How to Fail at Flirting
By: Denise Williams
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 336
I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): One daring to-do list and a crash course in flirtation turn a Type A overachiever’s world upside down.
When her flailing department lands on the university's chopping block, Professor Naya Turner’s friends convince her to shed her frumpy cardigan for an evening on the town. For one night her focus will stray from her demanding job and she’ll tackle a new kind of to-do list. When she meets a charming stranger in town on business, he presents the perfect opportunity to check off the items on her list. Let the guy buy her a drink. Check. Try something new. Check. A no-strings-attached hookup. Check…almost.
Jake makes her laugh and challenges Naya to rebuild her confidence, which was left toppled by her abusive ex-boyfriend. Soon she’s flirting with the chance at a more serious romantic relationship—except nothing can be that easy. The complicated strings around her dating Jake might destroy her career.
Naya has two options. She can protect her professional reputation and return to her old life or she can flirt with the unknown and stay with the person who makes her feel like she's finally living again.
First Impressions
I remember thinking the cover for this book was super cute but being a little iffy on the title. Then I read the summary and it seemed like just the kind of book that I needed.
What I thought
This book was a little bit more serious than I originally expected, but still very cute.
Naya is a professor at a university in Chicago. She got out of an abusive relationship 3 years ago and has been in a bit of a rut ever since. Her best friends decide to make her a list of challenges to get her out of her shell and back to the person she used to be. On her first night out, her friends end up canceling but she’s already at the bar. As she’s getting ready to leave, Jake starts to talk to her and, because of the list, she talks back.
I like that Naya and Jake both went into the relationship without expectations but knowing that they had a strong connection. Their communication was pretty open which I also really appreciated. Not much of the poor communication trope in this book. I also loved their relationship in general.
What I didn’t expect was the abusive storyline. Naya mentions pretty early on how bad her previous relationship was and how much it had damaged her, so it’s not a surprise when he shows back up. There were certain parts in the last quarter of the book that definitely were a bit more serious than I expected and I’m still not sure how I feel about them, but it didn’t hurt the story.
I feel like this is one of the most realistic relationships I’ve read about in a while. Not to say that I’ve ever known a relationship like this, but there are a lot of aspects I found to be relatable. I loved Jake because he was open and honest and didn’t hide how he felt about Naya which I don’t feel is as realistic, but a girl can dream.
There also were a few moments where Naya’s nationality was mentioned and where they come up in conflict, but not much. It was definitely a bit of an after thought and I’m not sure if it was thrown in there in case the author needed to use it or just as a reminder that these kinds of behaviors are common in every day life and don’t always amount to something big.
This book also is a debut which I found to be surprising. The writing was strong and flowed seamlessly. While not faultless, I think it is a very strong debut and I would gladly read more by Williams in the future.
This was a very cute and light read with a bit of a balance with the serious storylines. I got through it quickly and enjoyed Naya, Jake and all of the side characters. It also didn’t hurt that it was mostly set in Chicago. If you are needing something light towards the end of 2020, I highly recommend checking this one out.