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womanwill's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
FLY WITH ME is a sweet, faking dating sapphic dream!
Olive is making the motions of life, but not truly living after a tragic accident leaves her brother in a coma. When she is thrust into the spotlight after pulling a Super Nurse and saving a man on her flight, sexy pilot Stella Soriano proposes a fake dating scheme to get her long fought for promotion to captain.
This love story is chock full of tender and silly moments, set against a backdrop of family turmoil, grief, and caregiving. Burke does a deft job of balancing the heavy and light moments and letting her characters lean on each other while they work through their own stuff.
The basics:
- fake dating
- sapphic love
- bi rep & lesbian rep
- sexy pilot x ER nurse
- GLUTEN FREE COOKING SEDUCTION
- panic disorder & depression rep
- Parkinson's & caregiving rep
- Disney
- love letter to nursing
I really enjoyed this debut romance and can't wait to see what Burke puts out next!
Olive is making the motions of life, but not truly living after a tragic accident leaves her brother in a coma. When she is thrust into the spotlight after pulling a Super Nurse and saving a man on her flight, sexy pilot Stella Soriano proposes a fake dating scheme to get her long fought for promotion to captain.
This love story is chock full of tender and silly moments, set against a backdrop of family turmoil, grief, and caregiving. Burke does a deft job of balancing the heavy and light moments and letting her characters lean on each other while they work through their own stuff.
The basics:
- fake dating
- sapphic love
- bi rep & lesbian rep
- sexy pilot x ER nurse
- GLUTEN FREE COOKING SEDUCTION
- panic disorder & depression rep
- Parkinson's & caregiving rep
- Disney
- love letter to nursing
I really enjoyed this debut romance and can't wait to see what Burke puts out next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia
applejacksbooks's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I received a copy from NetGalley for review.
So I'm writing this review at 69% because honestly I think I'm going to DNF. Not because I don't like the story, but simply because the writing was super repetitive. The story starts off with Olive on a plane ride to Orlando and she helps with a medical emergency and it sets off the plot once she meets Stella, the co-pilot of the airplane she was riding along. Stella offers to drive Olive the rest of the way to Disney so she can run in the half marathon in remembrance of her brother (who is brain dead, but Olive's mother won't take him off life support), well Stella stays and then they proceed to have a wonderful couple of days until Stella bails. Once back in DC Stella finds Olive while she's at work and asks her if she could be her fake girlfriend so that Stella can advance to captain at work (it's a big deal as that level of aviation is a boys club). Olive agrees and they start "dating."
Here's where my issues with the story arise. The women go on a series of dates and in between EVERY SINGLE ONE the two (mostly Stella trying to talk herself out of a commitment "because she'd be a bad girlfriend") go back and forth with whether or not they should continue lying to everyone about them dating. The first couple of times I think is fine to have second thoughts, but by like the third or fourth time they hang out and do stuff they should just accept that they're doing this and it's so painstakingly obvious to everyone except Stella's dumb ass that they're actually dating for realisies.
Honestly at this point, I'm really just waiting to see what happens with Olive's mother. That situation seems more interesting than the love story that's clearly happening front and center. Idk if I finish this I'll update but I think I'm just going to skim the rest to see how it ends.
So I'm writing this review at 69% because honestly I think I'm going to DNF. Not because I don't like the story, but simply because the writing was super repetitive. The story starts off with Olive on a plane ride to Orlando and she helps with a medical emergency and it sets off the plot once she meets Stella, the co-pilot of the airplane she was riding along. Stella offers to drive Olive the rest of the way to Disney so she can run in the half marathon in remembrance of her brother (who is brain dead, but Olive's mother won't take him off life support), well Stella stays and then they proceed to have a wonderful couple of days until Stella bails. Once back in DC Stella finds Olive while she's at work and asks her if she could be her fake girlfriend so that Stella can advance to captain at work (it's a big deal as that level of aviation is a boys club). Olive agrees and they start "dating."
