Three Blissful Days

by Dena Blake

Kendall Jackson has supported her family her whole life, but when her girlfriend unceremoniously dumps her and takes all their clients with her, she’s floundering to find a new income stream and nurse her broken heart. Then her ex bids on the same outdoor renovation project that Kendall desperately needs, and she just loses her mind. That’s the only explanation she has for attempting to make her ex regret her decision by letting her think she’s dating beautiful park ranger Ivy Patterson.

Ivy is a romantic. She wants a real relationship, not a fake one. But her mother won’t stop matchmaking and constant blind dates are more tiring than fun. When Kendall is in trouble, surprisingly, Ivy jumps to her rescue by announcing they’re dating. Ivy doesn’t see the harm, especially if it keeps her mom satisfied. But there’s nothing fake about how attracted she is to Kendall. What happens when their feelings become all too real?

312 pages, Paperback

Published December 16, 2025

About the author

Dena Blake grew up in a small town just north of San Francisco where she learned to play softball, ride motorcycles, and grow vegetables. She eventually moved with her family to the Southwest where she began creating vivid characters in her mind and bringing them to life on paper.

Dena’s first novel, Where the Light Glows, is a Rainbow Award winner for Best Lesbian Debut and A Country Girl's Heart is a Goldie Finalist.

Reviews

[Sam’s Sapphic Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5⭐️ Rounded Up

I really don’t like rating books low, but I can’t in good conscience give this any more stars than I have. There were a lot of issues, like a lot. All of the characters were really exaggerated in their emotions and actions, it felt super stagnant and didn’t flow at all.

Every scene didn’t feel like it connected quite right with the one prior, and there were a lot of grammatical errors (I say this with the knowledge that it is an ARC, and will most likely be fixed by publication time).

I don’t enjoy books that’s rush all of the emotions/feelings when characters have known each other for less than 2 weeks because it feels in-genuine since they literally don’t know one another. It makes everything feel super awkward between the characters.

Overall it just feels so unrealistic and SUPER dramatized. Ivy’s mom literally thinks she’s having a heart attack because Ivy lied about her and Kendall’s relationship being real, AND HAD TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL.

It felt like a bad soap opera, and I was super bummed while trying to push through this.

I still want to say thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes for this ARC.

[Sue Plant · Rating 4 out of 5]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

kendall jackson is starting again after her girlfriend of 4 years dumps her and then ends their business partnership kendall has no other choice but o get it all together and start over

so she puts a bid in for a new job and goes all out for it

ivy patterson is a park ranger and she loves her job what she doesnt like is when people leave the parks without considering the wildlife by leaving their rubbish behind them

so when ivy sees kendall doing just that she marches over and demands that kendall picks up her rubbish... poor kendall hadnt realised she had done anything wrong but she goes above and beyone leaving ivy just a little bit awkward on their first encounter

its a fun first meeting and its not the last when ivy realises that kendall has put a bid in for the restoration and that she has to be the one that takes her round...

fun times ahead for both of them when kendall ex turns up bidding for the same job and ivy is fed up with all the match making that her family are doing so when the idea of pretending to be a couple happens with kendall what could go wrong.... lots...lmao

not a bad read and the chemistry between kendall and ivy was hot ...love reading about the woods and the mountains and life on them... so i really enjoyed this book

[Aleana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kendall is recovering over being left by her ex girlfriend Cassie of four years which shocks her on top of that she loses her business because Cassie wants to end their business relationship and has to start all over. Kendall feels things would start to go right if she can land national park project. Ivy is senior park ranger who gets annoyed when people don’t treat parks and wildlife with respect and when Kendall does something she wasn’t aware she did she gets an earful from Ivy from there it’s becomes awkward. Kendall wanting to save face when she sees Cassie tells her that she and Ivy are dating. This was cute slow burn of fake turning real and I like describing of mountains woods and wildlife on them. Kendall best friend Noah was too much making his girlfriend and Kendall uncomfortable at times Ivy father trying catch her in a lie with the relationship but overall alright read.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

[Rach · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three blissful days by Dena Blake, follows recently dumped Kendall and park ranger Ivy.

Kendall runs her own landscape architecture firm now that her romantic and professional partner Cassie decided to end both relationships, she still wants to follow up on a bid for a national park project. Ivy one of the senior rangers has an abrupt introduction with Kendall. Cassie is also there to bid on the same project when things get tricky as they booked their room before they split, Ivy decides to create a fake on the spot relationship rather than let awkwardness play out between the two exes. Leading on to an attraction between the two where the line of what is real vs fake blurs over apparently three blissful days.

