It's the second in a trilogy. 'Delilah Green Doesn't Care' comes first. I read them back-to-back and the character growth across the books, especially for Astrid, is really well done. Start with book one.
Wait, really? I totally thought it was a standalone when I picked it up. I saw it all over BookTok and just dove in. I was a little confused at first about who Delilah and Claire were, but the book explains their relationships well enough that I never felt lost. The central romance between Astrid and Jordan is self-contained and lovely.
After finishing, I found out it's technically part of a series, but it functions perfectly fine on its own. I actually liked coming into this world backwards; meeting Astrid first made me more curious about Delilah, so I went back and read the first one after. It worked for me! So yeah, it's part of a series, but don't let that stop you from jumping in here if this synopsis grabs you.
I just finished 'Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail' last week, and I was surprised to see a few people online asking this. It's absolutely a sequel! It's the second book in Ashley Herring Blake's 'Bright Falls' series. The first one is 'Delilah Green Doesn't Care'. That book focuses on Delilah and Claire, while this one shifts to Astrid and Jordan.
You can read it on its own, I suppose—Blake does a decent job filling in the gaps—but you'd miss a ton of context. Astrid's whole arc with her stepfamily, her icy exterior, her complicated relationship with Delilah... it all starts in the first book. Seeing her go from a bit of an antagonist to a fully realized, vulnerable lead is the best part. The third book, 'Iris Kelly Doesn't Date', is already out too, so it's a complete trilogy. I'd really recommend starting from the beginning; the friend group dynamics are half the fun.
This is a pet peeve of mine with modern romance novels—publishers don't make the series connections clear enough on the cover sometimes. Yes, it's Book 2 in the 'Bright Falls' series. It's not a direct continuation of a single plot, but it's a shared universe with overlapping characters. Think of Bright Falls as the setting, like a TV show where each season focuses on a different couple within the same friend group.
You'll get cameos and subplots with characters from the other books. If you hate spoilers for previous relationship outcomes, you should read in order. If that doesn't bother you, the reading experience for Astrid's specific story won't be ruined. The series order is 'Delilah Green', then 'Astrid Parker', then 'Iris Kelly'. Simple as that.
2026-07-13 09:27:25
4
View All Answers
Scan code to download App
Related Books
My Secret, My Bully, My Mates. Series
Miss L
9.7
2.7M
This is a three part series all in one place.
Skylar just wants to be an asset to her pack. She's the daughter of the Beta and her brother is set to take the title after graduation. Her father wants nothing to do with her and is constantly belittling the things she does accomplish. She is the top of her class at school and the top warrior, but no one knows because she hides in the shadows as much as possible.Her bullies torture her, but never get caught. She takes them on time and time again though to protect other innocent members of her pack. Her brother and his friends ignore her existence and all she wants to do is get out of a pack that doesn't seem to want her and become an Elite Warrior for the Alpha King. She wants to feel wanted and accepted somewhere. Her whole world changes when a new girl shows up and decides to befriend Skylar after an intense training session. She brings Skylar out of the shadows and brings to light the darker side of pack members and pack culture. Can Skylar get past her past and live the life she wants?
"This isn't just a school. It's something more."
Zeda Iverson thought high school was done, but her parents insisted on Shadowbrook Academy – a mysterious school she'd never heard of – instead of college.
She soon discovers Shadowbrook hides secrets, and the four powerful princes who rule the academy are all obsessed with her.
But their attention becomes the least of her worries as a dangerous revolution looms, threatening to destroy the academy and the princes Zeda has fallen in love with.
Only Zeda holds the power to stop the coming chaos. Yet, her abilities are locked away.
Can she unlock her potential and save everyone she loves before it's too late?
Don't Date Your Best Friend (The Unfolding Duet 2 Books)
Mahi
10
102.7K
He shouldn’t have imagined her lying naked on his bed. She shouldn’t have imagined his devilishly handsome face between her legs.
But it was too late.
