How to fail at flirting by Denise Williams
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When university professor Naya has an uncharacteristic one night stand with a sexy stranger, Jake, last thing she expects is him to be in charge of potential staff cuts at her place of employment.
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This was such a great debut by Williams!
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💖I loved the adorable, nerdy elements of Naya and Jakes relationship. I really enjoyed the texting back and forth.
💖The portrayal of Naya’s past experience with her abusive ex was really well done. I really felt for her. Though I would note it as a potential trigger warning.
💖Naya’s supportive friendship ahhh Felicia was so heartwarming.
💖The steam was so well done and romantic 😍
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I truly enjoyed this one! Thank you Berkley, Netgalley, and Denise Williams for the chance to review this ARC 💖

The steam was sustained really well throughout and didn't just cut off when conflict arose. Pretty gross abuse situation that may be triggering for some, but good to have that represented. I struggled with the main character's reaction to the conflict, she seemed to lose it a bit much for me.

I super wanted to love this because of the awesome premise, but the writing style is just not clicking. Wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished and rated it lowly. DNF.

This book was golden! The romance was fully actualized and had substance, but the novel was still steamy. The characters were fun and the situations didn't feel like they were too outside of the realm of possibility. I will definitely be recommending this book until I can't anymore!

I loved this book! Naya was a heroine to really root for, and Jake was the stuff dreams are made of. From cheesy puns, to active consent, relationship communication and steamy steamy love scenes, this is a book I won't soon forget and I cannot wait to one-click everything else Williams writes. How to Fail at Flirting is a win win win!

4+

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Professor Dr. Naya Turner has not gone on a date since ending an abusive relationship three years ago. Her best friends convince her to let loose for a night and she meets the adorable Jake. The book is 80% romance and 20% dealing with the relationship aftermath and current machinations of an abusive ex.

Romance is not one of my go-to genres but this was very enjoyable. I read it in a day. Denise Williams created wonderful characters that you wanted to hang out with.

Jake and Naya hav e an amazing love story. the angst and drama make this book a must read. Naya has suffered abuse in a previous relationship. She pulls ways when things go too well. Jake helps to pull her from her grief.

naya and Jake’s story kept me on the edge of my seat, rooting for them the entire time! But more importantly, it’s so vital that romance novels like this one depict the complicated issues that women who are healing from trauma pursue new relationships. My only problem with the story was that it should likely have a disclaimer for people who may have suffered from domestic abuse.

It feels like this book was created from all my secret romance fantasies— a bar meet cute that actually works; a corny-but-in-a-good-way nerdy and handsome hero and so much more I can’t share without spoiling the book entirely. I loved HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING so much, I immediately told my friends to put it on their pre-order lists. Naya and Jake are so good together. Denise Williams really captured the small details of falling in love. I can’t stop thinking about this book.

This was a more serious romance than I was expecting, dealing with domestic violence and abuse. I wish the description had made that clearer going in, as I think this would be a hard read for someone who picked it up without realizing and finds those topics difficult to read about. However, I loved the academic setting, the side characters, and the lovely romance between Naya and Jake! The outside complications were well handled and Naya's flourishing self was fabulous to see in their steamy, nerdy, banter-filled relationship. Great for fans of Jasmine Guillory, Alisha Rai, and Talia Hibbert.

So many things wrapped up into this title! It's not just the typical rom-coms romance ,it has a very heavy topic and that's intimate partner or domestic violence.
This is so beautiful written,and I liked the characters very much. I think that she handles her life very bravely and she had so much support from glad she decided to take the help and support that she didn't think she had. This is a situation that can happen to anyone and I'm glad this was written in a realistic way so that if somebody needs help that feel like they could reach out to someone.

Professor Naya Turner is encouraged by her friends to step out of her comfort zone and have a night on the town. She has a heck list of things to do. The first being to let a man buy her a drink. And so the story begins of the relationship between Naya and Jake. Naya has worked hard to protect her professional reputation and has had a previously abusive relationship that she has gotten out of. When James’s consulting firm is hired to assess her university’s departments, the complications begin. Some tough subjects are minimally tackled in the book and it would be stronger is my time and attention were spent on the issue of abusive relationship, the helpfulness of counseling, the ability to restore one’s self confidence. Lots of steamy sex scenes that for me, took away from the important message.

