How to Fail at Flirting tells the story of two professional adults with emotional baggage finding each other against all the odds. I loved how honest the characters were with themselves even when they weren't with anyone else. The portrayal of a woman of color navigating the politics of a career in higher education was well done. The trauma of physical and sexual abuse was depicted well. Overall a good, if heavy read.

This book was absolutely incredible and powerful and I loved everything about it and all the issues it tackled. I loved Naya and her strength after everything she's endured. She was so amazing. She escaped an abusive relationship three years ago, and she has drawn into herself more and more since then. She is no longer the big personality she had been before the relationship, and she is now trying to find herself again.

Enter Jake, the sweetie she meets at the bar where she was supposed to meet her friends. He is everything her previous partner was not. He's kind and considerate and there for her in a way she didn't know a partner could be. She finds herself relaxing around him every time he surprises her by not reacting the way her previous partner would have. She is learning to heal and open up again.

But then her previous partner steps back into her life as he starts working with her boss, and she finds herself hiding again. He starts texting her, threatening to expose intimate pictures he took of her while they were together. She isn't sure how to react, how to keep him appeased without falling back into the person she had been while she was with him.

This is just an amazing story that handles a lot of big issues really well. It's a soft love story with an adorable main couple. And then Naya's best friends, Aaron and Felicia, are just amazing and I love the advice they both give her. I loved Naya and Jake and their lovely story <3

CW: memories of abusive relationship, blackmail from abuser (threat of exposing intimate pictures), attempted assault, racism

"Yay a romcom!"
"Wait what? This is heavy."
"He did what to her? Oh hell no!"
"I love her friends so much. Their story makes me swoon,"
"Oh hello handsome!"
"Oh no! Poor Nay. Puking is definitely going to make him run for the hills."
"Hes back! I think I love him."

"Oh man, this steam is real. Where's a fan?"
"Oh my heart can take this..."

And on and on and on! I had no idea what I was going into with this one, but I am so glad I did! Denise Williams gave us A STORY and I am here to support it.

Also, as a former military brat and now a teacher turned writer.. I think Denise and I need to be friends!

Thank you for bringing out so many emotions in me. Sometimes a heart just needs a book like this.

Thank you to the wonderdul people at Berkley for letting me review an advanced copy. This is definitely a winner. Thank you netgalley for the facilitation. All thoughts are my own honest opinion.

Funny, sexy, heartwarming, emotional and with a little thriller aspect thrown in at the end. This book has it all!!

This was a really enjoyable romance! Lowkey was planning on passing on this one, but some authors I saw in a panel mentioned it and I was intrigued. Then I got an eARC the next day, so it felt a bit like fate.

I am not typically a fan of books where the characters get together super quick, as I feel we lose some of those cute moments and replace them with sexy or angsty times, but Denise Williams truly is able to balance the sexy times and the cute/soft moments SO WELL. Can't wait to read more from this author.

I absolutely loved this book. It was a romance but it didn’t feel cheesy or trope-y. It was unique and so enjoyable. The main character Naya is super relatable to me and she’s gone through some trauma. The leading man is patient, kind, loving, and so understanding despite a tiny white lie.
I loved all the characters, they all deserve their own sequels, and I just loved Naya’s story. She’s like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. It might not always look pretty, there are some bumps along the way, but she comes out strong, capable and independent.

The plot was fantastic and unique, the characters were amazing, the romance was superb, this book is a top favorite of the year for sure!

CW: domestic abuse, cheating, relationship violence, gaslighting, verbal abuse

My six word review:
Easily the best romance of 2020!

I really enjoyed this book! The cover was what caught my eye & I decided to give a try once I read the synopsis. Naya was such a great MC & I really enjoyed going on this journey with her. She was very relatable (to me) and I enjoyed watching her relationship with Jake blossom and really see her come into her own. This is the first I've ever read of this author & I will definitely pick up her future works. I saw some reviews about the pace of the book & that's actually one of the things I enjoyed. I like a slow burn & seeing the characters get to know one another in a realistic timeframe - even though I know things can move fast in real life as well.

I enjoyed this book so much I fully plan on buying a physical copy once it drops as I got an ARC through Netgalley. I would love it if somewhere down the line this was made into a movie or mini series, definitely on my Fave Reads of 2020 list.

