart of the story. Supported by 6 sources (source 32, source 33, source 10807, source 10808, source 10810, source 11398).
• Humorous. Humor appears on every page and the love story develops hilariously; The reviewer highlights that the book made her laugh; Made reader laugh out loud multiple times. Supported by 5 sources (source 29, source 32, source 33, source 10810, source 11398).
• Strong Prose. Reader felt the writing was much better than most contemporary romance; Writing is divine overall, though one running joke was cringe-inducing. Supported by 2 sources (source 32, source 10807).
• Insta Love. Reader felt the romance was insta-love and weird given the protagonist was only there for two weeks; Reader agreed the insta-love was very apparent, though wrote it off as technically childhood acquaintances; Reviewer felt the romance was a little heavy on insta-love despite the slow-burn label. Supported by 2 sources (source 10807, source 10808).

Individual observations

• Strong Heroine. The heroines are explicitly described as strong.
• Bullying. Contains bullying that is not adequately addressed despite later nuance.
• Grief. The book includes grief and the death of a parent as content elements.
• Pregnancy. One character is a single mother due to unexpected pregnancy in her past.
• Satisfying Ending. Wonderful from start to finish.
• Beginner Friendly. Reader’s first lesbian romance and felt like the best book ever at the time.
• Genre Fans. The reviewer says this is exactly the sapphic romcom she wants, written for queer women about their own lives.
• Low Heat. Sex was very tame, non-descriptive, and infrequent, described as vanilla.
• Explicit Recommendation. Recommended Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings as a FF romance with realistic adult characters; Recommended Those Who Wait by Haley Cass as a favorite queer romance.
• Slow Paced. The book felt long and dragged, with a lot emotionally but not much plot progression.

Reader sources

1. Reddit discussion
2. loumorganauthor.wordpress.com – Independent review
3. dearauthor.com – Independent review
4. Reddit discussion
5. overflowingshelf.com – Independent review
6. lesbrary.com – Independent review
7. thebookdutchesses.com – Independent review
8. Reddit discussion