Avery is a reserved event planner and Taylor is a charismatic server who works at a vineyard. During an event at the vineyard Taylor works at, Avery shares that she recently left a relationship, and wants to date but does not know how to flirt. At this same event, Taylor’s best friend makes a bet with her that she is incapable of abstaining from sex for the whole summer. Taylor, despite her attraction to Avery, gets it into her head that she should teach Avery the fundamentals of flirting. This leads to several lessons where Taylor pushes Avery out of her comfort zone. Taylor does not win the bet with her best friend but she does have a lovely relationship with Avery for the rest of the summer. Avery blossoms under Taylor’s tutelage. She also makes a close friend that she met during one of the lessons. Their friendship and later relationship was beautiful to see. They each changed in their own ways. The writing is good, humorous and kept me engaged throughout the book.

avery and taylor!!! omg so cute. flirting lessons because you're bi, curious and need advice? then you fall for the girl giving the lessons? yes please! this story unfolded in a very natural way and the slow burn was SOOOOOO GOOD! however... taylor's friend group was not it. like wtf besties. not cool. i'm glad it was resolved in the end, but i was still annoyed lol. i would def recommend if you love a good sapphic romance! thanks for the arc berkley!

Flirting Lessons is a delightful friends to lovers book. Taylor and Avery may seem like opposites, but when Taylor offers to teach Avery how to flirt and get back in the dating game, it's not long before they grow interested in each other.

I thought this book was sexy and adorable. The dynamic between Taylor and Avery was completely healthy in the growth between friends with incredible chemistry to partners. I adored the motivations for each of the characters as well as how they supported each other's goals and dreams. A lighthearted rom-com with great representation as well as a great look at friendships with sapphic spaces.

This is not the book's fault but the formatting on this was so bad it was nearly unreadable. I ended up listening to the audiobook and I did not vibe with the narrator, which I think lessened my enjoyment of it overall. I love this author's romance books and this one was a bit of a let down. It was still a good sapphic romance, it just wasn't for me. Hopefully it will be for you!

Synopsis:

Avery Jensen is almost 30, fresh off a breakup, and tired of always being well-behaved. She wants to get a hobby, date around (especially other women), flirt with everyone she sees, all the fun stuff normal people do. Despite being self-assured at work, she doesn’t have a lot of confidence when it comes to romance. Enter Taylor Cameron, Napa Valley’s biggest flirt and champion heartbreaker. Taylor offers to give Avery flirting lessons. Avery looks forward to their weekly lessons, not because she kind of might have a little bit of a crush on Taylor. Taylor doesn’t even try to deny that she’s intrigued by Avery, but she’s got a bet to win. After a while, it becomes impossible for Avery and Taylor to ignore their attraction to one another, despite them both insisting to themselves and everyone else that it isn’t serious.

Review:

This was a sweet and spicy, slow burn sapphic romance with some tips on flirting - which I know I would have benefitted from in my single days. The flirting lessons were fun and made me laugh, and I liked to see the personal growth for both characters throughout this book. There was a cast of characters with both FMC’s friend circles and it added some more complexity to the story with some situations and feelings that can arise within friend circles that can strain friendships if not dealt with appropriately.

This is my first Guillory, and I am sold! I have always bought these for the library since she is so popular, but I've never read one myself. I completely get it now. Her character development is so good, they feel like real people and more dimensional than a lot of romance characters. There is a maturity to these women that is sometimes missing (sometimes deliberately), but I like when authors understand that whole mature characters are so much more interesting. Not relying on insecurity as the main plot foil is so refreshing. I also really loved how real the friendship tensions were. The fact that being at different chapters of life can put a lot of strain on even the best friendships is so real and honest and hard. It made the whole book feel more real and honest which in turn made the romance pay off all the more. I'd love to see more queer romance from this author.

Thank you to Berkley for this ARC. Flirting Lessons was such an easy, light read and perfect for summer. As Jasmine Guillory’s first sapphic romance, it beautifully captured the connection between characters, highlighted the nuances of WLW dynamics, and delivered spice that felt true to the story.

As with her previous novels, the steam level wasn’t high, but it was intentional, complete, and meaningful.

I’ve seen some reviews calling Avery and Taylor underdeveloped, but I completely disagree. Having read Drunk on Love, I already had a glimpse into both characters, and in Flirting Lessons, their personalities really came through as they navigated personal growth and built a believable chemistry.

This is a low stakes contemporary sapphic romance that emphasizes the importance of found family and building relationships as adults and Jasmine nailed it. An easy 4-star read.

**3.5-stars rounded up **

After Avery Jensen goes through a break-up, she's realizes her life is stale. She's tired of being well-behaved and reliable. She wants to shake it up; get a hobby, make new friends and flirt with lots of people, men and women. As she considers all of that though, she realizes, she has no clue where to start. She feels like she's lost confidence since her relationship, and is at a loss for how to get it back.

Taylor Cameron is a known flirt and infamous heart-breaker. After her most recent break-up, her best friend bets her that she can't make it 2-months without sleeping with someone new. Taylor, though realizing her history stacks the odds against her, takes the bet. When Avery and Taylor meet at a winery event, Avery spills her concerns to Taylor.

It's not like her to be so open with a stranger, but there's something about Taylor. Taylor feels for Avery and offers to help her. She'll give Avery flirting lessons, her specialty, and in turn, that project will distract Taylor from getting up to no good elsewhere; she's determined to win her bet if she can.

At first, Avery is uncomfortable with their arrangement, but Taylor is so warm and encouraging and soon she begins to look forward to their weekly sessions. The more time the women spend together, the more they start seeing each other in a whole new light. Their chemistry is undeniable and it's becoming impossible to ignore their mutual attraction. Could their flirting lessons lead to love?