I liked this book, but just "liked" it not loved it. I thought that the typical romance book misunderstanding that breaks them up for a while was a little hard to believe. But this was a fun read anyway!

I'm not going to lie. It has been a while since I read anything romantic, like a full-on romantic genre. Nonetheless, I'm happy that I broke the ice with How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams. My first impressions with a Spanglish beginning were positive, but I've been let down before, so I proceed cautiously.

This book tackles domestic abuse, and I have found that sometimes authors tend to gloss over trauma or add it as a plot twist. That didn't happen here, and I was so happy about it because nothing is worse than being disappointed by the book. I always feel betrayed afterward.

But let's get to the good stuff—the romance. Naya and Jake, kissing on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

Okay, I just needed to get that out first. But if you read this book, I'm sure you will agree with me that they are such a dreamy couple.

The meet-cute was unexpected but so dorky and awkward; two good looking nerds meeting at a bar. The title holds true because both suck at flirting. Even with their lack of flirting skills, both end up in a one night-vomit-stand that turns into more. I'm telling you this is the stuff of dreams.

Characters

While Naya is the protagonist, I enjoyed Felicia, her friend, a whole lot. I loved these two women's interactions on the page because Felicia will always bring Naya back to the center. To be fair, Aaron—Felicia's husband—also did, but not as sassy as Felicia.

Let's Talk About Sex Baby

Ahh, you want to talk about sex? Well, it was excellent. I smoked a cigarette afterward. I'm only kidding I don't smoke. But I ate a donut after. The banter between Jake and Naya before and after sex is cute and sexy at the same time. Like who does that? I felt like I was watching a rom-com only on my kindle. I don't want to close the 'sex paragraph' without giving kudos to the author for putting condoms in the sex scenes. To that, I say, "Amen for protected sex." I am so glad this is part of romance sex scenes now.

More to the Story

The cuteness and sexiness are not all; there are some ex-drama and Naya's trauma that clouds her throughout the novel to give more than enough conflict and tension in the story. There was a point when I wondered if Naya could come back from it all, and I was so she did. The ending does not disappoint.

Recommendation

I recommend this book to romance readers and any reader who enjoys a rom-com centered around an intelligent self-made woman who doesn't need a man but wants one.

I loved this book. While it deals with heavy topics and the characters have to face adversity, there's still a lightness and joyfulness throughout that matches the title and cover.

I love that Naya, the main character, is a professor who studies math education for English Language Learners. I immediately wanted to pause the book to sit down with her to have a long conversation about that topic, and readers do get to follow her to work and hear about her research throughout the book. Naya's own relationship with learning Spanish was a small thread in the book that I really enjoyed as well.

Jake and Naya had to overcome obstacles in their relationship that I wouldn't wish upon anyone, though they were interesting to read about. I was afraid that Jake might end up being her student, but their actual conflict of interest was a much more fresh and interesting direction to go, so I was happy about that.

I will recommend this book to all romance readers, especially my friends who work in academia. Great if you are in the mood for a book that could be considered both angsty and huggable.

Content warning for domestic violence. In my opinion that particular plotline is done well and handled with the utmost care.

I graciously received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher. I follow the author on Twitter and was very much looking forward to reading this debut.

As a debut novel, it balances the fun of new romance with the very serious topic of being a domestic abuse survivor. The heroine, Naya, is just barely getting over the relationship she had with Davis, and it's portrayed so vividly in the opening chapters that I was overcome with furious emotion. I would never say I am a reader who is easily triggered, but I might have found my exception.

Her love interest is Jake, who likes her despite her foibles. They have really good chemistry together. The author chooses to have Jake be a separated man going through a divorce, but Naya doesn't find that out until after she's already had copious amounts of sex with him.

I didn't care for this twist, but that's because my personal values are a big "No" on dating separated people since they are still technically married. I recognize that may not bother some readers, but it irked me. Especially as I don't recall reading anywhere that his divorce actually went through and became official.

Everything is told from Naya's POV, and one of the witty things is the presence of lists. Things Naya should do or wants to do as she takes control over her life again. Ther are also copious amounts of cheese puns, and I enjoyed that so much. Plus, Naya's friends Felicia and Aaron are great. (And readers will wonder how Aaron's mother is doing after the mishap in her class...)

Despite the things that challenged my comfort zone (not always a bad thing), I found this a strong debut with a voice that moves deftly over heavy topics. This is a good voice in romance, and I do expect more excellent books to come.

