Jasmine Guillory is ready to make readers swoon again. PEOPLE can share an exclusive excerpt from the bestselling author’s upcoming novel, Flirting lessonswhich will be released next spring through Berkley. The novel follows Avery Jensen, a newly single bisexual woman looking for a new beginning. When she meets Taylor Cameron, also known as the biggest flirt in Napa Valley, her world is completely turned upside down. In a bet with her best friend, Taylor vowed to have sex for two months. However, she is quick to offer Avery “flirting lessons” — to help Avery’s confidence and keep Taylor away from her love problems.
Although their lessons get off to a rough start, both women soon realize that they may be falling in love with the other, in this delightful novel.
Jasmine Guillory.
Andrea Scher
For Guillory, who broke onto the scene with her bestselling debut Date of weddingwriting Flirting lessonsher first Sapphic romance, was a new — but fruitful — experience. “It was a pleasure to write about two women who understand life and find their way to each other!” the author tells PEOPLE. “I took a longer than usual break between books before I wrote this one, and I just had so much fun with this book, and I let myself enjoy every bit of it. It was so much fun to do something different but still have all those butterflies and tingles and happy feelings about romance.”
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The author also says that publishing a novel with a bisexual heroine, especially one who explores her romantic prospects with women, seems crucial right now. “So many women I know lately, including myself, are thinking seriously about what we want to look like in our lives, paying attention to what me we truly want, not what we are expected to want or what other people have told us we should want,” Guillory says.
“And we all learn that there is no time limit for this, that it is never too late to do something we really want, that we can learn new things and explore new and different sides of ourselves at the age of 25, 35. , 45, 55 and 85.”
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‘Flirting Lessons’ by Jasmine Guillory.
Berkeley
Guillory, who is also the mastermind behind beloved rom-coms like Proposal and The wedding partyshe’s built a loyal fan base — and hopes to continue that with her latest book. “I always hope to attract a new and different audience—people who didn’t think romance was for them, people seeing themselves in romance for the first time, people who like queer romance—but I also hope that people who have read and enjoyed my previous books, love this one too!” Guillory says. And while Guillory, now a veteran romance novelist, says she still has anxiety about publishing a new book, she’s ultimately thrilled that readers will get to know her two newest protagonists.
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“They’re very different people,” Guillory says. “Avery is poised, buttoned up, perfectly dressed for every occasion and outwardly very confident, but afraid to try new things, afraid to make friends, afraid to show off and relax with people she hasn’t known in years.”
On the other hand, “Taylor is an extrovert, has lots of friends, is in and out of relationships all the time, everyone falls for her; she can absolutely teach Avery how to flirt, but she doesn’t feel like she has a life together like she should until her mid-thirties “, the author continues. “I love them both so much and I loved writing their story.” Read on for an exclusive excerpt from Flirting lessons.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. “Okay, here are some flirting tips to keep in mind,” Taylor said as she exited the freeway. “First of all, I know it sounds simple, but bear with me: make eye contact, at least briefly. Don’t stare – at least not until you’re a little more advanced at this – but you want people to know you’re looking at them. Second: Smile. You don’t have to give everyone the exact same smile, you don’t have to show all your teeth or whatever, but people like to spend time talking to someone who seems friendly. And third: ask people their name and try to remember it. Tell them right away, say it several times in the conversation so that it sticks in your head. Remembering names makes a difference; people are really flattered by that.” Avery wanted to take out her phone and write this all down, but she thought Taylor might make fun of her if she did. Then she thought of what Taylor had said about honesty. Taylor was right; she didn’t want to do that if she was going to worry that Taylor would make fun of her at any moment. And if Taylor was making fun of her, well, she’d just go home. She took out her phone and started a new note. “Okay: eye contact, smile, remember names, anything else?” Taylor looked down at Avery’s phone and smiled.
The PEOPLE Puzzler has arrived! How fast can you solve it? Play now!“I also don’t remember anything unless I write it down. Hmm, okay: ask people questions about themselves and really listen to the answers. If they say something interesting, keep asking more questions. I know, I know, this is Conversation 101, but sometimes people think flirting is something different and get stuck, when it’s just a category of conversation. You seem to have the potential to freeze.”
Avery exhaled. “You’re right about that.” She added ask questions, then more questions to her list. “But also,” Taylor continued, “flirting is not one-size-fits-all. Pay attention to who you are talking to and how they are communicating with you. People like to be flirted with the same way they flirt.” She laughed. “That goes for other things too, but I digress. Some of what I’ve said won’t sit well with everyone. Some people don’t like eye contact but will stick around and keep talking to you, some people hate being accidentally touched, while others are cool with it. What matters is what you love — if you don’t get along with someone, don’t force it.”
- One size does not fit all
- Pay attention
- They like to flirt with them the same way they flirt
Oh God, this has been so many things already. How was she supposed to remember all that?” And I can already feel your shoulders tensing up there, so please don’t memorize all this now and think it’s going to be a quiz or something, little miss A-plus student.”
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Avery tried to relax her shoulders. “A quiz would be easier than doing this in real life,” she said. Taylor ignored it. “Oh, and this is the most important thing: only flirt with people you really want to flirt with. Where there’s some attraction, or they seem friendly, or they say something funny, or they’re just hot, whatever. This is supposed to be fun, and trying to flirt with people you don’t want to flirt with isn’t fun.” Avery stared at her. “I’m supposed to be doing all this and have fun while doing it?” Taylor laughed. “You don’t have to do it all at once! Try it. do one or two things and let the rest come. I’ll keep in mind not to give you too much information in the future; I should have known you’d want to win it all.”
Never miss a story — subscribe to PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. There was no way she could do it. “Okay, we’re here,” Taylor said a few minutes later. “Where are we? What are we doing here?” Avery asked as Taylor pulled into the parking lot. “So suspicious,” Taylor said with a laugh in her voice. “If you get out of the car, maybe we could go see what we’re doing here.” From Flirting Lessons published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC Copyright © 2025 Jasmine Guillory will be published on April 8, 2025, and is available for pre-order now, wherever books are sold.
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Source: HIS Education