Sadly, this wasn’t my cup of tea but if you’re in search of a cute romcom featuring animals, give it a try!

Fundamentals in Flirting follows Hannah, a vet who just moved back to her small hometown after she had to give up her research position because… well a very shitty ex-boyfriend. Back home, she reconnect with Teddy, one half of the town’s favourite twins. The two have a back and forth featuring a kind older woman, a goat and a cat as supporting characters.

While I enjoyed the set up and first chapter of this book quite a bit, I was taken out of it by the true mental gymnastics Hannah goes through. Throughout this book, from their first encounter onwards, Ted won’t stop telling Hannah pretty clearly that he is romantically interested in her. He mentions it directly and indirectly in almost every conversation they have. And Hannah… well she keeps stubbornly pretending like she has never heard him say any of that and keeps telling herself and him for that matter that he’s not interested in her and never could be etc etc. A little miscommunication and missed signals is pretty standard in a romance novel, but here it was very much repeated aloud all the time and Hannah’s refusal to see that felt immature. It took away all of the chemistry and I ended up being annoyed for most of the book. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing, the dialogue felt a bit unnatural at times. Besides that, the book has a good recipe for a cute feel good romance, but I personally couldn’t ignore the above. I think for other readers Hannah’s ignorance may add to a level of yearning, so I’d still recommend it for people who really like a drawn out romance.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

Between this book and the Hot Harry Effect, I'm totally in love with this author and will be EAGERLY awaiting future works. Her characters are well done and sympathetic. I loved everyone I was supposed to love, and appreciated the others for their roles in her life.

I love this author's attention to detail. it's a simple thing, but early in the book is a riding scene, and the details are absolutely perfect--either the author's a fairly skilled rider herself, or she's done an excellent job of researching the book (I'll bet the former.)

i think it’s official: i am not the target reader for lucy chalice books. i didn’t *love* the hot henry effect but thought the premise of fundamentals in flirting would be more my speed. sadly this, too, didn’t do it for me. i found the writing to be similar to ali hazelwood’s (which MANY love!) but it just wasn’t my vibe. don’t get me wrong, though, this was a cute story that i think will be a hit with the masses.

This was a cute book, but I tend to have a hard time with a miscommunication of sorts.

I do love a sort of second chance, or they knew each other when they were young. But I like the history that comes with it, and I did not feel the tension as much, and I wished they felt less like strangers at the beginning.

I did like the story, but there was a lot that I fell a little flat.

I'm not sure if it was that this felt very formulaic, but I wished there was a bit more tension and history going back to them in high school.

Quite a fun romcom. Lively writing style and pacey. The characters are likeable. I’d have liked more wit and banter, for perfection.

Teddy’s RomCom

Teddy and Hannah were a cute RomCom couple. The flirtation was sweet and incorporated into the storyline. She was the grumpy and he was the sunshine-very well balanced and made it enjoyable to read. I loved the representation of women in STEM continuing in this story.

Teddy and his grins are tough to not smirk at as it gleams off the pages. A sweet read sprinkled with a heat as the book wrapped up.

I received a copy of this book from Lucy Chalice and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I really loved The Hot Henry Effect by Lucy Chalice so I was very excited about a new novel and the fact that it followed Teddy, Henry's twin brother.

We first meet Teddy and Hannah having a moment at Teddy's 18th birthday party but Hannah sees Teddy as a little out of her league and one of those boys who is always fighting girls off, whereas she is quite nerdy.

Fast-forward into adulthood and the two bump into each other again. Hannah is now a vet and has recently moved back to her hometown to work at a veterinary practice. Teddy has also moved back and purchased The Old Rectory which is close by the practice.

After a few complaints about Hannah's prickly attitude, her boss asks her to maybe try being a bit brighter with them. Teddy however is super charming and nice and everyone seems to like him, so Hannah desperately asks for his help to teach her.

I loved loved loved this. The characterisation is fantastic and I felt like I knew Hannah and Teddy inside out. This is a slow burn romance and I felt like I could really resonate with Hannah in her self-doubt about her looks and not believing that Teddy could possibly like her.

