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booksdogsandcoffee's review
emotional
medium-paced
3.0
Overall I think the premise of Fly With Me is wonderful, but the execution and the romance wasn’t there for me.
Olive, an ER nurse who hates flying, is tasked with saving a life mid flight on her way to a Run Disney Marathon. As the plane gets re directed one of the flight attendants, Stella, offers to drive her the rest of the way to Orlando to make it to the Marathon in time. Insert and adorable date at Disney World! Once Stella’s airline gets wind of Olive’s heroics, Stella sees this as her chance to make her way up in the company. So they devise a plan to fake date and help each other out.
The book does a wonderful job discussing grief and loosing a family member to both dementia and fatal accidents. As well as anxiety, and toxic family relationships.
Where I think the book actually fell short for me was the romance. Olive and Stella, to me didn’t feel like they actually had chemistry or even a likable relationship. It seemed more like the book was trying to hit the tropes and (fake dating and miscommunication) some really good spice. Which the spice was quiet well done.
Cw
Gaslighting
Toxic family
Toil relationship
Grief
Death
Olive, an ER nurse who hates flying, is tasked with saving a life mid flight on her way to a Run Disney Marathon. As the plane gets re directed one of the flight attendants, Stella, offers to drive her the rest of the way to Orlando to make it to the Marathon in time. Insert and adorable date at Disney World! Once Stella’s airline gets wind of Olive’s heroics, Stella sees this as her chance to make her way up in the company. So they devise a plan to fake date and help each other out.
The book does a wonderful job discussing grief and loosing a family member to both dementia and fatal accidents. As well as anxiety, and toxic family relationships.
Where I think the book actually fell short for me was the romance. Olive and Stella, to me didn’t feel like they actually had chemistry or even a likable relationship. It seemed more like the book was trying to hit the tropes and (fake dating and miscommunication) some really good spice. Which the spice was quiet well done.
Cw
Gaslighting
Toxic family
Toil relationship
Grief
Death
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia
battyaboutbooks's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
4.0
🦇 Fly With Me Book Review 🦇
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
❝ They were mirrors in a way. Both of them watching their loved ones suffer. Both unable to help in any meaningful way. Both coping--one with work and the other with a list. Both scared shitless of hurting the other one. ❞
❓ #QOTD What are you afraid of? ❓
⚠️ Content Warnings: Terminal illness, chronic illness, misogyny, toxic relationship, grief, traumatic brain injury
🦇 ER nurse Olive Murphy's fear of flying doesn't stop her from getting on a plane to honor her brother, but it seems her fear is misplaced. A medical emergency forces Olive to leap out of her seat and into action, only for the flight to get redirected. She would have missed the marathon she was meant to run at Disney if not for Allied Airlines pilot Stella Soriano; a gorgeous, type A woman who captivates Olive with a glance. They share a magical day at Disney together as the video of Olive saving a man's life goes viral (after all, she did TECHNICALLY save Mickey Mouse), prompting an uptick in positive press and sales for the airline. Stella sees it as an opportunity to earn her long-deserved promotion and asks Olive to play the role of her fake girlfriend as they generate more press. Can Olive stand playing a fake role when her heart is already on a one-way flight?
💜 Get ready for a sassy, steamy, sapphic love story bound to soar into your heart. Andie Burke's debut novel has a little of everything; an insta-crush, fake dating (complete with a binder full of rules and research!), sharp and witty banter, plus some real and raw mental health rep. Between their anxieties, family responsibilities, and messy emotions, both Olive and Stella are relatable main characters you can't help but fall in love with. Sparks fly from the moment Olive and Stella meet, and Olive's mega-crush is adorable without making her seem adolescent. We gain a lot of insight into both characters' lives despite the fact that the story sticks with Olive's POV, which isn't always an easy feat. The prose is descriptive but not overly flowery, but it's the character development that really flies off the page. I absolutely adored Olive's best friend, too (imagine Felix from Orphan Black and get ready for ALL the gay sass).
💜 Burke does a wonderful job of normalizing mental health conditions without banging mental health rep over our heads. Olive's symptoms are as much a part of her as the heart-eyes she wears when Stella is in the room. After her (toxic) ex broke up with Olive because her anxiety disorder and panic attacks were "too much," Olive is afraid her symptoms will eventually scare Stella away. Meanwhile, Stella's responsibilities as her father's caretaker (who has Parkinson's) create the cracks in her type-A facade and show us why she's so committed to earning her promotion. Both characters encounter misogyny as well. While some readers might feel that there's too much going on, Burke carefully stacks these issues atop of one another. That's life; we're all juggling multiple conflicts, both internal and external. Read the quote I selected again. These women are mirror images of one another. Their struggles, while different on the surface, make it all the easier for them to empathize with and support each other. There's also no perfect, easy solution to the problems these women are facing because, again: that's life.
