This was so, so funny. Loved the banter and the smoldering. Hannah and Teddy are old frenemies from high school and the sparks fly when they meet again years later. She is an extreme introvert with prickly tendencies and he's a cheerful flirt. The small cast of characters and animals add to the joy and humor of this sweet romance. Highly recommended. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

One disastrous kiss, 15 years of heartbreak, and now a successful doctor finds herself running into the biggest flirt that broke her heart all those years ago and he's determined to win her over. Hannah Havens was not a popular teen, she was a nerd but when she kissed Teddy Fraser, a popular ladies man, she really thought it was going to be the best day of her life... until he opened his mouth and ruined it all. One thing lead to another and her dream kiss turned into a nightmare and she told herself to forget about him. Now years later she is a successful doctor and has returned to her small town... crashing right back into Teddy. Hannah would love nothing more than to avoid him at all cost but Teddy is determined to get close to her again.... and if they ever want a chance to make it work they'll have to face the kiss that went wrong all those years ago. I'm going to be honest I did not like Teddy or Hannah one bit at all and didn't really care for their romance. The big misunderstandings and the whole thing between them just felt childish and lackluster in the romance department. I just found myself not caring and skimming until I got to the end of the book and the whole "resolution" just felt bland at best to me. Honestly, this one just was not for me, however I do think that people who love second chance romances and miscommunication tropes will have fun with this one.

Release Date: November 7,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter | One More Chapter for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Hannah is an experienced researcher who walks in on her long-term boyfriend and mentor in bed with one of his students. In a moment of unexpected confidence, she calls him out, dumps him, and ends both their relationship and any current career prospects, knowing he has a mind for retaliation.

She returns to her hometown to work in a small vet clinic, doing front-facing work with the public, much to the chagrin of those around her. After veiled threats of losing her job if her prickly attitude continues, Hannah agrees to help from flirtatious and genial Teddy. She's left wondering if she can swallow her tongue and learn to talk to people without offending them, all from someone she has a complicated past with.

*****

I really wanted to love this book. Grumpy/sunshine is one of my favourite tropes, especially when the FMC is the grump. Unfortunately, I think this book was written with a younger audience in mind, as Teddy ended up coming across more in line with a brand-new college student than a man in his 30s.

He was juvenile, needlessly dramatic and immature, and knowing he was supposed to be a man my age just made him endlessly annoying. I couldn't find a boyish charm to him, as his reactions were just so over the top for a mature adult. It took until the last quarter of the novel before he started to present as I expected, which was the saving grace that pushed this book to a 3 star rating.

The author had the issue of presenting Hannah as so incredibly awkward, standoffish, and offensive to others, that I struggled to feel the chemistry between her and Teddy, nor find what he was so intruiged by. Yes, she's supposed to be intelligent and quirky, but aside from that, she's closed off, constantly pushes him away, and thinks the worst of him at every turn. He brings it up at one point, and yet she persists as still seeing him that way as the book carries on. Teddy being enraptured is so one-sided that it feels forced and pulled me out of rooting for what felt like a very mismatched pair.

I also couldn't comprehend how we had a female lead that was previously in a long term relationship, yet her reactions to even the slightest touch from him are so pronounced its like she's never been touched before. She can't even discern real interest from Teddy despite the glaring signs and clear dialogue that's he's absolutely interested in her, yet she internally falls apart at his touch. I understand she has insecurities that blind her, but having them all relate back to her freckles alone was such an odd take. The first chapter made it seem like she was disfigured for her strong reaction to how she perceives herself.

Overall, it was a lighthearted and fast-paced read. If you're good with dialogue that can skew to the more embarrassing or cringey and enjoy a very goofy and immature lead, this book will be a breeze. The last quarter of the book did help to showcase some chemistry, and the connection between the characters deepens and becomes more realistic. I wasn't able to connect with either lead, but I can see how others would, which is why this was bumped up to 3 stars.

*****

Thank you, NetGalley, and One More Chapter (Harper Collins Publisher) for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A cute reverse grumpy/sunshine book with a prickly FMC and a “playboy” MMC. Easy to read, I read it pretty much in one day.

What I liked:
-banter was great between the MCs
-story line was fairly believable
- cute animals

What didn’t work:
- I didn’t really feel much from their school years. Maybe it’s cause we only got one snippet but it didn’t feel like she was “the one that got away” for the MMC
-can you even call it miscommunication if the MCs don’t talk to each other?

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

This was fun! Banter was good, her being a vet was such a good job for her character, idk why but it fit Hannah so well I just wasn’t a fan of the conflict, it felt like she never had any confidence since it was a constant issue.. I wish Hannah would have focused on self love a bit more!

