The Layover will not be one of my favorite romcoms - but I did enjoy the settings for this story.

Ava is engaged to Alexander, but he wants her to quit her job as a flight attendant. On her last trip, she has an overnight layover in Belize that gets extended because of mechanical issues.

During the layover, Ava realizes she loves her job and doesn’t want to quit - she enjoys being a world wanderer. When she calls Alexander to tell him her decision, things go awry.

Here’s what I didn’t like:
—Ava’s relationship with Alexander: This relationship felt very toxic. It felt like Alexander was 100 percent in charge and just wanted a pretty wife to show off.
—Ava’s relationship with Jack: It happened too quickly. They went from enemies to kissy faces too quickly for me and I just didn’t believe it.
—Ava’s insecurity in herself: Hello, girl! Let’s talk! You’re a freakin’ world traveler, have great stories to share, and secure enough to wander around a city alone. Embrace your self and take up the space you deserve.

Here’s what I did like:
—I absolutely want to plan a trip to Belize now! Swimming in bioluminescence lagoons sounds amazing.
—The competition between Ava and Jack on the plane to Belize and the competition between Ava and Gen on the plane headed back to the states.

I chose this book because its cover and title embodied something I've missed- traveling. The Layover is a fun romantic comedy with fun quirky characters and a fun pace that also had some deeper qualities. Ava is a flight attendant on her last flight- she's getting married and wants to be grounded after a lifetime of travel. She's chosen the perfect flight- two normal days with a 24 hour layover in Belize. The story takes off (pun intended) from there. Is Ava giving up who she is to be with lawyer Alexander? Or does she want to admit that she's settling for a boring life? This is a fun debut and I look forward to more from Lacie Waldon.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher for an honest review. Thanks for the opportunity to review this book. Great book to end the summer! If you are looking for a quick fun read look no further!

Ava and Jack are two flight attendants who get stuck in a layover in Belize. During this time they get to explore the area and get to spend time with each other. Ava appears to have this deep down hatred toward Jack. She assumes he was friends with a pilot she was dating who was cheating on her. Ava believe that Jack was trying to cover for his “friend” when in reality Jack cared for Ava and was trying to protect her. Eventually, Ava discovers this truth and after just ending her engagement to a man who wanted her to quit her job and become someone she is not she decides to let Jack into her life and heart.

As much as I loved the enemies to lovers storyline it was fun to see Ava come of of her shell and trust someone who doesn’t want her to change

This is a great enemies to lover story I love rom-coms and this one didn't disappoint. I just didn't like the fact that the MC had a previous commitment..

This book was really funny and I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would.

Gen was honestly the highlight of this book. Everything she said and did had me cackling.

The aspect I really did not enjoy about this book was that the heroine was in a relationship with someone else for the majority of the book and this is absolutely not a spoiler because you will learn about this in the first few pages.

I was not a huge fan of the narrator so I switched back and forth between reading the ARC I had and listening to the audiobook.

I received an ARC of the ebook from Putnam and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

Loved this cute story!! It made me want to travel! The banter between the two main characters was so fun to follow! I want a sequel!

"The Layover" was a miss for me. Ava, our lead, is already engaged and living with her partner at the beginning of the novel. A third of the way in, all we know is that she hates Jack (not the person she is engage to) for some unknown reason and spends her time antagonizing him and feeling sorry for herself. Ava comes off as judgmental and seems to enjoy making assumptions that lead her to thinking the worst of people.

I'm cutting my losses here. I don't think I want Ava to get a happy ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

The first half of the book didn’t really catch my attention. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Ava and I wasn’t a big fan of her relationship with Alexander. The second half of the book really picked up for me and I started to really enjoy it. I loved the tropical paradise setting & I loved the relationship that formed between Ava, Jack, Gen and Paul. Also, I will admit that this book had me seriously considering my career choice. Who wouldn’t wanna travel to all these amazing places and get paid to it??

I'm so glad I was able to squeeze this one in before summer ends! It was good!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for my advanced copy of The Layover!

What I Enjoyed-

* The Cover- Is awesome! Its so bright and summery. The colors make me happy.

*I loved that the characters in this book were flight attendants and pilots. I've always thought that it would be so exciting to live that lifestyle and travel everywhere.

*The Setting- Perfect Summer Vacation Vibes. I loved it.

*The Writing- The Layover is such an easy read and I finished it in a day!

Why This Wasn't a 5 Star-

*Ava- She was annoying. So annoying. Very immature. I cringed a lot. She tended to blame her issues on her parents and her upbringing which may have been true but it wasn't an explanation for everything wrong in her life.

