I really enjoyed this book - Although I felt like i Missed a part of the story while I was reading it. A lot of pieces fell into place towards the end of the book, but I always felt like I was missing a vital part of the story. I'm not sure if she intended to do that. I loved the concept, enjoyed the banter between the characters. I'd recommend this to our customers.

I loved the first part of this book much more than the second. I felt like the first half was a lot more humorous and light hearted while the second half tried to do too much.

A sexy Scot and a sassy designer go head to head as sparks fly in this deliciously wonderful, heartwarming tale. All the feels, swoons and delicious banter I've come to adore from Young make Fight or Flight the perfect romance to fall into. Coffee date review will appear on Caffeinated Reviewer October 9th.

I wanted very much to be charmed by this book but the characters were the weakest part for me. Caleb 's defining traits include his rudesness and arrogance and Ava's no better, somehow enjoying this kind of treatment. I found myself more curious about her best friend and his brother who I feel would make a much better match than these two would in the long term. Decently well written. 3.5 stars, I received a copy of this book as an egalley in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

4.5+ stars
It has been a while since I read a Samantha Young book, but something about this synopsis intrigued me. And I was pleasantly surprised at both the banter and emotional undertones she managed to pack into this enemies-to-lovers story.

Ava Breevort is not having a good day. She is already upset, anxious, overwhelmed, and emotionally tapped.

Then at the airport, a mysterious, obnoxious stranger seems to keep getting in her way and making it worse. Caleb Scott is a big, burly, tatted, rude Scot with no manners, patience, or sympathy. But he is nice to look at in a Norse God, Scottish Bastard kind of way.

These two rub each other the wrong way from the first interaction and push each other's buttons. They taunt, tease, criticize, and spark. But fate seems to have plans for these two that keep finding themselves in each other's orbit. The spark eventually starts a blaze that is only supposed to be one night thing, but eventually has a chance to become a serial casual fling.

Both of these two are guarded and are afraid of real relationships or commitment. Past betrayals have marked them so much that they swear it won't change. But it does not stop them from transitioning to more friends with benefits. I was glad to see behind their barbed exteriors and see them beginning to relate to each other as real people. He runs hot and cold, and is closed off. She usually thrives on control, but he makes her lose control and also takes it away from her. He is so brutally honest which can sometimes be good and sometimes bad. They begin to see past each other's flaws, but sometimes getting a bit too close increases anxiety and fear.

But eventually someone is going to start to feel more. Which one is going to be the biggest flight risk? And which one is going to stand up and fight for something more?

This is a story about fate or perhaps coincidence providing opportunities, but actions and choices also affect the outcome. In battles of the heart one person cannot win alone. It shows the importance of being vulnerable, overcoming fears, fighting for love and a future...but the key is being willing to take a risk. But with two people who have been burned and have serious trust issues, it is a challenge.

This is a feisty, fun, angsty, sexy enemies-to-lovers-to-friends story that packed more of an emotional punch than I expected. It was a bit hard to warm up to Caleb at first. He really was a jerky alpha-hole and appeared to have no remorse. And Ava could definitely be prickly and rigid, but she could give it right back to him making their antagonistic banter entertaining. And then their relationship dynamics built slowly and changed while there was more depth with their backstories that was gradually revealed. They had great chemistry and a burning attraction. I enjoyed their progression even if it was full of tension, angst, drama, and stops-and-starts as they both had issues to deal with and had to come to terms with their own feelings and insecurities. They definitely both had opportunities for growth and it was not an easy or smooth process.

There were also some side stories that added to the drama of the book. I really liked her edgy best friend, Harper and his artsy brother, Jamie. I hope she writes more with them.

I received this book for free from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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I read 20% of this book before calling it quits. The writing was average and I didn't care enough about the characters to be concerned with their conflict/potential romance. I'm sure this book is fine for a light read, but I have enough romances to read that I didn't feel compelled to finish this one.