It was cute in places, very much a slow burn with a fake dating story, there are elements of poor communication between the two. A childhood trauma of being poor. Which I actually took issue with, as this really was not executed well and made Kendall look a bit strange due to it not fully fleshed out nor made sense when you met her mother later in the story. Ivy comes across a bit blunt and cold. I don’t think this was the intention and Kendall just seems to have no personality, great that she can cook though!

Given their introduction to each other the fake dating to save Kendall was odd. Ivy just has an altercation with Kendall in the car park then decided to play her girlfriend just to make in reality Ivy feel less awkward - honestly you could have walked away, it didn’t even evolve you!!!

For me the plot was all over the place. There is drama with Cassie (the ex) which honestly was ridiculous, an insta post that we will never know what it was but it caused Ivy’s mother to have an explosive reaction that lead her to the hospital, very over the top! Ivy father is basically trying to catch Ivy out of her fake dating lie and be her dull moral compass around ethics.

Then we have Noah who is Kendall’s best friend and childhood ex that obviously still holds a torch, the author basically wrote a character that vibes “I can make you straight if you give me a chance” whilst he is making things uncomfortable with his own girlfriend and making Kendall feel very uncomfortable as well. This is not how a friend acts. We also have Shauna, Ivy ex and best friend who set her up with somebody that broke Ivy I think, again it’s not explored so why bring it up!

I just can’t believe it all happened in three days, it felt like weeks had passed then I was brought back into the realisation that it was only day 2. So much happens it’s just hard to process. Also at points it is quite clear they are both into each other but still they are not sure where they both stand. I mean they have a spicy scene then the next day it’s back to being fake but everyone knew it was fake by then so why are they still pretending now, some chapters felt back to front and this one part of the plot that I struggled with.

This is a ARC from NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books, I just really hope that this is re-edited before it comes out on the 16th December as honestly it’s okay but it really did frustrate me when it could have been so much better and an authentic romance, if your looking to read fake dating sapphic romance I would advise there are much betters versions out there than this but if your looking for an easy read and you don’t care about the plot maybe this is for you.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kendall Jackson is a landscape designer in Oklahoma and shares a landscape design business with her girlfriend, Cassie. One day Cassie comes home and breaks up with Kendall seemingly out of the blue. Then a short time later Cassie begins to clear out of their shared office space and tells Kendall that she can no longer work with her. Kendall is shocked and hurt that after four years Cassie would decide to not only end their personal relationship, but their professional one as well. However, Kendall decides to pull herself up and begins work on a landscape revitalization bid for Diamond Mountain State Park in Arkansas located about four hours from her location in Oklahoma.

Kendall is invited for a tour of the Diamond Mountain park area, as one of the potential bidders. When she steps outside of her vehicle on the first day she meets the gorgeous park ranger, Ivy Patterson (aka "the litter czar") when a wrapper flies from her car to underneath her vehicle. Their initial interaction gets off to a very shaky start with Ivy accusing Kendall of littering in the park. Things quickly rebound when Cassie shows up to bid on the same job and Ivy takes on the role of Kendall's fake girlfriend. Ivy instigates the fake girlfriend scenario to help Kendall but also so her mom will stop setting her up on dates with any available women in town. The story goes on to explain what happens when they catch real feelings for each other and when their lies also catch up with them.

This story flowed very quickly for me with short chapters that kept the storyline moving. The romance between Kendall and Ivy took some time to develop in the grand scheme of the story with the single love scene not occurring until the latter third of the book. The main weakness that I felt in the story was the scenario with Cassie that temporarily broke apart the tenuous relationship that Kendall and Ivy were developing. It was felt like a very weak attempt to separate the main characters for a while before the ending. 3.75 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5 Stars)Kendall Jackson gets dumped by her girlfriend and business partner. As a landscape designer she is putting her all into getting a bid on a contract for a state park in Arkansas. She did the original submission of a bid and paperwork. As part of the bid she and a few others are invited to stay at the lodge and create a design. She is surprised when her ex shows up claiming the bid is hers as well. In the meantime Kendall meets and becomes friends with Ivy Patterson, a ranger in the Park. When there is only one room for the bidding company Ivy suggests that Kendall can room with her because they are dating.

