I love Samantha Young's books. This one though started off a bit rough for me. Caleb was not a likable character. . He was arrogant and rude to both Ava and other characters including flight attendants and waitstaff. He did start to grow on me throughout the story. Ava had a tough life and her backstory was extremely well-written. I loved the relationship that she had with Harper, her BFF. I did feel that their relationship eventually grew into a great love story and I can't wait to see Harper's story.

When Ava Breevort meets Caleb Scott at an airport, there is no love lost between them. Of course, they end up on the same flight, sitting right next to each other no less. Caleb is rough around the edges and lacks politeness. He may be a bit rude, but he's gorgeous, rugged, and Scottish, and Ava finds herself intrigued. With all the animosity floating around them, there is a ton of chemistry, too. They find themselves spending time together during an unexpected and extended layover. After her trip home, she could use a release, plus she knows she'll never see Caleb again. Except when he shows up in Boston...and is staying with one of her clients. What started out as a casual one-time thing suddenly feels all too real, emotions included. review: Fight or Flight is a classic enemies to lovers romance. If you've read (and liked) The Hating Game, The Kiss Quotient, or The Wedding Date, you're sure to devour this one! This was the first book I have read by Samantha Young, but it's safe to say this book has me wanting to read more! While this is a true romance novel - it does tackle some tough subjects such as forgiveness, friendship, and acceptance. I thought this book had a bit more substance than other romance novels! rating: 4 out of 5 stars⭐️

Thank you Berkley for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Whenever my favorite author has an upcoming book AND it has my favorite trope, SIGN ME UP. Samantha Young greatly delivers a classic enemies-to-lovers romance in her latest novel Fight or Flight. The story is slow burn yet so entertaining and you just can't help devouring it.

The story is about a classy and sassy interior designer, Ava Breevort whose flight has been delayed meets a Scottish arrogant guy, Caleb Scott. There is an altercation between them and these two despise each other in the beginning. Their witty exchange of banters are amusing and hilarious. It's fated they sit next to each other having the same flight destination.

The sexual tension is palpable and off the charts! It took a while when Ava and Caleb became an official couple and it's wonderfully built up. I enjoyed majority of the moments especially about their pasts.. Both characters are likable have great character developments but for me, Ava stands out more she's a feisty heroine but have zero tolerance bullshit. I want to cheer her whenever she calls out Caleb's rudeness. There's more to her than just a pretty face. She's a woman with substance. Intelligent and refined.

If you combine Caine Carraway from Hero Braden Carmichael from On Dublin Street, we have Caleb Scott. I think it'll be more interesting if we have Caleb's point of view, just to see his impressions on Ava. Getting to know him more explains his arrogance and impoliteness towards everyone. Is he a redeemable hero? Yes. He sorted out himself before he realize that he loves Ava.

The book isn't purely romance. It's also about self-acceptance, family, grief and friendship. Family doesn't have to be blood related and I'm glad for Ava's friendship with Harper. What they have is beautiful and it'll be treasured forever. They'd been through a lot of good and bad times but no matter what happens, they'll have each other's back.

Fight or Flight is a delightful read. It's better you know less about the book and just let the plot twists take over. It's a balance between fluff and seriousness, I really like it. If you enjoy enemies-to-lovers romance, I recommend this book.

P.S.

Is it possible Jamie and Harper will have their own story? I am crossing my fingers they'll have. After reading the last chapters, there's more story to tell about them. I'm lowkey curious and fangirling. 💗

Ava is a successful young woman who is devastated after a forced visit to her hometown where she not only had to deal with people who did not like her but also with her family who never cared much. In a series of unusual and unlucky situations, she ends up stuck on her way back to Boston with the rude Scottish Caleb.



Caleb is not very keen to make Ava's life easier and does everything in his power to ignore and torment her, but this implication turns into an explosive attraction and they can not stay away from each other.



What they both did not realize is that this casual approach would make them open their hearts to each other and tinker with the barriers they both placed around their hearts to new relationships.



