Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. The main issue I had was that I didn't feel like there was truly enough interaction or communication that happened before they each were already having strong feelings for each other. To me, it just seemed more like lust and not actual interest. I also had a really hard time with Lucy as a character. She came across extremely immature, unprofessional, and hypocritical. While I can appreciate and sympathize with trying to portray and shed light on issues like anxiety and ADHD, it just didn't connect on a deeper level. The only explanation or experience I felt I got from it was solely through Lucy's chapters. And there was no outer self awareness of how her decisions and actions really were affecting those around her as well. On top of that, it was almost painful to keep reading about Lucy being someone who is supposed to be guiding and preparing teens for college and life, including their mental health when she made zero steps towards managing her own, I believed she even made statements about faking it in front of her therapist? Again, even if these are real things that people do or experience, this was a missed opportunity to address those things. Fletcher was a little boring and I didn't get a good sense of his personality from his chapters. It seemed like he was enabling Lucy at times. Lucy's family was also a little cringy at times with having no boundaries while simultaneously either not realizing or sweeping Lucy's issues under the rug.
And the ultimate kicker, are we really supposed to believe that these people ended up at the same school, coincidentally? On top of his ex girlfriend also being there? Who sounds like she would never actually be a public school teacher?
Overall, a miss for me.

DNF @ 20%

When you're almost a quarter of the way through the book and most of the novel has been about what occurs in the first few pages - it's a bit of a miss for me. I didn't mind the characters involved (even if the male MMC made some questionable life choices to end up at the school he ends up at), but I didn't believe them as a couple.

Also, there were one too many jokes about a certain "Cool Kids Club" that for some reason needed to change all of the first letters to "KKK" instead of "CCC"...which would have made more sense given TWO words start with C and not K.

Not for me. Might be for you!

This was such a cute read! I loved the romance and enjoyed the main characters and all their friends/coworkers.

Hello Fellow Reader,

I was afraid I wouldn't like this as Flirty Little Secret started a bit slow, but the more I read the more I fell in love with Lucy and Fletcher's relationship. Lucy is so loveable and real, that I immediately connected to her. On Instagram, @TheMissGuidedCounselor is self-assured and confident giving much-needed wisdom and advice to her followers, one of which we learn is Fletcher. We can't always trust what gets portrayed on social media because in real life @TheMissGuidedCounselor is Lucy. Lucy would hate it if her followers learned who she was, she feels like a mess, struggling with anxiety and depression while also trying to manage her ADHD, Lucy feels like a lie.

The romance was sweet and I liked how it progressed through the book, Fletcher was okay and I always love nice guy MMCs, but it was Lucy who made things shine, and I liked how Lepe portrayed Mental health issues, which honestly was not something I expected but appreciated. There were a couple of things that made this a little hard to read like the whole complication with Georgia felt unnecessary and not needed. Also, how high schoolers were portrayed gave Steve Buscemi's "How Do You Do, Fellow Kids' meme energy.

Overall a good mental health representation and romance.

In real life, Lucy is a hot mess - she’s shy, she’s constantly battling her anxiety and depression, and really struggles with imposter syndrome. But online, she’s confident and bold, always giving advice on her popular but anonymous account. When the new hot history teacher comes to school, Lucy can’t deny the instant chemistry between them, but she doesn’t fully trust him or herself. What she doesn’t know is Fletcher is her online bestie.

Between the You’ve Got Mail vibes and the school setting, I was all in on this book. Add in some incredible mental health discussions and representation as well as the cultural representation (Lucy is Mexican, Moroccan, and Jewish), and this book was a winner. I thought the online messages were so fun to read (especially when I knew what was happening before the characters did) and the food descriptions from Lucy’s family restaurant made me hungry. After reading this, I’m excited to see what else Jessica Lepe writes!

Thanks to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

This was an adorable romcom that brings in the social media aspect of today’s world. The audio was really good! I loved the multiple POV but that each narrator voiced their own characters the entire time. I also thought this author did a great job discussing mental health issues. Lucy is very funny and Fletcher felt a little mysterious at first but I ended up really liking him. Workplace romance meets online romance where both clash when Lucy and Fletcher realize both worlds are actually the same.

The misunderstanding, miscommunication, and secrets did bother me in this one more than I expected it to. Lucy was pretty stubborn when she finally found out Fletcher had already figured out she was his online bestie. When she didn’t want to listen to his explanation I just kind of felt myself check out. The ending was cute and it did feel like we got resolution.

Flirty little secret was such a fun read start to finish. It was a quick-paced and engaging story with loveable yet flawed characters, interesting conflicts, and witty humour. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and really only had issues with a couple little moments. I enjoyed Fletcher and Lucy's romance, and found its progression to be well-paced and the stakes were predictable in a good way. The side characters didn't fall flat for me which is always a bonus.