This debut has sweet characters, a believable plot, and corny jokes, all the elements for a delightful book but it fails to reach its goal. Naya and Jake have a spontaneous fling that turns into more despite workplace complications when Jake’s company evaluates Naya’s university for possible cuts and layoffs. The two characters are likeable, bantering when together and supportive even through serious issues of bigotry and domestic violence. With plenty of heart and maturity, this book is pleasing even if it lacks that magic spark to elevate it.

So I just finished THE book . 5 stars, definitely recommend! One good thing in 2020! Finally!
Yes, THE book, because unbeknownst to the author this feel good romance felt like it was written just for me!

Let me share with you all the reasons "How To Fail At Flirting" should be on y'all TBR lists.
☑ Nerdy hero and and even nerdier heroine
☑ One night stand turns into something more
☑ "To Do Lists" addiction (Naya is a closet BUJO addict!)
☑ Steamy and playful love scenes
☑ Long distance relationship
☑ Texting
☑ Flirty banter and silly jokes are the bestest combo
☑ Cheese puns FTW!
☑ Star Wars references
☑ Hero gifts the heroine STATIONARY 💜 *husband material here!*
☑ See my last point one more time. STATIONARY YOU GUYS.

I love my meet cutes in romance and well, if you start off by hooking up with a stranger at a bar because your type A personality demands you check off items on that To Do list burning a hole in your comfiest cardigan's pocket... then you've got my full undivided attention and my best highlighters ready to be uncapped! Let's do this, Naya!

But in all seriousness, this book had me smiling all throughout, I didn't want to stop reading but at the same time I tried so damn hard to pace my reading because I didn't want it to end! The author made it so easy to fall in love with her characters, Naya and Jake. They're both so complex and real, you just want to make them your own. The care given to the character's development was remarkable with fully rounded mentions of past relationships, upbringing, work, co-workers, friends.

Watching Jake and Naya attempts at seducing each other was endearingly adorable and I was here for all the awkward little moments. The chemistry on page kept me engaged and fueled my romance reader heart. I'm not going to lie, the author had me wishing with anticipation for the smallest touch, brush of fingers, flex of hands... Gah. I could even feel the way Jake was staring at the heroine, I was this much invested in their unfolding relationship. There was anticipation building and the delivery was PERFECT. "How To Fail At Flirting" was STEAMY as hell and I loved it.
The banter was ON POINT, 100% my kind of humor, the puns were of a masterful brilliance because they were so silly! I absolutely adored the dialogues, so engaging!

This was a really happy place read for me even though it deals with heavier themes like past emotional and physical abuse, digital harrasment, which made for a really emotionally balanced story in the end, bringing just enough conflict to keep their unfolding romance captivating without dipping into silly drama.
The cast of supporting characters was diverse too, I adored both Jake and Naya's friends, they made them shine even more. Naya was an amazing leading character and I absolutely adored her but seriously we need to talk about Jake and probably make a list of all the things we loved about him. Alright, maybe another time!

I didn't mean to write such a long review, and I must apologize because the book doesn't actually come out before December 2020, but I'll be sure to remind you to pick this amazing romance in a few months!
(or you can preorder it now https://amzn.to/3hmi03g or add it to GR https://bit.ly/3kb1JQJ)

HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING was a 12 hours, gobble it up, miss sleep to keep going, kind of read for me. I went into last night just needing a book to distract me and absorb me fully— I picked right! Steamy, funny, and at once both heavy and light, this book will be a new favourite for romance and rom com readers everywhere!

This book was fine. I enjoyed the characters but I felt like a lot of the storylines were pretty predictable.

Denise Williams hit a home run with her debut novel. I was so floored she could tell a funny, loving story of personal triumph, finding love, and overcoming personal insecurities in a way relatable to a romance lover. I am drawn to the character of Naya- a hardworking, insecure Math professor passionate about her work in math education. And even though she is a successful Ph.D., Naya blames her shortcomings with men on her inability to be confident. She is confident and her experience as a domestic violence survivor has harbored her ability to see how amazing she is.

I love the fact that Jake's role in the story isn't to "save" Naya. Naya saves herself. Not only did Williams build a world where Naya had the support and love of noble friends and colleagues, but also a world where learned to support and love herself. She treats domestic violence delicately. When we get to the penultimate showdown with Davis, the reader is rooting for Naya and cheering her on fervently.

