Thank you netgalley and SMP for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review. I knew I was going to love it before picking it up. I pre-ordered the book and looking forward to reading it again and tabbing. Great debut

✔️ Fake Dating
✔️ Opposites Attract
✔️ Hurt/Comfort

Fake Dating is one of my favorite tropes and I liked the set-up: Olive agreeing to fake-date Stella in order to help secure S a well-deserved promotion. It will also hopefully help Olive in getting a toxic ex off her back.

The beginning of the book worked best for me, from their meeting to their early days of getting to know each other. Unfortunately, the rest of the book lagged and felt clunky; too much time on storylines that were not as interesting to me. I love found family, but I didn't feel that either character had fun characters who had their back. Their B storylines were also super angsty and not what I was particularly in the mood for (Olive's family just sucksssss and all the scenes with them just dragged me down.).

I also wish the romance was stronger. I didn't really feel strong chemistry from either MC and the forces keeping them apart felt flimsy.

Steam 🔥🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an e-arc, and to Macmillan Audio for an alc in exchange for an honest review.
Fly with Me releases September 5, 2023

I know this is meant to be fiction and all, but this was too outrageously ridiculous to take seriously.

Olive, our sole narrator of this story, is taking her first flight to Orlando to participate in a Disney marathon run in honour of her brother who is currently paralyzed and in a critical state.
On her flight, a medical emergency occurs, and a passenger has a severe allergic reaction. Since Olive is a nurse, and the only medical personnel on board, she steps in to save the day.

Since the flight obviously had to divert to a closer state, Olive finds herself left without any other flights to get her to her final destination.
The only way to make it on time to the run is by driving non-stop, but since she’s already coming off of a shift at work, it just doesn’t seem plausible with the depletion of her energy.
But no worries, because Stella, the pilot of the flight, offers to drive Olive 6+ hours to Orlando.

All of the characters were insufferable to me. From the main character, who I just couldn’t stand, to the flight captain who was sexist and slimy af, to the love interest Stella who kept belittling Olive’s achievements as a nurse as well as other female flight attendants.
Stella gets mad that people underestimate her as a woman and think of her as a flight attendant instead of a pilot, but then does the exact same thing to Olive and underestimates her degree because she’s just a nurse and not a full-fledged doctor.
The way she kept putting her foot in her mouth was grating on me.

What I can’t understand is how videos of the medical emergency on the flight went viral in what — an hour tops? Olive hadn’t even had the chance to leave the airport yet and it was already viral?? And the fact that press was already waiting for her at the marathon run just 6-ish hours later? What about her is so special?? It was an allergic reaction where she administered an epi pen… it’s not like she performed emergency surgery. It’s just so contrived.

AND THEN, for Stella to propose the idea of fake dating Olive because her viral video is gaining traction for the airline and it would help her get a promotion… Be for real right now. What a fucking cash grab and personal gain. What about the man that suffered from the allergic reaction? We never hear a word from him, but sure, go ahead and fake date.
If I was the individual that had the medical emergency and found out that the pilot was using my experience in a glorified way to gain a promotion, I’d feel pretty shitty.

Here’s what Stella has to say: <I>“I could quit and start over, or I could do something that makes me stand out. Something they can’t ignore. Basically, if people find out that we fell in love after you saved a man’s life on one of my flights, it might be what I need for the right people to finally remember my name.”</I>

It’s the way she wasn’t even directly involved in the medical emergency, but is milking it so hard to her advantage that’s giving me the ick.
It’s giving fake feminism and her character as a queer Latina woman was only used as token diversity.
It feels so scammy and disingenuous.
I get that she wants to shine in a "boy's world" but there's better ways of going about it.

Their whole connection felt forced, and there was too much going on between this and both of their families and the mental health and end of life discussions, as well as the stupid ex-girlfriend that kept bringing in unnecessary drama and added no value to the story.

Olive and Stella hadn’t even known each other for a full 24 hours and Olive was already having so many sexual thoughts like “maybe Stella would casually mention how much she liked pussy during the next conversation, and then rip Olive’s clothes off” and saying that she’d be an appropriate person to sit on top of Stella’s face. Like, calm down.
Maybe if this wasn’t a singular pov and we got to see if Stella was equally interested at such an accelerated rate, it wouldn’t have felt so off, but as it was, I just couldn’t get invested.

So much of this story, to me, felt like it was inadvertently taking jabs at women and I didn’t like it.
There was also multiple instances of homophobia and transphobia that didn’t need to be added.

And what was the purpose of always referring to the man with the allergic reaction as Mickey Mouse? Why were they incapable of using his name?


