Read if you like:
🍛 Multicultural Characters
🧠 Mental Health Rep
🧩 ADHD Rep
💬 DM’s back and forth
🤫 Secret Identies
✡️ Jewish Rep

All in all, this is a pretty light and fluffy romance with some more deep topics sprinkled in, but ultimately handled in a way that kept the book feeling like a lighter and relatively fast paced read.

I enjoyed the multicultural aspects of our FMC and the exploration of her struggle with her heritage and not feeling as if she belongs and the mix of her mental health and that further making her feel “other” and that exploration of those feelings.

Similarly I enjoyed the exploration of the mental health and anxiety for our MMC too.

The plot is quite predictable but ultimately it gives you the vibes of a comfort romance read.

To be slightly knit picky, I wish there was a different name used for the club with the school as it didn’t add any value to the plot and just felt like a weird way to utilize an acronym tied to a hate group.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Lucy and Fletcher were too immature to believe either of these characters in their profession. The relationship went from one awkward interaction to insta-love, yeah NO! There were bits of this story that were too cringe worthy to salvage the romance.

Thank you, Forever

There was so much I loved about this book! The depression, anxiety, and ADHD rep was absolutely on point and it's clear that the author was a social worker given the care that was taken in representing mental health issues as well as issues facing guidance counselors and teachers. The book made me laugh out loud multiple times - Lucy as a character really jumps off the page and is so vibrant! I loved how Fletcher was so supportive of Lucy and genuinely wanted to know how best to help her and be with her.

My biggest issue with this book is 100% a me thing - I HATE when a character finds out a secret (in this case, Fletcher finds out that he knows Lucy from her online persona and they've become friends via DMs) and doesn't tell the other character because they think it will change their relationship. I hate this for two reasons - the lying and the fact that I already know what the third act breakup is going to be about. Unfortunately this book was no different so I ended up reading the last little bit super fast to get through that.

Thanks to Forever and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book! I love Lucy’s family dynamic and how supportive they are. They embrace her as she is and love her flaws and all. They accept her mental health struggles and reassure her that she is loved. No one tries to change her. Her sisters are funny and annoying and it’s just a really fun familial bond.
There’s a really cute moment when Lucy’s family sits on lawn chairs in the front lawn waiting for her to get home from her first date with Fletcher. 🤣 I could practically picture it and it made me smile.

I love the premise of a school guidance counselor/online life advice “influencer” who most decidedly does not have her life together. Lucy has a lot going on in her life and is so great at guiding others through tough times, but really struggles to take her own advice.

*The most awkward and cringeworthy foray into sexting ever.*

Unfortunately Fletcher is really bland and there is a lack of sexual/romantic chemistry between the two main characters that made it hard to see these two as anything other than friends.

The interest for me lies in the family and friend connections throughout this book. That’s what kept it fresh for me. Other than that, it was a fairly generic and sometimes clunky romance.

Tropes- workplace romance, secret identity, mental health representation

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the digital ARC.

Unfortunately, I DNF’d this book at 25% it wasn't for me.

Lucy is a guidance counselor with a secret identity: @TheMissGuidedCounselor. Lucy's alter ego has all the answers, but the real Lucy has ADHD, depression, and anxiety. When she spills tea on the hot new teacher, she's so embarrassed that she thinks about switching schools. However, Lucy and Fletcher become friends, and over time Fletcher eventually realizes that Lucy is @TheMissGuidedCounselor, the woman he's been friends with and crushing on for a while.

This plotline is definitely one where you have to suspend disbelief - it's hard to believe that Fletcher would run into Lucy, even more unbelievable that Lucy wouldn't realize who Fletcher was sooner, and their relationship moved FAST. Like, dating for a few weeks (?) and talking about marriage and kids. However, I don't think most of us read romances because we want something believable.

The story was cute and had some interesting representation: neurodiversity, mental health, Mexico and Morocco, Sephardic Judaism... Overall, I had a fun time reading this book and I'd recommend it to people that like romance stories about teachers, mental health, close-knit families, and secret identities.

Such a cute, real and important book, honestly! sweet, funny, swoony, while also bringing up important, everyday topics, such as mental health (anxiety, depression and ADHD) rep, family issues, self image issues and so much more.

Jessica, as she says, is speaking from personal experience, and she portrays everything so truthful and real, it was salt in the wound but refreshing at the same time😂

Lucy and Fletcher are navigating through adulthood with a lot of different struggles and carrying different weights, and they find solace in each other and help each other cope.

