3.5 stars rounded up

Olive and Stella’s journey from strangers to friends to relationship of convenience was really a beautiful story at its core. They worked through a lot of different things; loss, disease, toxic relationships, sexism in the work place, and anxiety. Even though there were these heavy topics, there was still lots of room for spice, sweet, and innocent love between two people.
Where this book fell flat for me was how it jumped all over the place. There was a lot of small subplots that didn’t really serve a huge purpose, and some were just left unfinished/unresolved. There was A LOT going on in this novel! Sometimes too much. Olive was also a bit corny and cringey sometimes, but even though I wasn’t a huge fan, I still related to her.
Overall not a bad read and definitely look forward to more from Andie Burke!

Nurse Olive is terrified of flying, so of course on her very first flight a medical emergency occurs and she's the one to save the person in distress. Because of the emergency, her Orlando bound flight is diverted to Atlanta. Co-pilot Stella finds Olive crying in the waiting area because she's just found out she has no way of getting to Orlando on time to run in the Disney marathon (something she's doing in honor of her brother). Also, unbeknownst to Olive, a video of her rescuing the man on her flight has gone viral. Stella, who is also headed to Disney, offers to rent a car and drive Stella there. The two bond and end up having a magical time together in Disney, but end up parting ways without every exchanging phone numbers. To Olive's shock, Stella shows up at her hospital a few days later asking to go out for coffee. Stella has a proposal for Olive - be her fake girlfriend and attend a few events at her airline to help her get a promotion.

What follows is a fun and sweet romance, although neither one of them realizes that. I loved Olive and Stella together, their banter was so fun and had me laugh out of loud several times. Olive's best friend Derek was also a hoot. While the romance is fun, there are also some heavier subjects both characters face - Olive has panic attacks, depression, and is at odds with her entire family and Stella is dealing with her dad having Parkinson's.

I really enjoyed this book and I'm excited to see what Burke comes out with next!

Such a fun read. I’m always a sucker for a sapphic rom com. I’ll definitely be checking out this author again!

This was so incredibly cute and so incredibly 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️. I loved the storyline and character development and am going to tell my book club they need to read this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely adored this story and was so excited to bring it into my store. I’ve already had the opportunity to hand sell it to a handful of customers.

2.5 Stars. I didn't read the full description so I was unaware this was a fake dating book. I don't really enjoy fake dating books and I really really really don't enjoy them when only one person is benefiting for the duplicity. In this case Stella was receiving a potential promotion whereas Olive was receiving time with Stella... and nothing else. The unbalanced dynamic in their fake relationship makes Olive seem sad and desperate and makes Stella seem manipulative. Additionally I really really struggled with the set up of the book. The level of viral the video on the plane went is insane given it was resolved with an epipen and the fact people were still talking about the even weeks later is bizarre given how quickly things that go viral fall back into obscurity. The external drama of the book was over the top (seriously did we need a psycho ex, sick father, familial estrangement, and dying brother) to the point the main romance between Olive and Stella crossed the line into boring, especially once they were fake dating. I also really disliked that we had almost no resolution to Olive's family issues given how prominent they were throughout the story. The book also had issues with tokenization in pursuit of representation. I really really really wish I liked this book more. There should be more sapphic romance from mainstream publishers, but this book didn't work for me.

If you are looking for a wonderful fake dating sapphic romance look no further than this book. The characters are real, the emotions are raw and honest, and well this is just honestly a great book.

The abundance of lesbian romances out in the world now makes me so happy. Reading this book also made me realize that there's an untapped market out there (ok maybe just for me) of lesbian romances set at Disney World. I love the combination of queer woman and that wonderful place.

But, I digress. Nurse Olive Murphy is terrified of flying, so it seems only fitting that on her first trip on a plane, a man has a medical emergency. The plane is diverted, and Olive goes viral for heroically saving his life. One of the pilots, Stella Soriano (that name just sounds beautiful, doesn't it?) offers to drive Olive from Atlanta to Florida so she can make the marathon she's running at Disney World in honor of her brother. Stella Soriano, of course, is a gorgeous, sexy, pilot, because why wouldn't she be? Olive slogs through her race, Stella is waiting for her at the end, and the two have a beautiful day (and night) at Disney. As all good lesbians should.

Then Stella asks Olive to be her (fake) girlfriend. With Olive going viral, Stella is sure this publicity will help her finally get the promotion to captain she's been desiring for so long. As reasons to fake date in romances this one seems a bit flaky, but I've seen worse. And have I mentioned that Stella Soriano is really hot? And that Olive is absolutely adorable and funny? Please fake date ladies, please.