*To note: I read/listened to the digital and audio arc in tandem, and there were variations between the two in terms of certain word choices (like swapping a “her” for “their”, or “gay” for “lesbian” and other details pertaining to whether the battery of a cellphone was dead, etc.) so I can’t comment on which version most accurately reflects the final copy.


<b>SPOILER</b>
Are you kidding me with that ending??? Did I seriously read 95% of a book where they fake date in order for her to get a promotion, just for her to quit? That completely negates the whole basis of the plot and feels like such a slap in the face and a waste of my time.

This was a sweet story but it lacked the spark I look for in romance novels. I still recommend this but it wasn't one of my favorites.

I was lucky to receive an e-ARC of this book, and when I say lucky, i mean LUCKY. This book had everything you need in a book: fake dating, queer characters, family drama, miscommunication that resolves itself rather quickly, found-family, a funny start-to-end joke that keeps popping up. Everything about this book was written with care, including an authors note at the beginning with triggers written in a way that makes the reader feel connected with the author. Would definitely recommend to anyone and everyone! (as always, check the triggers before you read and take care of yourself!)

I was very bored reading this, specifically the romance. Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for and arc for a honest review.

This was a fantastic debut - a sapphic romance filled with fake dating delicousness as well as serious topics that brought me to the verge of tears, like end-of-life decisions, toxic ex-girlfriends, anxiety and depression, and dysfunctional parents. While definitely not lacking in depth, there was substantial humor, pop culture references, an adorable dog, and absolutely delightful banter. I cannot wait for the author's next book!

fake dating and amazing disability representation!!! i couldn’t ask for more! i really enjoyed this book. the plot was super easy to follow and really kept me interested the entire time. the characters were so easy to connect with and made my heart feel all the amazing things

ER nurse, Olive Murphy, is taking her first flight when the pilot announces an in-flight medical emergency. Olive jumps into the situation and handles it flawlessly, all while saving a life. The pilot reroutes to the closest airport, leaving Olive stranded hours away from the marathon she's running in her brother's honour. Luckily, co-pilot Stella Soriano offers Olive a ride to her destination. A video of Olive saving a life goes viral and starts generating more sales for Stella's airline. Stella wants to hit a long-awaited promotion and sees this as a perfect opportunity and asks Olive to be her fake girlfriend to help her achieve her goal.

The dedication to this novel really started this book off on a high for me. As a nurse who worked through the pandemic, this dedication really hit a note for me and I knew it was the start of something I'd come to thoroughly enjoy.

Andie's writing is crisp and clear, filled with humour and authenticity. There's a lot more than meets the eye in FLY WITH ME, with honest discussions of mental health, difficult family dynamics, old-world views in the workplace, and crazy exes. I think it all balanced out nicely and maintained a sense of realism within the given page limits.

FLY WITH ME is told in Olive's POV. I loved getting to know Olive throughout the story and loved how real and tangible she felt. She kept her thoughts, fears, and desires at the forefront which made her really relatable. Stella is the other main character and love interest. It took a while for Stella's character to grow on me; she starts off as cold and standoffish, making her hard to read but as the novel progresses her character warms up and more of herself and her story is revealed. I think a few chapters in her POV would have helped alleviate this, allowing the reader to connect with her earlier on.

My favourite of the secondary characters have to be Gus (who doesn't love a dog?!) and Derek (an amazing funny and witty best friend).

I love a fake dating romance so this was right up my alley! I thought that this was well done with some humour interspersed. The interactions between Stella and Olive are quirky and awkward but so fun and comfortable. The romance has some steamy scenes but the chemistry and passion between the characters is felt throughout.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will be keeping my eye out for Andie's future books!

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St Martin's Griffin, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions shared are my own.</i>

Fly With Me was a ride, and I enjoyed it. First- as someone who has been bodily removed from a diverted flight because of a panic attack- Olive, I see you! Lol This book was honestly a bit too close to home for me in many ways, Jakes story tore at my heart in a very personal way. The love story, however, is beautiful. I adore Olive and Stella and every second of their interactions were pure gold. I appreciate immensely the authors foresight in adding a TW list that was fairly comprehensive. It helped me to be prepared and is likely the reason I was able to continue after Jakes introduction. I will say this book deals with some really heavy stuff as well as it’s romance, and I almost wish there had been some more depth to those things because they felt a bit too glossed over for me. The things both women were dealing with were monstrous and deserved a bit more in my opinion. That being said- the book was absolutely enjoyable and the mental illness rep was on point. I would read another book by this author any day.

I read a just about half of this book and chose not to finish it. I had a very hard time getting into it and did not look forward to it when I got the chance to pick it up.

I really enjoyed Fly With Me by Andie Burke. It was a heartwarming and uplifting sapphic romance with a great cast of characters.