*The Romance- Enemies to lovers. Which is my favorite trope. I did not always love the banter between Jack and Ava. I didn't care about their relationship ( mostly because of Ava's secret ). I did not care if they ended up together or not. I just didn't care.

Overall- not bad. I'd definitely give this author another try.

I absolutely adored this book! I love Lacie's writing style. Ava and Jack were so much fun. I can't wait to read more from this author.

Ava has a very specific idea of how she expects her life to go. Quite simply, she wants nothing to do with the untethered lifestyle of her parents; flitting from one adventure to another. Ava craves roots, stability, and dependability and as luck would have it, it appears that brand-new fiancé, Alexander, may just be all that in one shiny (workaholic) lawyer package. If you don't care for your MC to be attached to another man at the beginning of a Rom Com, this is your warning. It doesn't bother me so much, though I wish we had some more evidence of Alexander's behavior/actions.

The supporting characters were amusing, though I'm not sure how realistic Gen's lunacy. As long as readers are okay with suspending belief and just holding on for a wild ride, Gen's particular brand of wayward can be charming.

I'll admit, I wasn't crazy about Ava at the start. It took a solid 45% of the book for me to stop pursing my lips at her inner thoughts and being frustrated with her inability to see how unhealthy her relationship was. Paired with her intense dislike of Jack, I wasn't sure I was rooting for her HEA until she underwent some growth. Truly though, it made her growth and self-discovery more enjoyable as we spend time with Ava and Jack.

I'm a sucker for enemies-to-lovers, and while the root of the enemies on this one was a little flimsy, I adored the banter between the MC and love interest. Jack Stone is cool, confident, and patient. He takes most everything is stride and it really just an all-around nice guy.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Waldon's debut! It was light, breezy, and filled to the brim with tropical goodness and adventure that makes it a perfect beach read. It made me feel like I needed to pack my bags and flit off to a new destination for exploring! But then I remember how traveling with a 3 year old is basically one of Dante's circles of hell and decide that maybe I should just mix myself a tropical cocktail and reread The Layover> and pretend I'm in Belize, or Fiji, or some other paradise.

I read this book while delayed at the airport due to a security threat. What a fun book to choose as the main characters are flight attendants. From the start I knew I would enjoy this escapist read, as not only I but the main character was "flying" away from their worries. The MC definitely is working to find herself but settling for things that just aren't a right fit. From the jump, I hated her romantic situation. After her spotting a wonderful treasure in a shop, I knew that she was going to grow and decide she was important and make changes to her life. There were several other pieces like an former Air Force character, traveling, working weird hours, and feeling separated from friends and family that made me feel connected to this story. Really fun beach read!

What better way to end a career as a flight attendant than with an overnight layover in Belize. Only problem is that Ava has to work with Jack who she has never liked.

This was a fun and quick read that transported me to a resort in Belize and is perfect if you want to escape to another locale in a book. I loved the adventures they managed to squeeze in while on this layover. While this was a closed door romance, there was plenty of tension, build up, and banter to keep me interested. I think I enjoyed the side characters just as much as the main characters.

This is a great summer rom com to read at the beach or pool and would be especially fun to read while flying. For extra flair, pair with a fruity drink of choice.

So fun and so cute. I loved this! My first romance book that had flight attendants at the main characters and it was cool seeing their job from their perspective!

*Reviewers note – The heroine in this book is engaged at the start of this book, as this book plays out over about 3 days time (with the exception of the epilogue) she begins to question her relationship, and she does wind up with someone else by the end of the book. Technically her engagement was off and her relationship over when they got together, but she went from engaged to with someone else in the blink of an eye.

I enjoyed The Layover by Lacie Waldon but it wasn’t without some problems. The thing is if you allow yourself to overlook the issues that I know will bother a lot of people; it was a funny, sensual, and emotional story. The characters were interesting from the main characters to the supporting ones and it was evident the author has spent time as part of a flight crew which added some realism into the story.

Ava Greene is newly engaged and leaving for her last trip as a flight attendant before she finally get the home, stability, and roots she craved after growing up with her nomadic parents. While she enjoys her job, her fiancé wants her home every night so his life and routine will be easier. She’s excited that her last trip includes a layover in Belize where she plans to enjoy the sand and the sun, but finding out that Jack Stone is one of her fellow flight attendants dampens her sprits but she decides she’ll put him in his place and then ignore him.