Burke writes Olive wonderfully. She made me laugh out loud. The book is told entirely from her point of view, which I feel like is rare anymore, but it totally worked. Burke is a former nurse who writes Olive quite realistically. Even more, she writes Olive's brother, a terminally ill patient, with complete respect. Olive suffers from anxiety and depression and that topic plays a strong role in the plot, but it's well-done and portrayed in a very appropriate fashion.

The emotion in this book! Olive's family was terrible. Downright awful. I wanted to jump through the pages and give this poor woman a hug (and push her into Stella's arms). Stella and Olive felt like authentic lesbians with whom I would be friends. Olive is scared she's a burden for Stella and Stella's afraid her workaholic issues are too much for Olive. Get it together, ladies! At the core, their romance is so sweet, and you cannot help but root for them.

When reading, it's clear this is Burke's first book, but this is still a very witty, enjoyable sapphic romance. Also, I feel as if Olive's friend Derek is the true superstar of this story and deserves his own book (with appearances from Gus the dog, of course).

Fly With Me tells the story of two women each tackling transitions in their life who decide a fake relationship will help get to the next step. Olive and Stella seem like polar opposites, one is afraid of flying and the other is a pilot, but this doesn't stop their chemistry. This book tackles complicated family relationships, end of life decisions, and anxiety/phobias so it's not light but it handles each of these issues with care and ultimately gets to the romance happily ever after. I recommend for fans of The Love Hypothesis.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read this free eARC. 

Stella and Olive's story starts with a nervous flier and a pilot. but there is so much more. I really liked Olive's character, and I wish I was more like Stella.  The fake dating is cute, despite the backdrop of family and work drama.

Recommend for those who liked Delilah Green and One Last Stop.
4.25 out of 5 stars, and 3.5 out of 5 🌶  for the spice level.

3.5 Stars
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.
Overall I enjoyed this story. I really liked Olive's character, and I loved reading about her relationships with her friends. Olive has some struggles but I thought they were written in a realistic and understandable way, and I appreciate that the author was able to do this. I also really appreciate the way the author wrote about some of the darker themes in the book; she gave light to topics that I feel aren't discussed very often, and she did it in a way that gave depth but still kept the story relatively light. This was an easy light read for me despite the darker themes is what I'm trying to say, and I think that's a pretty complex thing to accomplish.
My main complaint about this book was the pacing and length; even though I enjoyed it, it felt long and repetitive at times. However, I'd still recommend this book to anyone to enjoys LGBT rom-coms, and I look forward to reading whatever the author writes in the future.

An unexpected but great story. I really liked how Olive and Stella's miscommunications lead to friendship and more. Truly opposites attract in the most dramatic way. The secondary friendships and hijinks they both fall into added a comedic element to their stories which outside of their relationship represented the real world. I was really glad to see this as a sapphic story and I think this is an excellent addition to the library of queer books everyone should own.

Fly With Me captured my interest from the very start. The main character, Olive Murphy is on a flight to Orlando to run in a half marathon to honor her brother, Jake. Through a series of events, she encounters one of the pilots and there is an instant attraction. Andie Burke, author, revealed the elements that led both characters to that moment throughout the book in a slow, luxurious tale. The romance is spicy and contains many traditional tropes. The "bad guy" is truly dislikable and the barriers to "happily ever after" are believable. I look forward to seeing what Burke writes next.

- FLY WITH ME has such a silly premise, and yet it's fairly serious for a romance novel. This book deals with everything from workplace sexism to end of life care for relative in a coma.
- As much as I loved the opposites-attract dynamic between Olive and Stella (and we know how much I love fake dating!), this book went around in circles, having the same conversation a few too many times for me. There was also a third act breakup a literal 20 pages from the end of the book, which felt totally unnecessary after all the previous back and forth.

Everything about this should have worked for me, but unfortunately it didn't. Being in Olive's head was...grating...and the pace of this entire story was absolutely insane. It was so SLOW but somehow everything happened in 9 seconds flat by the end.

