✨ Review ✨ Flirty Little Secret by Jessica Lepe

Thanks to Forever and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

Described as You’ve Got Mail meets Abbott Elementary, this delivers those vibes. Lucy's a guidance counselor who loves her students but battles depression and ADHD. Fletcher's just joined her school as a history teachers. A friendship quickly blooms.

What they don't know is that they're also anonymous besties online - Lucy has a popular social media account @TheMissGuidedCounselor where she gets to curate her put-together life and Fletcher's befriended her there as well.

This as all the tension of a You've Got Mail plot with all the sweetness of two people working with young adults, and all the smuttiness of a guidance counselor who spills her tea on the pants of the new history teacher on day one and then tries to scrub his crotch dry. 😂

This really did a great job of talking about mental health, imposter syndrome and other insecurities. The romance was great, and I was super invested in the characters. I flew through this one.

A great new romance debut!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)
Genre: contemporary f/m romance
Pub Date: March 19, 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ teacher + guidance counselor romance
⭕️ great mental health rep
⭕️ secret mental health hideaway room in the school!
⭕️ digital friendships

I really enjoyed this debut from Jessica Lepe. I loved the "secret identity" friendship between Lucy and Fletcher. As someone who has been active on social media, I definitely related to the feeling of trying show the perfect persona online, while struggling with my mental health offline.

I loved the side characters - not only the friends, but the sisters & the families in general. They felt real, even if the conflict between Fletcher and his dad felt like it wrapped up a little easily.

I also really appreciated the strong emphasis put on mental illness & neurodivergent. I'm 100% in the group that is encouraging more books about mental illness & neurodivergent because it's time to normalize that.

I can't wait to read more books by this author. Huge thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the E-ARC and huge thank you to Forever for a physical ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️

Lucy Galindo is a school guidance counselor by day, and motivational instagrammer by night. Under the alliance @MissGuidedCounselor, Lucy uses her platform to be the version of herself that she always aspired to be - confident, witty, brilliant and wise. She keeps her two personas separate from one another to hide the all encompassing weight that someone living with anxiety, depression and ADHD experiences daily. It is this one rule that stops her from meeting her best friend, @BraveGuy93, in real life … or so she thought. Enter Aldrich Fletcher, the new history teacher at her school and as Lucy puts it: “ victim to [her] assault by tea” (you’ll have to read the book to find out more!!). It seems that every encounter the two have is either embarrassing or a ‘foot in the mouth’ moment, but along the way they start connecting and craving each other’s company (and Mexican/Moroccan fusion food)! Little do they know, their relationship is far more complex than what they think…

I was instantly drawn to Jessica Lepe’s debut book after reading the synopsis and description of the story as ‘You’ve Got Main meets Abbott Elementary’ (realistically who could say no to that??!). The authentic portrayal of mental health themes and multicultural identity was done so well as these are topics that require a great deal of attention and care to get right. I have always been a fan of an MMC that falls first and falls harder and Fletcher does not disappoint. He gets himself into some trouble but is shown to be constantly learning and growing to not only be better for himself but also to be a supportive partner for Lucy. Definitely book boyfriend material!

Rating: 3.25
Tropes: Secret Identity, Co-workers, Mental Health Rep

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy was one of the most realistic characters I've had the chance to read, and felt like my experience was being represented in a book. She has depression, anxiety, and ADHD; and explores how the intricacies of each diagnosis impacts relationships, including personal, professional, and romantic.

Fletcher is the new teacher at a public high school where Lucy has been the guidance counselor for the past few years. Their meet-cute starts HOT with spilled tea, and they slowly build their relationship from there. However, they have secretly had a friendship for years through Lucy's online persona. It was great to see these two relationships merge and strengthen into one, with a few bumps in the road along the way.

I didn't always love the story, but I'm glad I read it! There was one scene where Lucy was describing her emotions, and I resonated with it immediately. I look forward to future releases from this author.

This was better in setup and marketing than execution for me. It read a little silly and juvenile and I just did not find the romance to be all that endearing when it had all the potential in the world as I may be the biggest Abbot Elementary fan there is.

