This morning, I'm happy to present to you my stop on the A Friendly Flirtation tour. This is a friends-first romance by Christine Warner, book three in her Friends First series, in fact. This book is available from Entangled as of today, February 15th. And I'm delighted to bring you a lovely interview with the author, and my review!
The Book
One kiss can change your
life...
Allison
Hall is fed up with being a social outcast. Even at the tech company where she
works for her brother and his best friend, Jared, she's the invisible nerdy
girl. What she needs is confidence—and that requires a makeover and dating
tips. And she knows just the man to help…
Jared
Esterly is shocked when Allison asks for his assistance and turns her down,
knowing that her brother—his business partner and best friend, Nick—would kill
him if he dated her, even if it is just for practice. But when Al’s attempt to
make changes on her own fails spectacularly, Jared reluctantly steps in. Things
heat up quickly, and soon lessons move from the salon to the bedroom.
When
overprotective big-brother Nick discovers Jared is dating Allison, their
friendship and business partnership sour. Allison, consumed by guilt, must make
a choice: stay with Jared, even though that means ruining his friendship with
Nick and possibly his career, or leave the one man who sets her on fire.
A Friendly Flirtation is available now!
For buy links, check out Entangled!
Goodreads | Goodreads Series
Interview
TETOR: Christine, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions
today. I'm excited to read A Friendly Flirtation, and to have this opportunity
to talk you about the book!
Author: Thank you so much for taking the time to read A Friendly
Flirtation, and for inviting me onto your blog J
TETOR: Friends-to-lovers is one of my favourite set-ups for romance novels. You've
written three books now in your Friends First series, so I'd guess it's safe to
assume you're partial to it as well. What draws you to this niche?
Author: I love the friends to lover’s stories because the characters have
established a friendship and are comfortable with each other for the most part.
Some know each other better than others, but they are friendly enough to have
personal conversations, know past details, some of what makes the other person
click. All of these factors make for easy and fun dialogue because they are
already on a more intimate comfort level than a couple just getting acquainted.
Plus, there’s nothing more romantic—at least to me—than friends that end up
falling in love.
TETOR: I like that Allison's described as an "invisible nerdy girl" in the
blurb for A Friendly Flirtation. Nerdy girls deserve more "screen
time" in romances, I think (or possibly I'm biased because I'd describe
myself as a nerdy girl!). What was your motivation for writing her in this way?
Is the nerdy girl label one that you identify with?
Author: I think that there’s a little bit of a nerdy girl in all of us.
There are several parts of Allison that I identify with myself. Sometimes I
snort when I laugh, other times I’m uncomfortable in social situations because
it’s hard to talk and possibly bare parts of yourself in a group of people you
don’t know well, and I agree with you that nerdy girls deserve “screen time” in
romance books as well. They are real, easy to relate to I think for most
people, and just plain likable. How can you not root for the nerdy girl
heroine, especially when she is trying to improve on herself without losing
herself entirely? Allison doesn’t want to change who she is on the inside, but
she does want to make her life on the outside easier and more comfortable so
that she can fit in. To her, she just wants to be “normal”. I like that about
her, and again, I think she’s relatable because of it J
TETOR: I think that Allison's desire for self-improvement through confidence, some
dating tips, and a makeover, is something that many readers can identify with.
I think that confidence, in particular, is currently a hot topic. Can you talk
a bit about the importance of confidence in romantic relationships?
Author: Confidence seems to something that goes up and down with every
person. Some days you’re on top of the wave and other days you’re below the
surface. But, I think you always have some sort of confidence, you basically
have to in order to get through the day in a social world. When it comes to
romance, just by the fact that you are taking the risk to put yourself out
there shows that you have confidence.
The thing I liked about writing Allison was that she didn’t think
she was confident, but all the things she attempted and tried and lived through
told the true story. She had lots of confidence in so many ways, she just
didn’t have the confidence in social situations. I believe that’s why the
moment she had a few changes in the way she looked, her true personality came
out and her confidence soared so quickly. Oh, and it didn’t hurt that she had a
great guy to remind her how amazing she was.
TETOR: So, as an author, I think many of us expect that you would maintain a public,
online presence of some kind (a task that I assume is made easier with a
certain amount of confidence!). Your bio describes your enjoyment of social
media in its many forms -- which is your favourite social media platform, and
why?
Author: I have fun with them all, but I think the one I enjoy the most is
Facebook. I like that I can say something and get an instant response. It’s fun
to talk with the people there and I’ve met so many wonderful authors and
readers and we have formed some wonderful friendships through sharing bits and
pieces of our lives. It’s amazing how many people there I haven’t met in person
but consider friends.
