This was such a good read! I love a romance book that focuses on the characters individual development alongside their growth together and I love how it had that with the focus on mental health. The social media bit was really interesting but I found the whole secret of their online identities to be a little unnessicary at times. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to see what others this author writes!

I am a huge fan of epistolary fiction so when I saw that Flirty Little Secret by Jessica Lepe was a Read Now option, I jumped at the chance to read it as a fun option. Once I got into the story, I realized quickly that the author delves into some deeper topics. At points I felt like I was inside of the protagonist, Lucy's, head, having also struggled with many of her mental health issues. I loved her relationship with Fletcher, both online and offline, and their friendship and eventual chemistry was so sweet. I particularly enjoyed the exploration into how social media can become a vital tool and lifeline for some of us, As a spoonie and an introvert, I relate to this completely. I applaud Jessica Lepe for tackling more serious subject matter and for a heroine that shows the reader how to love ourselves more as she learns herself. I look forward to reading more titles by this author!

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the advanced reader copy.

i feel the trope of "girls with a double life" is just getting started with books like this one. it was done in euphoria, even. i didn't like how childish the writing came off.

So this little meet cute gave off some strong New Girl vibes. I’m talking Jessica Day meeting Ryan Geauxinue awkwardness. And then was just lovely the entire way after that.

I didn’t love the ‘You’ve Got Mail’ type of storyline (even though that’s 90% of why I requested this ARC) and I think its because it felt like they fell deeply in love too quickly. Give me more awkwardness. Give me more banter (a la Megan Ryan and Tom Hanks). Give me less of the ex 🙄 and less of the Konfident Kids Klub and the name abbreviation jokes 🤢

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Flirty Little Secret is one book I was fully expecting to love. I’m still not sure where I’m at with it though.

I found the romance to be very cute, I enjoyed how the author mixed in the social media aspect of today’s world.

Can I say I think we need to add miscommunication trope warnings. I would skip every single book that had a 3rd act breakup over miscommunication. I am a hater and I will not lie about it.

Also can someone explain to me like I’m 5, why "Cool Kids Club" needed to be changed and have its first letters to "KKK". Please because I’m not understanding it.

While I did like the book, there was more things I disliked about it. I would say they’re minor things so I would still recommend it. I understand not everyone is as picky as me 😅

I adored this story so much! Lucy and Fletcher has such adorable banter both online and in person. I saw the third act breakup coming from a mile away but, loved the personal grand gesture.

This was such a cute romance between a guidance counselor and the hot new teacher at her school. Lucy was a relatable main character and it was easy to root for her. The secondary characters here were all unique and added to the story, especially Lucy’s chaotic and charming family. I would LOVE to read a book following Amira; I guffawed at a few of the things that came out of her mouth.

I don’t love it when you can see the cause of the third act break up from a mile away, and in this one you can pretty much see it from page one. I did think the reconciliation was realistic and Fletcher’s “grand gesture” was sweet and fitting his personality.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for a review copy. I’ll definitely read from this author again.

Thank you forever for both the eARC and the physical book! Lucy's got a double life: by day, she's the quiet, anxious teacher trying to keep it together, but by night, she's the confident, savvy advice-giver on Instagram. When her secret online persona catches the eye of her new coworker, Aldrich, things start to get interesting. What Lucy didn't expect was for Aldrich to be her online confidant all along. With their identities revealed, they've got to figure out if there's something real between them or if it's all just online chemistry.

I breezed through this one while lounging in a hammock, only pausing when the sun disappeared. Lucy's journey of balancing her two personas and navigating a budding romance with Aldrich was such a fun and sweet ride. It's a quick read that'll leave you with a smile on your face.

I loved it. It’s so cute. I identified with Lucy a lot and I’ve never felt more seen. I fell in love with the characters…although I won’t lie I did side eye Georgia a bit. The only thing I didn’t like about the story was the whole fletcher not telling her about who he was and her getting mad about it. I thought it wasn’t that big of a deal so I was annoyed with that. In his defense he did try to tell her. But over all loved it. I wanted to cry and it gives me hope. I recommend this book

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing - this one is unfortunately going to be a DNF at. 41% - I just can’t get into this story and I’m having a hard time believing the chemistry between these two characters.