Teddy's feelings about his place in his family was beautifully done and added so much depth to the characters. I fell in love with the supporting characters too and it just felt like a fabulously cosy read.

This book was so good! The setting in this book was great! And the romance and the banter was so fun!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book! My opinions are my own.

This book is about Hannah, a veterinary scientist who due to circumstances has to return to the place she grew up in. That is where she quite literally bumps into her childhood crush - Teddy. He's also the most annoying, biggest flirt ever to exist on this planet. Not someone to start a lasting relationship with...

Teddy also happens to be the twin brother to Henry from the previous book. While it's fun to see an update on how things went after book 1, it's not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy the second one.

I very much enjoyed the writing style and read this book in just a few days! It's easy to read, with likeable characters. They all have their own issues to work through, which adds some layers to the story.

Sweet, funny, cute, pets, social anxiety, love, bubbly. Everything I like. The characters are real, well written, and you can see they are made for eachother. A really nice and easy read. Cute romance. Love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC of Fundamentals in Flirting, in exchange for an honest review.

"If you're in the mood for an easy to read, quick romcom, "Fundamentals in Flirting" by Lucy Chalice is for you. While there were some moments of miscommunication and the constant joking from the characters may not be everybody's cup of tea, the book still manages to deliver a fun love story wrapped in humor.
The main characters, Dr. Hannah Havens and Teddy Fraser, navigate their complicated dynamic with ups and downs, providing plenty of laughs along the way. While not everyone may find the characters entirely likable, the book offers an enjoyable escape for fans of light-hearted romance. Give it a try and prepare for a fun combination of laughter, swoons, and a touch of spice!"
3.75 Stars!!!

Thank you, Harper Collins One More Chapter and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of Fundamentals in Flirting.

When I saw that Lucy Chalice had a follow-up to The Hot Henry Effect, of course, I wanted to read it! While there is some overlapping in characters, both novels can be read as a stand-alone. Fundamentals in Flirting was a fun quick read. This was a second-chance romance where our big cinnamon roll MMC fell first for our prickly FMC. You could classify this as friends to lovers or enemies to lovers due to our FMC reading a situation from their youth entirely wrong. There were parts where I laughed out loud which is always a good sign for a fun read!

After a bad breakup, Dr. Hannah Havens returns to her hometown to take an opening as a vet. The last thing she wanted to do was run in to Teddy Fraser. Teddy is a ladies' man who wants to win Hannah over at all costs. When Hannah asks Teddy to teach her to be better with people, a skill Hannah's boss says she lacks, Teddy is all in! While Hannah may not want much to do with Teddy at first, she's sure to fall victim to his charm at some point!

tropes: women in stem, reverse grumpy sunshine & he falls first
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
spice: 1/5

hannah is a vet who due to high school bullies and horrendous ex faces insecurities not only about her looks but who she is to a core. she’s referred to as “prickly” but she does it to protect herself and I get that!

enter teddy who she’s known since high school where one incident between them leaves a sour taste in her mouth. teddy is a classic golden retriever with such an amazing personality who also faces insecurities due to the constant comparison to his twin.

it is a SLOW burn that at points makes you want to scream at the book. hannah and teddy’s interactions had me laughing, smiling but also wanting to throw my phone at the wall. you are genuinely rooting for this couple and I loved the side characters they introduced into their story. all the animals were my fav!

didn’t mind the slow burn but did mind how hannah constantly put down henry assuming he was a casanova when all he was doing was try to prove how he felt. hannah did have a very big wall up due to her past but poor teddy was doing nothing.

this was a fun read and I’m glad I discovered this author!

Prickly Hannah has to move back to her hometown after walking in on her boyfriend cheating on her. She gets a job as the town vet but really needs to work on her people skills. She keeps running into Teddy, an infuriatingly handsome man who she kissed when she was a kid. All grown up now, the last thing Hannah wants is to spend time with this man, but he offers to help her with her people skills. Slowly Hannah lets her walls down and may just learn what real love looks like.
This book was just as adorable as the first one. Teddy is a dream man, and I love the microtropes the characters find themselves in. This was definitely a 'will they, won't they' kind of slow burn. Towards the end, I was just begging the book to let them be together already!

