The book is fun but it doesn’t take you far
What would happen if you hired someone to flirt with your wife to put the spark back in your marriage? While sitting in a London U.K. café one day planning to skip out on his bill Hughie Venables-Smith a sassy young man-about-town reads a newspaper ad that will change his life.
The mysterious Mr. Valentine runs a secret dating agency employing fatally charming and attractive men available for hire to improve failing relationships. Hughie signs on and begins training with his mentor an aging rogue named Henry. The job seems perfect for Hughie with only one small catch: Mr. Valentine is adamant that his employees be free – none of them are permitted to be in a relationship. Hughie is sure he can master his exciting new career and keep his girlfriend as long as he does so secretly.
Hughie’s off-and-on girlfriend is a lingerie designer with a business so exclusive she can barely afford to hire a plumber to save her shop. Leticia designs for women desperate for romance while running as fast as she can from any romance in her own life.
Across London a beautiful woman is married to a man dubbed the tennis ball king. She sits in her mansion and dreams about escape while designing her garden with the help of an intriguing new female gardener.
The Flirt is Brit chic-lit with a bit of an edge — characters fall in and out of love meet pass each other by and change their lives on a whim. Kathleen Tessaro sets up impossible situations and chance encounters and creates improbable characters that still manage to draw you in.
The fun of The Flirt is also its weakness. Flirting is fun superficial and easy. Love is not. The trophy wife frustrated mother and exclusive lingerie designer are all sad and lonely people living unfulfilled lives as are the billionaire industrialist and the aging gigolo. The core of The Flirt is a bit hollow. Characters change but lack substance and there are too many loose ends for the book to be truly satisfying. It works as a light and fluffy read – a bit like eating candy for dinner. Fun but it doesn’t stay with you for long.
