Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory (out April 8, 2025) is a book that reminded me that I do actually like romance novels. If I go too long without reading one because my head is stuck in tragic fantasy-and-horror land, I start to delude myself into thinking that I hate cheesy romance and feel-good stories. Fortunately, books like this exist to snap me out of that mindset.
Flirting Lessons follows Taylor and Avery, two Black women in Napa Valley, California. Taylor has a reputation for being a heartbreaker: most of her relationships end within a month, and her best friend Erica just bet her that she can’t make it the two months until Labor Day without hooking up with somebody. Avery has just gotten out of a relationship with her ex-boyfriend and now wants to date women, but outside of work, she’s terrible at speaking to people, let alone flirting with them. So when the two meet at a wine event and spark up a conversation, Taylor offers to give Avery flirting lessons to help her find the perfect woman.
Naturally, Taylor and Avery start to fall for each other. Each of their flirting lessons are like a date, where Taylor sets Avery a task to complete during whatever activity they’re doing. The very first lesson is at a book signing event, and it’s Avery’s job to talk to five people who aren’t the guest authors. There she makes a new friend, and the lessons continue each week, with Taylor giving instructions on what to wear without telling her where they’re going.
I thought the romance was really sweet! Both Taylor and Avery are compelling characters, and both likeable. They communicate well, to the point where I was wondering when the third-act-breakup was even going to happen. (I’ve read enough romance novels to know that it will happen.) I loved the format of each of the lessons, and the book falls into a steady rhythm because of them that kept me wanting to keep turning the page.
The exploration of friendships in the story, particularly between Taylor and Erica, is also really enjoyable. Erica is married with a baby on the way and has a new friend who Taylor is worried will replace her, because the new friend is also having kids and thus will usurp Taylor’s role as best friend. Over the course of the book, we see this friendship take some ups and downs, but being a feel-good romance novel, it all works out in the end.
I am especially appreciative of the fact that the book doesn’t center exclusively on femme characters. I love to see it when a character, especially a main character, doesn’t wear dresses or keep their hair long, so thank you Taylor for being a light in my dark tunnel of very little masculine representation. Plain t-shirts and hoodies all the way.
Overall, Flirting Lessons was an enjoyable book with a lot of depth in terms of characters and their relationships, both platonic and romantic. It was cute and sweet but not overly saccharine. Flirting Lessons comes out April 8, 2025. Thanks to Netgalley and Berkeley for the review copy!
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