Just minutes from finishing it I decided to write my review just to feel all those emotions fresh inside of me. FIGHT OR FLIGHT was such a wild ride. My head hurts because I cried so much in so many scenes. I really enjoyed this book, it was so easy to get into. The banter, the hate to love trope, the easy dialogue and the characters were relaly interesting. You get introduced to Ava and you know something has happened but you don't really /know/ what until much later and there is also something happening inside Caleb, in his heart, in his life. I obviously drew conclusions but nothing prepares you when you actually know and I just bawled my eyes out for both of them. Samantha Young really knows how to bring the emotional side of me with epic storytelling and a romance that made me swoon.

Of course I don't want to say everything was perfect because I did find some thing that bothered me a bit that I'd like to comment like:
- Caleb should have groveled a WHOLE MORE sorry but that apology? Not enough for me.
- Very controlling sometimes, grabbing her bicep, her arm and I just, he's strong, it's noted so I'm like ugh hopefully Ava doesn't have a red mark and something because sometimes people get easily bruised so.
- I understand the initial hate to love and stuff but sometimes I fell so bad because they said so many awful stuff and I was like how can you like someone you hated and said that stuff to you and doesn't say thank you or please to staff or waiters?!!!

Still I truly expect Samantha Young has another book coming out maybe with a Harper and Jamie? I really want more because I like the romance and Young really knows how to tell a story and get me engaged with it all because after all, I did finish it all in one day and these days... I haven't been reading ANYTHING. So thank you for getting me out of this awful slump..

When this one started out I was annoyed, much like Ava. I hated Caleb, he was a bastard. Even as things started to turn for them I was iffy. It really took me time to warm up to him, I think it changed when things between Ava and Caleb moved from just sex to more. They had this small period of time were they were having fun with each other and it was great! I liked how Caleb was able to help Ava move past the big horrible event from her past, to see things in a different light and finally put things to rest.

When things went bad for these two they went really bad. As they had gotten to know each other there was some things said that were low blows. I liked that Ava stood up for herself and let Caleb know why his words hurt.

Ava was a bit of a mess for a while, but had a great support system in her friends, boss and even a client. All of them helped her get to an ok point, but one night out caused a bit of a set back. I was torn with how I felt about what happened afterwards. Part of me was cheering, hoping things would work out, another part of me was pissed at the high handed way.

This was a light-hearted story that I enjoyed reading for the sake of reading. Characters made me laugh and I enjoyed the analogies and assumptions made that many can relate to about judging based on appearances. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Samantha Young has become an auto-buy author for me from the moment I read On Dublin Street. Years later, that hasn’t changed.

I will admit being slightly weary as I started this book. I’m all for the enemies-to-lovers trope, but Caleb was just plain MEAN. Would I be able to ship this couple?

Oooooooh boy did I ever! Samantha Young, forgive me for doubting you because this was a fantastic read! It made my heart hurt in all the right ways, and not only was the love story great, but the friendship between Ava and Harper was #goals.

I loved this read so much, and I’m hoping there is more to come about the other characters in this book as well!

I must admit that it's been too long since I picked up a Samantha Young novel, but the blurb for Fight or Flight tickled my fancy and I just had to have it!

Caleb & Ava meet on a flight after broody Scotsman Caleb seriously pisses Ava off at the checkout counter, and thus their story begins with serious enemies-to-lovers vibes.

High on banter, constant back and forth sniping, and huge amounts of sexual chemistry, finishing off with a nice bit of swoon.

Great little read!

I've never read anything by Samantha Young, to be perfectly honest, I requested this based on the cover and the brief description given by the publisher. To say that I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. It was everything that I needed and everything that I love in a story. Initially, I was a bit put off by the description of the main character- she seemed typical, safe, uninvented. I mean, how typical is a blonde bombshell, but I was so so wrong. I loved her and felt guilty for not loving her from the get go. This made me feel things- I was like a giddy school girl and then my heart was broken the next minute. I loved every minute of it and I will force this on people if they don't believe me when I say how wonderful it is!

I was so thankful to get this book through NetGalley. Samantha Young is one of my favorite authors. She never fails with her capability with writing a great love story. I am now addicted to these characters and hoping Jamie gets his own book. This book captures you from the first page. The way Ava meets Caleb is so funny. He wacks her with his shoulder bag as he gets the last first class seat. It all begins with a love hate relationship that is filled with so much sexual chemistry.