This book was an absolute joy to read and I’m not quite sure how this author is a readers’ best kept secret still! I loved the Hot Henry Effect (#1 in this series although not necessary to read first) and wasn’t sure if I would connect with this book as much since Hannah was a vet and I didn’t connect with that career as much. I found Hannah to be an absolute delight. I connected so much with her lack of tact and people skills and thoroughly enjoyed her sense of humor. I thought Teddy was a lovely addition to this book and was very unexpected as a partner to Hannah. However, his vivacious personality led to some funny high jinx and an even greater friendship between himself and Hannah. This author captured so perfectly strong basis for a romantic relationship in building a foundation of trust without you even realizing that she was setting the stage for the romance. I loved seeing the connection between both books of the series, but I’m also grateful that I didn’t have to remember every detail from the first book. I was engaged for every second of this book and absolutely didn’t want to put it down. I can’t wait for more from this author and hope she keeps writing wonderfully complex women in STEM characters. 5⭐️, 2🌶

This was a great follow up from The Hot Henry Effect. This is the start of Teddy , Henry’s twin. He was mentioned a lot in the previous book so I was looking forward to Teddy’s story. Everyone thinks Teddy has it all , great looks, career and family. On the inside he feels no such thing. Along comes Hannah his classmate from 15 years ago that literally crashes into him. He is thrilled to see his long ago crush. Hannah has grown to be a successful veterinarian. She has also a huge chip in her shoulder from being teased since she was young about her looks. She has returned to her hometown to run from a breakup from her cheating ex. She is in desperate need of tuning her people skills. Teddy volunteers his services to soften her shell. Throw in and sweet old lady neighbor some goats and a cat and you’ve got a fun read on your hands. Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter Books for this free advanced copy I and leaving this review voluntarily

Thanks so rich for and arc of this. I really enjoy this romance which has a reverse grumpy x sunshine trope. I really loved Hannah and teds chemistry and their story is so well done. H this was such a well done little rom-com. I def recommend for others to read it.

3 stars.

This was the first book I've read by Lucy Chalice. It was an entertaining book! I liked the small town and its descriptions. Village life and the inhabitants of the village were interesting. The book may not have been groundbreaking, but it was nice to read and I would love to read more of Lucy Chalice's works in the future.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
* Difficult past
* Enemies to lovers
* Forced proximity
* Reverse grumpy - sunshine
* Hea
* Miscommunication
* Open doors
* Return to hometown
* Second chance
* Slowburn
* Small town
* The one that got away
* Third act: break up

Just like Lucy Chalice’s previous book, this was such a fun and cute read. The story kept me hooked, and I really liked the characters (especially because they made some mistakes). They felt real and were easy to root for. Plus, the writing style has gotten even better this time around. The pacing was perfect, and every chapter had something that made me want to keep going. This book was lighthearted, entertaining, and left me smiling long after I was done because of how cute it was. Would highly recommend reading this if you’re a fan of romcoms!

I received an ARC of this book and I am reviewing it voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own and honest.

A cute, spicy romcom with a cinnamon roll hero and a geeky heroine. I enjoyed most of it, so solid four stars.

Hannah and Teddy shared one scorching hot kiss when they were teenagers, but then he said something stupid, and eventually nothing came of it. Fast forward fifteen years, Hannah is back in her hometown and they are neighbors. It turns out that Hannah needs to work on her people skills and Teddy is a nice guy and promises to help her a little.

I enjoyed the writing and the chemistry, and when these two things work out, the book is a success.

Hannah had been bullied as a teenager and, with no support at home, she had developed pretty deep self esteem issues. Knowing that makes you understand why it took her so long to trust Teddy. It was exasperating at times, but unfortunately very relatable. Teddy on the other hand was absolutely adorable and a perfect match for Hannah.

The ending was a little overdone. I hate grand gestures with passion and this one was really cringe. What I also didn’t like is that this book is marketed as a standalone, but it’s a sequel to the author’s debut novel. It can be read as a standalone, but I wish I knew, I hate cameos from books I haven’t read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.