Flirting Lessons is a very cute and enjoyable read, with beautiful WLW-representation. I really liked both MCs, particularly Taylor, whose perspective I found so relatable. I did feel the women acted a lot older than their stated ages, they were quite mature and open with their emotions, which is something I would have run a million miles away from in my 20s. Besides that though, I did find their relationship trajectory believable and engrossing.

I loved the lessons Taylor set-up. They were so creative and fun, and helped to draw Avery out of her shell. I also really appreciated Avery's character arc. She was in a real rut at the start and I liked how she took charge of her life and took action to improve things. I can definitely see why Taylor would find that attractive.

I feel like the women were a great match. Their personalities played off each other well, and they both provided strength in areas that the other might lack, or need to work on. I enjoyed watching their relationship develop. Overall, this was an enjoyable Adult Contemporary story, with well developed characters, fun dates, great chemistry, and not too much steam. I always look forward to new Jasmine Guillory novels and this didn't disappoint for a moment.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I'm glad I finally made time for this.

A perfect Pride Month read!

I enjoyed getting to know Taylor and Avery over the course of this book and felt like the flirting lessons were a fun concept for the plot. I found their connection to be both sweet and sexy early on.

However, overall, the book dragged for me. There were entire scenes that felt unimportant to the story. With their connection being so immediate from the beginning, I expected the intimate scenes to be electric, but I felt they fell flat. Ultimately, I did not enjoy it as much as I expected to.

3.5⭐️
A super cute sapphic romance—
When Taylor agrees to teach Avery how to flirt with women, neither of them think they are going to fall in love. Avery because she just experienced a bad breakup an Taylor because she “doesn’t do relationships”. But of course they fall for each other. I enjoyed this one just like I’ve enjoyed all of Jasmine Guillory’s romances…but I took off 1/2 a star because it was about 100 pages too long.

I love Jasmine Guillory, so it is no wonder I loved Flirting Lessons too. Although a wlw story is something I'd not read from her before, Guillory did a great job at describing both adult romance and a lesbian romance. Returning to the Napa valley with these characters felt like coming home and I was giddy reading it and all the dates they went on. Not just a romance novel but a story about finding yourself.

Avery and Taylor have always been in each others' orbit, with mutual friends and event attendances, and a simmering attraction between them. But Avery had always been in a relationship and Taylor seems to flirt with everyone, so it's not until an encounter and vineyard brings these two women together. But Avery is stiff and uncomfortable, inexperienced with both men and women. So when Taylor offers to help her loosen up and learn how to flirt, she can't turn down the attractive winery employee.

I am a huge Jasmine Guillory fan--and have been since her very first book, The Wedding Date--so I was very excited to read her first foray into LGBTQ romance. Unfortunately, this one seems to miss the mark. Although the opening pages are great, and the connection between the main characters feels sizzling, the fake dating / flirting lessons premise feels extremely contrived and implausible. I struggled to get into the book and wanting to keep reading, ultimately DNFing this one.

Thanks to Berkley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3 stars - 4/10

thank you to netgalley for the eArc!

First, the good: I loved these two POV characters. They were so charming and adorable together! The friends throughout the story were also fun. I also liked that a lot of the conflict felt realistic to what actually happens in relationships; being annoyed at friends absolutely does bleed into conversations with other people, and that was well done.

The only negative thing I really have to say is that the dialogue sometimes felt a little awkward or unnecessary. Otherwise this was great!

rep: Black MC and LI and predominantly Black cast. Sapphic love story and side characters

spice: a few vivid sex scenes

Besties what is there to say but that it’s sapphic and it slaps? I love Jasmine Guillory’s books; they’re always full of humor and joy. This is her first queer contemporary romance and it was great! Avery wants to get better at flirting, and who better to help her than Taylor, whose friends all think she can’t possibly commit to anyone or anything. Together they’re electric and the book is so fun. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this queer romance! I loved the concept of flirting lessons as the way the FMCs fall for each other. It kept the book fun and interesting - I was always trying to guess what Taylor would plan next. I also loved the individual character development along the way. The book didn't just focus on the FMCs relationship with each other, but also their personal struggles and areas for growth. Taylor's relationship with her friends was a particularly interesting plot point for me. Overall, I enjoyed this book and found it to be engaging with just the right amount of spice.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this title, but unfortunately it didn’t quite capture my interest. While the premise was promising, I found it difficult to stay engaged. That said, I’m sure it will find its audience with readers who connect more strongly with the writing style or pacing.

Really enjoyed this sapphic romance novel. I love Jasmine Guillory's romance universe of diverse characters in California and would love to see subsequent spin off novels. It was a fun read and I will definitely be hand selling.

Thank you to NetGalley / Berkley for an arc.

I’m quite disappointed in this book. It was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, but it fell really flat for me. There seemed to be really nothing going on plot wise, it was more of every day life kind of read and those just aren’t my cup of tea. I also didn’t like Taylor’s friends or how they spoke of her, and while I could relate to Avery, I got tired of the constant self-deprecation. It felt like reading nonstop about a conversation you happen to hear at the coffee shop. I did like the premise though, of flirting lessons. I’m just somehow who needs something to happen plot wise in an overarching theme and this didn’t give me what I wanted.

Jasmine Guillory is back with a fresh new romance! Avery Jensen is nearing thirty and she's ready to mix things up - finding new talents, new passions, and maybe even new love. Her considerable lack of talent when it comes to flirting, but she has a perfect solution when she meets a gorgeous stranger, and Napa Valley's biggest flirt, Taylor Cameron. She'll learn to flirt, and Taylor will learn to take a break from breaking hearts. What could possibly go wrong?