Discovering Delilah: An LGBT Love Story

Harborside Nights, Book 2

By: Melissa Foster

Narrated by: Andi Arndt, Ava Erickson

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Discovering Delilah is a Lesbian romance (#LGBT).

After the death of her parents on the day of her college graduation, Delilah Armstrong thought she could finally follow her heart and come out to her closest friends, but the guilt of going against her parents' beliefs haunts her. The feelings she has for her best friend, Ashley, are stronger than anything she's felt before, but Delilah has never even kissed a girl, and fear stops her at every turn.

Ashley Carver promised herself that she would never again date another girl who wasn't out, but that was before she met intoxicatingly sweet and sexy Delilah.

When another girl offers to teach Delilah the ropes, it changes Delilah's whole world and gives her the courage to go after the only girl she really wants. But coming out isn't as easy as Delilah imagined, and moving past her parents' death and the feelings of guilt she is left with is even harder. The intense passion between Ashley and Delilah is too strong to deny, but coming together means risking everything.

Discovering Delilah is an edgy, evocative, romantic story of friendship, family, and the courage to love.

Coming soon is the full Harborside Nights series:

• Catching Cassidy (Het)
• Discovering Delilah (F/F)
• Tempting Tristan (M/M)

Characters from the Love in Bloom series will appear in the Harborside Nights books. Harborside Nights is a sexy, hot, and evocatively real contemporary romance series that follows a group of friends who have known one another for years as "summer" friends and now come together after college to build their lives. They're tough, edgy, and accepting - most of the time. Discovering Delilah is written in the loving, raw, and emotional voice listeners have come to love by New York Times and USA Today best-selling, award-winning author Melissa Foster.

©2018 Melissa Foster (P)2018 Melissa Foster

i love the story

this story felt so realistic and i loved their story. the only negative thing i can say is, some parts feel like you’re being lectured too. i get the internal fight that’s happening and needed to bring it up but it was a little too much. especially towards the end, it got a bit cheesy and over lecturing. BUT other than that, i loved their story and will happily listen to more audio books written by this author! i genuinely enjoyed majority of it!

Loyalisa30

Melissa Foster is the best❣️This was a great friend’s to lovers romance about three women and their individual perceptions about relationships. The emotional insecurities, feelings of repressed desires and what truly feels right are avidly displayed with descriptive incidents throughout the story. Andi Arndt and Ava Erickson are both phenomenal narrators and gave so much emotion to the heroines in the story! This was a great read!

Amazing Story of Self Discovery

I had such a good time listening to this story.

We all know that, intending to or not, parents have a massive impact on their children. But how do you come to terms with a self identity that goes against all that your parents have drilled into you? How do you move forward from that when you can't talk it out, work it out or get closure?

Delilah is living that reality. She's aware of her own thoughts and feelings, but hasn't put any of it into practice. Ashley makes her want to move forward, to be true to herself and see if there is something real. But while Delilah's trying to balance the two sides of her scale (her desire for Ashley vs. the guilt from her parents) there is a lot of amazing falling in love to witness. Add in friends who already knew, are totally supportive helping her along and her own questioning and growth and we get a beautiful story.

The narration from Andi & Ava is so perfect. I loved just closing my eyes and being swept away by their voices.

Melissa Foster really MUST write more like this!

This was my first F/F audiobook and am I glad I gave it a try. Wonderful story, eye opener , heart warming and hot sex scenes. The narrators were perfect ! I love Andy Arndt and Ava Erickson. Together they are magic. Really brought life to these characters.
I loved how Jenesa ( not sure of spelling) was not in the story for drama , everyone truly does need a friend like her in their life.
It’s a good story about how judgements or even perceived judgements cast on another person can have very real and lasting negative impact in others lives.
It also reminds us of the vast difference in generation beliefs.
We need more stories of this nature to help enlighten those living with blinders on .
Ashley’s parents should be the rule but I fear are actually the exception in most cases.
I’d recommend this story to any young adult struggling with their sexuality. Sex scenes make it closer to R rating than pg-13 probably though.

