Dr. Naya Turner is a professor at a Chicago university. After years of rebuilding her reputation after an abusive relationship that ended with her ex spreading malicious rumors about her, she is up for tenure, loves what she does and is great at it, and wonders if she can finally start to live a little again. Her friends encourage her to make a list of things she should get around to doing, starting with a fun night out where she will flirt with wild abandon. After Naya’s friends unexpectedly can’t make it, Naya stays out at the bar, terribly flirting with the bartender, and eventually starts chatting with a charming guy named Jake who tells the cheesiest jokes. She’s intrigued and decides to throw caution to the wind and have a one-night stand with him. When the night comes to an embarrassing end, however, Naya is astounded to receive a text from Jake, asking to see her again.

Naya’s week-long fling is sexy and wonderful, and she’s reluctant to admit to her feelings for Jake so quickly. But she’s surprised yet again when she finds out Jake works for the company that has been hired to strengthen the university as a business, and her department is on the chopping block. There’s no denying they have something more than just a fling--they both have real feelings for each other--and they hope they can figure out a way to make things work.

Naya and Jake have an instant attraction, and they both really want to try having a serious relationship. But both of them have secrets that are revealed along the way, and with her job on the line, Naya has to decide of Jake is worth the risk, or something else to cross off her list. . .

HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING is an emotional, humorous, and entertaining debut novel by Denise Williams. Told entirely from Naya’s point of view, this is a deep character study of a woman learning to live her life by her own rules. She’s easily relatable, a little awkward, and a lot of fun to spend time with throughout the book. Jake comes across as a great guy, and even when some of his demons are revealed, they are usually balanced with his penchant for cheesy “dad jokes,” making him very charming. While there are light moments in this book, the storyline with Naya’s abusive ex-boyfriend is intensely heart wrenching, and it was jarring to experience such visceral fear from Naya interspersed within lighthearted moments while reading about her falling in love. Even though Jake is eventually up front with Naya about his own past and his job, because this book is only in Naya’s POV, it’s hard to know what Jake’s motivations are when he makes some rash decisions and some readers may find this frustrating. Williams’ writing style is wonderful and she thoughtfully handles the emotional, intimate, and hilarious aspects of HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING. Denise Williams is an author to watch!