What could mellow SoCal and high-society London possibly have in common?
Chelsea Cole is only one paycheck away from--OMG--moving back to her mother's house, which would really suck because she's trying to catch the eye of the gorgeous Brit who moved into the apartment above hers.
Jeremy Pearce is definitely not her usual blond and bronzed surfer type. He's all sexy long hair, poet shirts, suede boots, and secrets. Lots of secrets. But how will she get close enough to solve the Jeremy puzzle if she keeps humiliating herself every time he's around?
When drawn together by fate and a pizza, they make a pair that's hilarious, sexy, and worth cheering for.
Linda Cassidy Lewis believes that life is all about relationships, and her fiction reflects that belief. Indiana born and raised, she now lives with her husband in California, where she writes versions of the stories she held in her head during the years their four sons were growing up. Her home is in the city, so she's thankful for the gift of imagination that whisks her away to sea or mountain or countryside whenever she wishes.
Chelsea is struggling financially, not using her business degree in marketing, and hasn't dated anyone in ages. When she quits her job at the local deli (in an extremely immature move, btw), she gets help from an unexpected source - her snotty, British, neighbor who is some kind of writer. Mr. High Tea, aka Jeremy, gives her a job consulting on the books he is writing. They end up developing a friendship that leads to friends with benefits that leads to more.
This one is hard to rate. On the one hand, it was better than I was expecting. I only picked up this book for a challenge and was reluctant to read it. But....it was better than I anticipated. The problem is that I despised the FMC. Not only is Chelsea ridiculously immature but her character also acts in conflicting ways, which I found incredibly annoying. I liked Jeremy's character and actually felt bad that he ended up falling for her - I think that is the opposite of what a romance writer wants the reader to feel, right? I'm going with 2 stars, though 2.5 would probably be more accurate. The smut is implied, so low rated there too - 2 out of 5.
Chelsea’s very curious about her suave upstairs neighbor. She fantasizes about Jeremy as she vies for a promotion to manager at the deli. When she’s passed over, she quits in a huff and spends her days listening to Jeremy above her. Each time they meet, both fall victim to social awkwardness and cultural disconnects.
Jeremy, as it turns out, has a boatload of secrets, but he’s also keenly attracted to the blond hottie downstairs. When people from their pasts appear, the waters of their fledgling relationship get so roiled that readers are left to wonder if they have a snowball’s chance in hell of ever achieving their happily ever after.
This Kindle Scout winner hit the spot like a cool drink on a hot day. Sassy and fun with disarming charm, High Tea and Flip Flops is a delightful romp. Lewis’ writer’s voice is high octane California chick lit with a dash of British aristocracy.
Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews
Chelsea is a young California girl who has a lot going for her, while Jeremy is a young Brit who lives upstairs from her in her apartment building. Chelsea is fascinated by Jeremy and knows next to nothing about him. Both meet by chance, as neighbors often do. When this happens, Chelsea texts her BFF about Jeremy, and her BFF connives to get them together. In addition, Chelsea’s mother, who only means well, as all mothers do, enters into the picture, also working to get them together. Unfortunately, Jeremy and Chelsea have nothing in common. Nevertheless due to a strange turn of events and circumstances, however, they begin working with each other. What happens when California girl becomes entwined with high-brow Brit? Lots of fascinating, interesting and very humorous things. The book covers the lives of these two, as they both dance around their budding relationship, which obviously is just waiting to happen, with the added push from both Chelsea’ mother and BFF, providing a wonderfully humorous read. I was struck immediately by how real the characters seemed. I could easily picture Chelsea as my own BFF and Jeremy as a British ex pat, struggling to fit into the California life and culture using Chelsea and life as his guide. I laughed as I read the many escapades these two went through, both alone and together. This story was too funny, yet romantic, for words to do it justice. There was not one time, as I read this book, that I could not wait to see what happened next or when I caught myself laughing aloud at the situations or the way things turned out. This is a fantastic beach read. I only hope there will be more to come. It’s also a great read for anyone who enjoys a great humorous romance. I received this through the Kindle Scout Program.
just finished reading this so hopefully I can share a fresh review, usually details are forgotten, but not this time. So the first 60% of the books was engaging and funny (something I usually am picky about ) but the end was definitely weird, it seemed rather rushed and forced. There was a forced misunderstanding at the end that to me was unnecessary, and I was expecting hard-core confessions, but instead I got summaries about what happened. The premise was good, the beginning was very well done, its just the ending ughhhh. so we have this snotty British 'poet' that lives on the second floor right beneath the heroine Chelsea's flat. they apparently have nicknames for each other (hence the name of the book) and soon they realise that they can work together to create some 'literary analysis' because Chelsea just lost her job. the tension between them was very strong and hot at the beginning, but once they became 'friends' it just disappeared, their entire chemistry disappeared. what the heck. one thing that I would like to point out is the fact that it got me thinking, what if the author of this novel was actually a man?!! not everything we see is what it appears. anyway, I gave it 3 stars but this could've easily been a solid 4 if everything revealed at the end and if some situations weren't forced, situations that could've been omitted in some scenes.The comedy was also rather ingenious , I especially liked it when Chelsea randomly spits out that Jeremy isn't gay as she made her mother think so she could avoid any machinations, the awkwardness of that situation was amazingly hilarious. But that ending, what the heck was that?!
