What a delightful secret identity story!

A guidance counselor and the new teacher are falling for each other in real life, while unknowingly fostering a sweet virtual friendship online. I love this and the mental health rep.

Check this one out for:
-friends to lovers
-workplace romance
- mental health rep
- neurodivergent rep
- Jewish rep

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for this delightful ARC! I highly recommend!

A really sweet story with deep emotional heft (and a gorgeous cover by Caitlin Sacks!)

For the first half of the book, this story gripped me and it was hard to put down. I love the You've Got Mail elements (my kryptonite) and the writing was FUNNY (the gobble sext I am SCREAMING). I was actually laughing out loud to myself, and I felt so seen by this book -- in many ways.

Firstly, the mental illness representation in this book is so important. It's thorough and genuine and at times, hard to read in its honesty. I think many readers -- me included -- feel seen through what Lucy goes through, and it made me cry at times that a story could capture what it's like to have depression and other mental and emotional challenges.

"They had never felt the crushing weight of being so sad that simply taking a shower felt like an insurmountable task."

"I just became a person, who didn't necessarily want to die, but rather wanted to just...cease existing."

I have felt those same things -- and experienced those same things, including the "grippy sock vacation" --- and I'm grateful to Jessica for creating the vulnerability that exists in this story and in these characters. It's very meaningful and important.

It's also beautiful to see characters with these struggles realize that they were worthy of love -- not just romantic love, but also familial and friend relationships, and most importantly, self love. I know how hard that can be to believe and to see Lucy experience that growth was really touching.

It's also a beautiful story of the anxieties around our identities, religion, family expectation, and forgiveness.

Additonally, as a millennial, I loved the reference to Lizzie McGuire, the mention that Lucy's only hobbies are bingeing Netflix and stalking celebrities ('cause same), the overdramatic tendencies of WebMD, the quoting of Taylor Swift, killing off fake boyfriends, Twilight fanfiction, Saved by the Bell-era roleplays, the overanalysis of how many exclamation points is too many, and the following moments:

-"Prison could work for me--I thrive with structure and have a very extensive list of books I've been meaning to read."
-"...especially considering this guy probably lives halfway across the country--or worse, in Florida.
-"I am wearing sensible flats with Dr. Scholl's orthopedic inserts and a black turtleneck. I am not a woman to be messed with."
-"It feels nice to have a crush on someone who is age appropriate and not a member of a boy band."
-"I have to pay off my air fryer."
-"It's her Cheesecake Factory smile"
-"You just need to suspend your belief in the TSA temporarily.'
-"...whether it's an old white guy with a long beard or Alanis Morissette"
-"You watch Dateline?" "How else am I supposed to unwind after a long day."

AND THE PLAN B MONEY LOL

Also, as pencil gal (iykyk), I loved the mention of the "neon pink pencil" Lucy uses to put her hair up and the game they play for staff ice breakers and Lucy's word is 'pencil.' LONG LIVE THE NUMBER TWO.

This book really managed to be hilarious and readable, while also absolutely nailing important representation.

The things I struggled with were the romance itself. Personally, I wasn't into Fletcher (too much fraternity boy energy) and I don't think they spent enough time together in person to warrant their grand romance. Also, I have trust issues, so grain of salt etc etc, but if I was her, I would have a waaayyyy harder time trusting him. He seemed TOO perfect and too into her too quickly.

The pacing slowed for me around halfway, and I had a harder time getting into it near the end.

Also, I'm petty but I would not believe Lucy's @TheMissGuidedCounselor had half a million followers. What she posted was kind of cringe and pinterest-quote-y and I just wasn't buying that she's some IG influencer. HA. But that's just a minor thing.

Overall, an enjoyable read -- super funny, sweet, and emotionally significant.

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. FLIRTY LITTLE SECRET is out now!

Lucy is a guidance counselor at a high school, and to her coworkers she’s a shy woman who cries easily. She suffers from anxiety and can’t always stop her racing thoughts. Inside, however, Lucy is strong, funny, and opinionated. She runs a blog called The Missguidance Counselor that dispenses advice to other teachers. She’s become close cyber friends with one of her readers.

Fletcher is a teacher who comes from a wealthy family where there’s enormous pressure to succeed. He’s just left a snobby private school to teach at a public high school, on the advice of his cyber friend, the missguidance counselor.

The two meet in person when Lucy spills tea all over Fletcher. They start flirting and develop feelings for each other, but when his cyber friend tells him a story that happened Lucy and him, he realizes they’re the same person. Can their real life relationship survive that knowledge?

I liked the way Lucy’s neurodivergent personality is written, and it’s great to see how Fletcher supports her. 4 stars.