Narrated in the first person by Ava, I accompanied their journey towards fight or flight and I fell madly in love with the heroine. She was a strong, determined, gentle, passionate person and above all she knew how to fight and how to give up at the right moments.




On the other side, Caleb only conquered me at the end of the book, I spent much of the reading angry with him because in addition to being rude he was somewhat prejudiced but thanks God he redeemed after what he did.

As an avid Samantha Young fan, I am always excited to see what she comes up with next. Fight or Flight exceeded my expectations as you are taking on a roller coaster ride of raw emotions and chemistry. With everything that Ava has endured and how much she guards herself to have Caleb come up on her blind side with a chance encounter at the airport that lead them on a comedy of errors. I was giggling and swooning and almost in tears as I read this book. Young evokes so much emotion with her words and this one just blew me away. While their chemistry is evident, they try the no strings but when they spend more time together and learn more about each other, I adore how protective they are of each other and how much they want to be with each other. There are so m heartbreaking revelations on both sides and they really tug on the heartstrings.
Overall, this story was a brilliant one that had me totally glued to my ereader. You have a lot of raw emotions that are exposed in this story but also see how fiercely loyal both Caleb and Ava are. Their banter was priceless but their chemistry was sizzling. I am really hoping we see more of Harper and Jamie though… pretty please Samantha????

Once again, Samantha Young delivers a fabulous and fresh enemies to lovers story with her latest release, Fight or Flight. I've said it before, but it needs said again...Samantha writes amazing characters which is one of my most favorite things about picking up a new book. I love feeling like I'm a part of their lives even for a little bit and I always walk away from her stories feeling like I've made new friends. I greive for them. I laugh at them. I ache with them. And most importantly, I cheer them on. 

In Fight or Flight, we meet broody, rude, arrogant, but sexy Caleb Scott. He steals smart, sophisticated, gorgeous Ava Breevort's first class ticket out of Phoenix and the fighting takes off from there. The witty combacks between these two is unlike any other couple. They are smart and quick with their retorts and it's incredibly entertaining. But despite the fact that they can't stand each other, they can't deny the physical attraction they have towards each other. Neither Ava nor Caleb are looking for a relationship and what they find during a layover in Chicago is a night of passion and sex that is literally out of this world.

"The need to feel is skin against mine, to taste his lips, to touch him, to have him touch me, felt like a basic, necesary requirement to breathe."

The story really takes off when Caleb falls back into Ava's life... on a permanent basis. What started as a temporary arrangement of just enjoying each other physically becomes much more risky regarding their hearts. Learning just why Caleb and Ava refuse to be in a relationship is quite devastating. But no one can ignore the heart. 

"It was like he was drinking from me, a deep, slow, mesmerizing kiss that made my heart slam hard against my chest. It was the kind of sweet, sexy, thorough kiss that confused a woman, because it said I meant more to him than just sex." 

Ava and Caleb are one of my most favorite couples I've ever read. I loved everything about them and we got great secondary characters as well. If you want a book to get lost in, this is THE ONE you are looking for

I had heard some good things about this one and really liked the premise. Sadly, it was pretty disappointing.

I guess I liked Ava? She’s definitely stronger than she thinks and she’s gotten through some horrible things on her own. I just couldn’t settle into her inner monologue. Caleb was jerk from the beginning and for me, didn’t get any better. His alpha bs got old really fast and I couldn’t find a redeeming quality. Ava’s BFF stole every scene she was in and I would definitely read a companion book with her.

Plot wise it was a bit boring and there was more than enough drama and back story to carry it along. I didn’t see the chemistry between Ava and Caleb and I definitely didn’t see any push into friendship or love. There was a lot of tell and not show and even though it’s supposed to be a hate to love trope, there were a lot a lot a lot of horrible things said. Oh, and the grand gesture wasn’t so grand and Ava deserves a lot more.

Overall, something kept me reading, but I’m not sure what it was. I wish I would have seen the spark others did.

FYI: there’s a flashback and talk about an attempted sexual assault and a plot thread with domestic violence, including a scene after someone’s been beaten.