I really like the whole secret identity/pen pals who also know each other in person, but this one was, in a way, different from the usual premise (in a good way), idk how to explain it. Maybe because their friendship as MissGuided and BraveGuy was so deep and solid way before they had even met irl as Lucy and Fletcher.
I also love the whole falling in love with the same person twice!🥹

Totally worth it read! Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!💜

Appreciated the mental health representation but the romance didn't do it for me. As a you've got mail lover this just missed the mark. Also, trigger warning: miscommunication.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 3/19/2024. There is a very familiar romance trope that I find can either go really well or really NOT well. The Bookshop Around The Corner, You've Got Mail, etc. You know. The anonymous connection, the real life meeting, the discovery by one or the other, then... The drama of tell or don't tell. Flirty Little Secret takes this trope and runs with it, mixing in the world of social media (clever and timely) and high school staff where you have Lucy Galindo, sweet but constantly struggling guidance counselor, and her secret life as online Super Counselor Who Never Is At A Loss. To my delight, author Jessica Lepe raises the trope to its best levels with charming main characters and a lot of communication. No endless estrangements here! Fletcher and Lucy are actual damn adults who have actual conversations, both good and bad, despite their emotional and mental baggage.

And, believe me, they both have plenty. Fletcher brings a very messy family history to the table as well as extreme confrontation avoidance. (I feel you there, boy) Lucy has a checklist of neurospicy issues that she struggles with - ADHD, depression, anxiety, and a very timely feeling of "I'm not enough." (Again, feeling all of this, new bestie) With the story being told from both POVs, Lepe gets the chance to really explore Fletcher and Lucy as people and thought processes and emotionally complicated beings. She handles it all very well with sensitivity and a clear understanding of how hard and alienating being neurodivergent can be. Of course, there will always be moments with such characters where you want to shake them but that is because they are so human and, chances are, you're going to recognize something of yourself in them.

The story has the obligatory HEA but it is earned and Lepe does not cheat to get there. When a character messes up, they acknowledge it and then figure out how to fix it. It is refreshing. Go and read it please. Soak in the emotional moments and I dare you to avoid setting the book down at times with a big "phew." Because sometimes Lucy's inner monologue is so very raw and real that I felt myself caught in a mirror.

This book has so many pluses - strong characters, neurodivergence, a mix of religions and races, family connections and disconnections. Seriously. Enjoy it!

Full disclosure, though, I might have wanted to strangle one of Lucy's sisters more than once. There's teasing and raunchy and then there is... her. Woof.

Initially I liked the voice of the story but as time went it became so outlandish I had a hard time believing it. There are like a million public schools so what are the chances that their paths would cross? Also, the ex felt like a flimsy way to add tension instead of actually allowing the characters to engage on their own. The mental health rep was nice to see but also wish there was more encouraging therapy. The back and forth extremes between the two MCs was annoying and felt like stop and go. I enjoyed the dynamic and diversity of Lucy’s family but overall the story had awkward pacing and felt too far fetched to really get into.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Thanks to Forever for the copy of this book!

Representation: Mexican, Moroccan, Jewish, depression/anxiety

I really enjoy the "messaging online but we don't know that we know each other in real life" microtrope, and FLIRTY LITTLE SECRET revolves around school counselor Lucy Galindo and her popular Instagram account @TheMissGuidedCounselor. She's messaging someone she's really vibing with, not realizing it's also the new history teacher at school she's interested in. And their meet cute is hysterical - the first few chapters of this book were my favorite. The repesentation in this book is also really good, as Lucy is half-Mexican, half-Moroccan, Jewish, and struggles with depression and anxiety. What didn't work for me is that I did think that Lucy was on the immature side and also needed more intensive therapy, and almost wish her career wasn't a school counselor. Her friends were along the same lines.

SUCH a fun read with INCREDIBLY relatable characters! I highlighted so many passages in this book that described some of my neurodivergent traits so perfectly. Sometimes characters feel less relatable because simple tasks seem so easy for them, but this book really explored what it’s like being an adult with anxiety, ADHD, and depression! The cute romance didn’t hurt 😂

I loved this book up until ~50% of the way through. I loved the mixed cultures of the FMC and how her family was a big part of this book from the mixed heritage to their Jewish beliefs. I loved the mental health representation- as someone who also has anxiety and depression, I thought the descriptions were really spot on. However, I feel like the plot started to unravel at 50% thought the book. The characters went from barely being friends to hot and heavy and then back to kinda friends and it just lacked flow. It started feeling repetitive and excuse driven in the second half and really put down the FMC for her weaknesses. I get that the FMC was putting herself down and there were other people to pick her up, but as someone who shares these plights, I felt offended and also put down. Then all of the suddenly, literally every plot line was 100% resolved and everyone was so happy. I got emotional and plot-driven whiplash. I feel like more editing and refinement would’ve made this a more enjoyable read. 3.25⭐️, 2🌶

Thank you @readforeverpub @netgalley for a copy of this fun rom com. I always enjoy stories that incorporates texts/letters with strangers. Fletcher moved home to help his mom and accepts a new job at the local high school. Fletcher and Lucy has a disastrous meet cute and there's mutual attraction. The author did a great job with anxieties and Jewish representation. The texts exchange between TheMissGuidedCounselor was great. I wished the conflict of the story was not miscommunication. The supporting characters with Lucy's family was great and I love how much they added to the story.

