by Jessica Lepe
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Flirty Little Secret by Jessica Lepe is a debut contemporary romance with great mental health representation.
We alternate POVs between our leads Lucy and Fletcher. Lucy, a school counselor, is shy and sweet but also constantly struggling to hold off disaster. On the other hand, her anonymous online alter ego, TheMissGuidedCounselor, is confident and always knows what to say. Fletcher moved back home to help is his mother after a family crisis, and is a new history teacher at Lucy’s school.
When I see epistolary as a key word for a book, I usually jump on it. Interspersed throughout the book are text conversations between TheMissGuidedCounselor and BravesGuy93 (aka Lucy and Fletcher) by way of Instagram DMs. I love it when books have this conceit!
I identified a lot with Lucy, as I’m a similar brand of neurospicy (ADHD, anxiety, and depression). As someone who deals with invisible illnesses, I really appreciated how these characters talked about panic attacks, depression, and other heavier topics.
There’s great cultural representation in the book as well. Lucy’s father is a Sephardi Jew from Morocco and her mother is Mexican. Their entire family unit is precious and tight-knit and reminded me a little bit of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Miscommunication is one of my least-favorite tropes, and there are also lies by omission here as well. The trajectory of their relationship felt like it moved way too fast to saying the “l” word.
I’d love to see more books from this author about Lucy’s (or Fletcher’s) sisters. Lucy’s coworkers were also great, and I think Georgia deserves her HEA too (possibly with Brodie).
Tropes in this book include: secret identity, epistolary, workplace romance
CW: panic attack (on-page), passive suicidal ideation (no attempt), some ableist language regarding mental illness
I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to BookSparks for the complimentary paperback copy and NetGalley and Forever for the eARC. All opinions contained herein are my own.
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