Caleb Scott is a manly, tall, filled of tattoos,sexy, strong and smart.. Ava is a woman who tries to always be put together. That is the only thing in her life she has always had was her looks. Caleb despises her from first sight. I love how this story changed and their relationship formed.

Warning there is a physical altercation in this story for those who can't read about abuse. It doesn't go into detail , so I think you can still read this one.

I think I have to DNF this one at about 50 percent, and I’m extremely disappointed about it.

I’ve been on an adult romance contemporary kick for a while now, and this one seemed quite promising. The cover is adorable and the synopsis sounded so good. A hate to love trope is one of my favorites, so when I picked this up, I was hoping to get something similar to Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game, which is a fantastic example of the trope done right.

Reader, I did not.

Instead I got a book with what could have been a great meet cute, if a little antagonistic, that turned into full on rudeness on both the hero and heroine’s part, making it almost impossible to continue on liking either of them in any capacity.

The Bastard Scot, Caleb, is exactly that. He’s mean and rude and ungrateful and gives a really cliché reason to Ava for treating her so badly upon their first run in. It’s stupid and cringy and definitely had me rolling my eyes at his overly inflated ego. Ava is not much better. All she does is talk about the expensive lifestyle she lives, or what she’s wearing, or what high end client she’s working for, on and on and on for pages and it was honestly quite boring and added nothing to the plot.

They both also have a tragic backstory that acts as an excuse for treating each other like shit. The tragedies of the past that both characters endured (what I encountered by the half way mark—there could be more, idk) were understandably awful and heartbreaking and would definitely cause a person to experience grief. Realistically, people deal with their grief in a million different ways, but I just didn’t see why it had to be used as a catalyst for two people to be antagonistic toward each other.

They hate each other, but are also so overwhelmed with how attracted they are to each other physically that the only logical explanation is to sex each other up until they go their separate ways. The banter was okay at times, but for the most part was just too much poking at each other to believe that it was going to turn into a relationship of love and trust. I’m assuming they’ll get a happily ever after, to which I give a tip of the hat. They were both pretty unlikable to me, and deserve only each other.

I’m sure this will greatly appeal to some people; it already has over a four star average and the author’s other books seem to be popular, but for me this was a no go. I was so hoping the cover would usher in the cute story it appeared to be offering, but sadly I was let down with a pile of angst and rudeness.

*Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I'm a fan of enemies to lovers and I did enjoy parts of this one but after sitting on this one a week and after reading some reviews though I see that key parts that were bothering me also seemed to bother other readers.

The back and forth hate between the two characters made me wonder how they could possibly still be attracted to each other. At least enough to sleep with each other and then keep doing it under the guise it was just sex. If I am attracted to someone and then they open their mouth and are rude it take their attraction level down several notches and I'm not sleeping with you no matter how good looking you may be. I know I can't be the only one out there.

The Scott is your typical alpha male and I guess I may just be over that because well he just irritated me most of the book. Sure he had his heart broken and something taken away from him but I found him to be a bit over the top a lot. And well the heroine just dealing with it because he's so hot just got on my nerves. I'm actually probably more intrigued by his brother and her best friend at this point.

I do enjoy this author's writing and will continue to read her but I think I will stick to her YA books as they seem to be her strong genre.

Review to be posted 10/2 on my blog, Goodreads, and instagram:

Date Finished: August 7, 2018

Publication Date: October 9, 2018

Publisher: Berkley

Format: e-book (Netgalley)



Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of Fight or Flight from Netgalley and the publisher, Berkely. All opinions expressed below are my own.

Synopsis:
Fight or Flight is the newest novel by Samantha Young, although I learned she has a popular "On Dublin Street" series. In Fight or Flight, we first meet Ava as she is hangry and trying to catch a flight from Phoenix to Boston. She desperately needs food and a first class upgrade. Enter Caleb, the jerk who sneaks in front of her in line and steals the last first class seat. After lots of airport snafus, the couple end up in bed during a layover. Ava thinks its the perfect one night stand and that she won't see Caleb again But, as luck would have it, he enters her life in Boston as well. Will the two keep fighting or learn to love?