A fun romance set in a small town in the UK, mostly in the present time.
Hannah Havens loves working as a researcher in a Veterinary Department of a University. When Hannah discovers her boyfriend Jonathon in bed with one of his PhD. Students, Hannah decides to leave Jonathon and the job she loves to move to her hometown of Chipping-On-the-Water to work as a vet in a local Veterinary Practice.

Hannah lacks people skills and is always grumpy and afraid of losing her job. An old school friend, Teddy Fraser tries to help Hannah gain confidence in herself.

Teddy is an architect and trying to renovate the old Rectory. I loved the descriptions of the old Rectory.

I loved the descriptions of local activities and the interactions with Agness the old lady living next door to Teddy.

This was a romance about Village life and working as a vet.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher One More Chapter for a chance to read this E-Book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I didn't end up finishing this because the writing style didn't match what I was looking for. I liked Hannah's personality in the start but this did feel a little too much like [insert generic rom-com]. There's a cheating scene right at the start of the book and the main character is of course incredibly upset...and then we have her paired off with a love interest who has proven to be kind of rude to her in the past. I didn't like the banter at all - it didn't strike me as cute or any other adjective other than obviously contrived and kind of boring/annoying.

The characters also didn't have the unique spark to them that distinguishes Ali Hazelwood's books and makes her such a powerhouse romance writer so I found it a little weird that they're pitching this as perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood. I think ultimately if you're looking for a fun and entertaining romance read then you probably won't be disappointed.

Lucy Chalice never fails to make me giggle!! I love love love this book so much and I can’t wait to recommended it to all my STEM girlies out there!!

This was a fun slow-burn small-town grumpy-sunshine romance. There were a few moments when I thought the situations the characters got into were a bit too cute or convenient, but I was happy to go along for the ride, and I'm sure many others will be, too.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read a digital ARC in advance of publication!

The Fundamentals in Flirting was a fun, charming, and warm small town romance.

I loved the flipped take on grumpy sunshine, with Hannah the Hedgehog and Teddy the Labrador. Hannah was smart, motivated and resilient and she and Teddy were so sweet in their care for their elderly neighbour. I really appreciated the fact the characters were in their 30’s, though their insecurities felt a little abrupt sometimes.

The small town setting was so quaint, and I particularly enjoyed the way Hannah’s relationship with the other residents changed over time. Teddy’s renovated house was such a warm and homey setting for sparks to fly, and the goats were just the cherry on top.

A great read for anyone looking for a cosy, amusing and engaging romance. I’m looking forward to picking up the first in the series now.

Thankyou HarperCollins UK for a copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Den Schreibstil der Autorin fand ich vom ersten Satz an sehr angenehm und locker. Darauf aufbauend konnte ich mich gut auf die Geschichte einlassen und fand vor allem die ersten Kapitel auch sehr unterhaltsam. So rund um Kapitel sechs war ich mir sicher, dass mir auch der Rest der Liebesgeschichte gut gefallen würde. Doch ganz so ist es leider nicht gekommen.

Umso länger die Geschichte andauerte, umso weniger Faszination empfand ich für die Hauptcharaktere. Ich hatte ganz generell Probleme damit, sie mir als richtige Personen vorzustellen.

Auch hatte ich das Gefühl, dass es nach dem Einstieg in den Roman hier und da ein paar Längen gab. Als kürzeres Buch hätte mir der Liebesroman unter Umständen besser gefallen.

Das Happy End fand ich dann wiederum schön, emotional mitgerissen hat es mich aber nur bedingt.

Blicke ich auf mein Leseerlebnis zurück, so würde ich den Roman als kurzweilig und nett beschreiben. Und auch wenn das Buch mein Interesse nicht immer halten konnte, so kann ich mir doch gut vorstellen, dass andere Leser:innen das Buch toll finden könnten.

🖤🖤🖤 1/4

PS: So “spicy” wie im Klappentext erwähnt, fand ich den Roman über weite Strecken übrigens nicht.

PPS: Ist das Buchcover nicht wunderschön und einladend?

Für wen?

Wer lockere Liebesromane mag, in denen der Neuanfang der Heldin und ihr neuer Nachbar (ein alter Bekannter) ihr Leben ganz schön auf den Kopf stellen, für den könnte “Fundamentals in flirting” ein schönes Buch sein.

I enjoyed reading Fundamentals in Flirting by Lucy Chalice. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

Hannah and Teddy had a great story. I loved the grumpy/sunshine, with Hannah being the grumpy one. This book was better than I anticipated. Such a cute and fun read. I would definitely recommend this book, especially to a fan of Ali Hazelwood. This book gave off similar vibes.

This was a great follow up to Chalice’s debut novel The Hot Henry Effect. MMC Teddy Fraser is the twin brother of Henry Fraser, book 1 MMC, however, these can be read as standalones.