Here's where my issues with the story arise. The women go on a series of dates and in between EVERY SINGLE ONE the two (mostly Stella trying to talk herself out of a commitment "because she'd be a bad girlfriend") go back and forth with whether or not they should continue lying to everyone about them dating. The first couple of times I think is fine to have second thoughts, but by like the third or fourth time they hang out and do stuff they should just accept that they're doing this and it's so painstakingly obvious to everyone except Stella's dumb ass that they're actually dating for realisies.
Honestly at this point, I'm really just waiting to see what happens with Olive's mother. That situation seems more interesting than the love story that's clearly happening front and center. Idk if I finish this I'll update but I think I'm just going to skim the rest to see how it ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Misogyny
beesneysbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was lucky to receive an e-ARC of this book, and when I say lucky, i mean LUCKY. This book had everything you need in a book: fake dating, queer characters, family drama, miscommunication that resolves itself rather quickly, found-family, a funny start-to-end joke that keeps popping up. Everything about this book was written with care, including an authors note at the beginning with triggers written in a way that makes the reader feel connected with the author. Would definitely recommend to anyone and everyone! (as always, check the triggers before you read and take care of yourself!)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Hate crime, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Car accident
alliemikennareads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.5
I really loved Fly With Me! This is such a great debut with a sapphic relationship and really well done bisexual rep. The book handles a grief plotline with depth, care and relatability. The fake dating trope is one of my favorites when it’s done well, and it’s done well here. Some of the banter had me laughing out loud while reading. The characters had depth and fun personality, and I was along for the ride from beginning to end. I look forward to hopefully reading more from this author in the future and would definitely recommend!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Grief
Minor: Biphobia
alexfromistemor's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness
theoceanrose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
rickireadss's review against another edition
2.5
thank you to netgalley for the earc!
i wanted to like this more than i did, and i'm sad that it just didn't live up. while there were some aspects i liked, the bad heavily outweighed the good for me.
****potential spoilers below****
what i liked:
- our mc olive -> i related to a lot of her inner monologue and overall really liked her.
- olive's brother jake -> even though he wasn't even an active character, i could feel their love for each other.
what i didn't like:
- the love interest, stella -> she seemed like SUCH a flat character, and this may be due to the single pov. i honestly could not deal with her back and forth with olive, of wanting to be just friends or wanting to blur the lines. also, the fact that it wasn't made known that she was Latina until 25% in felt like that was just added in last minute. besides her mentioning it one or twice and her dad calling her mija or mijita, the rep felt really underdeveloped.
- ALL of olive's family (besides jake obvi). -> her sister needed to grow a backbone. her parents were THE WORST. i literally could not deal with them everytime they were on page. their treatment of olive was so uncalled for and i wish she had gone no-contact with them ages ago, but like i also know why she didn't. her mother rubbed me wrong the most and quickly made my list of "characters i hate".
- the side character lindsay -> not only was she a manipulative, selfish, ableist piece of shit, but i don't feel like olive truly dealt with what she did throughout the book but especially at the end. there wasn't really OW drama, but her constant addition to the plot was uncalled for and wasn't resolved.
there is probably more i didn't like, but i am tired of thinking of this book. i loved olive, i really like this cover, but this one just didn't do it for me.
⚠️: death, grief, toxic relationship (past ex), religious bigotry, gaslighting, emotional abuse, ableism, chronic illness (celiac), panic attacks/disorders, terminal illness (Parkinson's), lesbophobia, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, medical content, car accident
i wanted to like this more than i did, and i'm sad that it just didn't live up. while there were some aspects i liked, the bad heavily outweighed the good for me.
****potential spoilers below****
what i liked:
- our mc olive -> i related to a lot of her inner monologue and overall really liked her.
- olive's brother jake -> even though he wasn't even an active character, i could feel their love for each other.
what i didn't like:
- the love interest, stella -> she seemed like SUCH a flat character, and this may be due to the single pov. i honestly could not deal with her back and forth with olive, of wanting to be just friends or wanting to blur the lines. also, the fact that it wasn't made known that she was Latina until 25% in felt like that was just added in last minute. besides her mentioning it one or twice and her dad calling her mija or mijita, the rep felt really underdeveloped.