Review:
I'll admit it - I was annoyed for the first 10-15% of the book. Caleb was such a jerk and I really didn't want to like him as the love interest. I mean, he was really horrible during the first section of the book. I was able to push through it and (not really a spoiler) start to enjoy Caleb more as the book moved forward.

What I really enjoyed about Fight or Flight was learning more about each characters backgrounds - what made them the way they are. Why is Caleb so rude to Ava? Why does Ava have such big walls around her? Obviously, it is fun to read about wealthy and successful people living in a large city, but it is their backgrounds and friendships that make this novel something extra.

This novel was a compulsive read - I am crazy busy with a newborn, but managed to read it in just a few short days. It actually made me look forward to nighttime feedings so that I could sneak a few chapters in! This is my biggest piece of advice for new moms - invest in a kindle and read lots of romance at night! It definitely helps to have an awesome book to look forward to!

Berkley is putting out some amazing romances lately and I'm totally in! I rate Fight or Flight 4 stars. It is such a fun read and I highly recommend it for fans of romance - just be sure to give it a chance and don't quit when Caleb annoys you from the start!

Oh man, Samantha Young is at her best again with Fight or Flight. If you are into the hate to lovers trope, this needs to be at the top of your TBR because it's done to perfection.

Ava and Caleb's (aka the Bastard Scot) meet cute is anything but cute. He's a jerk and she's a bit high strung. Since this is told only from Ava's POV, we soon enough realize why she's acting a bit crazy and that is a really good person. She's got some self worth issues which I think gives her character a lot of depth considering the circumstances of how she grew up and history with past relationships.

Caleb is a man of mystery for most of the book. He is a total anti-hero for a while because he's not very nice. Yet, the reader can glimpse enough of him behind the mask he puts on to not totally hate him. Now don't get me wrong, he is NOT your Prince Charming guy we get a lot in romance novels. At his best, he is very flawed. But what I love about this story is how much these two characters make each other better, help each other work through their flaws and how each is able to see the world with a new perspective because of their love. And the super steamy sex scenes don't hurt either. Ha.

There's definitely some heat to the book as their relationship is essentially two people who hate each other but physically can't deny their attraction so they sleep together. Often. It never takes over the story and there's plenty of plot driven material to really keep you interested. I also thought a couple of the side characters were developed just enough to add a lot of depth to the story and I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that Ava's best friend gets a book. Possibly with Caleb's brother. And no, this is NOT a spoiler so keep your panties on.

Anyway, I breezed though this in one day. I'd consider it a low/moderate on the angst scale because has some humor but also deals with some serious subjects. I did shed a couple tears but I'm a leaky faucet when reading or watching Disney movies so take that for what it's worth.

Bottom line, if you want a contemporary romance that's easy to read and sexy, give this a whirl. Can't wait to see what Samantha does next!

DNF at 33%.

This book is miserable and I don’t see it getting any better, so I give up. My list of things I hated about this book grew with every page I turned, so here’s an abridged list:

•the characters are SO snobby, entitled, privileged, and every other word to describe those miserable cranky people you see snapping at people in airports.
•the writing style was a lot of telling instead of showing, and it wrote in a lot of asides, which I think just comes of as cheesy. Was definitely not a fan of this writing style and probably wouldn’t read another book from her.
•i respect guys with scottish accents, but you can tell it was thrown into this book just for the love interest to be more of a panty dropper. the author wrote a lot of his dialogue phonetically (“tae” instead of “to”) and had him say “aye” every other word, and it just took me out of the action and made it feel….. silly? (after looking at the author’s twitter, it’s clear she has a *thing* for scottish men)
•the guy is just….. gross. i get male characters can make mistakes and say gross things and grow from it, but he’s pushy and rude and entitled and calls the mc “babe” right after they meet and stares at her boobs and ass and talks about sex with her while they’re near strangers on an airplane and none of it was charming?? if a real man did this to me, i would be highly uncomfortable instead of being like ~ooh but his accent~ He was just so RUDE!! and the main character would notice it and be like “ugh he’s horrible……. but gorgeous” and i just checked out bc rudeness is not hot at all to me.
•this book was trying to be feminist, and every now and then it would have a good line, but mostly it was just kind of obnoxious. I’m not mad that it was trying to incorporate those messages, it was just so…. obvious. It came off so preachy and hypocritical. according to the main character, telling a woman what to do is bad, but pressuring her to have sex is okay. this book excuses all the love interest’s gross behavior because he was sOOoOoOooo AtTraCTiVe
•the dialogue was horrendous. if the characters hadn’t spoken a single word to each other during sex scenes it might have been bearable, but every other line i was screaming about the sarah j maas demonic energy of these characters making dumb jokes and using such outdated lingo at each other. real human adults do not speak the way that these characters do (ie. full grown professional adults calling something “freaking epic”). and if they did, i would not want to be around them or be friends with them. so, SO annoying. at one point the guy touches her bare thigh and she goes “oh boy!” like WHAT
•there’s nothing new or special about this book. the love interest is your generic tall, muscular, accented man who ~gets what he wants~. the female main character is fake edgy “snarky,” which really just means that her dialogue is unrealistic and corny and she’s impulsive.