GREAT READ!

I enjoyed it! This series deal with gay relationships and I am very pleased with the sensitivity that Melissa Foster has used with approaching them! The narration was great and will keep you entertained! The author did a great job with the character builds and plot! I look forward to reading the next book in this series! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

discovery, growth, understanding, respect,

First I have to give much respect and hi fives to the narrator duo Andi Arndt and Ava Erickson. These ladies brought two very different yet similar young ladies to life. Their grief, sorrow, confusion, loss, connection, understanding and more together to paint the fab picture that Melissa Foster put to words.

New Adult Romance LGBTQ with one woman that was coming into her time of discovery and loss. Delilah has graduated college and lost her parent all the same day. She loved her parents and do not want to dishonor them but she wants to be true to herself. With the way that her parents took the news of her coming out, Delilah is confused and a bit hurt. These things were a lot for her to deal with at this time in her life. Delilah and Ashley met at the seaside vacation spot of Harborside. They hit it off right from the start. Painful circumstances brought Delilah there, but running from grief and more she finds that she is not staying in her childhood vacation home. She finds refuge with a family friend. no
Self discovery and self-awareness was a challenge but also a release for her. She does lots to grown up and grow beyond the expectations of other.

Ashley has her own reasoning for keeping her friendship with Delilah and not taking it any further. She's been in the place where her partner was not out and not sure. Ashley knew who she was and what she was striving for in life. Delilah was still playing catch-up. These two young women were working to take ownership of their lives just in different ways.

This was a sweet romance that required new skills and patience from both parties. NA-LGBTQ+ was done with the complication of accepting ones self and then being able to open to ones friends and family. This was full of what I have come to expect from Melissa Foster. Family, friends, and lots of love.

not for me

I have read a lot of Ms. Foster's books but this was not a favorite for me. I realize that Delilah has a lot if issues that she needs to work through from grief over her the death of her parents to her sexuality but over all I found her to be a really weak character. She spends a majority of the book going back and forth over her feelings for Ashley and the perceptions that she felt that her parents would have as well as thinking that others would not approve of her being a lesbian. Ashley was the stronger character and comfortable with her sexuality and wants her partner to be the same which was difficult since Delilah spent most of the book not wanting to acknowledge their relationship. Add in the Janessa character who is interested in Deliliah, has a hook up with her but does not want a relationship with her and is a character that Ashley is clearly jealous of who keeps reappearing throughout the portion of this book that I was able to get through.
Overall, there was a lot that was going on in this book and it was hard to keep my interest. I generally enjoy Ms. Foster's books but this turned out not to be the book for me.
The performance by the narrators was done well by Ms. Arndt and Ms. Erikson and if the story was for me I would have enjoyed their entire performance.

Cringeworthy LGBTQ representation in a okay package

I went into this book with such hope. I have been seeking out adult contemporary f/f, and I’ve read and liked Melissa Foster’s work before. Right off the bat, I was discomfited by the “teaching” encounter with a friend at the start of the book. It only got more uncomfortable from there, with paranoia about being bisexual vs. lesbian. Please (please) read Dahlia’s review on goodreads for excellent detail of why this book is full of problematic representation. Do real people exhibit these thoughts and behaviors? It’s likely, but they are harmful and I hate to think of how many readers might have this as their only exposure to this community.
The core story was all over the place for me with the budding sweet and sexy romance between Delilah and Ashley who clearly adore each other and want to be good partners and the way Delilah is working through the death of her parents and their lack of acceptance of her sexuality. I found Delilah’s evolution of her feelings to be really simplified and accelerated, and the ending of this book was too tidy and kind of preachy to me. I did like the supporting friend characters and I loved Ashley’s family. I may still read Tristan’s book but I will go in wary.
I received an audio copy for honest review from freeaudiobookcodes.com, and I think the narrators did a good job. I have listened to both before, and they perform with emotion and nuance.