My only real issues with this story were the way it treated its teenage characters, in mostly obnoxious stereotypes and bland characterization. The teenage girl stifling her intelligence to be an influencer was cringeworthy, and the dialogue between Lucy, Fletcher and their students was the hardest part to read, aside from one scene between Lucy and her sister when her sister made vulgar comments about screwing her sister and then proceeding to lick her? I get that it was written to be like family humour, but it was jarring and I definitely had to reread it to make sure I'd read it right.

I fell in love with the characters in this story. It was so fun to see a Jewish FMC. This was such a cute story and I had a lot of fun reading it. I think the author wrote the character so any girl can relate to Lucy! If I could I’d rate it 10/10!

Unfortunately, I'll be DNFing this one.

I really appreciate the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I struggled really hard to get into this one. The meet-disaster was comical, but it became the center of the book for the first quarter, and I was bored. There was also a lot of deep introductions to people and places and things and history and anxiety (so much talk about anxiety).

I loved the account that the FMC runs, but it didn't feel genuine to the person she was IRL, and I struggled with that a bit.

Also, being married to a male teacher, I just didn't super connect with the MMC? It just didn't speak to my own lived experiences in a way that I thought it would.

This was an excellent debut novel and I loved the Jewish representation in it! Just like's its title it is a fun read and I loved that it took place between coworkers, and I loved their messages to each other.

This was a cute book. The characters found themselves in the end even though it took a little but to get there. At times, the main female character wasn't my favorite but in the end I liked it.

I love when an author can so accurately convey the emotions and feelings behind mental health issues, not feeling like you can be yourself around the people that know you best.

I enjoy alternating POVs and when done properly… and this book did that!

Thank you netgalley for the eARC in exchange for review.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Lucy felt like one of the most real characters I've read in a very long time. She is not a perfect main character and I loved that. I am also obsessed with the side characters in this book. If the author decided to make this into a series and make a book for each of Lucy's sisters I would read it in a heartbeat.

I also loved the Jewish representation in this, I was not expecting that.

This was so cute & fun to read! I enjoyed it so much! The exchange of text messages! The banter was great! The story flowed so swiftly and I could not put it down

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), & Jessica Lepe for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one is out now!

This was a cute workplace romance between teachers and mistaken identity romance. We see our MC’s lives inside and outside of school. I’m not going to lie, this one struggled to hold my attention. Reflecting, it was a cute story. I definitely recommend giving it a shot if you’re looking for a light RomCom.

DNF - I’m sorry, the KKK stuff just really put me off. I grew up in Detroit and neighboring areas with a lot of KKK marches and just. Cannot.

I enjoyed this book but it was a bit unrealistic. The premise doesn't really make sense, but it was wonderful to get lost in the characters. I especially appreciated the mental health focus of the characters.

Although the concept was interesting, the story felt very juvenile to me. I stopped at 69%.

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for an advanced copy for review consideration.

There was a lot that was frustrating about this book for me. I typed out an entire review and then lost it, so to sum-up: the author should have consulted with an actual School Counselor to write this book because she got a lot wrong. The “KKK” club was a ridiculous example of outdated curriculum. “Tribe” is not a problematic term to use when expressing a bonded group, and books/authors/general public should stop projecting offense where there is none. College is not the only option after high school and forcing students/readers to think that it is the best option is misleading; especially given the current state of student loan debt and unemployed college graduates.

The romance was okay, the family banter and characters were entertaining. I felt for Lucy’s struggles. But that was all overshadowed by the aforementioned issues.

Going in to Flirty Little Secret as one of my most anticipated new releases of the year, I had high hopes and I was NOT disappointed.

I don’t know if I’ve ever related so strongly to a character the way I did to Lucy. Her struggles with anxiety, depression, and ADHD were some of the most realistic I have ever read, and it felt so beyond wonderful to see myself so represented in a book. That feeling of wanting love but not being sure you deserve it? Knowing that isn’t apparently just a thought in my brain and is something people struggle with, but can still be loved for all their brain’s quirks (and frequent crying) was very emotional. I am so excited to recommend this book to friends going forward as a great depiction of the realities of having mental health conditions and being neurodivergent, and for the precious love story.

POV: dual first person

You can expect: teacher MMC, guidance counselor MMC, pen pals, secret identity, he falls first.

Rep: Mexican/Moroccan/Jewish FMC, anxiety, depression, IBD, ADHD.

Spice: 2/5

CW: off-page grooming of a child (NOT done by a MC, brief and non-descriptive. Nothing physically happens to the child), microaggressions, cheating (not done by MCs, off page)