Super Cute Rom-Com. Loved that they didn't know that they had been speaking with each other for years and now know when then meet in real life. The characters were great, funny story line, and the sweet romance was perfect.

loved this romance and how the characters were able to figure things out and find their way to love. Loved the friends .

Flirty Little Secret is, as the title suggests, a fun and cheerful romantic comedy, yet it still manages to tackle some serious subjects while on the way to a happy ending.

As an online presence @TheMissGuidedCounselor, Lucy Galindo is able to channel all of the things she wishes she could be in person – confident, sociable, and with everything well in hand. The reality is different though, as Lucy struggles with chronic depression and anxiety while doing her best in her job as a guidance counsellor at a local school. Online she’s made some friendships, including user @BravesGuy93, with whom she’s formed a connection. In reality, she’s the professional who just managed to assault new history teacher Aldritch Fletcher’s privates with a cup of coffee in the cafeteria on the first day of school. Mortified, Lucy flees to her private hiding space to confide in her best friend, teacher Nia, leaving Fletcher to figure out how to turn his day around. Fortunately he’s rescued by gym teacher Brodie (who soon becomes a good friend) and things improve.

Fletcher used to teach at a private school but left to help take care of his mother when his father abruptly left her for his (now pregnant) secretary. Teaching at a public school will be a new experience for sure, but already the staff have welcomed him, minor incident with Lucy notwithstanding. There is one glitch; his ex-girlfriend Georgia (who cheated on him with his brother) is also a teacher at the school. With all the drama in his life past and present, one thing he can count on is his online friendship as @BravesGuy93 with @TheMissGuidedCounselor.

Despite their inauspicious start, Lucy and Fletcher soon get to have normal school interactions and gradually develop a friendship that turns into a relationship. They both have insecurities and faults but sharing these things draws them closer. Until one day Fletcher realizes that the coincidences of Lucy’s life and the things he knows about @TheMissGuidedCounselor are too many and he now knows her secret identity. But how long will he maintain the secret, and will it damage what he and Lucy have built in person when she also discovers the truth?

I enjoyed how this story played out. We learn lots about Lucy and Fletcher, both from their online conversations and their in-person interactions. Fletcher’s family is definitely a trial for him as he navigates trying to help his mother stand on her own two feet after his father’s betrayal, and dealing with Georgia again brings up the pain and heartbreak he’s never really dealt with. Conversely, Lucy is very close with her family, sharing Shabbat dinners together every week and working part time at her family’s restaurant. Her Mexican and Sephardic Moroccan Jewish background (the fusion of which is their restaurant’s cuisine) make for lively family discussions and delicious food. They are very supportive of her over her mental health problems but Lucy still feels like the odd one out, and sometimes has trouble determining how to fit in with the different parts of her background.

As Lucy and Fletcher get closer, their relationship becomes intimate and we get some sexy scenes. Fletcher is clearly enamoured with Lucy, but also has the guilty secret that he knows who she is online - and since Lucy hasn’t told him about that, he doesn’t know how to approach telling her. Naturally, things come to a head at the worst possible time, and Fletcher has to make up for his big mistake with a grovel that is super sweet and gives Lucy the happy ending she deserves. As a début story, the author tackles a lot of subjects but represents her own mental health challenges in Lucy’s persona. Overall Flirty Little Secret was a very entertaining story with interesting characters and a sweet romance both on and off line. It does get a bit overwhelming sometimes with all of the drama going on (including with an after school club that Lucy runs) which is what keeps this story out of DIK territory but I hope there will be stories about Lucy’s sisters (and her best friend Nia) to come.

I think it was very cute! It gave Abby Jimenez vibes and I reaaaaally appreciate that. I did have a hard time getting into this book but once I did, I couldn't put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an e-arc!