Was not a fan of this whatsoever and would rather read something from Christina Lauren. If you don’t mind cheesy, typical romances, it might be more your cup of tea

If only I lived a life so full of coincidental run-ins with hot men!

Ava and Caleb meet in an airport, where none of us are our best selves, and after a few hangry encounters, agree they hate each other...and then promptly get seated next to each other on their flight. And then the next one too... But we all know how easily hatred can turn into some sizzling chemistry, and thank the lord that's what happens in this situation. It starts as just sex, then maybe a bit of friendship thrown in, and then...something more? Ava and Caleb were both just looking for fun, but pesky feelings always seem to get in the way in those arrangements.

I enjoyed Fight of Flight as a whole, but it took me a while to be a fan of Ava. When we started t0 break through her outer shell and understand her motivation it was easier to like her, but in the beginning, I have to say I agreed with Caleb that she might have had a little something stuck up her bum...All and all a fun read, for dare I say, a flight?

Honest to god, it's like this book was written just for me. I can never get enough of a brooding hero and an angsty, yet blissfully romantic, storyline and Samantha Young deliveres all of it with Fight or Flight. This story follows two strangers, a bastard Scott and an unfiltered American, who meet in an airport and instantly loathe one another. Their enemies to lovers dynamic eventually evolves into a friends with benefits arrangement of sorts and it tugs at the heart strings in that painfully pleasurable way I adore when emotions get conflicted, when feelings aren't reciprocated. It's addictive and heartbreaking and SO DAMN GOOD. Both deliciously angsty and achingly romantic, Fight or Flight is Samantha Young at her absolute best and I absolutely LOVED every single bit of this book!

Everything from the cover to these characters to this wholly unputdownable storyline is ROMANCE PERFECTION. This is one stellar package Samantha Young serves up here in this novel and I just flipping loved it. Caleb Scott is such a jerk and if you know me at all then you know that's my jam. He is rude and brash and some of the things he says squeezed my heart in a vice. He's a character that cuts deep but, truly, I find nothing more thrilling that watching a character like Caleb struggle with his emotions, soften under all that coldness. I'm absolutely crazy about an enemies to lovers romance, a story where you can't even fathom how two characters who detest one another so severely could ever fall in love... and this one takes the cake. These characters go to war over and over again on these pages and it hurts so damn good. It's brutal. It's sensual. It's gut wrenching. It's romantic. I loved it. 

You don't need me to tell you what a phenomenal writer and storyteller Samantha Young is but I'll say it anyway. Wow. Wow. Wow is she just fantastic at ALL THE THINGS. The romance, the sexiness, the painfully sharp barbs and the most romantic declarations... it's all just so remarkable on these pages. This is one of those books that I wish I could read again for the first time just so to feel and swoon and ache and cry and shake and fall in love all over again. Every beautifully brutal piece of this unforgettable story is woven together so perfectly, the push and pull, the longing and the loss, the drama and the steam, the raw emotion and the sheer romance. It's brilliantly shaped and it delivers a relentless barrage of intense emotion to both the characters and the reader. This has been an unparalleled year for me as a reader and Fight or Flight is, without a doubt, another amazing love story to add to my list of favorites of the year.