Flirty Little Secret
Books | Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
3.5
Jessica Lepe
"Jessica Lepe absolutely sparkles in this stunning debut!" —Lyssa Kay Adams, USA Today bestselling authorYou’ve Got Mail meets Abbott Elementary in this charming friends-to-lovers romantic comedy where two co-workers are caught between disaster at first sight—and love at first like. School counselor Lucy Galindo has a secret. To her coworkers, friends, and even family, she’s shy, sweet, and constantly struggling to hold off disaster (read: manage her anxiety and depression). But online? She’s bold, confident, and always knows what to say—it’s how she’s become the wildly popular @TheMissGuidedCounselor. It’s also why she keeps her identity anonymous. Her followers would never trust the real Lucy with their problems. History teacher Aldrich Fletcher thought a new job would give him some relief from his drama-filled family. Instead, he’s dodging his ex-girlfriend and pining over his new co-worker—who only ever seems to see him at his worst. Thankfully, he can count on his online confidant for advice . . . until he discovers @TheMissGuidedCounselor is Lucy. Now Fletcher has a secret too. And while Lucy can’t deny there’s something between them, she’s not sure she can trust him. Can they both find the courage to share the truth and step out from behind their screens?
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More Details:
Author
Jessica Lepe
Pages
368
Publisher
Grand Central Publishing
Published Date
2024-03-19
ISBN
1538739356 9781538739358
Community ReviewsSee all
"DNF @17%<br/><br/>I ended up DNFing Flirty Little Secret because the writing, humor, and overall execution just didn’t work for me. Right from the start, there were off-putting elements that made it hard to enjoy. One of the biggest issues was a joke about a children’s school having an acronym that matched the KKK—making light of something tied to such a notorious hate group isn’t funny, and it felt completely unnecessary.<br/><br/>Another problem was the running joke about the female teacher spilling hot tea on the male teacher’s crotch and then kneeling to clean it up in a way that made it look inappropriate. This gag was dragged out, with the whole school treating it like an ongoing joke, and it just felt cringeworthy rather than amusing.<br/><br/>Beyond that, the humor throughout the book was corny and forced, and the representation of depression was poorly handled, making it feel like an afterthought rather than a meaningful exploration of mental health.<br/><br/>Overall, between the bad humor, questionable jokes, and weak writing, I just couldn’t push through. This one wasn’t for me."
Marie O
"Cute spicy and sweet rom com between two teachers. ADHD and anxiety rep."
Loann
"3/5 ⭐️ I am a bit conflicted over this one because while there were things I appreciated, there were also aspects that didn’t fully work for me. This book included a lot in terms of cultural and mental health representation, which I appreciated. The leads treated each other with a lot of care, and supporting each other was a big part of their relationship. It also had an interesting balance of diving deep into the leads’ struggles while having a fun and engaging premise (secret pen pals but only one of them knows). I will say that I felt a bit torn between the inconsistent tone of these two components. This book also included a lot - each lead’s family issues, mental health journey, career, and romance. Because of this broad focus, many felt shallower than I would have wanted. (It also felt like it had an identity crisis between rom com and woman’s fiction…) I think I especially would have appreciated some more natural romance development on page. The book’s over the top tone also skewed away from my taste in a romance, though there were still traits of each character that I still related to. Though I did have my issues with this one, it did feel unique, and I am glad I read it.<br/>"
E T
Emma Tang
"This is a cute romance with good Jewish and mental health rep. I really liked the education setting as the fmc is a guidance counselor and the mmc is a teacher. The fmc Lucy is a Sephardic Jew that's Moroccan/Mexican who has ADHD, depression, and anxiety and navigates that while helping teenagers at school. She also runs an anonymous social media account where she advises people online. She connects with the MMC on her platform, and they become good friends when exchanging messages, but she has no idea that he's the attractive new teacher at her school. <br/><br/>I thought this book was very fun especially the first half of the book, the fmc is relatable and i loved the nice school setting with all the educators. I also loved everything about self-discovery and the main characters becoming their true selves. The middle of the book to the third act breakup was a little slow at times, and I wanted to skim through some parts at times, but overall, this is fun with great representation and nice themes. Thanks to Forever for this arc for an honest review. <br/><br/>Tropes/themes: <br/>- Romcom<br/>- Jewish Rep <br/>- BIPOC fmc <br/>- Educators<br/>- Mental health rep"
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