**Huge thanks to Jove/Berkley for providing the arc free of charge**

Ava and Caleb get off on the wrong foot from the start, but there's a spark of something there that they both can feel and when a "no-strings-attached" situation presents itself, they decide they can use their friction in a more enjoyable way. That's not to say they just start getting along -- oh no, there's more verbal warfare as their situation gradually changes to something else.

I loved that this was told entirely in Ava's POV, It made for a more personal experience to only see her side of things. I don't think it's easy to portray that gradual falling in love story, since it can be subtle things that make a difference but the author does a really nice job of allowing the reader to see Caleb's emotional state without actually having his POV and that's some good writing. And Caleb is just swoony in that alphahole sort of way.

If you like a good enemies to lovers story, you will probably like this one, especially if you are looking for a slow build up to the emotional part of the relationship.

An ARC was provided for review.

3.5 stars

This was an entertaining read. It had a good mix of light, steamy, and depth. Ava and Caleb had that passionate strong connection. These two went back and forth between enemies to friends to enemies to lovers to friends, etc. Whew these two were giving me whiplash. As the story went on you just never knew what they would do but it made for a fascinating read. I enjoyed getting to know Ava and Caleb as the story progressed and they got to know one another-there was so much more to them than the initial meeting. This book had a lot of different facets to it and is so much more than two people with great chemistry. And I liked them all as they gave the book a more deeper feeling. Overall, this was a splendid read.

5/5 STARS

See my review in French <a href="http://isalacroqueusedelivres.blog/2018/10/09/fight-or-flight-samantha-young/">here</a>


Hardly 24 hours…
That’s what it took me to read this book.

Like every single book I read from Samantha Young, it’s like diving in a universe I don’t want to leave.

I let her stories wrap me up, overwhelm me in a perfect and delicious mix of humor, passion and angst.

She never disappointed me. EVER.

I love all her heroes and heroines.
Ava and Caleb aren’t any exception.
I loved fierce and caring Ava, and I loved Caleb too, and everything hiding behind those icy blue eyes and beard.

Of course, I also wanted to slap him. So, so many times.
I wanted to slap-maul-kiss-hug-strangle-slap-undress-kiss him through all the damn book!!!

I don’t know what to add, Samantha Young does it every time, with every book.

I think you could throw any blurb at her, she would deliver a wonderful and addictive love story.

That’s why she is one of my absolute favorite authors, and with Caleb, she definitely knows how to write the best assholes we love to hate (and hug). Got for it, this story is one of my favorite read this year!




***ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review***

Visit my French blog: https://isalacroqueusedelivres.blog

Samantha Young has written some very good books that I have enjoyed. I picked this up because of those books, even though the blurb didn't really grab me. Unfortunately for me, this book was not up to caliber to her past books. There were so many things I took exception to, it would be a double sided typed page! This is an enemy to lover troupe, of which I normally get into, but this book just did not work for me.

First off, these characters are despicable! Ava and Caleb. Talk about snobby, entitled, privileged-whatever word you choose to use-they are it! They meet while travelling and the things that comes out of his mouth right off the bat are just atrocious! If someone said those things to me, while having just met, I would not be swooning all over him. The author tries to make him charming by giving him a Scottish accent and attractive, but it did NOTHING to redeem him in my eyes! What I don't understand, is why Ava would acknowledge what he was doing or saying and think he was awful, and then turn around and accept it because he was freaking gorgeous?? No amount of looks can overcome a rude and obnoxious person! She was a strong girl having worked her way to success by herself, she did not need to degrade herself by keeping him around.

Because of a delay, they have a one night stand. Then Caleb is stuck in the States for longer than anticipated. Why they went back at it had me shaking my head. I felt truly bad for Ava. Why would you subject yourself to the behavior and the judging that Caleb was spouting off throughout this book? There was another red flag every time you turned around.

Aside from the obvious character flaws, I did not care for the overly wordy style the author gave us. The dialogue was cheesy or very dated to say the least. I really couldn't see them talking this way for being two successful business people in today's world. All the political agenda got a bit much as well. Not to mention there are forays into a lot of situations that could be triggers for a lot of people.

