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

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How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams

16 reviews

garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

This was a surprisingly deep book, as the fmc is dealing with the trauma and after effects of an abusive relationship while also trying to start a new romance. From my non-survivor perspective, I thought it treated the issues well, and with accuracy. All the trigger warnings though, we really are in her head as she is trying to cope.

Single POV, 1st person, fmc. Fmc is Black/mixed, mmc is white.

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kfmcf's review against another edition

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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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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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lindsm94's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

2.5

I found this book really slow and even though the characters are relatable, I just could not get into the story. I think it had a good ending with the main character standing up for herself and finding her voice. It is written really well, but not for me. Also trigger warning for domestic violence

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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

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nicolaparty's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.0

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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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solacelight's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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kaseybereading's review

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challenging emotional funny 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

5.0

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This was a vacation romance read book choice (the final one I ended up getting to on this particular trip). It has been on my TBR list for awhile and this seemed like the perfect chance to finally pick it up. Also, the colors on the cover feel very tropical, to me, so the vibe just felt right.

Naya, who has spent the last few years focused in exclusive detail on her career, has just found out that her department (education) at the university where she has *almost* made tenure is potentially on the chopping block. In an attempt to help her forget about it for a little bit, her friends challenge her to a different kind of task: getting out into the world and trying some new things. When she meets a nerdy, charming, handsome out-of-town visitor, she realizes he could really help her check a few things off her list (like a no-strings-attached hookup). However, their connection quickly proves to have deeper potential, as Jake helps Naya refind confidence in herself (after it was destroyed by a previous partner in an abusive relationship). When Jake and Naya finally get around to talking about their "real" lives though, Naya finds out that this new relationship could really mess with her career, and she'll have to decide if it's worth fighting for or if she should leave it behind and refocus all her energy back on her professional life.

I'll be honest, this was a much more intense romance than I was necessarily prepared for. I know the blurb mentions a past abusive relationship, but for some reason I assumed this would stay a lighter contemporary and, while that would be mentioned, the focus would be elsewhere. However, Naya's past relationship, both the person himself as well as the un-dealt-with effects on her psyche and comfort level with deep connection, played prominently throughout. While the second piece of that, the long-lasting psychological trauma, is something that really makes sense as a central theme, the first part, where her ex is physically and emotionally still present in parts of her life (against her will and, by the end, violently) was a surprise, and terrifying. I would like to include some very full-throated content warnings for other readers on this topic. By the end, there were a few pages where this book even spilled over into what felt like a thriller, versus a romance, so just heads up. Though, I do have to say that I appreciated the way Williams portrays that kind of toxic past relationship and how it really does affect survivors in so many ways; it's upsetting and tragic, but real in how difficult to move past it and rebuild can be. Also, if I'm listing things to be aware of here, I do want to add that there is a not-insignificant amount of language about dry spells and revirginizing and friend zone-ing and “late blooming” that just...wasn't my favorite, as far as talking about sexuality in a healthy and inclusive way. Just my two cents.

That being said, the majority of the novel really does revolve around Naya and Jake and their budding relationship in a very sweet way. (It really does. It's just that the parts that didn't were super intense, so they felt bigger. Anyways...) First, I was living for the dialogue. Maybe it was cheesy at times (as in, there were lots of cheese puns), but I have a partner who loves puns, so my love-hate relationship with them IRL made reading this super fun. Plus, I do love fun and laughter in a relationship and this has it in spades. I was a bit apprehensive at the start about Naya's "getting her confidence back" interactions with Jake, as it seemed to start more as getting it back because another guy told her it was ok, versus on her own terms/for herself. However, I am happy to report that, by the end, she has worked past needing that external validation! Which is great, because I really was into Jake and Naya together, I really bought into them as a couple, and I would have struggled to fully support their happily ever after if they hadn't been able to get there based in truth and trust and healthy partnership of two people strong individually and together. That being said, I happy to read how Naya got to that point as well, taking time off the relationship to figure herself out first (seeing a therapist...I am always on board for good mental health treatment rep in books - see The Charm Offensive as another example of this), before committing to coming back to the relationship in a more open and available state, so she and Jake could move forwards healthily together. It's just more mature, and an important lesson and great visibility. Anyways, I also liked that Jake and Naya developed over time, together and long distance, because while I don't hate instalove stories, this allows for what feels like more genuine growth and creation of a strong base to move forwards from. (That ended up being quite important, because the job entanglement issue is one that needed some mature handling. And speaking of jobs, I thought Naya's mathematical education games for ESL learners was so cool!) And then their story closed with such a perfect adorable ending that fit perfectly with the nerdy-sweet relationship Jake and Naya had cultivated, as well as the maturity that came from their past relationships and lessons learned/growth from those.

While a different overall vibe that I had anticipated from this contemporary romance, I felt like on that whole the issues presented that made it so much heavier were well handled. And while the descriptive language could use some inclusivity work, and the steamy scenes were just fine (nothing fireworks-great but nothing cringy-bad), the interactional/dialogue pieces (amongst all the characters) were phenomenal. And it ended with the warm fuzzies that one wants from a romance. I'll definitely be checking out future releases from Williams.

“Okay, ovary up. Fallopian forward. Vulva with a vengeance.”

“People are imperfect, so relationships will always have flaws.”

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