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chewiegirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content and Mental illness
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship
bookishplantmom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
newandhorrible's review
- 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
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
lololovesthings's review against another edition
- 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
I so very much enjoyed "Flirty Little Secret" by Jessica Lepe, which is a fresh, modern take on a "You've Got Mail"-type of story. This one is SO funny! I feel like I laughed constantly throughout the entire book. I loved the connection between Lucy and Fletcher. I was instantly drawn to them and their love story. Their relationship starts out rocky, but the more they lean on each other, get to know one another, and open up to one another, a tender bond between them forms. The mental health representation is the star of the show here. This book has some of the best mental health discussions I have seen as of late. The conversations around mental illness felt totally realistic, wholly purposeful, and remarkably compassionate. It wasn't just thrown in without any rhyme or reason. Lepe really took her time crafting Lucy and Fletcher's mental health struggles and issues so that they felt lived-in and relatable. Lucy's struggles with imposter syndrome, depression, and anxiety felt extremely pertinent to me. There *is* a ton of miscommunication in this story, but it didn't seem to bother me as much as it has in the past in other novels. I think it's because Lucy and Fletcher are so dang likable and lifelike. Also, A+ representation as Lucy is Moroccan Jewish and Mexican. There are a half-dozen things I could pick apart about this book, but at the end of the day, it made me feel seen and made me feel really good about what I just read. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Lepe, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Moderate: Infidelity and Suicidal thoughts
dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Moderate: Ableism and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Suicidal thoughts, and Racial slurs
my_bookish_diary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As for Fletcher – he seemed to be pretty much all green flags, which was nice in the context of this book. He starts off with some issues with confrontation, which he works on over the course of the book and, by the end, is finally able to stand up for himself a bit more. I appreciated that he never wavered in his attraction to Lucy or his desire to pursue a relationship with her, and that when she confided in him about her mental health struggles, he was so supportive and wanted to learn more about how he could help her instead of trying to change her or making her feel like she needed to be anything other than what she was. All in all, the actual romance portion of this book was cute and enjoyable, and I appreciated the neurodivergent representation.
Now, there were some things that I found off-putting about this book as well. Mainly, the inclusion in the story of a school group with triple K initials. The group itself is not a hate group and is actually supposed to be a group that encourages confidence in teens, but I thought the name of the group having triple K initials was unnecessary and, for me, detracted from the story every time it was mentioned – which was honestly way more than it needed to be. Thematically, it seems like the author intended for the name of this group to be a sore point, which it was, especially for Lucy, who has wanted to get it changed to something else for what seems like quite some time. The reason it hasn’t been changed is given as being due to there not being enough in the school budget for a new curriculum for the group, and the group is named after the curriculum. I’m not sure why the name of the club couldn’t have been changed, regardless of the name of the curriculum. Lucy does eventually gain the confidence to bring up the name to the school principal and get it changed, and this is a big moment for her character, as it illustrates some major growth on her part in her ability to confidently stand up for herself and others and feel competent in her job. However, I think it would have been entirely possible for the author to find a different way for Lucy to go through this same growth arc without the club having the same initials as a hate group, and it would have made those parts of the book more bearable to read. If the point was to make the reader as uncomfortable with the name as Lucy and her students must have felt, it worked.
Overall, this was a cute story, and I hope that Lucy’s sisters get their own books as well, because I felt like there was definitely potential for more out of these characters and this author. Thank you to Netgalley for the eArc. My review has been my honest and unbiased opinion.
Moderate: Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, and Mental illness