I also started a street team, which is a group of reader’s who
enjoy my stories. I love our little group. We have fun chats, play games, they
help me name characters or pets, or other bookish things I need help with.
Basically Facebook is a great place to interact with so many people from all
over the world. Love. It.
TETOR: Last question: after a reader's read through your series, what friends first
novel would you recommend they pick up next?
Author: A book I read recently Her Backup Boyfriend by Ashlee Mallory was
a terrific read. The heroine blurts out to her family that she has a boyfriend
when she really doesn’t and when she tells the neighbor’s nephew he not only
agrees to help her renovate her newly purchased house but to be her pretend
boyfriend. It’s a cute story. Even though they have a newly formed friendship
they build on the friendship before they start a slow building romance. I
really enjoyed their journey.
TETOR: Thank you so much for answering my questions!
Author: Thank you so much for letting me visit your blog J
TETOR: Friends-to-lovers is one of my favourite set-ups for romance novels. You've written three books now in your Friends First series, so I'd guess it's safe to assume you're partial to it as well. What draws you to this niche?
TETOR: I like that Allison's described as an "invisible nerdy girl" in the blurb for A Friendly Flirtation. Nerdy girls deserve more "screen time" in romances, I think (or possibly I'm biased because I'd describe myself as a nerdy girl!). What was your motivation for writing her in this way? Is the nerdy girl label one that you identify with?
TETOR: I think that Allison's desire for self-improvement through confidence, some dating tips, and a makeover, is something that many readers can identify with. I think that confidence, in particular, is currently a hot topic. Can you talk a bit about the importance of confidence in romantic relationships?
TETOR: So, as an author, I think many of us expect that you would maintain a public, online presence of some kind (a task that I assume is made easier with a certain amount of confidence!). Your bio describes your enjoyment of social media in its many forms -- which is your favourite social media platform, and why?
TETOR: Last question: after a reader's read through your series, what friends first novel would you recommend they pick up next?
TETOR: Thank you so much for answering my questions!
My Review
A Friendly Flirtation is a fun, fluffy read in that My Fair Lady vein. Allison's a self-acknowledged nerdy girl who wants to make some changes to improve her social life. Jared, her big brother's best friend, seems like just the man to help her out...
This book gives great banter. I found Jared and Allison's flirtation pretty entertaining, and I liked their back-and-forth quite a bit. I also liked watching Allison blossom across the book. She's so earnest in her desire to improve herself, it was easy to root for her.
I do think that the pre-existing friendship between Jared and Allison was pretty weak. Because Jared's friendship was with Allison's big brother, there was a certainly familiarity between Allison and Jared, but not the comfortable relationship that I expected. This made it especially ballsy of her to ask him for help with her transformation, but it also meant less pre-existing investment between the two of them (and more between Jared and Allison's brother).
I didn't love the abrupt ending; it was okay, but not quite as satisfying as it might have been if there were just a few more beats. I think everything came to a sudden head and resolution, and that left me feeling a tad shortchanged.
Bottom Line
This book gives great banter. I found Jared and Allison's flirtation pretty entertaining, and I liked their back-and-forth quite a bit. I also liked watching Allison blossom across the book. She's so earnest in her desire to improve herself, it was easy to root for her.
I do think that the pre-existing friendship between Jared and Allison was pretty weak. Because Jared's friendship was with Allison's big brother, there was a certainly familiarity between Allison and Jared, but not the comfortable relationship that I expected. This made it especially ballsy of her to ask him for help with her transformation, but it also meant less pre-existing investment between the two of them (and more between Jared and Allison's brother).
I didn't love the abrupt ending; it was okay, but not quite as satisfying as it might have been if there were just a few more beats. I think everything came to a sudden head and resolution, and that left me feeling a tad shortchanged.
Bottom Line
A Friendly Flirtation is a great choice for light, fluffy read. I was absolutely entertained.
4 stars
For fans of friends first, makeover stories
About the Author
Christine
Warner is living her dream in Michigan along with her family, three laptops
(she might have a slight addiction, or maybe it’s a fear of one imploding from
overuse) and a much loved assortment of furry friends.
Besides
laughing and a good round of humor, she enjoys spending time with her family,
cooking, reading, writing but no arithmetic. A confessed people watcher,
she finds inspiration for her stories in everyday activities. She loves
to read and write about strong heroes and determined, sometimes sassy heroines.
Giveaway
This one is hosted by the author!
Thank you for hosting and reviewing A FRIENDLY FLIRTATION today!
ReplyDeleteCrystal, Tasty Book Tours
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review A FRIENDLY FLIRTATION! I'm glad you enjoyed the story and I'm so excited to be featured on your blog.
ReplyDelete