Reviews with content warning for Sexism - How to Fail at Flirting

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams

38 reviews

kfmcf's review against another edition

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

MAJOR CW for gaslighting, emotional abuse, and a toxic relationship

I read this way back in '21 when I was first getting into contemporary romance as a genre and thought it was pretty good. Honestly, reading it again, I really enjoyed it. I think in my last read, I had just come off of reading some of my all time favs (The Kiss Quotient, PYMoV, etc.) and it warped my views of the book a bit.

I really enjoyed the chemistry of the two characters and what they were dealing with. I appreciated the single POV as we really were able to invest in time with Naya and understand what she was feeling with Jake and appreciating him as a character (though...I don't know why the name Jake just doesn't work for him imo for some reason).

Normally when I see characters communicating over text or email or whatever I skim really hard, but the interactions between Naya & Jake over text was fun and cute. I don't know, friends, something about these two just hit for me rn.

The drama with Davis gets a little over dramatic and he was cartoonishly evil at some points, but having gone through an emotionally abusive relationship myself, sometimes it is just like that.

I'm reading The Fastest Way to Fall and Technically, Yours right now for book club and I'm...not happy there was a shift from single POV. I think Denise Williams is stronger in single based off of this book, but I'll reserve judgment for those books until I'm finished.

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rating: 5/5 stars

Naya is a college professor who decides to relieve stress from the possible loss of her job by having a one night stand that doesn’t go as planned.

I am writing this review from the middle of what has become a binge of Denise Williams books and I have zero regrets. This was my first title by Denise and I loved it so much—the nuanced way it dealt with domestic violence and trauma, the gorgeous unfolding of Naya and Jake’s love story, and the academic setting all combined to make this one a joy to read.

As a college professor myself, the depiction of Naya’s connection with her students (one in particular but I won’t spoil it) and her clear love of teaching and education made this book so deeply meaningful to me, but I think it will resonate with a lot of different readers. HIGHLY recommend.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: academic settings; one-night-stands gone wrong; stories of healing

CW: domestic violence (physical and emotional abuse); gaslighting; misogyny/sexism; racism; sexual violence; mentions of infidelity

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annahamburger's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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ksuazo94's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

wendahh324's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I can’t decide if I liked this book or not. Love interest reacts too strongly to something at one point even though he knows that female lead had been in an abusive relationship and is antsy. It made me like him a lot less.

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theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A love story that all started with a failed one night stand. It was cute and witty, but also frustrating when characters simply don’t speak openly with each other. But alas, there needs to be conflict.

This book surprisingly contained a lot of heavy stuff. I definitely do not recommend this book be read by l anyone that would have problems with any of the content warnings—and there are a lot—but to others who can safely ride along on this rollercoaster of emotions, I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.

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astralinkwell's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was such a good read I absolutely loved Naya’s personal journey as well as her journey with Jake. Jake and Naya were so great together and I really thought they clicked so well. I could see the connection emotionally and physically and it didn’t just feel physical. I loved the domestic violence awareness and how she fought back and overall it was really good 4/5 = 7.5/ 10

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