I was okay with the fake dating set up but Kendall has a friend in the area so the sharing a room trope falls away quickly. There seemed to be a lot of starts and stops in this story that didn’t always make sense. Kendall didn’t expect her ex partner to show up because she didn’t think state contracts were very profitable. Later it is referred to as a cash cow job. Kendall also has strong issues with a past of food insecurity. It is brought up several times and then disappears from the story. I wasn’t even particularly fond of Kendall in the beginning because she seemed unaware how she contributed to the break up of her own relationship. Ivy is earnest and loves her work as a ranger. She doesn’t mind lying to her friends and family but when she thinks Kendall lied and leaps to the worst conclusions. Ivy’s best friend has no boundaries about getting involved in Ivy’s love life and it was annoying and not funny or endearing. Ivy’s dad seemed to be the only character that felt like a solid person.

I had too many issues with storyline continuity and side characters that felt over the top including Kendall’s ex. The story wraps up for a predictable ending but left me wondering if they’d still be together a couple of years down the road. I wanted to like the story more than I did. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC and I am leaving an honest review.

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seriously, another flop and I hate saying it.

Kendall does everything for her family and when her girlfriend leaves her and takes all their business with her, Kendall is fed up, but the last straw is when her ex sweeps in to take a bid right out from under her. So in revenge, she says she's dating park ranger, Ivy.

Ivy is a romantic and her mom just wants to see her settled down and happy, but Ivy is sick and tired of all the blind dates and etc that she doesn't see the harm in fake dating Kendall. Only issue is when she develops feelings for her and wishes the relationship was real.

The MC's had no depth and everything they didn't seem to be what any normal person would do. The scenes didn't flow cohesively together and felt all over the place, not to mention the grammatical errors.

The instant love I absolutely hate. Within two weeks, it's not real, and I couldn't get into the story or invested in the characters. It was over the top and unbelievable. I tried very hard to get into this, but it was struggle to finish.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Fran Sappharc · Rating 3 out of 5]

We have a baddie, we have a contentious first meeting. We have loads in common with the mains. 30% in and I'm wondering what will fill the rest of the book? However then little snippets are dropped and I am interested, not necessarily for the romance but what is the actual story with the parents?
My interest was held so certainly plenty to fill the book but I almost got whiplash at 75%. The ex gets involved, tries to blackmail one main about the other, then asks if they can work together, then speaks to the other main telling her she and her ex are still together and is believed enough that the takes space from her love interest. For me, this has been the weakest part of the book..... Also there seems to be a second job opportunity that got mentioned and now seems off the radar..... It all feels a bit odd. Also I never found out about the parents?
Happy ending but I never found out which version of the parents was accurate, the ex was also still a bit confusing. My interest was held so it is a 3, but maybe rounded up to a 3.

[Ele · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great start to the book that lights a fire under you, infuriating you and really makes you sympathise with Kendall and hate Cassie. You don’t gain any sympathy for Cassie, she is a character you love hate!

Both Kendall and Ivy are nice sweet people but sadly after the jaw dropping opening I wasn’t overly drawn to either of them. The story is cosy and well researched but something was unfortunately missing for me to engage with the story as much as I wanted to; maybe it’s just because I am ill and I haven’t taken enough of it in.

I think there were a few times when the wrong character’s name was used, as there were moments in the book when these mistakes made it read as someone was talking to themselves but they clearly weren’t and the it need the other person in the conversation to respond.

This book did teach me that there is so much more that goes into landscaping and planning for a cohesive landscaping project that I found really interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the opportunity to read this book made me appreciate national parks even more.

[AC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the premise of the story to be enticing. The forestry setting and, equally, the professions of the main characters. Reading is like a vacation adventure for me. I love to get lost in the characters, the setting, and the storyline. And when a book really draws me in, I cannot put it down.
This took me more time to read; I kept putting it down. There were inconsistencies that made me go back and check if I read something wrong. I did enjoy the descriptive narrative of the forestry scenes. I felt as though I could imagine some of them, which I always appreciate from authors.
I couldn’t say that any character truly stood out for me, though both main characters have that potential. But I couldn’t really feel the depth of character in either one. Just my opinion; you may feel entirely different. Just sayin’.
As always, any opinions are voluntary and exclusively mine!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books.
#NetGalley #BoldStrokesBooks

[SusieQ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kendall and Ivy are the main characters in the book. The story starts with their relationship breakup, after which Kendall continues alone with a landscape architecture bid. A series of circumstances leads them into a fake relationship, which works well as a plot device at first.

However, when the ex reappears later in the story and Ivy believes her despite everything that has happened before, this felt unconvincing to me. While I liked the overall concept of the story, the execution didn’t fully live up to its potential.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing an ARC.
#NetGalley #BoldStrokesBooks