3.5/5 ⭐️ARC read - thank you NetGalley! Always a pleasure to get a sneak peek. This is a reverse grumpy sunshine trope with a prickly heroine and a charming and bubbly hero. Hannah is a vet, starting over in her hometown in a small practice after her previous relationship and job fell apart. Who does she run into but a childhood crush that fumbled their kiss years before. Teddy is flirt. Charming, good looking and kind. When Hannah's prickly attitude puts her new job at risk, she hires Teddy to give her lessons on "peopling". Slowly their tentative friendship leads to flirtation, but can Hannah believe he is genuine? Or that she is good enough to be with someone like him? I connected a lot with Hannah's character - the doubt, the spiralling, the social anxiety. Also being a blunt kind of personality and having people tell you - you should smile more. I enjoyed the growth and depth of the characters. The writing was good. A nice enjoyable easy read.

Easily a 4.5 ⭐️ read for me! An adorable story!

I feel like Hannah is me on some days. So obliviously blunt with no filter. Ted is her complete opposite, but you know what they say- opposites attract!

I need an Agnes in my life with an Aphrodite… and let’s not forget a devil sheep named Deidre!

I was giggling and kicking my feet- I couldn’t stop reading!

I definitely fell in love with this authors debut novel ‘The hot Henry effect’ so I was more than excited to read this next in line release. A romance novel set in the English countryside with a grumpy vs sunshine trope was winning points for my reading tastes and for the most part I enjoyed this book and all it had to offer as an easy romantic read. I did however find myself a tad frustrated with the characters and the unending will they won’t they style of writing. Slow burn I’m a fan of but frustrating unending cycle that the protagonists found themselves in somehow ended up rubbing me up the wrong way. But there was still plenty to love, the small town theme with quirky sub characters along the way and a solid happily ever after sealed the deal on what is an overall funnily written and enjoyable escape of a romance novel. If you are in the mood for easy breezy and a book to completely escape into then I think you’ll be happily caught up with this book.

First and foremost I want to extend a thank you to NetGalley for the early access copy of the Fundamentals in Flirting in exchange for my honest review!

This book is a cute story of Hannah starting over after a bad breakup, life looks a bit like a set back heading to her hometown to start again. She is grump and a bit jaded, not really a people person.

Forced proximity and a little history draw Hannah and Teddy together. They are the a black cat and golden retriever through and through! Great tension, banter and love bloom!

Overall this is a great feel good romance, can’t wait to pick up more from this author

This was cute story about a second chance and two adults finding themselves. I’m also glad we got a little more from Henry and Clara.

3.5 stars rounded up. This is a fun romcom with a lot of laughs and charming moments. I especially loved Teddy and his big, flirty heart so much. Agnes and her animals were so sweet and likable too.

I found it a bit harder to connect to Hannah. I felt for her in all her insecurity and awkwardness, but I was confused by moments like her telling Teddy she wasn’t sure if she had left her ex for good, despite him having just been a total jerk to her on top of everything else. And in the end Hannah and Teddy just stumbled into one too many miscommunication moments for my liking.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lo disfruté mucho, lo leí de una sentada. No me di cuenta que me había atrapado hasta que lo terminé y me dí cuenta que no había hecho nada más que leer.


Como persona que ha sufrido el mismo tipo de bullying que Hannah puedo decir que es muy difícil quitarte esas ideas que te meten esas personas y más si no lo tratas
, que este es el caso de ella. Para algunos puede resultar exagerado sus reacciones, pero en realidad yo lo vi normal.


La parte del romance me gustó, por momentos me desesperaron tanto ella como Teddy porque no hablaban, actuaban a base de suposiciones en lugar de hablarse. Peor aparte de eso lo disfruté.



Gracias NetGalley y a la editorial por el ARC a cambio de una opinión honesta.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and Lucy Chalice for the early access copy of the Fundamentals in Flirting.

Fundamentals in Flirting follows the story of Hannah and Teddy. This is a grumpy sunshine, he falls first, forced proximity romance that is told from Hannah’s perspective. Teddy is a golden retriever MMC that is hard not to fall for. The tension between Teddy and Hannah is palpable.

