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A review by jojo_27
Fight or Flight by Samantha Young
1.0
SPOILERS ABOUND, but I strongly recommend you not bother with the book anyway. "Don't judge a book by its cover" is true here: the cover is the best part, by far.
I hated this book. The only reason it gets a star is because you have to give one and because the writing was decent enough that I got to the end (although unhappily). I know what I'm getting into when I read a romance novel, but in this case, I was desperately hoping that the happy ending was that she got some good sex and learned some life lessons about how to be a single woman for a while longer.
My first problem with this book is that the author went too hard in creating the tension between the two protagonists. I can get making Caleb a little rude out of stress/fear of flying, but he's a downright dick to Ava before he can even lean into that whole bullshit excuse of "I had to be mean to you because I wanted you to not want to sleep with me" thing. Also, what a bullshit excuse. He's so awful that I immediately lost any desire to see him be happy or for things to work out for him. His accent is also written out way too heavily, and it's almost as obnoxious as him only calling her "babe".
Next: Ava's terrible choices wrt her finances are mentioned at the beginning of the book (and they are terrible; I live in Boston and there's no need for her to live where she does, and no explanation for it except that she likes nice things, I guess) but then never mentioned again. She's apparently thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars in debt, so I thought it would be a Thing, but I guess the author forgot about it?
Also in terms of Ava's hardships, I struggled to empathize with her problem of being too beautiful. I don't have any trouble believing that she's been objectified and harassed and generally treated badly by men for it, but like, these issues aren't unique to gorgeous women, and she also seems to benefit from it to an extent (in her work, her appearance helps); anyway, all the stuff about how ~*hOtT*~ she is seemed a little much.
Ava's friendship with Harper is nice but I'm also curious as to why Harper is her only friend; I was thankful that there was no "other women hate me because I'm beautiful", and Ava didn't seem that way, but I wondered if that was in between the lines. When she does make another friend, albeit in a weird, roundabout way, he just gets used as a way to make Caleb jealous. Ugh.
The backstory with Nick and Gemma seemed a little convoluted; I could totally buy Nick being a cheating asshole, but I didn't really see that coming from Gemma. It seemed like just a plot device to make the reader sympathetic to Ava.
There was also just a lot of telling that seemed OTT, but then other stuff that was withheld (imo for too long) wrt the characters' backstories.
Other reviewers have also mentioned the scene where Caleb hesitates to grab a condom; NOT COOL, NOT OK, I DON'T CARE HOW HOT THE MOMENT IS. THIS IS R*PE.
Oh oh, the scene where Caleb explains his past relationship?? So I get that she went about everything completely wrong, and she was terrible, but it really really comes off as him hating her because she had an abortion, and...yeah I can't with that.
My feelings about the end were pretty much the same as the beginning; Caleb is too horrible to her when they finally talk after he ghosts her (so much for all the talk about caring about her as a friend; why do people think that it's ok to treat someone like complete shit as soon as sex/romance is involved). He's so awful and cruel that I don't want Ava to take him back, at all, ever. That scene is a deal-breaker and if I were her friend and she told me about that and then got with him again, I'd be pissed and not able to support that relationship.
Also, in general, I just don't get why he's so awful so often. Obviously he knows how to behave nicely when he wants to, but there's a huge difference between general rudeness and his level of outright cruelty to her on multiple occasions. Also, the whole thing where he doesn't thank servicepeople?? And Ava is initially put off by it but then like, oh, I get it now?? NO, lady. Listen to your instincts. She also takes on way too much of the responsibility for their initial skirmishes (when he is awful and she is understandably pissed off). Speaking of those scenes, DISAPPOINTED at the other women, like the airline employee who is also horribly rude to Ava because she thinks Caleb is hot. So unprofessional and talk about internalized misogyny.
Other disappointing person: Caleb's brother Jamie, who sees Ava on a regular basis for an entire month before realizing that his snap judgment of her is inaccurate, and only then because he sees her express care for Harper, who just got the shit beat out of her?? DUDE get over yourself.
Oh, and Vince! Yeah, every dude in this book is shitty. I mean, clearly this was coming all along, but I didn't feel like I knew enough about Harper's backstory to be able to just accept it when she let him treat her badly--I'm guessing that she is the main character in another book, guessing involving Jamie, but still--so I was just frustrated.
There are a few times where Ava stands up for herself against the shit men in her life, and I was glad when that happened. I just wish it had lasted wrt Caleb. Yeah, the sex is great, but what happens when he decides not to bestow his benevolence on you and reverts back to being a terrible person?