I genuinely hate that it took me so long to read this book. I would read a page and stop...read a page and stop...over and over again for weeks. I was in such a slump when I started this book and it makes me so sad to know that I almost didnt give this book a chance.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I truly did love this book. It is definitely a slower burn, ease into type book, which is fine with me! I loved the honesty between the characters and within themselves. I was pleasantly surprised with the way friendships and relationships formed in this book. I also loved the social media aspects added in and it is actually quite ironic because I run a mental health instagram that I told no one about for the longest time.

The mental health struggles depicted in this book is something that I walk through on a weekly basis, having anxiety and depression myself. It was honestly refreshing while also very self reflecting at times to read sections of this book. It made me evaluate my own relationships at times. I am thankful for the representation in this book and look forward to reading more titles from this author. Well done.

Thank you to Jessica Lepe and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced readers copy of this title!

I didn’t know I needed a secret online identity and anonymous friendship book reminiscent of You’ve Got Mail until I read this book! Unbeknownst to Lucy, a high school guidance counselor, and Fletcher, the new hot-tea teacher, anonymous DM friends have a hilarious IRL meet-cute that was quite literally hot! Fletcher is instantly drawn to her, and the more he sees her and gets to know her he falls hard despite having had no intentions of starting a relationship in the midst of family drama that has brought him home, especially with a coworker. Lucy is instantly attracted and shockingly comfortable sharing her deepest and messiest self with Fletcher, however she is wary of him and her feelings. But he is determined to win her over.

Lucy is intelligent, funny and charming but she feels so burdened and undeserving because of her depression and anxiety. She is surprised it doesn’t drive Fletcher away but only makes him fall more in love with her. Fletcher is so amazing and sweet, and the way he was so accepting and supportive made me swoon!

I have read books that deal with emotional and mental health struggles but I have never identified with one more than this book and this FMC. Jessica was so eloquently able to describe feelings, emotions, and thoughts regarding anxiety and ADHD in a way I have never been able to express in worlds so accurately, it was so validating and accepting on a level that felt healing.

This was a wonderfully beautiful story of falling in love while dealing with mental health struggles and realizing they do not make you less than or undeserving of love and acceptance. This book also addressed racial and cultural identity struggles. It was poignant and funny and all around comforting to me. I most definitely recommend this read!!!

Thank you forever for the ARC.

You’ve Got Mail is one of my all time favourite movies, so when I read the description for Flirty Little Secret I was all in!! But, unfortunately, I have decided to DNF this book at 42%.

Before I jump in, I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for sending me an ARC to review honestly.

I don’t think this book is horrible by any means, it’s just not for me. I’m having a hard time connecting with the characters, the pacing is all off, and I’m finding it a little immature for a story about a teacher and guidance counsellor. It just hasn’t grabbed me like I wanted. I’m not getting the fun, charming, romantic rom-com vibes of You’ve Got Mail. I’m almost half way through and nothing has really happened… I also REALLY struggled with the kids club name/joke. Hate groups should never be used as the butt of a joke and it really made me question why I was reading this book. It just wasn’t necessary and added no value.

Even though I haven’t connected with the story I did love the mental health and Jewish representation. I loved the cultural representation and enjoyed learning about a Moroccan - Mexican family and the struggles with identity that one might face when being from a multicultural household. A highlight for me was reading about their sacred Friday nights to celebrate Shabbat. With this in mind, I’ll be giving this book a neutral three stars as this representation created an open and safe environment for discussion and might appeal to others.

If you love rom-coms you may want to give it go. You might have a better time with this read than I did 🤍

Such a great book! I really enjoyed Lucy’s story. She was extremely relatable and fun to go on a journey with. Can’t wait to read more from this author! Highly recommend!

I appreciate receiving an arc of this but I ended up DNFing because this story was not for me. I couldn’t find it in myself to care about the characters.

I unfortunately DNF this book. I am disappointed because I was excited for the Jewish rep and because You’ve Got Mail is one of my all-time favorite movies. However, the author’s writing style and Fletcher’s narrative voice are not for me. I was just not enjoying it. Perhaps it will work better for other readers.