If you love witty banter, goats, and tension that builds, this is the story for you. I lost a lot of sleep not being able to put this book down.

Victorias first ARC thanks to NetGalley!
Fundamentals in Flirting by @lucychalice.author

I felt very lucky to be able to read this book before its official release, it’s my first ARC and I absolutely love the fact I get to review this book.

Hannah starts of catching her boyfriend cheating on her so Dr Hannah decides to tell on him and go back to her hometown to pretty much start again and work in a veterinary surgery. She really isn’t on the hunt for love until she literally rides into it.. there he is Teddy Frazer. Teddy and Hannah have a slight history so to speak..

Hannah is a little prickly and Teddy is down to earth charismatic well liked kinda guy. Hannah isn’t doing to well at work with her bedside manner so takes it in her stride to ask Teddy for help in being a ‘people person.’ Is Teddy the sunshine to her grumpy?
But Hannah is such a hardworking girl, she cares about animals she’s called out at all hours and I really felt for her I felt for every emotion that she went through. It’s tough!

Teddy falls first, he’s enthusiastic and commits to showing Hannah how truly wonderful and caring she is and generally how much he loves her. There is a moment in the story when Teddy lists all of the beautiful things about Hannah. There’s slot of push and pull between Teddy and Hannah more so on Hannah side because of her self esteem.

The story flowed, it didn’t drag and there was always something going on. And the fact I love animals it was perfect , cows and blind goats are a winner.

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A total win for fans of the author and anyone in the mood for a quick, feel-good romance! Huge thanks to the publishing team for the review copy—this was the perfect weekend escape when I needed a break from the million things running through my brain. Fun, flirty, and yes, a little bit sexy!

I love the small world Chalice has built here, especially if you've read The Hot Henry Effect. She's amazing at creating strong, smart, and educated female characters who hold their own both professionally and personally—and honestly, that matters! I'm also a sucker for enemies-to-lovers slow burns, especially when there's a second chance or missed opportunity vibe. Oh, and let's not forget the charming moments with small animals (the main character is a vet, after all). And give me all the "he falls first" stories where the guy's focus is on building trust, care, and a truly respectful relationship. It's the sweetest!

This was my first novel by Lucy Chalice and I'm already adding her previous work to my to read list!
This was heartfelt and sweet and I adored Teddy. Some of the characters felt like caricatures (e.g. the ex boyfriend) and I felt there were lots of origins of insecurity that could have been further explored, but overall it was lovely and I found myself really rooting for Hannah.

I loved this light-hearted rom-com. From the initial meet-cute, I fell in love with this pair. Their story had some heart-warming threads, some miscommunications, and a determined ex. Their relationship grew as they overcame hurdles and it made for a great read.

The setting was a lovely backdrop to the romance, and it was nice to catch up with some old characters.

A great book from this author and I look forward to the next!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Vet Hannah Havens returns to her hometown after catching her boyfriend cheating on her.

She doesn’t expect to bump into Teddy Fraser, who she last saw when she was a teenager, and they shared a kiss.

Teddy Fraser is a ladies man, and Hannah feels insecure about her own looks, mainly due to the bullying she endured at school because of the freckles on her face.

Hannah doesn’t believe that Teddy is interested in her, and does all she can to keep him at bay.

Teddy has no intentions of keeping away from Hannah, and he seems to pop up everywhere!

Can Teddy show Hannah how he feels? Not easy when the lady in question is as prickly as a porcupine!

This is a fun romcom, and the blind goat was the real star of the show for me.

Henry and Clara featured briefly in this book, and I liked seeing these two favourites back again.

My thanks to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Lucy Chalice is back with another Fraser man and this time it is Ted Fraser, Henry's brother, an architect who has been crushing on Tanner since they were in school together, and is adamant to fix their broken friendship after their disastrous kiss on his 18th birthday.

After finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her, Hannah breaks up with him and moves back to her hometown in the Cotswolds and gets a job in at the local vet clinic and a place to stay in the flat above it. Since she got there she's been dreaming about moving into the old abandoned house across the street, what she doesn't expect is to be out riding on her horse and be crashed into none other than Ted Fraser, who just so happens to be her new neighbour. She reluctantly agrees to accompany him back to the village and it is there that he realises just how little of a people person she is so he comes up with a plan to help her, if she agrees to help him renovate his new house he will teach her the fundamentals of communicating.

Join Hannah and Ted, alongside a lost kitten, a blind goat, friendly locals and the familiar faces of Henry and Clara, as they restore Ted's house and fix Hannah's people skills.

Right so Hannah and Teddy really are a great example of idiots in love who are scared of admitting their feelings for each other and I was here for it throughout the whole book. I absolutely loved the banter between the two of them and seeing them fake a relationship for sweet old lady Agnes purely because she can see how in love they are with each other and they don't have the heart to tell her the truth. These two were so awkward and it was so cute seeing their relationship develop throughout the book and work together on fixing the house and improve Hannah's confidence.

Ted was such a flirt and I loved the way he always tried to make Hannah as comfortable as possible no matter what situation they were in. Hannah really needed her confidence boost and I'm so happy Ted was there to build it back up for her!

KEY TROPES:
- grumpy x sunshine
- small town
- forced proximity
- he falls first
- meddling friends

Fundamentals in Flirting releases on 1st November and I would 100% recommend you get yourself a copy, I loved reading about these two!

Thank you to HarperCollins and One More Chapter for the opportunity to read and review this book before release.

☆ he falls first
☆ forced proximity
☆ slow burn
☆ opposites attract
☆ small town romance

I absolutely loved this book. I’ve been struggling to find a book that could keep me interested lately but this one had me instantly!
Hannah and Teddy are such a perfect couple. They felt very real and emotional in a way that I loved.
Such a fun book and the slow burn was definitely worth it!

Me encantó.

No es necesario leer el libro anterior para poder entender esta historia. A parecen personajes, pero no son importantes o su participación en este libro no tiene que ver con los sucesos que pasaron anteriormente.


Amé a Hannah, su fortaleza, inteligencia, resilencia, disciplina y perseverancia.

Me hubiese gustado que Teddy tuviera povs para conocerlo mejor.


Gracias NetGalley y a la editorial por el ARC a cambio de una reseña honesta.

Dr. Hannah Havers thinks her life is ok, until she walks in on her boyfriend with his PhD student! Licking her wounds, she returns home to her hometown to work at the local vet clinic until she can come up with a new plan. She reconnects with her only friend from school, along with her high school bully…and the one boy she was ever really interested in (even if she didn’t think he felt the same). Now Hannah has to prove to her boss, and the town, that she can be friendly and less prickly, with the help of hometown heart throb Teddy Fraser the boy that got away.

The banter and snark these two have made this such an enjoyable and fun read. Who doesn’t love a grumpy FMC and a sunshiny MMC twist?
🌶️ level of spicy but so cute and funny

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC.

This is Lucy's second novel, and I really enjoyed her first, "The Hot Henry Effect" and this one is just as good! I love the fact that we get to see characters from the first book in this one periodically and I think it adds a level of familiarity to the story.

Now, on to this book. After reading "Henry" I was afraid that I wouldn't like Teddy as much and I was pleasantly surprised that he is just as adorable. I loved the banter between Teddy and Hannah, their nicknames for each other were amazing and their relationship was so genuine and uplifting. This book is a wonderful rom com with great characters and just enough goofiness to make it relatable and heartwarming.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter | One More Chapter for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nice rom-com. Rarely do you see the female in the grumpy role, so this was a change. Sort of wish I had read Henry’s story first for a bit of background knowledge. Good book for Ali Hazelwood fans.

Hannah is a research vet who moves to her home village when her professor boyfriend is found in bed with his student. Reminding her of Teddy who she had a steamy porn-star-esque kiss with at Teddy’s 18th birthday party all those years ago. Hannah is struggling to control her grumpiness with clients in her new veterinary role and manages to get some interpersonal skill classes to help along. What follows is an adorable romance and will they won’t they. A very realistic reflection on relationships with a cheating ex and a bevy of heartfelt characters.

🌶️ very low spice, two open door, very short scenes