It took me a couple of days to digest everything and to figure out what worked for me, and what didn't. If the characters were written differently or at least, Caleb, then maybe it would have fared better for me. I understand this sounds negative, but I definitely wanted to highlight the problems I had with it. If you decide to give this a try, I hope you see things differently than I did.

reviewed by Deb

This was a super cute and easy read. It was everything I want it to be. I will say there were a few lines that were ridiculously cheesy but otherwise I would definitely recommend.

Oh my word... This book! Gah! Put together my love for the enemies-to-lovers trope with Samantha Young's latest romance, and it's resulted in this winner of a read that I happily got through in a single sitting--and it isn't exactly a quick read to boot! Fight or Flight isn't about love at first; nope, in the case of Ava Breevort and Caleb Scott, there wasn't a whole lot of love going on. The last thing Ava needed after depressing trip back to her hometown of Arcadia in Arizona was a cocksure Scot who cuts in front of her, causing her to lose the last coveted first class seat on her flight to her home base of Boston. First impressions prove to be right when Caleb makes trouble for her at one of the restaurants inside the airport in Phoenix--not a good thing when you're hangry. Animosity and irritation run rampant between Ava and Caleb, but who'd have thought all of that tension would serve them well when hooking up thanks to a flight delay? They go their separate ways, and Ava isn't wasting her time pining for the man, no matter how hot the sex was. So what is she to do when Caleb shows up on her doorstep suggesting that they make good use of his unexpected stay in the US before being able to fly back to Scotland? Neither of them is interested in a relationship, so a purely physical, absolutely temporary arrangement is a dream come true. Right?

Ava and Caleb could have been the poster children for the adage "There's a thin line between love and hate." Oh, there wasn't any being coy or trying to pretend they weren't hot for each other when they first meet. Nope. It was honest-to-goodness dislike, and hey, I couldn't blame either of them. She was kinda bitchy and he was kind of a bastard, and these two had pushing each other's buttons down to a science, you would think, what with all the bickering going on. But that bickering would transform into banter as their relationship evolved, and there's a whole lot more to Ava and Caleb than meets the eye. Yeah, I admit that smacking Caleb upside the head for a good portion of the book was tempting, and I'm definitely not excusing his bad behavior no matter how gorgeous he may have been made to look in the book. But see, he does ultimately redeem himself, and getting to know him at the same time that Ava does makes it easier to understand the man behind the menace. Okay, he wasn't really a menace, but he certainly didn't make it easy to like him. Ava, on the other hand, was a woman who didn't allow anyone to walk all over her. She gave as much as she took, and she wasn't afraid to put Caleb in his place whenever and wherever. There's snark and sass plus lust and love and fab writing, resulting in a five-star rating Fight or Flight. ♥

Samantha never ceases to amaze me with her great writing skills and characters that I absolutely adore. However, sometimes the characters can be a bit too overboard and that hurt the book a bit, for me at least.

Ava is a woman who has seems to have everything together and has the tongue that could give you 50 lashings if you step out of line. She has no problem speaking her mind and she does just that when she and Caleb (the bastard Scott) run into one another at the airport.

Caleb is a very abrasive man who also speaks what is on his mind. When he and Ava bump into one another at the airport, he immediately assumes she's this women who dresses to impresses others. He's an asshole and rude jerk but for whatever reason, has this insane attraction to her.
When Caleb ends up having to stay in Ava's town for longer than anticipated, these two decided to make the best of it - regardless of their animosity towards on another, they are both deeply attracted to each other and need to get that out of their systems. However, Caleb never lets his walls down and continues to keep Ava at arm's length. All the while, Ava seemed to lose some her confidence and be ok with his rudeness and accept that as ok. This is where I started to find some issues with this story.

Samantha Young is one hell of a story teller. I found myself getting caught up in this enemies to lovers story and loved almost every bit of it. Caleb and Ava argue and fight A LOT in this book. Caleb pushes her away too many times (and treats her like shit) for me to be ok with her ever accepting him into her life. At one point, the relationship/friendship almost felt toxic for Ava.