Flirty Little Secret was a delight to read. I went into this one somewhat blind (I primarily requested because the cover was so cute), and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It definitely had some You've Got Mail vibes going on, which I loved.

Both Lucy and Fletcher were good characters for me. As someone who struggles with mental health, I loved the representation for anxiety, depression, and ADHD in this book. Many of the things that Lucy struggled with hit home for me, and it was nice to see myself some in Lucy. It was also a nice change to see someone who "presented normal" with these conditions. In a lot of the books I read where the MC lives with mental health conditions, everyone knows from the onset of meeting said person that they are "different" (whatever that means...). When I tell others about my mental health struggles, people are often surprised because I'm generally happy and cheerful and put together in public, so I appreciated that Lucy was represented that way.

I also really enjoyed the mixed media within the book with how the messages between Lucy and Fletcher were presented. It was a nice change from paragraphs of text and still moved the story forward.

Overall, I'd recommend this one for someone wanting a cute romance.

Read if you enjoy:
- Friends to Lovers
- Workplace Romance
- You've Got Mail
- Mental Health Rep

Thank you for the ARC, Forever!

Flirty Little Secret is a sweet, and well thought-out book. Its strength is in the vulnerable and careful portrayal of Lucy’s mental health struggles, as well as the representation of Jewish culture as a Mexican-Moroccan.

However, I feel like the execution could have been better. I found myself disengaged for a good part of the book. I felt like the characters were quite immature? I think this would have done better as a New Adult book, where the characters are a little younger, and not 30 year olds. I have to say, though, that I don’t live with most of their mental health conditions, so I might not have the authority to speak about that too much. There were just some things they both said and did that took me away from the story.

Overall, I loved the premise, the representation, and the family dynamics, particularly Lucy’s family! I’m still looking forward to what Lepe has next.

"Flirty Little Secret" by Jessica Lepe stands out for its thoughtful portrayal of Jewish culture and mental health struggles, handling it with sensitivity and attention to detail. However, despite these strengths, I found it challenging to connect with the main characters and their love story. While I appreciated the inclusion of Instagram messages in the narrative, I was less enthused about the miscommunication and lying aspects of the story. Overall, it's a quick and easy read, but I couldn't help but feel that there was untapped potential for a deeper, more fulfilling story. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book, the story of Lucy and Fletcher. It dealt with some difficult issues but was a great read. I hope it will be a series.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Publication: March 19, 2024

This was a book recommended to me and I was invited to read it. I chose to go in blind, however, I could tell that the book and I were not going to get along.

Firstly, I can see where the plot was trying to go and that the author was trying to go for corny/cute. It unfortunately felt more like cringe corny.

Secondly, I struggled to distinguish Fletcher from Lucy when their chapters alternated so it felt like I was reading the same voice.

I loved the mixed media sprinkled throughout (threads, texts, emails, etc) but overall I just found myself cringing more than laughing.

I loved the vibe of You've Got Mail and Abbot Elementary. I liked the premise of the book, but I gotta admit, there were some moments where I lost interest and had to push myself to finish it.

Thank you, the publisher for sending me this ARC.

4.25 stars

So thankful for NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for gifting me this in exchange for my honest opinion. This book really took me by surprise with just how relevant it is to my life. I thought it was going to be a cutesy rom-com (which it is), but it's also a deep dive into anxiety, ADHD, depression, and ethnicity/religion and how we belong in our community. Jessica Lepe might be an auto-buy author for me going forward if THIS is her debut novel.

As someone who doesn't suffer horribly from any of the above (maybe some anxiety, but not as bad as Lucy) it was eye-opening to see the inner monologue of someone with those and helped me understand a little better a few people in my personal life. Bravo on Jessica for not only representing this group of people, but also doing them justice and giving them space in this rom-com world.