🦇 A part of me does wish this story split the POV, allowing us to see Stella's perspective. Keeping the focus on Olive ensured Stella's feelings for her remained hidden, but...come on. We all know where a sapphic romance novel is bound to end: with a sapphic romance. The "fake dating girlfriends with benefits" situation is where the story really gets messy. It's difficult to believe that Stella doesn't have romantic feelings for Olive at that point. The miscommunication trope is still my least favorite, but it lingers much too long in this one, leading to a not-at-all surprising third-act breakup. Even so, this remains the best sapphic romance I've read so far this year.
🦇 Recommended to fans of the fake dating trope, serious character development, and a heart-eyed, healing MC.
✨ The Vibes ✨
✈️ Fake Dating
✈️ Bisexual MC
✈️ Sapphic Ship
✈️ Panic Attacks/Depression/Mental Health Rep
✈️ Debut Author
🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
❝ They were mirrors in a way. Both of them watching their loved ones suffer. Both unable to help in any meaningful way. Both coping--one with work and the other with a list. Both scared shitless of hurting the other one. ❞
❓ #QOTD What are you afraid of? ❓
⚠️ Content Warnings: Terminal illness, chronic illness, misogyny, toxic relationship, grief, traumatic brain injury
🦇 ER nurse Olive Murphy's fear of flying doesn't stop her from getting on a plane to honor her brother, but it seems her fear is misplaced. A medical emergency forces Olive to leap out of her seat and into action, only for the flight to get redirected. She would have missed the marathon she was meant to run at Disney if not for Allied Airlines pilot Stella Soriano; a gorgeous, type A woman who captivates Olive with a glance. They share a magical day at Disney together as the video of Olive saving a man's life goes viral (after all, she did TECHNICALLY save Mickey Mouse), prompting an uptick in positive press and sales for the airline. Stella sees it as an opportunity to earn her long-deserved promotion and asks Olive to play the role of her fake girlfriend as they generate more press. Can Olive stand playing a fake role when her heart is already on a one-way flight?
💜 Get ready for a sassy, steamy, sapphic love story bound to soar into your heart. Andie Burke's debut novel has a little of everything; an insta-crush, fake dating (complete with a binder full of rules and research!), sharp and witty banter, plus some real and raw mental health rep. Between their anxieties, family responsibilities, and messy emotions, both Olive and Stella are relatable main characters you can't help but fall in love with. Sparks fly from the moment Olive and Stella meet, and Olive's mega-crush is adorable without making her seem adolescent. We gain a lot of insight into both characters' lives despite the fact that the story sticks with Olive's POV, which isn't always an easy feat. The prose is descriptive but not overly flowery, but it's the character development that really flies off the page. I absolutely adored Olive's best friend, too (imagine Felix from Orphan Black and get ready for ALL the gay sass).
💜 Burke does a wonderful job of normalizing mental health conditions without banging mental health rep over our heads. Olive's symptoms are as much a part of her as the heart-eyes she wears when Stella is in the room. After her (toxic) ex broke up with Olive because her anxiety disorder and panic attacks were "too much," Olive is afraid her symptoms will eventually scare Stella away. Meanwhile, Stella's responsibilities as her father's caretaker (who has Parkinson's) create the cracks in her type-A facade and show us why she's so committed to earning her promotion. Both characters encounter misogyny as well. While some readers might feel that there's too much going on, Burke carefully stacks these issues atop of one another. That's life; we're all juggling multiple conflicts, both internal and external. Read the quote I selected again. These women are mirror images of one another. Their struggles, while different on the surface, make it all the easier for them to empathize with and support each other. There's also no perfect, easy solution to the problems these women are facing because, again: that's life.
🦇 A part of me does wish this story split the POV, allowing us to see Stella's perspective. Keeping the focus on Olive ensured Stella's feelings for her remained hidden, but...come on. We all know where a sapphic romance novel is bound to end: with a sapphic romance. The "fake dating girlfriends with benefits" situation is where the story really gets messy. It's difficult to believe that Stella doesn't have romantic feelings for Olive at that point. The miscommunication trope is still my least favorite, but it lingers much too long in this one, leading to a not-at-all surprising third-act breakup. Even so, this remains the best sapphic romance I've read so far this year.
🦇 Recommended to fans of the fake dating trope, serious character development, and a heart-eyed, healing MC.
✨ The Vibes ✨
✈️ Fake Dating
✈️ Bisexual MC
✈️ Sapphic Ship
✈️ Panic Attacks/Depression/Mental Health Rep
✈️ Debut Author
🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Terminal illness
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: Toxic relationship, Ableism, Death, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Chronic illness, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Car accident and Transphobia
kayladaila's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is a very sweet sapphic romance! Olive is on her way to run a Disney marathon when, on her very first flight, she has to save someone’s life. Through that experience, she meets Stella, one of the pilots. Stella thinks that if her and Olive fake a relationship, it will help her get a promotion. Drama obviously ensues. I loved this book because the characters and experiences felt so realistic. There were moments where I was laughing and other moments where I was having a panic attack right next to Olive. The side characters and personal growth stories for both characters were also very meaningful. I highly recommend this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Biphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Chronic illness, and Stalking
Minor: Lesbophobia and Death of parent
shector1's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment and Car accident
Minor: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Misogyny
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