The banter between Ava and Jack was quite hilarious for the majority of this book even when they were slinging barbs. However, Ava’s dislike of Jack was based on an incident she thought he’d been involved in previously that affected her and hearsay from his former girlfriend and it got old really quick and wasn’t resolved until about three-fourths way through the book. The thing is even when they weren’t chummy there was a sexual chemistry swirling around them that was undeniable. I also think the way she spoke her mind around Jack made her realize that she’d been pretending to be someone else with her fiancé. She also came to realize from her time in Belize that while her childhood left her with some emotional scars, she’d also had some amazing experiences and while she did want a home base, she loved travel. So while she wasn’t my favorite person, she did show great emotional growth in the story and I did think Jack was good for her. I would have loved to see her apologize for her misguided behavior towards Jack, but she never really did that and to be honest he deserved it.

I enjoyed the secondary characters especially the romance that happened between Gen and Pilot Paul, I’d kind of really love to read their entire story, but found Gen’s behavior as a flight attendant to be extremely unprofessional. I realize the author was trying to use her as a bit of comic relief but anyone who has flown a lot or has insight into the way airlines run knows she would have been fired already for her inappropriate behavior. Honestly some of the stuff she pulled in flight took me out of the story because it was so completely unbelievable. I was thoroughly intrigued by Celeste and Eddie, a couple Ava and Jack befriend in Belize and spend time with, I’m sure their story would be quite entertaining. Last but not least Captain Ballinger, I have a feeling he’s married to the radio host Layla Day and not knowing is driving me nuts. (P.S. – I have it on good authority most Captains are not uptight stick in the mud people who don’t associate with the rest of the crew especially on a long layover.)



I enjoyed The Layover and watching these characters battle their past to have a future together, as a debut novel I thought the writing was strong, the plot a bit far-fetched, the characters interesting, and the romance intriguing. I would definitely read this author again.

The Layover by Lacie Waldon allowed me to escape into this romance and made me feel like I was traveling again. Gosh, I miss traveling! Ava is a flight attendant and needs her life to be "perfect," even if she needs to sacrifice her dream job for her fiance. On her last trip, she meets Jack, and the whole plan goes out the window. This workplace/close proximity romance kept me laughing with Ava and Jack's witty banter and slow-burn sexual tension. This was a wonderful debut novel by Lacie Waldon, and I look forward to her future novels.

Thank you, Putnam, for this complimentary copy for me to review honestly.

Frenemies to lovers. A nice romance but wasn’t very memorable. Easy read without angst so if you want something to pass the time this is the book

3 stars ⭐️
This was a cute rom-com book and was pretty decent in the moment, but I think won’t be memorable down the road.

This was a perfect beach read, with characters who are flight attendants and seeing what they do during flights and layovers. The moments when they would get to stay in hotels and discover other places and go on island and food tours were really fun, especially during times now when I personally am limited in terms of travelling. This was a perfect escapist read for that.

My main gripes were the setup of the story and the heroine herself. The story starts with Ava being lovey-dovey with her FIANCÉ, which should have been mentioned in the summary. Don’t worry, there’s no cheating but… she only breaks up with him 47% in, which for me is a bit too late to start her romance with the hero Jack.

Ava was quite hypocritical in that cheating was a big no-no for her and Jack, as they discussed their past relationships together, but she fails to mention to him she had a fiancé the entire time and only just broke up with said fiancé over the phone during their work trip. And throughout her interactions with Jack, she acted very ‘enemies-to-lovers’ toward Jack mainly due to her judging Jack as a womanizer and that only changed once they had a heart-to-heart. So for those reasons, Ava was very unlikeable to me for majority of the book.

This would’ve been so much more enjoyable had the story started with Ava breaking up with her fiancé, realizing he was toxic, and Ava being more upfront and open to Jack about her latest relationship (and not just past boyfriends before her fiancé and FAILING TO MENTION the fiancé himself).

Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam for an ARC copy, in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this book and am excited to say that I met Lacie through an engagement group on Instagram which allowed me the pleasure of interviewing her. She is smart, witty, and an absolute delight to chat with.
Now about the book. This book was a fun, quick read full of dynamic characters and one fun trip to Belize. The characters are well developed and likeable. As I read the book, I envisioned Lacie narrating it and felt her personality come out. Ava, Gen, and Jack were real and relatable, I felt like I was right there with them on this adventure. The story is told from Ava’s point of view and the excursions were hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud because I could see myself in Ava too. I also really like how the book ended. The story concluded on a positive note with all the details beautifully connected. I also liked that they all became friends in the end.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good Rom Com with characters that go from disliking one another to falling in love. This book will be one I buy for my family and friends. I cannot wait to read her next book!

I absolutely loved this. This rom-com had well developed characters, strong chemistry and all out fun. I loved watching these two doing really almost anything together. The sparks and tense could be felt by the whole room. The writing was brilliant and the romantic parts were really special. This debut novel was everything I’d hoped it would be. It checked all the boxes and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good rom-com. Read this book.
Thanks G.P. Putnam's Sons via Netgalley.