I picked this book for the cover (I am going through a lilac and women with floral sleeve tattoos phase). The plot also really sounded up my aller: estranged stepsister engaged in wedding thwarting shenanigans in a quaint PNW town and falls in love with the girl next door? Sign me up! Unfortunately, this was a case of the execution being severely lacking. The characters were unlikeable in an annoying, flat way, and the pacing was off. I wanted more shenanigans and friendship banter and less self-hatred from our MCs!
The clincher for me was the use of "the other woman" turn of phrase in almost all of the interactions between Claire and Delilah. I don't know what AHB was going for, but I've never seen this expression used in other sapphic romances. Somehow, we all manage to understand what is going on without it. With it, it takes you out of the scene, which is especially frustrating when things are getting spicy. It's as if there was an ethereal third woman in the room, a mysterious mistress from a 1930s noir. So much promise, so much disappointment!