Story: B-
Prose: A-
Characters: A-
World: B
Theme(s): B
Enjoyment: B+

The Good:
Vibrant prose. Burke's prose is bouncy and quirky and chaotic in a way that genuinely encapsulates Olive. As a debut author, Burke's prose is solid and readable, and I had little complaint. (But the style might not suit everyone.)
Funny. Funny AND fun. There was always the promise of something interesting around the corner, and Burke made each scene compelling and fun. I read most of Up in the Air in a single sitting!
Great characters. Fake dating! Opposites attract Messy x Type A! Olive is chaotic and indecisive and anxious, and between her family and her ex, the last year has definitely hurt her self-esteem. Stella is a confident pilot determined to make captain, and her rigorous planning for their fake dating scheme flabbergasts Olive. Stella's kind-heartedness is the perfect balance for her intensity. Both women are incredibly personable and likeable, and I was able to relate with both easily.
Family: Good and Bad. Burke's captured complicated, frustrating family dynamics so well! Olive's struggles with her mother and sister were super painful and real, and watching Stella (although she isn't a POV character) trying to balance caring for her father while also feeling the need to make him proud really hit home.
Lindsay. Burke's NAILED the manipulative ex with Lindsay. Lindsay is so perfectly creepy and unpleasant without feeling forced or like a caricature. How she demeans Olive while saying she ~only cares about Olive's well-being~ genuinely upset me. She feels like a real horrible ex I actually wanted to protect Olive from.


The Bad:
Some plot beats seem off. Especially toward the end. Scenes are out of balance emotionally. There's a lot of spicy scenes clustered together and they start to feel redundant. The effect is chaotic and unsatisfying.
Multiple subplots lack satisfying resolution. There are at least two subplots that lack a satisfying resolution–or any real resolution. One desperately needs ANY form of catharsis.



YMMV:
Talking to her brother. Olive's brother, Jake, had a traumatic brain injury, and will never wake up. I don't think it's weird she sits and talks to him. I DO think it's weird she answers for him.
Prose not for everyone. Burke's prose is a little silly at times (in a way that matches Olive's internal chaotic state) but for readers who prefer more practical prose, it may feel cringy.
Very late spice. Very, very late, with very little to tease the reader along the way, and when it does happen, it's unbalanced, plot/mood-wise.

Final thoughts:
Tbh, I had the time of my life for the first ~75%, but found the last bit uneven. A lot happens, all at once, and some heavy emotional stuff comes to the forefront without any resolution. (And if there's anything that REALLY gets my goat, it's a lack of appropriate catharsis. I NEED catharsis. It's literally 67% of my name.) The ending was… fine, but I would've loved it so much more if Burke added even one more scene focused on resolving one of those plot threads.


(Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

(Also the cover is very pretty!)

A cute, sweet debut! I appreciated Olive's support system and adored this slow burn romance with lots of depth!

Fly with Me is a riot! Andie Burke has packed this story with lots of humor and it is soooo relatable.

The characters are flawed, human, and as one can only hope a hero can be: self-sacrificing. Olive and Stella are on the same journey in one sense, yet they are both handling the dynamics of it differently. There is no right or wrong way to deal with illness, just different ways and Burke showcases these synopses against a funny backdrop story.

The secondary stories may be dark, but the rest of the story just flies along and is an easy read. Burke keeps the right balance of humor, tease, and friendship building. Fly With Me is a diverse fake-dating, meet-cute, anxiety driven, rom-com that you have to add to your to-be-read pile if you haven’t already. I had such a great time with Stella and Olive and you will too.

I loved the summary and the cover of this book. Sadly I could not get into it after a few chapters. The main character seemed a little much and almost predictable. I really wanted to love this book and push through but it was all just a bit too cheesy for me. I have not picked it up since those first few chapters but I might give this another chance after a few other books.

How in the world am I meant to write a proper review, when all I can really say is I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. The feels. Sapphic love stories just make my heart and soul happy. I guess I'll have to try.

Olive is on her first flight, trying to complete a list for her brother that means more to her than she can explain. Despite her total fear of flying, she's doing it for him. Of course, she doesn't plan on being called to assist a passenger and she certainly doesn't expect the snobby, beautiful pilot to offer her a ride after they're redirected. Olive is in crisis mode and Stella is type-A organized, and did she mentioned, beautiful. A whirlwind drive and weekend together should be the end of their brief time together, but Stella makes a proposition for Olive, use their sudden popularity to gain success through fake dating.

This book just slotted into my heart instantly, because while it's romance and angst, it's also beyond relatable. I'm a Disney girl who loves Brandi Carlile and has herself a type-a, career driven girlfriend too. I also love a good fake dating troupe, especially when the lust and chemistry is at an all time high. The two are hilarious, somehow becoming deeply close as friends while neither admits their true feelings. It's silly and spicy and wholly fun to read, with some really important conversations around families, culture, and the glass ceiling. While it was a little long, it was still perfect for me and I think debut author Andie Burke had just the right amount of deep dialogue, character growth, and fun.

Fly with Me is a fantastic Sapphic love story to add to your shelves.