I enjoyed the second book by Lucy Chalice the same as the first (Hot Henry Effect), about the other twin… Teddy and Hannah had a moment at high school, at his and Henry’s 18th birthday party, when he, the popular boy, snuck out of his party and came across her, the brainy science girl, and they shared a kiss… before the popular girls discovered them…

Many years later, Hannah returns to town and winds up bumping into him. In an effort to improve her prickly personality, she asks for his help in “people-ing”. After spending a lot of time together in the lessons, and his sunshine personality working to turn her grump around, the forced proximity seems to do its usual trick and reminds them both of their high school crushes.

It was a quick and fun read - if you are familiar with the first book, you’ll enjoy this one just as much. If you didn’t read Henry’s book, you can definitely read this as a standalone, and go in knowing it’s a great reverse grumpy sunshine, kinda second chance, high school crushes romance. It’s a light and charming storyline! Easy reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK / One More Chapter for an early copy. This is my honest feedback.

Hannah is a quirky veterinarian with the people skills of a hedgehog. She moves back home after her world falling apart and runs into none other than her old flame (if you count one super hot kiss senior year) Teddy.

He’s never been as nice as his twin brother, but there’s something about him Hannah can’t shake.

Turns out, they’re neighbors! And seeing a LOT of each other since Hannah has asked teddy to teach her “people skills” and the fundamentals of flirting.
But soon Hannah and Teddy realize maybe they are what the other has been missing all along.

I liked Hannah. She gave me The Good Doctor vibes in the best way. It was a cute romance with a slow burn to the spicy scenes I had been waiting for.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this story, this is my objective review. Another fun one from Lucy Chalice! Our fmc is Hannah, a veterinarian who is serious and sensible, with a fierce personality that hides a core of vulnerability. Teddy (twin brother to Henry from "The Hot Henry Effect") is our mmc: he's charming and gregarious. After sharing a pretty fantastic kiss (and its awkward aftermath) in their teens, Hannah and Teddy go their separate ways until 15 years later when Hannah returns to their hometown after dumping her creep of a boyfriend. When she comes under fire at her new job for not being polite enough to the owners of the pets she treats, Teddy offers to help her with her boss. And as Teddy gives Hannah a crash course in more effective socializing, attraction builds and Hannah starts to wonder if she has underestimated Teddy all along.

This was very much grumpy-sunshine, which is a favorite trope of mine. I really enjoy a heroine who's not afraid to embrace the grump, and I loved Hannah so much. This is a first-person single POV from Hannah's perspective; I usually prefer to have the mmc's POV as well but it worked fine here. The author has a solid sense of humor, which is evident in the dialogue as well as in Hannah's inner voice and observations. Teddy was ridiculously likable, and the dynamic between Hannah and Teddy was fun to watch as they learned that they could truly be themselves with each other. Closed-off Hannah and insecure Teddy poked at that soft place in my heart that's reserved for the emotionally damaged. I wanted to give them both hugs then tell them to hug each other. I also love that although Hannah has ready support in Teddy, she is perfectly capable of rescuing herself and she *does*. This book ticked my entire checklist for a good rom-com and I really enjoyed the read. Readers who love slow burn friends-to-lovers stories with a strong fmc who learns to nurture her inner honey badger, a supportive and sweet mmc, witty banter between two emotionally vulnerable adults, and a menagerie of animal supporting characters will love this book. I gave it 4 stars but it's closer to 4.25. Oh, and since this is a series so far, if I had to guess I'd say that Clara's co-worker Oscar may be next to get a story.

3.5⭐️/1.5🌶️

Thank you netgalley for this arc! :)

this was a cute cinnamon roll/grumpy romance. Though our fmc isnt exactly grumpy, more shes just very blunt and the others around her dont like it :")

our mmc is such a goofy sweetie pie, i felt so bad learning about him and the relationship between him and his twin. it would really stink to always be compared or to come second in things constantly in life. i feel like our fmc was the perfect counter for him.

i didnt feel a big connection with the characters, and i did have to speed read a few pages/chapters as i felt myself losing interest, but over all this plot was adorable and im glad i was able to read it.