The story follows Olive Murphy, a flying-phobic ER nurse who is trying to fulfill her comatose brother's bucket list. She ends up stuck in an airport with Stella Soriano, a stunning type A copilot who offers to give her a ride. Stella asks Olive to pose as her girlfriend so she can use the positive press about the incident to force the airline into giving her a promotion. Olive reluctantly agrees, and the two women quickly develop a connection.

I loved the characters in Fly With Me. Olive is a relatable and well-developed protagonist. She is strong and independent, but she is also vulnerable and flawed. Stella is a confident and ambitious woman who is also kind and compassionate. I loved the way their personalities bounced off each other, and I rooted for them to get together from the start.

The plot of Fly With Me is engaging and well-paced. There are a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and I was always eager to find out what would happen next. The book also deals with some heavier topics, such as Olive's brother's illness and Stella's father's Parkinson's disease. However, these topics are handled sensitively and realistically, and they add depth and complexity to the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed Fly With Me. It is a heartwarming and uplifting sapphic romance with a great cast of characters. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre.

Here are some additional thoughts about Fly With Me:

I loved the way the book explored the different challenges that Olive and Stella faced as queer women. Olive's family was not supportive of her sexuality, and she had to deal with the stigma of being a flying-phobic nurse. Stella was ambitious and career-driven, but she also faced discrimination because she was a Latina woman. I appreciated the way the book showed how these challenges can impact people's lives, but also how love and support can help us overcome them.
I also loved the diversity in the book. Olive is a white woman, Stella is a Latina woman, and there are also several other characters of color in the book. I appreciated the way the book represented different cultures and experiences.
Finally, I loved the writing in Fly With Me. Andie Burke is a talented author who creates vivid characters and settings. I could really picture myself in the world of the book, and I felt like I got to know Olive and Stella on a personal level.
If you're looking for a heartwarming and uplifting sapphic romance with great characters and writing, I highly recommend Fly With Me.

Olive is a nervous flyer and her first plane ride ever does not go as planned when a passenger has a medical emergency and she’s the only medical professional onboard, Olive saves his life and it goes viral, making her an online hero; however, the flight has to land early for the passenger and now she will not get to her destination in time for an important race. Co-pilot Stella sees her having a breakdown and offers to drive her, since they’re going the same way. They spend some time together, Olive noticing how attractive she is, and then it leads into a fake dating situation.

I very much enjoyed this story. The characters were great and the build up kept me flying through the pages. There were multiple side plots that intertwined really well into the main story and there were 2-3 villains along the way. I think the story was missing something, but I ultimately enjoyed reading this.

This was very cute, but nothing special. Definitely not a book that will stay with me or that I will want to reread. I ended up listening to it, and I don't know if It would have been interesting enough to keep reading if it wasn't for the audio. But in general, it was cute and wholesome. We all love a good ol' fake dating trope.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a romance novel, and Fly With Me was a fun, sexy, steamy book perfect for the summer!

Olive & Stella were well developed characters with compelling backstories and believable chemistry. Stella’s Type A organization made me giggle and Olive’s fear of flying is highly relatable 🤣

Burke’s writing style has a great flow, and her many pop culture references (including Buffy and Brandi Carlile) were so fun!

I was lucky enough to snag an e-ARC of Burke’s debut sapphic romance on NetGalley.

TW: death of a loved one, ALS, sexism, mental illness, end of life care for a loved one.

This was a delightful debut story from Andie Burke. It had all the feels, with a fake girlfriend trope, ansty drama with the families of both women, and sizzling character chemistry after relationship hesitation from one of the women. This book is certainly does not lack substance, with some of the secondary story topics delving into end of life and a progressive nervous system disorder.

I'd highly recommend this book to other readers looking for a story that true love is possible if you hold out for the right person. 4.5 stars

I received an ARC from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fly with Me
Andie Burke
5⭐️

A one-way ticket to love or a bumpy ride ahead?

Love, love, loved it!! Fly with Me will easily be a favorite read this year, and it’s a debut! I still can’t believe this is Burke’s first book!? I am definitely here for all that is to come from her!

I went in expecting more of a cutesy romance but I will happily admit I was wrong. There is so much more to this remarkable story and I adored every single minute of it. It had depth, real and relatable characters, ALL the heart, and a fake dating romance that was done to perfection. It was slow-burn but paced (and spiced) just right to keep me engaged and invested from beginning to end. I couldn’t get enough of Olive and Stella.

There was so much beautiful representation within this romance, and Burke balanced out the trauma with the perfect amount of laughs to keep the story overall a fun and lighthearted read.

