Quote from Oladosun Joshua Segun on May 9, 2025, 8:23 AM

Jasmine Guillory shared some fascinating insights in her interview! She revealed that her favorite romance trope is fake dating—she loves writing it and would happily do so again. On the other hand, she’s not a fan of enemies-to-lovers, as she finds that characters often start off being mean to each other, which makes her sad.

Jasmine Guillory has a knack for putting fresh spins on classic romance tropes! The Proposal is a great example—Nikole finds herself in an unexpected viral moment when her boyfriend proposes to her at a Dodgers game, spelling her name wrong on the jumbotron. She turns him down, and Carlos, a charming doctor, steps in to help her escape the chaos. What starts as a casual rebound soon turns into something deeper, blending humor, romance, and personal growth.

Since then, Guillory has written several more books, each exploring different romantic dynamics. But one trope she keeps coming back to is fake dating. She adores writing it and finds it endlessly fun, though she tries not to overuse it. On the flip side, she’s not a fan of enemies-to-lovers, as she feels it often starts with characters being mean to each other, which she finds sad.

“Oh my gosh, I love fake dating so much,” Guillory shared in an exclusive interview at the 30th Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. “I would write another fake dating book in a heartbeat, but I feel like I can't keep going back to that well too much. But I love reading it and I love writing it. I think it's so fun.”

As for her least favorite? There’s a few that Guillory wouldn’t mind breaking up with.

“I don't love secret baby, and I'm less fond of enemies-to-lovers, which I feel like a lot of people love,” Guillory noted. “But for me, so often it starts off with them just being mean to each other, and that makes me sad. But I also think in the hands of a great writer, I like any trope.”

Her latest book, Flirting Lessons, introduces a new trope: love coaching. It follows Avery, who is exploring her bisexuality, and Taylor, a winery owner known for being a heartbreaker. Taylor offers Avery lessons on flirting but ends up falling for her instead. This book also marks Guillory’s first queer love story, which she found exciting and natural to write.

“I feel like I am usually writing from the female gaze, so it was very easy to write two characters sort of writing from that direction, and it was fun,” Guillory explained. “This is Avery's real first queer experience, and she has known that she was bisexual for a while but has only had a series of boyfriends. So, it was also fun to think about it from both of their perspectives.”

That’s exciting news! Jasmine Guillory is already working on the second book in the Flirting Lessons series, aiming to further develop Avery and Taylor’s relationship while possibly introducing new romance tropes. Given her knack for fresh storytelling, it’ll be interesting to see what direction she takes next.

Jasmine Guillory has kicked off an exciting Flirting Lessons book tour! She’ll be visiting a variety of bookstores across different cities, including The Strand, The Ripped Bodice Brooklyn, Loyalty, Loudmouth, Orinda Books, Grand Gesture, and Barnes & Noble. She’s also thrilled to chat with fellow authors like Tia Williams, Casey McQuiston, Nikki Payne, Leah Johnson, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Anita Kelly, and Jo Segura.

Many of these events are ticketed, and details can be found on her events page. Guillory also shared that she always gets a little nervous before events, hoping people will show up—so if you’re thinking about attending, she’d love to see you there!

Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory is a delightful read for romance lovers. If truly you enjoy romance novels with strong character development and fresh storytelling, Flirting Lessons is definitely worth picking up.