In summary: BEING HOT AND HAVING AN ACCENT DOES NOT MAKE BAD BEHAVIOR OK. This book was a huge disappointment.
I hated this book. The only reason it gets a star is because you have to give one and because the writing was decent enough that I got to the end (although unhappily). I know what I'm getting into when I read a romance novel, but in this case, I was desperately hoping that the happy ending was that she got some good sex and learned some life lessons about how to be a single woman for a while longer.
My first problem with this book is that the author went too hard in creating the tension between the two protagonists. I can get making Caleb a little rude out of stress/fear of flying, but he's a downright dick to Ava before he can even lean into that whole bullshit excuse of "I had to be mean to you because I wanted you to not want to sleep with me" thing. Also, what a bullshit excuse. He's so awful that I immediately lost any desire to see him be happy or for things to work out for him. His accent is also written out way too heavily, and it's almost as obnoxious as him only calling her "babe".
Next: Ava's terrible choices wrt her finances are mentioned at the beginning of the book (and they are terrible; I live in Boston and there's no need for her to live where she does, and no explanation for it except that she likes nice things, I guess) but then never mentioned again. She's apparently thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars in debt, so I thought it would be a Thing, but I guess the author forgot about it?
Also in terms of Ava's hardships, I struggled to empathize with her problem of being too beautiful. I don't have any trouble believing that she's been objectified and harassed and generally treated badly by men for it, but like, these issues aren't unique to gorgeous women, and she also seems to benefit from it to an extent (in her work, her appearance helps); anyway, all the stuff about how ~*hOtT*~ she is seemed a little much.
Ava's friendship with Harper is nice but I'm also curious as to why Harper is her only friend; I was thankful that there was no "other women hate me because I'm beautiful", and Ava didn't seem that way, but I wondered if that was in between the lines. When she does make another friend, albeit in a weird, roundabout way, he just gets used as a way to make Caleb jealous. Ugh.
The backstory with Nick and Gemma seemed a little convoluted; I could totally buy Nick being a cheating asshole, but I didn't really see that coming from Gemma. It seemed like just a plot device to make the reader sympathetic to Ava.
There was also just a lot of telling that seemed OTT, but then other stuff that was withheld (imo for too long) wrt the characters' backstories.
Other reviewers have also mentioned the scene where Caleb hesitates to grab a condom; NOT COOL, NOT OK, I DON'T CARE HOW HOT THE MOMENT IS. THIS IS R*PE.
Oh oh, the scene where Caleb explains his past relationship?? So I get that she went about everything completely wrong, and she was terrible, but it really really comes off as him hating her because she had an abortion, and...yeah I can't with that.
My feelings about the end were pretty much the same as the beginning; Caleb is too horrible to her when they finally talk after he ghosts her (so much for all the talk about caring about her as a friend; why do people think that it's ok to treat someone like complete shit as soon as sex/romance is involved). He's so awful and cruel that I don't want Ava to take him back, at all, ever. That scene is a deal-breaker and if I were her friend and she told me about that and then got with him again, I'd be pissed and not able to support that relationship.
Also, in general, I just don't get why he's so awful so often. Obviously he knows how to behave nicely when he wants to, but there's a huge difference between general rudeness and his level of outright cruelty to her on multiple occasions. Also, the whole thing where he doesn't thank servicepeople?? And Ava is initially put off by it but then like, oh, I get it now?? NO, lady. Listen to your instincts. She also takes on way too much of the responsibility for their initial skirmishes (when he is awful and she is understandably pissed off). Speaking of those scenes, DISAPPOINTED at the other women, like the airline employee who is also horribly rude to Ava because she thinks Caleb is hot. So unprofessional and talk about internalized misogyny.
Other disappointing person: Caleb's brother Jamie, who sees Ava on a regular basis for an entire month before realizing that his snap judgment of her is inaccurate, and only then because he sees her express care for Harper, who just got the shit beat out of her?? DUDE get over yourself.
Oh, and Vince! Yeah, every dude in this book is shitty. I mean, clearly this was coming all along, but I didn't feel like I knew enough about Harper's backstory to be able to just accept it when she let him treat her badly--I'm guessing that she is the main character in another book, guessing involving Jamie, but still--so I was just frustrated.
There are a few times where Ava stands up for herself against the shit men in her life, and I was glad when that happened. I just wish it had lasted wrt Caleb. Yeah, the sex is great, but what happens when he decides not to bestow his benevolence on you and reverts back to being a terrible person?
In summary: BEING HOT AND HAVING AN ACCENT DOES NOT MAKE BAD BEHAVIOR OK. This book was a huge disappointment.