What I loved;
✈️ Opposites Attract
✈️ Slow Burn Sapphic Romance
✈️ Fake Dating
✈️ Mental Health/Disability Rep
✈️ Outstanding Banter
✈️ Gus
✈️ ALL The Feels

Fly with Me “takes flight” on 9/5/23! Pre-order now, because this is a debut you absolutely do not want to miss. Oh and grab some Swedish Fish to snack on while reading. ☺️

Thank You so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy. I cannot wait to add the physical copy to my shelf!

Olive Murphy is an ER nurse with a lifelong fear of flying, but here she is on her first ever flight to Florida to run a half marathon to honor her brother. While in flight, there's a medial emergency and she jumps into action and is able to save a fellow passenger, and of course other passengers capture it on video. The flight is diverted to Atlanta, and now Olive is stuck and worrying she won't make it to the race on time. The pilot, Stella Soriano, offers to rent a car to drive Olive to the race as a thank you, and by the time they make it to Florida, the video of her saving the passenger has gone viral and both the airline and Olive's hospital are thrilled for all the social media traction. After a magical day together, Stella makes a surprising offer to Olive, asking her to be her fake girlfriend - all of this traction could help her get her long-awaited and well-deserved promotion. Realizing this arrangement could help her too, Olive dives into memorizing Stella's comically comprehensive three-ring-binder guide to fake dating. As the two grow closer, what's supposed to be a ruse feels more and more real. Could this be the romantic ride of their lives or an epic crash and burn?

This was a fabulous debut by Burke, combining a refreshing wlw fake-dating story, hilarious inner monologue, toxic family dynamics, and so much more into one book. My main critique for this book is just the length, there was a good chunk in the middle about Lindsay, Olive's toxic ex, that didn't add much to the story and just made it lengthier. Without giving any spoilers, the climax of the story with Lindsay was a plot twist I didn't see coming, but to me it took away a bit of the pain Olive was feeling from other events happening at the same time. I was also a little sad, even in the epilogue, to see if Stella gets her career dreams fulfilled.

Overall, though, I loved how easy their relationship was, all of the heartfelt conversations, and the things that made each of the leading ladies unique and how they complimented each other. I'm looking forward to more books from Burke in the future, especially after this strong debut!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Fly with Me is Andi Burke's debut novel featuring a sapphic couple, Olive and Stella, who are brought together through a medical incident on a flight (Stella is the pilot, Olive is a nurse responding to a fellow passenger's allergic reaction) and then come up with absurd reasons to keep seeing each other.

This book was really charming. The characters felt so real and believable, each of their personal struggles was explained with so much empathy and care, which made the pressures on their relationship feel understandable and heartbreaking. I felt instantly connected to both of these characters because Burke did such a great job developing them and their motivations.

At times it felt a bit far-fetched that the characters were jumping through so many hoops to not be together when they so clearly wanted to be together (I guess that's the fake dating trope, isn't it) but overall it worked well and I actually really loved the pacing.

I don't have a ton of experience with the romance genre because I find that I'm very picky, but overall I would absolutely recommend this book. The depth of characters kept me really hooked and the spice level wasn't too much for me.

Acknowledgments & Disclaimers
✨ Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book!
✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Fly with Me is a sweet, surprisingly funny, sapphic romance that deals with some seriously sad stuff, and I was hooked from the beginning.

After ER nurse Olive Murphy saves someone on a plane (despite her fear of flying), she meets pilot Stella Soriano. With Stella’s help, Olive makes it to Disney World on time to run a race in honor of her brother, and they spend a whirlwind day together before Stella leaves her life as fast as she appeared. Although Olive is sure there was a connection between her and Stella, she plans to forget about it when Stella suddenly reappears at her work with a proposition—for a fake relationship. Olive’s heroic actions on the plan still going viral (much to Olive’s dismay) that Stella can help navigate, and Stella trying to get a promotion she’s been waiting on for years that could benefit from some positive press. As the story unfolds, Olive and Stella become entwined in one another’s lives, including some difficult family situations and life choices, and the line between fake and real becomes harder to find for them both.

I thought this was a surprisingly complicated fake-relationship-to-lovers story, and I appreciated the emotional depth of the characters, particularly Olive. I was sold on the slow development of their relationship, even though we wanted it from the beginning. This story felt personal to the author, like they were speaking from experience, and I think it shined in its ability to feel honest about the difficulties of navigating what life throws at us, without weighing us down too much. There were some loose ends in the book that I think needed some tidying towards the end, especially related to some of our supporting characters, but this didn’t detract from the book for me much overall.

I would recommend this book to romance readers who love a slow burn, fake dating trope, and/or sapphic love stories. This could be a great book club read for romance readers who could engage with some of the various, challenging topics this book deals with around love, relationships, family, death, and societal expectations of women (especially in the workplace). Readers who have experienced difficult medical situations themselves or with loved ones may want to be cautious approaching this book as it could be triggering for some.