Book Review: The Trouble with Flirting by Claire LaZebnik

While working my way through my summer TBR list, I read a book that took place at a summer theater program. I didn’t realize when I added it to my list that it’s actually by the author Claire LaZebnik, who wrote The Last Best Kiss, which we had at the bookstore! I really enjoyed that book, but didn’t care too much for her other title Epic Fail, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this next read.

This week’s title is The Trouble with Flirting by Claire LaZebnik

Franny Pearson is supposed to be working at the prestigious Mansfield Summer Theater Program, not falling for charming actors—but that's easier said than done. While crushing on Alex Braverman, she finds herself drawn into a flirty romance with notorious heartbreaker Harry Cartwright. As feelings deepen and signals get crossed, Franny learns that love behind the scenes can be as dramatic as any play onstage.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

All of Claire LaZebnik’s books are retellings of Jane Austen novels. While The Last Best Kiss is a retelling of Persuasion and Epic Fail is based on Pride & Prejudice, The Trouble with Flirting is based on Austen’s book Mansfield Park. Like all of her adaptations, the parallels are very clear (Fanny to Franny), which can be of great fun for an Austen fan. I could do a whole analysis of how this novel and Austen’s match up, but instead, let’s just get onto the review.

Spoiler-free Review

I haven’t read many books that take place at theater camps since they don’t always appeal to me (I was more of a stay home and play Sims kind of kid), but the love triangle aspect to this book is what made me add it to the list! I expected there to be more tension between Harry and Franny and more outright flirting between her and Alex. The love triangle didn’t quite feel like a triangle since there wasn’t much of a battle between the male leads to win Franny’s attention. However, I did enjoy that I actually wasn’t sure who Franny would end up with and usually I can tell that right off the bat!

I liked the group dynamics of this book and how each of them have their own issues. It was nice to see friendships develop, reshape, and reform as the summer program progressed. I hated Marie and found her super annoying, which was definitely the point. Julia also annoyed me as well, but the other characters made up for it and what’s high school summer break without a bit of drama?

Something I wasn’t crazy about was how little time Franny spent with her aunt making the costumes for the plays. I know that sounds silly, but it seemed to me that she was with her friends a lot during the day (even more so as the book goes on) and continuously asks for time off to go to different events with her friends. Now, of course I’d want there to be a lot of time spent with the other characters in the book, but some more scenes of Franny with the costumes or at least saying how much she’s working on them would feel a lot more realistic and not like she’s leaving her aunt in a lurch.

If you love retellings of classic novels or enjoy a book about theater kids, then this is the book for you. If you want a spookier version of a summer theater camp, try Secrets So Deep by Ginny Myers Sain.

For a spoiler review, keep on reading!

Spoilers! Be warned!

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Okay, I warned you!

Something that stood out to me a lot was I wondered why Franny was able to hang out with the theater kids in the common areas so much. Not only did they eat every meal together in the dining halls, but they also hung out in the dorms and around campus together. Since those students were paying to go there and Franny was staff, I didn’t understand why it was just accepted for her to hang around. There were two school-sanctioned trips the group went on (the beach and to downtown) and it was a given that Franny was going. Since she’s staff and not a paying student it felt very odd to me that she would just be allowed to tag along. Think of it this way, in Dirty Dancing, Johnny and the other hotel staff are not allowed to fraternize with the guests and that goes for a lot of hotels and camps so it was odd to me that Franny was an exception.

While I loved that Franny got to act in the play, I wish that happend earlier in the book and she balanced her time better with acting, friends, and working for her aunt. To have her be inserted into the play so close to the end of the program felt like a last-minute plot point when we could’ve had more acting scenes between her and Harry.

I’m really glad Franny ended up with Harry and that they were clearly really great together once they spent more one-on-one time. It did bother me that Franny kept saying that he wasn’t a genuine guy when he was very much showing her he was, but she eventually figured it out. It almost felt like he was the second choice compared to Alex, but I think the ending was handled well.

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite book, but I enjoyed it and glad it was on my summer tbr!