Chelsea is a young woman from California, an ex-surfer, intelligent but insecure, beautiful but more than a bit clumsy (when it comes to physical as well as social skills). Jeremy is British, highbrow (nicknamed Mr. High Tea by Chelsea) and gorgeously handsome. The two are neighbors and their encounters range from the snarky to the snooty to physical (though unintentional) confrontations. There seems to be no common ground and yet Chelsea and Jeremy are thrown together and forced to deal with each other. Add an interfering albeit loving mother and best friend, a distant, even cruel, father to the mix and we watch the two romp and stomp from one fateful encounter to the other. HIGH TEA & FLIP-FLOPS is a lighthearted romantic comedy with a serious undertone. It is both funny and at times poignant. The author created two flawed, genuine, and memorable characters. This romantic comedy is a delight to read and if you want to have a good laugh (many good laughs, actually), this is the book for you.
I absolutely loved this book. The characters are wonderful. They are worth spending time with. This was a love affair that kept me guessing about the outcone. There were so many twists and turns in this relationship that my head was spinning. Jeremy is a hot character. Chelsea is a fun character who I couldn't help but like her. Loved their working relationship. My favorite part was the ending. Although, I knew what was happening, it didn't diminish the scene at all. I highly recommend this book for all the romantics especially if you like some fun and laughter in your romance.
Chelsea is the most confident and charismatic women.....unless she happens to be around Mr. High Tea....then she turns into blubbering idiot...and the results are hilarious!!! Jeremy is a refined Englishman....until he is conronted with Flip-Flops. ...the two togther are a hot mess of misunderstandings and always in desprite need of first aid kits!! LOL....but the steam they produce when they get it right is so worth it!!
Chelsea lives on the first floor of an apt complex in a dead-end job that she is overqualified for. She has a fairly new upstairs neighbor, Jeremy that she is curious about, but knows nothing about him. He comes across as a bit stuffy. So, yeah, no. I would have liked this had I liked Chelsea. She's an idiot. Not a likable idiot either. She's constantly making bad choices, not growing up, jealous of her best friend, and is very immature. Here's an example. She's got a business degree, but forget to pay her cable bill. She's "tired of being broke." But thinks nothing of going to the mall to shop because SALE! Whine! She is clumsy (physically and in manners), forgetful, etc. It's funny, but only to a point. She doesn't grow or mature by the end of the book. Instead, there's a "misunderstanding." It's out of left field and blown so out of proportion. I didn't care that much for Jeremy either. He came across as very stuck up at first and I had a very hard time getting over that. I also just didn't see the romance between him and Chelsea.
So even though this was totally not my favorite kind of book (give me clean Regency romances, please), it was so well-written that I enjoyed it. The characters really come alive and are very believable, even if Chelsea is much too ditzy for me to like. Well-done, author, I am impressed: this book sets the writing talent bar very high.
How do you write a rom-com about someone who writes rom-coms and do it brilliantly? This really works! Grump meets chirpy always a fun trope but this has a "Je ne sais quoi" element that adds laugh out loud zing to it. Will be following their escapades into the future!
I read a sneak peak of High Tea and Flip Flops on Linda’s newsletter and have been dying to read the entire thing since then. Chelsea has graduated college and has goals. Ones that don’t include moving back in with her mother. But losing a job she had pinned all those hopes on might not be such a bad thing after all. It does free her up for more time to watch her hunky British neighbor Jeremy. The only problem is he is nothing like her usual type. And he doesn’t appear the least bit interested in her other than as a business partner.
Loved this book! I really enjoyed Chelsea’s voice. She’s a total wreck in the way that I think many people are, but hate to admit it. She’s highly relatable and fun to follow along with. I found myself laughing hysterically at most of Chelsea’s early encounters with Jeremy. The two of them were amazing together.
I loved the writing, which I always do with Linda’s work. And the characters really come alive in this story. According to Goodreads this is a standalone novel, and it’s definitely tied up by the end. But I would love to have a companion novel with Dusty as the main love interest. His character was so much fun and I want to know more about him, too.
This was an entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny, and sometimes sexy romance. Chelsea Cole is an underemployed deli worker who has a crush on her upstairs neighbor, a snooty Brit she has nick-named Mr High Tea. She has his schedule down - she can hear when he gets up, when he's writing because of the keyboard, when he showers and when he's on the phone. And she loses all her self-confidence when he's around. Jeremy Pearce is a mystery, though. After a series of misunderstandings and goofs, Chelsea and Jeremy sort-of get together. Some of the story was a bit frustrating - poor communication is the great conflict - and there were some hints about both Jeremy and Chelsea's pasts that weren't answered, but overall I really enjoyed this witty romance!