Thanks to Forever and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

As a former teacher I'm a sucker for school romances. The talk of youth slang and break room gossip definitely took me back. I also love Lucy's large family and that whole dynamic (upcoming sequels for the sisters?). I thought Lucy's character did an authentic job portraying someone that struggles with mental health and that was refreshing to see. Overall I really enjoyed this one and can't wait to read more by Jessica Lepe

Cute. This book was cute. You’ve Got Mail is my favorite RomCom and I love when people are falling in love twice and they don’t even know it.

Lucy and Fletcher’s lives are complicated. They talk online (they don’t know they’re talking to one another) and they’re falling for each other in person. The universe seems to be working against them horrible ex girlfriends and all.

I thought this book was very well written. It was fun and fresh and romantic.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Grand Center Publishing for the ARC.

Thanks to Forever for access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I had such a fun time reading this one because it’s set in a school and I am a high school math teacher. Although one day I had to set this book aside because I had had quite the day at work and needed to NOT read a school-set book!
The main character of this book, Lucy, is a guidance counselor - with not much experience. She wants to be the best at her job, but sometimes she second guesses herself - or she needs to escape to her secret closet-turned-decompression zone. She realistically balances the demands of her job with her mental health diagnoses. In addition to her role in the building, Lucy maintains a heavily curated instagram account featuring the “perfect” counselor offering advice to her many followers.
Lucy meets Fletcher, who has recently transferred to the school to teach history, in a hilarious meet cute. Reading their meeting made me cringe because it seemed SO realistic and I was embarrassed for them both! Fletcher is immediately attracted to Lucy, even though his ex, who works at the school, is under the impression they are going to get back together. Told in alternating POV between Lucy and Fletcher, the story involves some school-related happenings but also family-related drama for both of them.
Both the Jewish and mental health representation are awesome, and I think many people will identify with Lucy’s struggle to feel comfortable with her identity, as she doesn’t fit neatly into any one single “box” or descriptor. I definitely recommend reading this one, with the caveat that there is more insta-love than I personally prefer. However, I enjoyed the read and hope you will pick it up and support this debut author! Last, I would LOVE a secret room at my school where I could go to decompress like Lucy has at her school - maybe I can find a grant to pay for that?!

⭐⭐⭐.5 / 5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Congratulations to Jessica Lepe on her debut novel!
Flirty Little Secret was an adorable, easy rom com read, perfect for fans of You've Got Mail and Abbott Elementary. It was as described! I really enjoyed the dual POV and thought the mixed media writing style was a fresh approach to storytelling.

Lucy was a complex character who was learning to find purpose and value in herself while living with anxiety and depression. I appreciated the accurate representation and that the author was transparent about her own mental health experience, giving Lucy some of the same journey. I loved how much Lucy cared about her students and her family. Her sisters were hilarious! I appreciated how honest she was with Fletcher about what her medication meant for intimacy. And the crying closet?! Too real! I've definitely had a secret crying location at past jobs.

Fletcher was patient and kind with Lucy, just a big ol' cinnamon roll of an MMC. He experienced his on struggles with finding his voice and value - particularly when it came to his family. His meet-cute with Lucy was hilarious and I thought he handled it really well.

There was so much about Flirty Little Secret that I loved, but I did struggle with a final rating. The third-act misunderstanding had me almost DNFing at chapter 26. I felt like Lucy needed to have more accountability in this situation. A couple of "all my fault" moments were not my fave and I also thought the name of the kids club was tone-def and wasn't a necessary joke for the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Jessica Lepe for an early copy. These are my honest thoughts.

I enjoyed this book but didn't find it particularly memorable. Lucy is a relatable heroine, with realistic struggles. I loved her big, loud, loving family. While there wasn't much food description, Lepe had me craving Mexican-Morrocan food the entire book. I felt like the connection between Fletcher and Lucy was a bit forced. They still seemed very much like new friends/ colleagues rather than a potential couple. The blogs/ comment sections were fine, but could have been expanded, perhaps with Fletcher having a blog of his own. His personality seemed a bit flat. I loved Fletcher and Lucy's first "date" however. It was the sweetest.

CW: depression, anxiety, panic attack, suicidal ideation, abelism, antisemitism, racial microagression, grooming mention, attempted sexual assault of minor( off page,) profanity, death of spouse mention, divorce, past breakup, KKK reference, food descriptions, body talk, sexual content, religion- Judaism, cancer mention, sex on page

This was cute but overall kind of meh for me. The beginning had a lot of promise and I enjoyed Lucy and Fletcher's meet cute. Their first date was so lovely - gentlemen, take note!! I also really appreciated all the diversity and mental health representation throughout the book.

Unfortunately their relationship is pretty instalove and I never really felt the connection between them. Things just move SO fast - meeting parents and joking (but not joking) about being in-laws and saying "I love you" all within like a week, I think? They're also both pretty immature - they work in a high school but they honestly felt like teenagers themselves most of the time. Lucy definitely didn't seem qualified to be a guidance counselor. I also really struggled with the lying - I love a "You've Got Mail" hidden identity trope but it can be so tricky when one person knows who the other is and doesn't say anything while pursuing a relationship with them.