I am also a half-breed, but unlike Lucy my mother is the Jewish one and my father is Armenian. I 100% feel Lucy's struggle with fitting in. Not being Jewish enough yet not being Moroccan enough while not being Mexican enough. Not speaking the languages, not knowing how to cook the food. I currently struggle with the same issues in my life. I don't speak either languages or really cook the food and I rely on my family for those things. It's hard to learn to carve a place for yourself in a world that loves boxes and gets confused by anyone who doesn't fit in one. The way Jessica weaved in the Jewish culture with Shabbat family dinner and explains Ladino language and made some cute, funny jokes along the way (Shabbat is a way to reset and welcome the new week. "It's the 'reverse' Uno card for Jews.") really made me excited. Very rarely do I see a Jewish romance book/character that ISN'T centered around Hanukkah and with a goyim MMC.

Now on to the actual plot. Lucy and Fletcher. *swoons* Fletcher is just such a good guy. Like constantly learning and applying what he's learned. Like, ugh, the way he is with Lucy and all her neurosis is just perfection. It's not a super spicy book (like a 1-2 maaaaaaaybe), but, honestly, the book doesn't suffer. It's almost better. Lucy and Fletcher are so pure and so good that more spice in the story might've ruined it for me.

Friends to Lovers
Secret Identities (IG friends)
Workplace Romance
Anxiety/Depression Rep
Jewish/Mexican FMC
Golden Retriever MMC

Lucy is a guidance counselor by day and gives out advice on Instagram by night. She can hide her anxiety and severe depression behind her social media mask and doesn't mix the two personas. She has an online friend that she has been talking to for over a year, helping him get through a terrible time in his life. He wants to meet, but she knows that no one can love her just as she is.
Fletcher is new to the school and while they don't meet in the best of ways, they have an instant connection. Fletcher is drawn to Lucy and even when she continues to show him her messy self, he doesn't turn away. Soon he realizes she's the one who has been talking to him online and now he has to tread lightly because he knows how much she wanted to keep the two separate.
This story had so much potential. I wanted to love the quirky Lucy and the golden retriever Fletcher, but I couldn't relate to either of them. I felt like their issues didn't feel... real, if that makes sense. They felt overdramatized and everything felt rushed between them. There were so many miscommunications and just awkwardness that it distracted me from their connection. It was a cute read though that dealt with sensitive topics, and if you like You've Got Mail you might love this one. Unfortunately it just didn't come across as the romcom that the cover and blurb suggest with the amount of deep issues that were talked about and kind of glossed over at times.
Thanks to Forever, Jessica Lepe and Netgalley for an early copy.

FLIRTY LITTLE SECRET by Jessica Lepe was getting a lot talk on bookstagram, the curiosity got me! It was often said to have the ‘You’ve Got Mail’ vibes which is one of my all time favorite movies. We follow Lucy, a high school guide counselor who hides her identity behind an online account. A new history teacher, Fletcher recently started working at her school and figured out that the online account he follows is Lucy. This read was so fun, lighthearted and realistic. Lucy is going through depression/anxiety, I was impressed with how well the author portrayed that. We watched Lucy ‘masking it’ to look normal as possible and shown how much it affects her daily life. I also LOVED the Jewish rep!

I received an ARC from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

What a sweet book! I really enjoyed Fletcher and Lucy's relationship, and all the secondary characters provided so much comic relief! The sisters (his and hers) were especially funny. The mental health rep was done so well, and I really enjoyed the Sephardic Jewish rep and Lucy's comments about feeling judged by others as not Jewish "enough." The pop cultural references hit so well and although they are very millennial, as a young(ish) Gen X, I definitely appreciated them all. This book was perfect combination of light romantic comedy and heart-tugging contemporary romance. Can't wait for the author's next book!

Overall, this was a pretty sweet read and a pretty good debut novel! I think the overall idea of the novel was good, but some of the execution could have been a bit better done.

For me, I felt like it was lacking a bit of romance between Fletcher and Lucy! I loved the idea of the book and the Abbott Elementary meets you’ve got mail vibes, but I wish there was more romance between them as some time, it really just felt very surface level and I didn’t feel the chemistry between them. I also would have like to know a bit more more about the two character; I felt like we knew a lot about their families and their histories, but I felt like we didn’t really dive deep into their characters.

Overall, this was a cute book that lacked a bit of substance to me, but was an enjoyable read!

