The Flirt

by Kathleen Tessaro

Book Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Perfume Collector comes this charming, witty novel about a "professional" flirt. "Unique situation for an attractive, well-mannered, morally flexible young man. Hours irregular. Pay generous. Discretion a must..." When struggling, out-of-work actor, Hughie Venables-Smythe sees the mysterious job description in the classifieds, he's convinced he's found his destiny. For, though he's become accustomed...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061125768
• ISBN13: 9780061125768
• Release Date: November 2017
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent. Or as they say in England, Brilliant.

Funny and sexy. Story moves along at a good pace. You won't want to put it down. The back cover only mentions two or three characters in the summary - but nearly a dozen characters are introduced in the first 50 pages. Male, female; young, old; American, British; gay, straight; lead, supporting. The cast lives in London and are affected by one young fellow's training toward becoming a professional flirt. There is no one narrator and the characters are mostly unknown to each other but the reader knows they are only separated by a couple of degrees. This device is not as annoying as it sounds. "The Flirt" story is captivating and well told. The novel is great, I highly recommend it. It was so enjoyable; I was sad when it came to an end because I didn't think anything else would please me as a much. I was so absorbed by "The Flirt" that I had to switch gears - the next book I picked up was non-fiction. "The Flirt" is great, and if you are going to pick up another book by Kathleen Tessaro, "Elegance" is fabulous as well. Avoid "Innocence." (See my other reviews). "The Flirt" is more of a departure from K.T.'s first two novels, but it is awesome.

A fast read with lots of enjoyable storylines

This book reminded me of those movies like "Love Actually" that have tons of storylines going on all at once, which come together neatly at the end to leave you with a feeling of satisfaction of seeing how everything turned out for everyone at one time. I am surprised to see so many negative reviews here - I really thoroughly enjoyed this book, and actually cared about each of the characters. I was particularly fond of Rose, who shows up at an interview to be part of the staff of a large billionaire's home, and winds up being mistaken for the Next Great British Art Talent because of a strange interview exercise that went awry. I also really enjoyed experiencing the growth of Leticia, a girl who refuses to be close to anyone, has lots of one night stands but won't get romantically involved, because she was so badly hurt when she was younger. And as much as Hughie is supposedly the "main" character, I saw him more as a pair of eyes who was experiencing all this stuff and relaying it back to me, more than actually caring about what he was getting up to. Having lived in London I loved the descriptions of all the neighborhoods. I actually bought Elegance - Tessaro's first book - when it was new, but I'm ashamed to say that it's sat on my shelf unread for the past few years. I'm going to have to dig that out and read it next. Am happy to have found a new author I enjoy so much.

Flirt

Flirt, is a charming, romp and great fun. I found it thoroughly enjoyable as I've found other books by the same author.

Intriguing Group of Weaving Story Lines

This book does an excellent job of weaving its way through the lives of multiple characters-- from a good-looking, soft-hearted young man; to an arrogant wealthy man (via inheritence) and his unhappy socialite wife; to a frazzled mother and a troubled single woman always on the lookout for her next fling. Hughie, the good looking, soft hearted young man is the center of this book as he takes on a new job flirting with women who he is hired to make feel better. The act of making the women he flirts with feel better is touching in that you realize how many people out there just need to feel special. Hughie discovers that his new job requires him to break up with the woman who he loves who he later tries to woo back using the skills he's learned in his job. This book tells the story of each of the individuals searching for their own version of happiness which ends in a clean, but somewhat unexpected way. It is unusual to read a book with this many characters that are so well developed, easy to keep track of, and yet unique in their own way. I found the supporting characters in Tessaro's book Innocence somewhat difficult to keep track of but that is not an issue in the case of this book. This is a satisfying weekend read.

A Quick and FLIRTY Read

The Flirt by Kathleen Tessaro Would it be every man's dream to be paid to flirt with women? Hughie thinks he has found this dream job that starts with a cream colored card secretively given to a woman to capture her attention, curiosity, and imagination. Kathleen Tessaro takes the reader to London where the main character is the charming and attractive Hughie Venables-Smythe. Hughie is a would-be actor looking for work and without realizing it, looking for a loving relationship. Hughie doesn't think he wants to tie himself down and in fact finds himself in a "no strings attached" relationship with an older woman. Leticia, who owns a rather non-traditional lingerie boutique, wants to be with Hughie only for sex and no further commitment. Hughie answers a very unusual ad and finds himself being trained to be a "professional flirt". He feels this is a good job that enables him to work on his acting skills while making some much needed money. The job involves being assigned to flirt with a married woman to help them feel more romantic and wanted. This theoretically makes the woman feel better about herself and it carries over into her marriage and makes for a better relationship with her husband. The husbands themselves hire "the flirt" through this business set up to meet the needs of some very wealthy but discontented clients. Cream colored cards are secretively given to the wives by Hughie, and he follows up with his charms and attention. The conflict occurs when Hughie decides to implement what seems to be working in his "profession" into his own life with Leticia. What follows is a series of events that suddenly finds lives intersecting in ways that were not expected or meant to be. Kathleen Tessaro, who gave us Elegance, brings us another comedic addition to "Chick Lit" that moves along quickly with humor and heart. The many characters introduced in each chapter add their part to the mix of this romantic romp. Some may find it hard to keep track of everyone and the part they play in this sometimes improbable idealistic escapade. However, when read as it is meant to be, a delightfully light romantic comedy and fun beach read, the reader will be glad that they encountered The Flirt! Submitted: copyright by Karen Haney, 2008, published for Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)