This book is exhausting. No self respecting adult woman would lack such self confidence due to freckles and her experience throughout childhood. It was silly how Hannah thrived on self deprivation and refused to love herself despite Teddy's ardent attempts.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It was an easy cosy story, and I flew through it in a day.

Hannah and Teddy are likeable characters along with some devil sheep, the neighbour, and ofc the cat! I loved following along on how each part of the story developed with them.

It was a bit hallmark predictable in parts, but that's why we love these kinds of stories. It gave me similar vibes to The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, but the writing in this was much better!

All in all, a lovely little cosy read and look forward to more from this author!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Sadly, this wasn’t my cup of tea but if you’re in search of a cute romcom featuring animals, give it a try!

Fundamentals in Flirting follows Hannah, a vet who just moved back to her small hometown after she had to give up her research position because… well a very shitty ex-boyfriend. Back home, she reconnect with Teddy, one half of the town’s favourite twins. The two have a back and forth featuring a kind older woman, a goat and a cat as supporting characters.

While I enjoyed the set up and first chapter of this book quite a bit, I was taken out of it by the true mental gymnastics Hannah goes through. Throughout this book, from their first encounter onwards, Ted won’t stop telling Hannah pretty clearly that he is romantically interested in her. He mentions it directly and indirectly in almost every conversation they have. And Hannah… well she keeps stubbornly pretending like she has never heard him say any of that and keeps telling herself and him for that matter that he’s not interested in her and never could be etc etc. A little miscommunication and missed signals is pretty standard in a romance novel, but here it was very much repeated aloud all the time and Hannah’s refusal to see that felt immature. It took away all of the chemistry and I ended up being annoyed for most of the book. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing, the dialogue felt a bit unnatural at times. Besides that, the book has a good recipe for a cute feel good romance, but I personally couldn’t ignore the above. I think for other readers Hannah’s ignorance may add to a level of yearning, so I’d still recommend it for people who really like a drawn out romance.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

Between this book and the Hot Harry Effect, I'm totally in love with this author and will be EAGERLY awaiting future works. Her characters are well done and sympathetic. I loved everyone I was supposed to love, and appreciated the others for their roles in her life.

I love this author's attention to detail. it's a simple thing, but early in the book is a riding scene, and the details are absolutely perfect--either the author's a fairly skilled rider herself, or she's done an excellent job of researching the book (I'll bet the former.)

i think it’s official: i am not the target reader for lucy chalice books. i didn’t *love* the hot henry effect but thought the premise of fundamentals in flirting would be more my speed. sadly this, too, didn’t do it for me. i found the writing to be similar to ali hazelwood’s (which MANY love!) but it just wasn’t my vibe. don’t get me wrong, though, this was a cute story that i think will be a hit with the masses.

This was a cute book, but I tend to have a hard time with a miscommunication of sorts.

I do love a sort of second chance, or they knew each other when they were young. But I like the history that comes with it, and I did not feel the tension as much, and I wished they felt less like strangers at the beginning.

I did like the story, but there was a lot that I fell a little flat.

I'm not sure if it was that this felt very formulaic, but I wished there was a bit more tension and history going back to them in high school.

Quite a fun romcom. Lively writing style and pacey. The characters are likeable. I’d have liked more wit and banter, for perfection.

Teddy’s RomCom

Teddy and Hannah were a cute RomCom couple. The flirtation was sweet and incorporated into the storyline. She was the grumpy and he was the sunshine-very well balanced and made it enjoyable to read. I loved the representation of women in STEM continuing in this story.

Teddy and his grins are tough to not smirk at as it gleams off the pages. A sweet read sprinkled with a heat as the book wrapped up.

I received a copy of this book from Lucy Chalice and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I really loved The Hot Henry Effect by Lucy Chalice so I was very excited about a new novel and the fact that it followed Teddy, Henry's twin brother.

We first meet Teddy and Hannah having a moment at Teddy's 18th birthday party but Hannah sees Teddy as a little out of her league and one of those boys who is always fighting girls off, whereas she is quite nerdy.