3⭐️

Amazing debut!! This is just a wonderful romance, I pretty much only have positive things to say about it. I got the 5 star tingles when I first started this and that never waned.

I am SEEN. Lucy has ADHD, depression, and anxiety. She is a whole ass human in this and experiences the whole spectrum of emotions and as a reader I was just right there along with her. The depression rep hit so hard to me in particular when she would describe her difficulties with executive dysfunction. The shame and guilt that follows after doing something so simple you put off for so long. When it feels like just simply going through the motions of the day is so hard. Even when you have an incredible support system and meds. As important as stories are where characters discover and begin treatment for their mental illnesses I love that in this one the main character is simply in the middle of it. This is the everyday of being an easy crier, of battling overwhelming emotions. Lucy is truly an icon and I love her. I honestly wish I had her confidence to wear your heart on your sleeve as much as she did.

But don’t worry, this book isn’t just about mental illness or depression, etc. There is a ton of humor in this as well. All the side characters and internal monologue of Lucy is freaking hilarious. All credit to this author in how she can describe something as simple as a boring conversation in a teachers lounge but with so much side commentary I am smiling from how fun this all is to read.

There are some really interesting side plots in this. The MMC is going through a lot with his family and I liked that he wasn’t perfect either. I always appreciate when a MC isn’t made to apologize or be the lesser partner because of their mental illness and Fletcher does an amazing job at accepting Lucy for who she is. And yet he still has his own issues, particularly with being direct with people, something he has to painfully learn by the end.

I will warn that there can tend to be moments of info dumping especially about either of their backgrounds but I thought it all served a purpose and it was never their relationship dynamic that was dumped. They had so many meet cute-y moments I was swooning.

Thank you to Forever for the eARC!

I started out loving this but got bored halfway through. It had a great premise but was just...meh. One thing I loved was the trigger warnings at the start. I love that more and more authors are now including that in their books.

Lucy, a high school guidance counselor (with a secret online persona) and Fletcher, high school history teacher start the book off with one heck of a meet cute disaster. Little do they know, the other is *also* their online BFF, a la you've got mail.

Their in-person interactions are sweet, while chemistry lacking, despite the very insta love feel and Fletcher is amazing at pursuing Lucy the way that she needs. Online they're beyond intentional with each other. But when things start getting a bit to coincidental with what they're talking about, one makes the connection that they do know each other. For what we see of the two MCs, both online and in person, the response to the conflict doesn't really line up with either of them. And amidst the fact that they've been falling in love online for a year, the timeline of their in person interactions I think is only a few weeks and doesn't quite add up to what we know of Lucy and her struggles with anxiety.

This was a quick read, fun and supportive side characters. It was sweet, nothing more, nothing less. I would have loved more chemistry from the MCs, and an epilogue but for now I'm curious if their will be books for Lucy's sisters!


Thank you Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Thank you, Forever for sending me this ARC! I LOVE YOU!!
I adore this book!! It’s clearly written with such love and care for the heavy topics it talks about, and I’m so thankful. The way Lucy, as a character, was written and the way Fletcher was written was honestly so amazing!! It’s been a long time since a book felt so realistic.

I loved the whole concept of this book in general. I LOVE friends to lovers, and with the added aspect of an online relationship?? JUST SO GOOD I ATE IT UP!! Lucy and Fletcher are quite literal the cutest ever, and I’m obsessed with them.

Lucy is such a complex character. Her reactions to things and how she handled certain situations were so real and human. She made me feel seen. I really appreciate how she grew as a character and developed herself. She put in the work and it paid off. She had such a good group of women to surround and uplift her. I adored them all.

FLETCHER OH MY GOD this man was literally too good. He had to be fictional. He cared for and loved Lucy so much from the start. He was so clear about his feelings for her. Besides the whole conflict with him figuring out who she was online and not telling her, the communication in this book was SUPERIOR. I loved how they talked to each other and supported each other.

FRIENDS TO LOVERS WINS EVERY TIME AND THEY’RE COWORKERS???? SUPERB. AND IT’S A DEBUT NOVEL???? I cannot wait to see what else Jessica writes.