I've never read a romance novel that dealt with domestic violence this way. Sometimes, authors can get heavy-handed with the violence. But Williams shows that domestic violence isn't always overtly violent, it can be subtle and verbal.

More than anything, her love with Jake, although complicated by her job, is so beautiful. Jake is patient and takes his time in getting to know Naya for who she really is. And their meet-cute is adorable-- the worst, best first date ever.

I cannot wait to read more from Williams and her next project. She has a new fan in me.

This was a light read that handles a hard subject, domestic violence, in a respectful and realistic way. While neither heroine Naya nor the subject of her supposedly failed flirtation, Jake are especially engaging or fleshed out enough to connect with their romance is still cute and natural, their connection obvious.

Somehow this just didn't catch fire for me. I think perhaps its hard to get into the fun and sexiness of a new romance for Naya when the horrors of what she left behind are, well, not too far behind. Because the reader is so aware of her horrible, abusive ex still being in the picture and the reality that Naya hasn't dealt with the aftermath of the relationship at all its hard to totally get behind a "this new relationship will fix everything" ending! To be fair Williams doesn't actually do that but I was still left feeling that rather than a happy ending Naya has a long road ahead of her before she'd really be ready for a solid, life long relationship.

I just didn't have enough of a sense of her as an actual person to really connect with this book. Well written, charming and even funny, but somehow hollow.

Steamy romance + domestic thriller = couldn't stop reading! I started this on my lunch break at work and quickly realized that was not the proper reading location, so once the weekend hit I picked it up and barely put it down until I was finished. I was rooting for Naya the whole time and could totally understand the 'why' behind her actions and reactions.

Content warning: physically and sexually abusive ex, on-page abuse by that ex (including threatening with revenge porn), and on-page racist and sexist remarks directed at MC.

I had to stop thoroughly reading at 40% because I got to the heroine's speech about her "tragic" mixed-race identity, which as a grown woman, she is conflicted about. Don't worry, I saw this coming when she described herself as "ethnically ambiguous" in chapter two.

Prior to the point at which I DNFd, I was already on edge because of prose that I found problematic. MCs implying young women at a bar are dumb because they're wearing low-cut tops, insta-love/insta-attraction that is meant to be cute but ends up making the MCs seem incredibly immature, sex shaming even though they are ready to sleep with each other on night one (which is fine, but don't knock other people for what you'd do), etc.

Jokes about small penises? Check.
Implying "good girls" don't like sex? Check.
Male MC complaining about being friend-zoned as a chubby college student? Check.
Old white guy calling MC "colored" and implying she's a side chick? Check.
Slut shaming a gay character? Check.

The only conflict in this book is manufactured by external evil caricatures who exist to terrorize our MCs. I think the author spends more time on the heroine's PTSD about her abusive ex and his continued terror of her than the main couple. This woman doesn't need a relationship: she needs therapy.

I am appalled that a) this is being marketed as a quirky, delightful rom-com (Any reviewer who calls it that didn't read this book - they're just lifting it from PR materials.), and b) this is being held up as what Berkley has to offer for so-called diversity. This is just the latest in a line of problematic books being put out by Berkley and I'm well on my way to automatically assuming a Berkley romance is going to have problems.

It’s not perfect, but it is very good. This is a romantic comedy that veers into drama in the end. A spontaneous no strings attached one night stand becomes a complicated office romance when an early career academic in her early thirties hooks up with an educational consultant who’s been hired to help evaluate and improve the programs at her university.  It’s very tender and cute. Both frequently make corny Dad jokes even though neither is a parent. This is the most convincing nerdiness I’ve ever seen on the page. This is a workplace romance and an interracial romance. Naya is mixed race and Jake is white. That doesn’t come up a lot but Naya’s identity does play a role in how she navigates the world at work and in relationships to some extent. There are other complications from the Jake’s relationship status as well. He’s separated but not divorced when they start dating and throughout their relationship. Naya’s concerns about that could have been explored/resolved better. She never demands anything be resolved on that front before they move forward. She has significant trust issues due to her previous, abusive relationship. Jake is nothing like that but the last thing someone dealing with trust issues needs is to be in the middle of someone’s divorce. That would have been a very legitimate boundary to set.