- ALL of olive's family (besides jake obvi). -> her sister needed to grow a backbone. her parents were THE WORST. i literally could not deal with them everytime they were on page. their treatment of olive was so uncalled for and i wish she had gone no-contact with them ages ago, but like i also know why she didn't. her mother rubbed me wrong the most and quickly made my list of "characters i hate".
- the side character lindsay -> not only was she a manipulative, selfish, ableist piece of shit, but i don't feel like olive truly dealt with what she did throughout the book but especially at the end. there wasn't really OW drama, but her constant addition to the plot was uncalled for and wasn't resolved.
there is probably more i didn't like, but i am tired of thinking of this book. i loved olive, i really like this cover, but this one just didn't do it for me.
⚠️: death, grief, toxic relationship (past ex), religious bigotry, gaslighting, emotional abuse, ableism, chronic illness (celiac), panic attacks/disorders, terminal illness (Parkinson's), lesbophobia, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, medical content, car accident
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Transphobia and Car accident
dconlon's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Overall this book had a cute story, and I appreciated how it talked about discrimination, mental health, and self confidence throughout. I liked how both main characters learned more about themselves and became more confident throughout the story. However, this story felt slow-paced and drawn out, and I thought it could have been shortened in some places. Also a lot of the situations felt over the top and required a suspension of disbelief in a way that felt more extreme than other books in the romance genre. Thank you to netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Car accident, and Sexual harassment
spaghettireads's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I was really intrigued by the premise of this book! Queer romance! A pilot as the love interest! I enjoyed both of the characters but I didn't find the writing to be convincing about their relationship. My brain cared about their relationship but my emotions did not. I think that the book was trying to do too much, Both characters had multiple non-romance storylines that didn't get a chance to be developed enough, or resolved enough by the end.
I am interested in what the author writes next because I think that this had some great parts, and a lot of potential but it didn't all come together for me in this one.
Thanks St. Martin's Press & Netgalley for ARC
I am interested in what the author writes next because I think that this had some great parts, and a lot of potential but it didn't all come together for me in this one.
Thanks St. Martin's Press & Netgalley for ARC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
coligmueller's review against another edition
5.0
What an amazing debut! Very rarely have I read a book and been so impressed by how well written and fleshed out!
Additionally, though Fly With Me has been on my TBR for a while, I was slighlty hesitant because I’m not the biggest fan of fake dating, but the trope worked so well in this book! I loved that the majority of the relationship development happened outside of the fake dating, and that both characters had fully developed lives apart from each other.
Typically when so much happens in a book this length, there are parts that feel rushed, or moments that feel unnecessary, but every scene seemed to build so well onto the story!
*Possible Spoiler
Typically by the end of a book, especially one which deals with loss and grief, I want the end to have complete closure. However, I so appreciated that Olive did not rush to make peace with the members of her family who hurt her . Often there are moments towards the end of a book like this one, which focus entirely on, what seems to me to be, very forced and often manipulated forgiveness. It was so refreshing to see a character not cave to the pressure to forgive for the sake of not being difficult!
Additionally, though Fly With Me has been on my TBR for a while, I was slighlty hesitant because I’m not the biggest fan of fake dating, but the trope worked so well in this book! I loved that the majority of the relationship development happened outside of the fake dating, and that both characters had fully developed lives apart from each other.
Typically when so much happens in a book this length, there are parts that feel rushed, or moments that feel unnecessary, but every scene seemed to build so well onto the story!
*Possible Spoiler
Typically by the end of a book, especially one which deals with loss and grief, I want the end to have complete closure. However, I so appreciated that Olive did not rush to make peace with the members of her family who hurt her . Often there are moments towards the end of a book like this one, which focus entirely on, what seems to me to be, very forced and often manipulated forgiveness. It was so refreshing to see a character not cave to the pressure to forgive for the sake of not being difficult!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Sexual harassment