What I liked about the book:
1. It’s always fun to read a FMC Black Cat x MMC Golden Retriever romance book! Especially when the golden retriever is a bit of a flirt and isn’t dumb.

Teddy was a big flirt (at least with Hannah), and he definitely always put a smile on everyone’s face, but he also hid a depth that he didn’t let a lot of people see. I feel when we get the Golden Retriever MMC it usually comes with a side of Himbo personality, which was not the case with Teddy. I loved him and just wanted to squeeze him so much!

Hannah was an awkward, non-nonsense and blunt individual, but oh how I loved her! She hated “peopling” but pushed herself to do so, which was both hilarious and full of character development for her. Hannah’s humor and feminist undertones were so fun to watch play out as well. As an awkward, black cat FMC myself, I’m a Hannah fan for sure!

2. I also really love when an MMC falls first, which boy oh boy did Teddy!! In love with her since high school, Teddy did not hide the fact that he was going to woo her ass one day!

3. I loved how supportive Teddy was of Hannah taking what she wanted in all aspects of her life as well as standing up against her ex. Even when she didn’t believe in herself, he always did.

I also liked the surprise person who stood up for Hannah towards the end of the book. I wasn’t expecting it, but I was totally hollering “You go, [redacted]!”

4. I loved how Hannah had insecurities that aren’t ones touched on too much in romance books. To her, her freckles were her ultimate downfall, often using her hair as a shield against the world (which I’ve definitely done as well!). I loved how Teddy went about showing her, multiple times, that he loved everything about her and her looks. And that mirror scene????

5. Lastly this was flirty and funny. There were so many interactions that were just pure gold, from “devil sheep” to a series of terrible accents, this book definitely had me cracking up! And the flirting was perfect and just enough to get us by until the intimate collision at the end of the book.

What I wasn’t a fan of:
1. For people in their 30s, there were definitely interactions that came across younger, which was a little cringe at times.

2. Hannah made a lot of assumptions…like a lot even for a romance book, and it got a little old.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and Lucy Chalice for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

What a cute, funny, romantic story. Lovely characters with relatable worries/fears/insecurities.
A bad situation puts a vet in a small town veterinary clinic and her life changes when she finds out the boy she liked as a teenager is a neighbour… read the book to find out what happens!

This book is absolutely delightful and I was completely charmed from the very first page. It’s full of witty banter, relatable characters and undeniable chemistry.

Dr. Hannah Havens is a superstar Vet, who, after an enlightening (and honestly so funny) encounter, decides to move back to her home town. It isn’t long until she runs (literally, while on a horse) into an old high school acquaintance, Teddy Fraser, who just bought The Old Rectory beside her vet office, which she lives above.

This book is incredibly well written. It takes place in Britain and it is so delightfully British. The setting is so beautiful detailed, I felt like I was there. Lucy has crafted characters that feel real, flawed, and entirely lovable. I loved their flirty exchanges and authentic moments. This book is equal parts sweet and laugh-out-loud funny. Plus the spice was just perfection.

Read if you like:
💜 STEM romances
💜 He’s sunshine, she’s serious
💜 Flirting lessons
💜 A Pride and Prejudice inspired scene(the Colin Firth one)
💜He falls first
💜 A devil sheep that is actually actually a blind elderly goat

Cute story. Hannah and Teddy were fun. I liked that Hannah was the grumpy one. That was a nice surprise. I would recommend it to someone who likes books by Ali Hazelwood. There were similarities in tone and I liked that a lot.

This was cute, loved that she was a vet. Sometimes the female scientist jobs are so big that it was nice to read about a regular scientist job. But she was also the most self doubting and deprecating person, it got to be very annoying. And Teddy was fine, also very quick to give in at hard times, but still so nice to Agnes.
I did lol at times and loved the ex boyfriend revenge. But I liked her first novel more.

Read from October 30th, 2024 to November 2nd, 2024. Written on November 3rd, 2024.

This is going to be a quick one:

Full, full of slowburn like OMG-when-will-they-properly-kiss and how-can-you-both-be-so-blind levels of slowburn. There is spice so careful if that's not your thing (though it is not a lot)

I loved it. It's quirky, easy to read, there's goats and plaster, what more do you need? Also, mega Mr. Darcy moment. I mean, wow.

I'd heard of The Hot Henry Effect but hadn't read it, but I will most certainly be reading it now, especially after this one. Though the stories are mildly connected, they are standalone novels.

Also, exes suck sometimes, don't they?

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC!

(Free ARC from NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter | One More Chapter that I chose to review after reading - Cross-posted on Goodreads on November 7th, 2024)

I enjoyed The Hot Henry Effect. And Fundamentals in Flirting by Lucy Chalice was such a great story.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.
Adorable, lighthearted, feel good romance story with that small town vibe and amazing Grumpy x Sunshine trope.