I REALLY wanted to like How to Fail at Flirting, but it started rubbing me wrong from the first few pages. I just couldn't get into the story and I found Jake kind of pushy and creepy. I tried several times to read this book, but couldn't do it. DNF at 20%.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

This was a delightful debut romance! I love when romance novels tackle difficult topics and really flesh out the hero and heroine, and How to Fail at Flirting does both of these things with skill. I immediately sympathized with and rooted for Naya, a type-A overachiever (as a Capricorn, same) who struggles to open herself up to romance because of painful relationships in her past. The abuse from her ex was often tough to read, but Williams handled this part of the plot with thoughtfulness and nuance. And let's talk about Jake! Jake was the perfect love interest: smart, funny, sexy, caring, and honest and vulnerable about his feelings for Naya and his own past heartbreak. I was so happy these two found each other, and this was the perfect Valentine's Day read for me.

Such a cute read! Professor Turner is struggling with her work-life when her friends suggest a night out. Could this night out turn into something more fulfilling...?

Stop what you are doing and ‘Gouda’ get this book!! ( you will know what I mean by this pun once you read this amazing book)

I loved this book so much.

I am a huge sucker for banter between love interests - and Naya and Jake had it down.

I loved that Naya got to stand up for herself and finally got rid of her abuser and finally was seeing some healing by the end of this book.

Stop reading my review and just read this book already!!

Thank you Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC to provide my sassy thoughts.

Naya (like a papaya) Turner is an awkward dating mess and my heart went out to her immediately given her previous relationship. The cheesy (literally, cheddar jokes haha) humor kept the story lighthearted when it needed to be, and the chemistry and conflict between Naya and Jake are palpable and propels the story at a great pace. Heavier themes in the story are balanced by the (awkward!) flirtiness in this contemporary romance, making it a substantive read. What a great story! I can’t wait to read more Denise Williams books!

Tw domestic abuse, sexual assault, emotional trauma, attempted rape, stalking

This one, I had a hard time actually continuing to read. The cute and romcom sell and getting a book that heavily deals with abusive relationships leaves a sour taste in my mouth. One of the things in contemporary romance that really gets on my nerves (especially as someone that is impacted by author’s portrayals of abuse) is when a hard hitting subject like abuse is transformed to be a sweet palate for the reader. With a book titled How To Fail At Flirting you can imagine my surprise. Publishing really needs to start to process how they’re selling books to reviewers.

A down-to-earth rom-com filled with sizzling chemistry, miscommunications, awkward moments, growth and moving on. Naya is a professor of education, a program that may be cut, and has just recently gotten out of a long-term abusive relationship. Naya must try to save her job, rebuild her reputation, and recover from how her ex has made her feel. She embarks on a one night stand in an effort to let loose and move on. Enter Jake - the perfect one night stand or perfect relationship material? Trouble begins when her personal and professional world unexpectedly meet. Naya must choose what to put on the line and how to deal with potential consequences.

The story draws you in and keeps you turning the page. Both Naya and Jake are loveable characters who you want to root for. Most of all though, I loved that there is an element of women supporting other women, and what happens when they do not speak up, rather than just having a man step in to save the day.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are all my own.

*Warning. I giffed the hell outta this review.

My perverted self is going to admit something. I overlooked this book until someone was talking about how smutty is was. That jumped up and called my name!


I'm blaming the no shame part of my make-up.

It has a plot though! Naya is a professor of somekinda teaching thing. I'm gonna admit that some parts of the book bored me and that was one.
I was like a kid eating cheetos people! I wanted what I wanted.


Where was I? Oh yeah..her friends decide she is kinda a stick in the mud and challenge her to complete a list.


She meets Jake. Who turns out to be Mr. Perfect.
I'm serious! The guy does no wrong.


Some stuff happens like they tend to do in romancey type books. Including some relationship abuse history if you are triggered by that.
But guess what happened?!!!
Mr Perfect showed up in some dreams of mine.


I should give the damn thing five stars but I ain't. 3.5 stars for the boring parts.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

I really enjoyed this book! It felt like I was following along with a friend as she fell in love, with all the ups and downs, the vulnerability and uncertainty, and then the sheer shared joy.

This was a story that started out feeling like it was going to be sweet and cute, particularly based on Naya's dating checklist and the actual meet-cute with Jake. And that would have been fine and fun. However, I was delighted to watch the romance story morph into something with a bit more teeth, and I was there for it.

Despite the flirty and very HOT one-night stand that kicked off the story, this really was a slow burn romance. Naya and Jake turn out to have a pretty big conflict of interest in their relationship (strains of the forbidden relationship first came to mind, but these are responsible adults, and they addressed their problem in a mature, responsible way, and it was pretty damn refreshing to see.)

What I didn't quite see coming was the tough content, which Denise Williams handled adeptly. While the blurb hinted at domestic violence, Naya's story took a much more serious turn that might prove triggering to some readers.

Williams has created two truly likable, relatable characters that you want to root for in all their shared nerdiness. I loved Naya for her passion for education, teaching, and earnestness at which she takes on her "checklist." Jake was the perfect love interest - handsome, interesting, but down to earth, and just a wee bit nerdy. (Or a lot, but I'm ok with the Dad jokes because their relationship was also steamy and fun, and this made him all the more real..)

This was a steamy fun romance with a bit of tense, thriller mixed in the last part of the story. It was a fast, engaging read.

I was lucky enough to win a NetGalley copy of How to Fail at Flirting via a post publication giveaway. I really enjoy the authors writing style! From the synopsis I understood that Naya would be dealing with PTSD from a past abusive relationship. I did not realize that her abuse and abuser would not all be in the past, which was an unfortunate surprise. I think it's wonderful that there are romance novels that deal with serious topics that are often difficult to discuss, and I hope many people read How to Fail at Flirting. But the book was very different from what it appeared to be based upon the cute title, cover and blurb so I hope people are checking reviews for content warnings. Trigger Warnings for on page descriptions of domestic violence and sexual assault.