This one didn't live up to the promise for me but I know a lot of other people really enjoyed it!

Thank you Forever for the review copy of this book!

This book was the perfect balance of all things sweet and sexy. The characters were lovable and it was an easy read that you just want more of!

Thanks to Netgalley for the E-ARC. I loved this story I just want to thank the author Jessica Lepe for making this book soooo real. Even if we are not diagnosed with what Lucy has by reading this we can like Fletcher did get a idea if we meet or have someone close in our lives who are are have mental health issues. I laughed so much and I found myself giving Lucy my own pep talks as the book progressed. I cant wait to read more books by this author.

Flirty Little Secret is a fun rom-com.

I read this book because of the Jewish rep. But I was so impressed by the mental health rep.

The book has both the male and female POVs. The heroine is 28 year old high school guidance counselor Lucy. In real life she has anxiety and depression. However online anonymously she is the popular and confident @TheMissGuidedCounselor.

It was amazing to see a heroine with clinical depression and anxiety. Lucy regularly has panic attacks. I love that this character was based off the author's own experiences.

Another thing that I loved about this book was how important family was to the story. Lucy has a Mexican mother and a Moroccan father (who is also Jewish). I really enjoyed seeing these cultures represented. And I really liked the Jewish rep. Her father is a Sephardi Jew from Morocco. So this was so different and interesting. I also really liked Lucy's sisters Amira and Julieta and her best friend fellow teacher Nia.

Fletcher is the new history teacher at her school. He has an interesting backstory and I really enjoyed his messed up family.

I did enjoy the romance. Although miscommunication and lies aren't my favorite.

Overall this was a really good debut that was super cute, but also with great mental health and Jewish rep.

I really, really wanted to live this book.

I couldn’t really. It was an easy read but there was not just a whole lot I loved about it. It was more just finish it in hopes it gets better to just finish it to be done.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Cute and quick read that was honest and refreshing about the complexities of race, religion, and most centrally, mental health. Weaving all three of these into a romance is no easy feat! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

Although the romance is cute and great steam.
There was this group joke that made me very uncomfortable. The use of K K K in here feels insensitive and def written by a white woman that does not fear this group. And although small groups that have comfort and def rely on dry and dark humor to cope and be silly. I think that the mention of that group of people is not the way to go for humor. It set my brain off as I read and I could not shake it.

Lucy & Fletcher have been anonymous online friends, and that’s just how Lucy likes it. Until one day, Fletcher starts a new job at a new school and runs into Lucy, the school’s guidance counselor. The two share an instant attraction and a mutual feeling that they’ve known each other for a long time. When they finally realize that the person they’ve fallen in love with in the real world is their best friend online, Lucy & Fletcher’s feelings are truly put to the test.

Flirty Little Thing was such a realistic look into finding love in the midst of anxiety and depression. The mental health representation as well as how to love someone through their struggles were so well done. It was raw and heartbreaking at parts, but that made the characters feel real in how they navigated learning about each other and themselves.

I loved how the characters communicated through DMs throughout the book; it was a fun way to learn about the friendship that they’d established before we were introduced to them.

Lucy, the school guidance counselor, was a great representation of what life is like when struggling with mental health issues and how neurodivergence can be a true gift in how you care for the people in your life. She learned to love herself through the book and learned how to accept the love she deserves through Fletcher.

Fletcher, the new teacher, was in the depths of having to parent a parent and put in the emotional labor of multiple betrayals in his family. He was able to grow and learn how to work through his feelings all while learning how to support Lucy in the ways she needed (which was so precious).

They were a wonderful example of how to love and support your partner when they need it.

A great debut novel by Jessica Lepe that was just released on March 19th!

I’m sorry but KKK jokes in 2024 are not okay. This was gross and wildly unnecessary to the story. I couldn’t continue reading this.

3.5 stars

I wasn't sure about this one at the beginning because it felt slow and it seemed like it was going in the obvious direction. While it did do that, it was also so much more.

I felt so seen with Lucy having ADHD, anxiety and depression. I absolutely adored Fletcher after Lucy's meltdown and how caring he was 🥹

The third act break up was so predictable but the ending mostly redeemed it!

This was a great debut novel!

Huge thanks to NetGalley & Forever (Grand Central Pub) for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved this book. It's hard to get the balance right when writing a main character that lives with an illness, especially mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, and ADHD, but she nailed it. And the romance itself was perfect--a little spicy, a little sweet, and the problems they have felt realistic as did the resolution. Great debit!

This book was absolutely one that the reader knows all of the information and we get to watch the characters slowly come to the knowledge we were given from the beginning. It was completely satisfying to see the ending of this one and all the twists and turns along the way. It was a beautiful way of learning to listen to a partner with mental health needs.

#arc
#netgalley
#flirtylittlesecret