Fast-forward into adulthood and the two bump into each other again. Hannah is now a vet and has recently moved back to her hometown to work at a veterinary practice. Teddy has also moved back and purchased The Old Rectory which is close by the practice.

After a few complaints about Hannah's prickly attitude, her boss asks her to maybe try being a bit brighter with them. Teddy however is super charming and nice and everyone seems to like him, so Hannah desperately asks for his help to teach her.

I loved loved loved this. The characterisation is fantastic and I felt like I knew Hannah and Teddy inside out. This is a slow burn romance and I felt like I could really resonate with Hannah in her self-doubt about her looks and not believing that Teddy could possibly like her.

Teddy's feelings about his place in his family was beautifully done and added so much depth to the characters. I fell in love with the supporting characters too and it just felt like a fabulously cosy read.

This book was so good! The setting in this book was great! And the romance and the banter was so fun!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book! My opinions are my own.

This book is about Hannah, a veterinary scientist who due to circumstances has to return to the place she grew up in. That is where she quite literally bumps into her childhood crush - Teddy. He's also the most annoying, biggest flirt ever to exist on this planet. Not someone to start a lasting relationship with...

Teddy also happens to be the twin brother to Henry from the previous book. While it's fun to see an update on how things went after book 1, it's not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy the second one.

I very much enjoyed the writing style and read this book in just a few days! It's easy to read, with likeable characters. They all have their own issues to work through, which adds some layers to the story.

Sweet, funny, cute, pets, social anxiety, love, bubbly. Everything I like. The characters are real, well written, and you can see they are made for eachother. A really nice and easy read. Cute romance. Love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC of Fundamentals in Flirting, in exchange for an honest review.

"If you're in the mood for an easy to read, quick romcom, "Fundamentals in Flirting" by Lucy Chalice is for you. While there were some moments of miscommunication and the constant joking from the characters may not be everybody's cup of tea, the book still manages to deliver a fun love story wrapped in humor.
The main characters, Dr. Hannah Havens and Teddy Fraser, navigate their complicated dynamic with ups and downs, providing plenty of laughs along the way. While not everyone may find the characters entirely likable, the book offers an enjoyable escape for fans of light-hearted romance. Give it a try and prepare for a fun combination of laughter, swoons, and a touch of spice!"
3.75 Stars!!!

Thank you, Harper Collins One More Chapter and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of Fundamentals in Flirting.

When I saw that Lucy Chalice had a follow-up to The Hot Henry Effect, of course, I wanted to read it! While there is some overlapping in characters, both novels can be read as a stand-alone. Fundamentals in Flirting was a fun quick read. This was a second-chance romance where our big cinnamon roll MMC fell first for our prickly FMC. You could classify this as friends to lovers or enemies to lovers due to our FMC reading a situation from their youth entirely wrong. There were parts where I laughed out loud which is always a good sign for a fun read!

After a bad breakup, Dr. Hannah Havens returns to her hometown to take an opening as a vet. The last thing she wanted to do was run in to Teddy Fraser. Teddy is a ladies' man who wants to win Hannah over at all costs. When Hannah asks Teddy to teach her to be better with people, a skill Hannah's boss says she lacks, Teddy is all in! While Hannah may not want much to do with Teddy at first, she's sure to fall victim to his charm at some point!

tropes: women in stem, reverse grumpy sunshine & he falls first
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
spice: 1/5

hannah is a vet who due to high school bullies and horrendous ex faces insecurities not only about her looks but who she is to a core. she’s referred to as “prickly” but she does it to protect herself and I get that!

enter teddy who she’s known since high school where one incident between them leaves a sour taste in her mouth. teddy is a classic golden retriever with such an amazing personality who also faces insecurities due to the constant comparison to his twin.

it is a SLOW burn that at points makes you want to scream at the book. hannah and teddy’s interactions had me laughing, smiling but also wanting to throw my phone at the wall. you are genuinely rooting for this couple and I loved the side characters they introduced into their story. all the animals were my fav!

didn’t mind the slow burn but did mind how hannah constantly put down henry assuming he was a casanova when all he was doing was try to prove how he felt. hannah did have a very big wall up due to her past but poor teddy was doing nothing.

this was a fun read and I’m glad I discovered this author!