A delightful read with many laugh-out-loud moments. A contemporary Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, complete with misunderstandings and miscommunications. Chelsea and Jeremy are worlds apart and speak two different languages - Britsh English and American English. When they meet, sparks fly but can this cross-cultural relationship work? Can Chelsea, a modern American surfer girl trying to get her life on track and Jeremy, an upper-class Britsh lawyer attempting to establish himself as a writer find anything in common? I have enjoyed all of this author´s work and this fun romantic comedy proves her versatility as an author. I look forward to the next book featuring these very real and entertaining characters.
Sweet story. Chelsea is a seriously flawed character who speaks before she thinks, and lets her imagination control her life. If something can go wrong with her relationship (or lack thereof) with the sexy British Jeremy, it always does. It'll leave you laughing and at times crying. My only problem was that it was a romance. (Ha, you'll have to read the whole book to understand that comment.)
Chelsea and Jeremy's relationship is full of up and downs. Two people attracted to each other, but neither knows how to get the attention of the other nor what to do next. This book is a rollercoaster and that is good. A book about Dusty would be interesting.
I've given this four stars because the author does what she does very well. Ditzy comic romance isn't really my kind of book and I picked it up out of curiosity more than anything. However, I think that those who do love the whole Bridget Jones genre, will really like this.
A perfect romantic comedy. I read it in a day, loved the characters. Serious light read, the flow is perfect I've never read this kind of series but I have to see how it ends.
This unique story kept me reading til the end. It was funny, romantic, light, and I loved the main character's thoughts as she constantly second-guessed herself. I could very much identify with her. From one author to another, excellent job!
This book is full of verbal & physical slap stick humor. The heroine blurts out whatever she is thinking, jumps to conclusions, makes rash decisions, lies at the drop of a hat to people she cares about & is extremely irresponsible. The author clearly thought this made for an interesting character. All it did was make you feel sorry for the hero for having feelings for her. The way she acts toward him is so immature. Then the author throws in so much bad page filler, in order to drag the story out, that your hoping the hero won't come back and he finds a happier life with someone else. I gave it a 2 for some of the humor, otherwise it would have been a 1.
Well, where to start... This book was a light read and definitely fits into the genre rom- com.
Chelsea, our heroine, is a clumsy, broke and scatterbrained woman in her mid- twenties. While some of her actions made me laugh or smile, a lot of them just made me cringe. The book is written from her perspective, and her thoughts where so back and forth and reminded me of a high schooler. She jumped to conclusions and never thought once before opening her mouth. Personally, I think I would have enjoyed this story a little more if Chelsea wouldn't be quite so childish.
Her neighbor, Jeremy and love interest, is described as a little passive border lining on moody. I LOVE bad boy stories, so that fact didn't bother me. What did bother, was that there really wasn't a lot of chemistry between Chelsea and Jeremy. Throughout a lot of the book he doesn't seem to connect with her, but suddenly he is in love. I just can't understand why he would fall for her.
Enter Dusty, Chelsea's distraction when things go bad. Dusty and Chelsea actually make sense, and I think I would've enjoyed those two together.
The ending was SO rushed.
Overall, this was entertaining, but could've been a lot better.
This was one I stumbled upon and to my surprise, enjoyed. Not that I had no faith in the author, just thought it was going to be a run-of-the-mill rom-com that I would end up scanning versus reading. But, here I am writing a praise about it. It was a light read, yes. But that didn't make the story or the characters any less enjoyable. Why not give it a try yourself?
If you like messed up heroines who do all sorts of really stupid thinking and behaviors this is the book for you. The concept was good, but the characters were just too messed up to be likeable, I kept wanting them to grow up, the woman particularly. If I were a marriage therapist she would be the kind of person I would strongly recommend avoiding since her interpretations of others behaviors was seriously problematic.
She hypothesized everything & some of the conclusions were ridiculous. She was a serious worrier. It was hard to even 'feel' like he really liked her, she kept him tight lipped to the end. Plus there was one sex scene and it was one small paragraph. All other sex scenes were skipped over.
This drivel is a hot mess with a bumbling idiot female lead and typical uptight male lead. There’s no chemistry, there’s no anticipation. This author is obviously oblivious to these things. The first and only intimate encounter that read and stopped reading the book was devoid of being sexual. This book is simply stupid.
It's a feel good book with a good story line. So true with all the back and forth of new relationships. The author makes you feel like you really know the characters. It's a fun read. Thank you.
While it made for a good storyline, how many miscommunications do you have to have before you figure out a better way to communicate. I wish there had been more talk of finding herself and her career especially when other opportunities arose.
It was a cute story. Maybe just a bit too long. I liked the first half much better than the second and kinda started to lose interest in the characters.