Lucy is a well liked school guidance counselor, who also struggles with anxiety. What no one knows about Lucy is that she is also TheMissGuidedCounselor, an anonymous online personality who offers advice and uplifting messages to others. Lucy thinks of the online presence as who she strives to be, rather than who she actually is. Through her online profile, Lucy has made a few friends in the academia world, including BravesGuy93. BravesGuy has become a close friend of Lucy’s, and the two enjoy chatting every day. He’s expressed that he wants to meet her in person, but she always refuses, insisting that they stay anonymous.

Fletcher arrives at a new school as a history teacher, happy to get away from his previous school and have a distraction from his hard to deal with family drama. Fletcher is involved in a super embarrassing accident on his first day, one that also involves Lucy. Fletcher has some interest in Lucy from the start, but things get a lot more complicated when he learns that his ex girlfriend is also an employee at the school- and she wants to get back together with him. Trying to figure out how he can let his ex down gently while also getting to know Lucy better, Fletcher turns to his online profile, BravesGuy93, and seeks advice from his good friend TheMissGuidedCounselor.

As Fletcher spends more time with Lucy and continues confiding in TheMissGuidedCounselor, he quickly realizes they are the same person. Fletcher is worried Lucy will be a bit freaked out when she finds out that he is BravesGuy93, given her insistence that they never meet. Fletcher has to figure out how to tell Lucy what he’s discovered without harming their budding relationship or years- long friendship.

This book was really cute and I really enjoyed the relationship between Lucy and Fletcher. They are both genuinely good people, and it was nice to see how caring Lucy was for her students. It was also refreshing to see a realistic portrayal of anxiety and how impactful it can be. They both definitely had some good character growth throughout the book, and there were a lot of awesome side characters as well.

I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys reading rom-coms

Okay we see you and we stan! I love the mental health awareness and rep in here! It made me feel seen. I think this was a well written and well executed story and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Witty and fun, paired with characters who you can't help but relate to is always a winner in my book. Flirty Little Secret was the perfect mix of characters with flaws trying to grow, drama, and love. There's a great bit of humor and light heartedness that happens that takes even those tense moments and topics and gives it some lightness. The dynamics between not only our main characters, but also the side, are entertaining and adds to the story rather than distracts.

Also have to give a shout out to the nuerodiversity rep in this one. It's always refreshing to see these bits added in and makes a read that much more relatable.

I loved every single second of Flirty Little Secret by Jessica Lepe and never wanted it to end. I love books like that and hope to see this in my library soon.

There was a lot of things I liked about this book.
I’d recommend this book to my book club. I love the way this book dealt with mental health.

I’m not into kids and I’m a hard sell for romcoms, so when this book was sent to me for review, I wasn’t initially sold, but I do LOVE You’ve Got Mail. That aspect of this book was well-done.
Aside the unbelievable coincidence that the main man, Fletcher, is messaging his influencer crush and they happen to work at the same school, I could suspend belief to enjoy that storyline. But, I had beef with crush, Lucy, being a guidance counselor. I’m all for mental health rep, but she seemed a little too unstable to me to be so connected with young, vulnerable kids- then all those kids were gossiping about school staff romance and it felt even more uncomfortable. I wanted her to take a step back and work through her issues, not dump them in students and spread faux inspiration on Instagram (I also have beef with the whole fake self help genre of social media these days, soooo).
I felt sad for Fletcher and his mess of a mother, but I felt like that dynamic was also in appropriate and made me uncomfortable. And, of course, his ex works at the school also. So much suspended belief to navigate here.
I dunno. I probably just shouldn’t have read this, cause it’s truly not my genre. I had high hopes and it didn’t live up. There’s lots of good diversity and representation, which is great, and overall it’s a sweet, quick read, but I had some issues that maybe are deeper than the book really means. If it sounds up your ally, go ahead. It’s probably a “it’s not the book, it’s me” issue.