One thing that Samantha did well was feeling their raw emotions coming out, at least with Ava. Caleb was just a dick and personally, never won me over. But once again, I applaud an author for getting to me hate such strong emotions for a character. I don't like how Caleb treated Ava, but she must have saw something that I did not in him as she continued to take him back.

Overall, I really wanted to love this story but I have so many conflicting emotions that I feel it's best to just rate this one right down the middle. Many have loved this book and others have felt the same as me.

I highly encourage anyone to read it and decided on our own how this story and its characters makes you feel.

I’ve decided I’m going to book a bunch of random cheap flights with the hopes that my seat mate will be a sexy tattooed Scottish man.
Thank you netgalley for my free copy of Fight of Flight by Samantha Young in exchange for my honest review.
After a grueling week in her home town, Ava is more than ready to return to Boston. She just needs to upgrade her ticket to first class so she can fly home in comfort. Unfortunately, a rude Scottish Neanderthal beats her to the last seat. After multiple run ins and despite how handsome he is Ava is tired of seeing this guy. It’s just her luck that when she finally gets on a plane, her seat mate is none other than the rude Scottish guy, Caleb. Ava’s avid dislike for Caleb can’t snuff out the burning sexual awareness between them and soon they are more lovers than enemies and they decide to be friends with benefits. That never goes wrong, right?
I throughly enjoyed the banter between Ava and Caleb. At times Ava’s character drove me a bit crazy and I wished I could jump in the book to keep her from talking. I think I felt a little protective of her. I didn’t want her to expose the depth of her feelings to Caleb because I just knew that wouldn’t end well. I kept telling her in my head that thugs don’t catch feelings but she insisted on ignoring me lol. I also liked the supporting characters. I thought they were well developed and added to the overall story.
You guys all know by now that I love Samantha Young and Fight or Flight did not disappoint. Check it out!

Caleb and Ava are hilarious together, albeit a little scary at times, but still pretty dang funny.  Fight or Flight doesn't mince words, it's witty, and romantic, and even sad at times.  Overall though I thought Samantha Young did a fabulous job of telling their story.  She always makes it easy to fall in love with her characters with her story telling.  

When Caleb and Ava meet for the first time, I knew we were in for a doozy.  Neither of these characters hold back and honestly, I wasn't sure they would ever sort themselves out.  They both have some serious baggage (pun intended) and while it took awhile for Caleb's to become clear, you know immediately what Ava's dealing with.  It was really exciting to read this story through Ava's pov.  I so badly wanted inside Caleb's head but not having it, well it made it more special. Sometimes you just have to trust the author to know what you need and not to give you too much of the characters.

What I thought was really interesting, was that both Caleb and Ava hide behind their exterior.  One look at Ava and Caleb deems her high maintenance, and he doesn't have time for women like her. Ave sees Caleb with all his tattoos and she just knows hes hes bad news.  She doesn't date men like him.  Both of them are not what they seem and after spending some time together they both quickly realize just that.  Talk about stubborn though.....whew Caleb takes that cake on that one.  Many times I wanted to lean in and shake him, just a little.

The journey both Caleb and Ava take in Fight or Flight is one of necessity.  In order to learn and grow, we have to face our past sometimes.  We have to let of preconceived notions and allowing ourselves to heal.  Ms. Young does just that for these characters with not just dignity, but humor, lots of sexual tension, and many doses of reality.  Relationships aren't easy, but facing our fears is even harder.

* I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book *

There are few authors whose books resonate so deeply inside of me, I feel their impact long after the final page. Samantha Young is one of those authors who can break my heart into a million little pieces with a few choice words. Fortunately, she puts those pieces back together in such a poignant, unforgettable way that keeps me coming back for more of her brilliant storytelling. With her new release, Fight or Flight, the author once again delivers a compelling, romantic, emotional roller coaster of a love story that’ll give you an overdose of the feels.