I love a good romance with sass, steam, and reality - for me it’s refreshing and fun to have a nice place to put my brain for a while, and How to Fail at Flirting is a charming diversion from regular life, while still being about regular life. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I appreciated that this story deals with some very real issues. There is some difficult content in this story that I felt was handled tremendously well, with adept language and wonderful resolution. While it was tense, at times, it was reassuring and actually very nice to read about characters who have real problems, real baggage, and are able to come to solutions in healthier ways than I often read.

Naya and Jake feel like responsible people who are not still in the chaos of early adulthood. They are able to find a chemistry that I found delightful for how it didn’t feel needlessly dramatic. It’s well constructed plot, wonderful charm, and mutual respect that is here is an absolutely refreshing approach.

They treat each other like real people, and what’s at stake for them is valuable and important. They respond well to each other, and give space, time, effort, attention, and thought to themselves and each other as things progress. It was wonderful to see that their issues weren’t just things that could be solved by one conversation. Reading a romance with 30-somethings as the main characters was so good.

I’m excited to see what Williams does next!

This is a romance with a slow build, but the payoff is definitely worth it! At first I found the scenes between the protagonists a bit awkward, but as they got to know each other, it was much better. I found the story very realistic and well written.

So good! I loved this book and will definitely be reading anything this author releases next! The characters were amazing, the story was compelling, and the romance between the two characters had me invested from the start. They had a lot of chemistry and I really rooted for them.

How to Fail at Flirting ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to @berkleypub and @netgalley for the e-arc!

SUMMARY:
Naya is recovering from an abusive past relationship, building herself back up after harmful words and actions. Her friends want her to get back out there and make her a list of things to check off, and her first night of the “list” she meets Jake, who helps her check off way more than she expected, even adding a few different items. Naya’s job in on the line, her ex is back in her life, and her world starts to unravel.

MY THOUGHTS:
💜 This book was difficult to summarize!
💜 Naya’s feelings in her new relationship and because of her past relationship@were very relatable.
💜 It sort of had a forbidden love vibe because of Jake and Naya’s professions
💜 Romance but enough going on it was exciting too

This one is perfect for next month if you’re going to be picking up some romances!

FULL REVIEW ON FRESH FICTION
HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING is an emotional, humorous, and entertaining debut novel by Denise Williams. Told entirely from Naya’s point of view, this is a deep character study of a woman learning to live her life by her own rules. She’s easily relatable, a little awkward, and a lot of fun to spend time with throughout the book. Jake comes across as a great guy, and even when some of his demons are revealed, they are usually balanced with his penchant for cheesy “dad jokes,” making him very charming. While there are light moments in this book, the storyline with Naya’s abusive ex-boyfriend is intensely heart wrenching, and it was jarring to experience such visceral fear from Naya interspersed within lighthearted moments while reading about her falling in love. Even though Jake is eventually up front with Naya about his own past and his job, because this book is only in Naya’s POV, it’s hard to know what Jake’s motivations are when he makes some rash decisions and some readers may find this frustrating. Williams’ writing style is wonderful and she thoughtfully handles the emotional, intimate, and hilarious aspects of HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING. Denise Williams is an author to watch!

3.5 STARS


Took me longer than usual to finish this book. It was a slow start for me but after connecting with the characters, I find myself enjoying it than I initially did during the first few chapters.

I do appreciate the message this book has. It showed how a woman, the MC, can recover from years of repressed trauma due to power play, manipulation and domestic abuse from a partner. I'm not sure if the finished copy has a TW/CW since I read an ARC, but for the sake of other readers who might find the mentioned content sensitive, I hope there was.

As for the LI, I fucking love Jake. He was just so soft and perfect and a nerd. I love how his humor and attitude perfectly fits with Naya's. The spark between the characters was top notch.

My only issue with this book is actually an issue I have with most traditionally published romance books lately—why market a book with heavy topics as "romcom" with illustrated covers and catchy titles knowing full well how misleading it can be?

This book was so good! I love a good romance, especially one with some subtle humour thrown in and likeable characters. This book gave me everything I wanted! It does come with some trigger warnings such as divorce, infidelity, trauma after an abusive relationship and assault. I do think these topics were handled very well and did not take over the story, but be warned that they are there. This book also had some major steam! This couple was hot, hot, hot!

I thought Naya was a really likeable female lead. She is dealing with the emotional trauma of a previous relationship and she is strong as hell. She is looking to break out of her shell a bit and, together with her friends, comes up with a fun list to help her do just that. For example, getting someone to buy her a drink, trying something new etc. After her friends have to cancel plans at the last minute, Naya heads to a hotel bar and meets a handsome man who is visiting on business. Enter Jake!

Jake is also a really likeable character. The connection between him and Naya happens immediately, but its believable. They have chemistry right off the hop and I love it! What I love is how encouraging he is and how he makes Naya feel safe. Naya has a lot of emotional baggage and Jake is the most supportive guy ever and honestly, their relationship is very believable.

I thought this was a great little romance story and it had my attention from start to finish. Looking forward to what this author comes out with next! If you like a cute romance story with some heat, definitely add this one to your list!

Oh this was such a lovely romance. It combines an amazingly sweet love story with some heart pounding almost thriller elements in the end. I couldn't get over how much I loved the sweet & nerdy Jake. Definitely one of my favorite book boyfriends! I loved reading about Naya's journey and was rooting so hard for her. One of my favorite contemporary romances I've read lately. Definitely on the steamier side just in case you are/aren't into that. 4 stars & I definitely recommend this one!