Flirting With Forever
By Claire Kingsley
Nora Lakes has been a favorite supporting character since I first met her in Claire Kingsley’s Faking Ms Right. Getting her story and watching her find her HEA in Flirting with Forever brought the most amazing sense of joy and closure for the Dirty Martini Running Club series. Plus, we get the wonderful elements of found family, sisterhood and solid friendships, as well as solid family bonds Kingsley writes so well.
I am a huge fan of forced proximity, and while Flirting isn’t an “only one bed” story, the neighbors element gave it that same sense of intense unavoidance that I love, but maintained the independent connection allure I expected for Nora’s story. Because Nora is and always has been that no-strings-attached friend, I knew she would fight the fall, but fall hard when she did. And oh, did she. And she fell within an incredible opposites attract plotline. Add in he fell first (well, actually, they, because I think Dex’s daughter fell first) and yep, total rom-com trope trifecta.
Kingsley does a beautiful job of weaving Dex and his daughter Riley into Nora’s life. She expertly builds their family dynamic, creating the ideal situation for connections that are genuine and authentic. As the friendship between Nora and Riley is created and nurtured, so is the unavoidable tension between Nora and Dex. And as that tension builds, so does the steam. Oh yeah, the steam—perfect! Nora is exactly the firecracker we all knew she would be. And Dex gives new meaning to the word “swoon.”
Not one to stray from the angst, Kingsley includes a fully developed and well executed conflict that brings closure to the plot on multiple levels. It also shows Nora for the stand-up, no-nonsense, confident b@d@ss she is. And allows Dex to confront some personal insecurities and offer a grand gesture ideal for a neighborhood, girl-next-door RomCom.
Flirting with Forever can definitely be read as a standalone, but I definitely recommend reading the Dirty Martini Running Club series first. It’s fun, fast paced, full of fantastic and relatable characters, and will bring even more smiles from the interactions and Easter eggs scattered throughout.
