The Trouble With Flirting – Claire LaZebnik

    Franny's supposed to be working this summer, not flirting. But you can't blame her when guys like Alex and Harry are around. . . .
    Franny Pearson never dreamed she'd be attending the prestigious Mansfield Summer Theater Program. And she's not, exactly. She's working for her aunt, the resident costume designer. But sewing her fingers to the bone does give her an opportunity to spend time with her crush, Alex Braverman. If only he were as taken with the girl hemming his trousers as he is with his new leading lady.
    When Harry Cartwright, a notorious flirt, shows more than a friendly interest in Franny, she figures it can't hurt to have a little fun. But as their breezy romance grows more complicated, can Franny keep pretending that Harry is just a carefree fling? And why is Alex suddenly giving her those deep, meaningful looks? In this charming tale of mixed messages and romantic near-misses, one thing is clear: Flirting might be more trouble than Franny ever expected.

Why didn’t you guys tell me how cute this book was!? I seriously almost didn’t read it and/or put it off because I was so unsure about it. Firstly, it’s a loosely-based retelling of MANSFIELD PARK by Jane Austen……. Which I know nothing about. Also, although I know OF Claire LeZebnik, I feel like I haven’t heard a lot about many of her books. I was totally in the dark about what I was jumping into and now I’m SO glad I did.

THE TROUBLE WITH FLIRTING, in a word, is adorable. Franny’s just your average teenager who happens to have kind of a knack for acting but hasn’t done much with it since 8th grade. She needs to get a job for the summer so the closest she gets to acting is working for her aunt as a seamstress for a summer acting program. To her surprise, Franny’s old 8th grade crush turns up and meanwhile, Harry “I’m-hot-in-an-obvious-way-but-it-totally-works” Cartwright is totally hitting on Franny as well. Sarcasm, wit, and swoony moments ensue thus solidifying our appropriate title, THE TROUBLE WITH FLIRTING.

Okay, now my feelings: I FELT FEELINGS. Guuuuys. I didn’t expect to feel so swoony about this book and like Franny, I didn’t expect to feel so swoony about Harry. I absolutely love relationships in books built off of sarcasm and jokes. I don’t know WHY but for some reason I think it’s totally adorable and let me tell you, Claire LaZebnik is the sarcasm master but still keeps everything light and funny (not that kind of sarcasm that seems arrogant or rude). I just had so much fun reading the banter back and forth, mostly between Franny and Harry!

I really enjoyed the setting of the book revolving around the fact that all of these kids are here for a sort of summer camp for actors. I liked the fact that they were all staying in the dorms (aside from Franny) so they were all in the same place at the same time without being at a high school. It’s a more relaxed feel since it’s summer, but these kids still have work to do. I really liked the acting aspect of it too – It reminded me a bit of my high school days (okay, I couldn’t act, but I WAS in the plays/musicals).

Franny: Franny was spunky and witty and I loved her! She brought a real zing to the book. Even though she wasn’t in the ideal position she wanted to be in over the summer, she made it work and she was the perfect mix of confident and a little bit timid with it came to the boys!
Harry: I swooned for Harry! Let’s just get that out there. For some reason I really love witty banter back and forth between two characters so the exchange between Franny & Harry was so much fun for me to read!
Alex: I was a little unsure about Alex. I liked him but there were times when he just felt too wishy washy. I was rooting for him a bit in the beginning but then when things started to happen between Franny & Harry, I only had eyes for Harry!

 Read it!

Definitely pick this one up! I thought it was just adorable and it totally surprised me! Especially great for a cute, summer romance.

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