I am of course familiar with Jasmine Guillory, as I keep up with the romance genre as a whole. However, since I mostly exclusively read sapphic romance, I had never read any of her previous books. Once I learned that she was releasing her first sapphic romance, Flirting Lessons, I knew I had to check it out. Guillory is a titan in the romance genre, so I didn’t doubt she had the chops to write a solid story here, and she delivered.
Flirting Lessons tells the story of two Black women, Avery Jensen and Taylor Cameron. Avery is a buttoned-up event planner who grew up in the Napa Valley. Taylor is a Napa transplant who works at a winery. The two women know each other casually through their jobs but have never really connected before. But when Avery mentions out loud that she’s trying to get out of her shell more and meet women, Taylor jumps at the opportunity to give her flirting lessons. It’s not purely out of the goodness of her heart — her best friend Erica bet the womanizer that she couldn’t make it through the summer without hooking up with someone. Taylor sees Avery as a good distraction. But will that eventually turn into attraction?
The story is told in a third person dual POV, which is great because it allows you to get perspective from both characters. However, Guillory has a habit of switching perspective suddenly, which makes it kind of confusing sometimes. There were points where it took me a couple of sentences before I realized the speaker had changed. It was definitely hard when they were in scenes together.
Overall, Flirting Lessons is about what happens when you try to overcome what other people think about you. Avery embarks on her journey after a nasty breakup with a man. She knows she’s attracted to women but has never had the courage to do something about it. But now is as good a time as ever, except for her pesky inability to connect with people.
Guillory does a great job detailing what it’s like to deal with social anxiety. Avery’s fear of doing or saying the wrong thing feels palpable. Something in her breaks when she runs into an old teacher from middle school who can’t stop marveling at how Avery has remained reliable and steadfast even in adulthood. It’s clear she doesn’t want to stay the same, but the idea of doing the work to grow is equally terrifying.
One of the scenes that sticks out the most to me is the scene before Avery has her first flirting lesson. She is terrified, and she doesn’t even attempt to hide it. Taylor can sense this, and while she’s amused, she doesn’t make Avery suffer through it. In fact, she (and therefore Guillory) gives a list of practical tips Avery (and you!) can use while attempting to flirt with people. Things like “make eye contact,” “say people’s names when you’re talking to them,” “match the other person’s flirting style,” and most importantly “have fun!”
The trope of one character having to teach the other is a classic, but it doesn’t feel rote in this story by any means. It’s so grounded in reality. Taylor may not be like Avery, but she makes a conscious effort not to shame the other woman for needing to write things down or for her Type-A personality. It would be easy for Guillory to turn Avery into a stereotype, and while she sometimes gets close, she always manages to get the character back from the edge of that line, making both characters fully realized.
Taylor is a consummate teacher. As a womanizer who is looking to shed the label, she is taking her job very seriously. It’s good for her to put her skills to good use, right? And of course she will get the satisfaction of proving Erica wrong. You can tell she’s bothered that the person who is supposed to be her best friend has such a questionable opinion of her. Taylor is definitely the character who falls more into a stereotype. She is the quintessential lesbian fuckboy; that’s literally the first thing we learn about her. Also, she’s hot. While she does have growth over the course of the story, I was hoping for a little bit more depth.
The part of Taylor’s story that feels the most real is the chasm between her and her bestie Erica. While Erica has settled down — creating a career for herself, getting married and then getting pregnant — Taylor hasn’t done any of those things. It’s a good point of conflict to create, especially for characters that are supposed to be at that stage of their life. How many of us have been there before with that friend who just won’t let us forget that they have their life together? Things come to a head between the two of them after Erica makes a new (and more hurtful) bet, and as much as I loved the conflict, it also felt predictable. That’s not to say I was disappointed by any means!
I had heard that Jasmine Guillory books get spicy, so again, I was intrigued. It is established very early that both Avery and Taylor are attractive and attracted to each other, even before they know each other very well. Their chemistry is undeniable, even when they’re trying to deny it. So it’s no surprise that eventually, they can’t anymore, and find themselves ready to have sex.
The scene is full of consent, which is apparently another Guillory staple. She does a good job making it flow into the scene; it’s Avery’s first time having sex with a woman, so it’s easy to couch consent into Taylor asking Avery what feels good and what’s working for her. While the scene flows nicely, it doesn’t jump out as spicy necessarily. It feels like a woman who has never had sex with women has sex with a lesbian. As someone who has kind of been in that position, I was hoping for a little more. And I was shocked at how long it was (11 very detailed pages).
I had a good time reading the story, and it has definitely made me curious about Jasmine Guillory’s other books. So if you’re looking for an enjoyable quick read with sapphic tension, this is the book for you.
Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory is out now.
I had about the same reaction – I thought it was fun but had a couple reservations. It was also my first by this author.
The friendships were some of my favorite parts. Avery getting out of her comfort zone and making new friends and Taylor having to reconfigure her friendships.