‘How to Fail at Flirting’ by Denise Williams is a wonderfully lush contemporary romance starring Naya, an overworked and stressed out professor of education who can’t seem to let her hair down. Challenged by friends to have a wild fling, she meets Jake at a bar and decides to take a chance. One of the more refreshing aspects of HTFAF is that both protagonists are grownups. They have conversations about how to solve problems and the drama feels inspired by real problems. They are two lovely lonely people falling in love and it’s a wonderful journey to experience as a reader. I would recommend this title for fans of Jasmine Guillory and Alisha Rai.

This was so lovely to read. I thought the love story was wonderful, it touched on some serious subjects in a very thoughtful way. I look forward to reading more from this author!!

I loved this book so much!! It felt like a hug in book form--so sweet and romantic and satisfying. I loved Jake and Naya and the way they clicked from the start. They both acted and communicated like adults with their own lives and ambitions and it was fun to see their feelings for each other grow. They also had some of the funniest banter ever. I loved the way Naya fully "won" in the end in both her career and personal life. Williams' writing is excellent and this book is romance gold! Can't wait to highly recommend it to readers.

Naya doesn't do much more than teach, create lesson plans and hang out with her married best friends...she hasn't really wanted to put herself out there since leaving an abusive relationship she is still recovering from. When said married friends push her to expand her boundaries, Naya things she has nothing to lose and decides to start a to-do list that will help her dip her toes back into the dating scene.
When Naya meets Jake at a bar one evening that turns into the next morning she has already checked quite a few things off her new to-do list. Yet the more time she spends with Jake the more she realizes that maybe he isn't just a one off...maybe this man could be relationship material. Things aren't that simple, when she learns that Jake is apart of the company hired to look at downsizing the university she works for Naya panics, she doesn't want her professional life to be tarnished by her love life.
A great read that had me cheering for Naya and Jake until the very end!

The first 75% of this book was a romantic comedy and the last 25% of the book was a thriller/drama. The sudden switch in tone was jarring and took me out of the story. I enjoyed the characters, especially the male protagonist. He was a higher evolved romantic lead than you find in some stories. The banter between the female and male protagonist was enjoyable and the way they fell in love was believable.

This diverse workplace romance is thoroughly charming and full of bad pun-filled witty banter.

After being emotionally and physically abused by a coworker, Naya works hard to play down her appearance and keep her personality, thoughts, and feelings on heavy lockdown. Her BFFs encourage her to make a list - loosen up and take back her independence. After her friends have to bail on meeting her at a bar, Naya dips her toe into that list by flirting with a stranger. She feels so comfortable with Jake that she almost crosses "one night stand" off her list.

The two feel a real connection and work on making a long-distance relationship work, despite the emotional baggage they're both carrying.

Fast-paced writing, a serious amount of steam and characters who are so adorkable you can't help but hope they get their HEA. Deals with the aftereffects of an abusive relationship and the struggles of women in academia. For fans of Get a Life, Chloe Brown and The Friend Zone.

I realize that the "trope" of following a woman after an abusive relationship refinding herself and finding love is one that has existed for a long time in romance, but over the past couple of years especially I have recognized so many rom-coms that have tackled this topic -- The Flatshare; The Right Swipe; Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Evvie Drake Starts Over, etc. Because of this recent uptick in these heavy-meets-light romances (and my love of The Flatshare, which I think did it so, so right) I have perhaps higher standards for books that tackle this topic than other rom-coms. That said, there is a lot to like about How to Fail at Flirting -- an interesting heroine, a super sweet love interest, and a plot that marries many explorations of trauma, new love, career struggles, fierce friendships, and more. I did feel like this was the ultimate instalove story, so if you, like me, enjoy a little more slow burn in your romance you might not totally jive with the timeline of events here, and the pacing can feel off at times (sometimes jumping three or four months at a time with little to show for the in-between) but if you're looking for a diverse romance with lots of wit and heart, I recommend picking this one up.

This book had me blushing! From the title, I expected a cute story but what I wasn't expecting was for it to be so steamy. I smiled from ear to ear as I devoured Naya and Jake’s love story. I have so much respect for Naya’s character. She survived an abusive relationship and is such a strong, intelligent woman through it all. All the puns and cute banter in this story were like my own personal brand of humor. The characters were so nerdy but hot! Their chemistry was truly undeniable. Jake is the perfect book boyfriend despite some of the ex drama thrown in. A must-read romance for 2020. I can’t say enough good things about it. I need a sequel!