Ava Breevort never expected a chance encounter on an airplane with a sexy, infuriating stranger would lead to a night of wild, passionate, lust-fueled sex. Especially when the stranger in question is Caleb Scott, an intolerably rude Scotsman whose determination to dislike her is immediate, although not as strong as the raw, animal attraction between them. Ava also never expected to see Caleb again, yet fate keeps throwing them together. The two self-professed commitment-phobes effortlessly push each other’s buttons, each cutting the other to the quick with biting remarks and harsh judgments. But as much as they bicker and butt heads outside of the bedroom, their chemistry is off-the-charts, driving them to their baser instincts. Anger, loathing, need, and desire all mix together to create an emotional maelstrom that drags them both under, despite their resolve to remove feelings from their arrangement.

While I love the illustrated cover of Fight or Flight, I have to admit it gave me the impression this would be a lighthearted romance. While the enemies-to-lovers storyline, the whip-smart dialogue, and the fiery and flirtatious banter provides endless entertainment and moments of humor, this book is profoundly evocative. Whether it’s through the backstories of the protagonists, through Ava and Caleb’s turbulent romance, or through a subplot involving Ava’s best friend, the narrative is particularly adept at tugging on your heartstrings. Fight or Flight is messy, imperfect, and chaotic, but it’s also sweet, romantic, and hopeful.

Fight or Flight left me emotionally drained and reeling from an intense book hangover, but ultimately, I finished the book feeling perfectly gratified and wanting more. Here’s hoping a certain artist and his would-be muse get their own story...

*complimentary copy provided by author for an honest review

Hmm, I’m a bit conflicted. There were parts I truly loved, and others that left a lot to be desired.

First, let’s start with the trope. Enemies-to-lovers is always a trope I struggle with. And this is definitely enemies-to-lovers. It all starts at the airport where Caleb cuts Ava in line and gets the last first-class ticket. When another ticket becomes available Ava takes it and finds herself sitting next to him on their flight. They hate each other right off the bat. And a lot of the time it’s a valid hate. But I guess I could never wrap my head around why they started sleeping together when they disliked each other so much. Eventually I got over this though. Their hate formed into a friendship pretty naturally in my opinion. Which eventually turned into love.

Caleb was very weird character in my opinion. He was awful when the story started, and I found myself wondering if he was ever going to redeem himself or if I’d have to abandon the story. There was a lot of back and forth with him. I think having his POV would have been really useful in the story. We had no idea what was going in his head and it made it hard to connect with him most of the time. When he did let his guard down, he was a great character, one I could root for. But since he constantly went from one extreme to another, my love for him did the same.

I adored Ava, though. She’s independent, fierce, and loyal. She experiences a lot of growth throughout the story. At the beginning she starts out terrified of commitment and does a lot of soul searching during the book. Everyone in her life sees her as nothing but a pretty face because of the way she decides to present herself. She knows her worth though, which I found refreshing. She calls out anyone who treats her in a sexist or demeaning way. She’s not perfect of course, there were times she could be very vapid, but I loved her, flaws and all.

Her friendship with Harper was one of my favorite things about the story. She’s a more unusual character, but I really liked her in the scenes she was in. Ava and Harper have a great relationship, built on love, support, respect. I’m a sucker for great friendships. I also really liked Jamie, Caleb’s younger brother. He seemed different from Caleb, gentler and more understanding than his older brother. I’d be excited if he got his own story.

Overall, this was a solid romance. I know fans of the whole “alpha hero” will love this.

**ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Ok, this book had me up and down, and all around. I loved Ava straight away - she was witty and fierce, and completely captured my attention. But Caleb - I hated him, then I loved him, then I hated him, and then I loved him again! I felt like it took the entire book to really get to know Caleb, which I suppose is understandable, given it is told from Ava’s POV. But by the end, I loved Caleb. And I loved this book. The banter was hilarious, but I especially loved the more poignant moments that had me in tears. There was something so very real about this story, that made me feel a part of it and I was right there with Ava, feeling what she was feeling. Another fantastic read by Samantha Young.

This book made me FEEL and I loved it! It was reminiscent of On Dublin Street and anyone who has read that gem of a novel would know exactly what I'm talking about! I absolutely fell for the characters and the amazing story!!! This novel perfectly explains why SY is one of my favorite authors! No one does romance the way she does!!! This book is 5 stars!!!!!