Kiara began noticing Ethan's washboard abs when he hopped out of the pool, dripping wet after swim practice. Ethan began gazing at Kiara’s golden skin in a bikini as a grown woman instead of the girl next door he grew up with.
That kiss should have never happened.
It was just one moment in a lifetime of moments, but they both felt its power. They knew the thrumming in their veins and desperation in their bodies might give them all they ever wanted or ruin everything if they followed it.
Kiara and Ethan knew they should have never kissed. But it's too late to take that choice back, so they have a new one to make.
Fall for each other and risk their friendship or try to forget one little kiss that might change everything.
PREVIEW:
“If you don’t want to kiss me then... let’s swim.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Naked.”
“What?”
“I always wanted to try skinny dipping. And I really want to get out of these clothes.”
“What if someone catches you... me, both?”
“We will be in the pool, Ethan. And no one can see us from the living room.” I smirked when I said, “Unless you want to watch me while I swim, you can stay here.”
His eyes darkened, and he looked away, probably thinking the same when I noticed red blush creeping up his neck and making his ears and cheeks flush. Cute.
“Come on, Ethan. Don’t be a chicken...”
“Fine.”
His voice was rough when he said, “Remove that sweater first.”
Isadora didn’t want to come to Ashwyck Academy.
It wasn’t the haunting towers or the iron gates that unnerved her. It wasn’t the students—dark, beautiful, terrifying things cloaked in magic and menace. It was what it meant.
Coming here was a last resort. A whispered admission from her parents that something was wrong with her. That despite being born of a temptress and a mind-bending killer, despite all the bloodlines and rituals and whispered prophecies—Isadora was still painfully, tragically human.
She was quiet, clever, and careful. Not powerful. Not wicked. Not like the others.
Her parents called it “late blooming.” The High Table called it “defective.” But no one said it out loud. Instead, they tucked her into Ashwyck like a final gamble and hoped the academy could awaken whatever dark inheritance slumbered beneath her skin.
She hadn’t wanted to come. She still doesn’t belong.
But Ashwyck has its own secrets.
And Isadora is about to discover that the parts of her she’s most afraid of are the ones they’ve been waiting for.
The Academy of The Ascendant - Book 1 Marked by Starlight
Moonlight Gold
0
1.1K
She was never meant to survive their world.
Now she’s the only one who can burn it down.
Lyra thought she was just a girl with strange dreams and a birthmark that shimmered beneath moonlight. But when a celestial event rips her from Earth and drops her into the brutal halls of the Academy of the Ascendant, she discovers a deadly truth: she’s the lost heir of a realm that erased her bloodline—and she’s carrying the forbidden magic that could unravel it all.
The Academy is ruled by power and hierarchy. The weak are crushed. The strong ascend. And the Triad—three elite heirs born of elemental fire, storm, and air—will do anything to break her. Until they realize she’s more powerful than all of them.
Mocked. Hunted. Desired.
As Lyra unlocks the four elemental affinities no student should possess, she becomes the center of a prophecy that the Council has killed to keep buried. But it’s the fifth element—the forbidden Void—that marks her for something more.
Survival means mastering her magic.
Love could cost her everything.
And rebellion might just start with a kiss.
Perfect for fans of Zodiac Academy, Throne of Glass, and The Cruel Prince, Marked by Starlight is the explosive first book in a dark fantasy romance series filled with elemental magic, enemies-to-lovers heat, and a heroine who refuses to bow.
Annalise McDermott gets a free ticket to attend an elite boarding school in Spain after winning an intellectual decathlon quiz. She has been a nerd all her life and had no problem with that. In fact, she felt quite elated to be the most famous person at the bottom of the social radar. Once she's acquainted with her new school, she accidentally gets hurled into the spotlight and finds herself intermingling with the most popular kids in school.
Just when she starts thinking things can't get more complicated, her simple life gets thrown into a shadowy haze. She gets employed by three gorgeous girls to help break the heart of triple-timing campus hottie-Dean Richardson- after they discover they've each been dating him.