I read this on a plane which felt extremely thematically appropriate. I really enjoyed this one -- for a debut novel it's extremely cute. The meet cute is great -- flying-phobic nurse saves a passenger's life on a plane and then ends up fake dating the pilot of said plane? Absolutely yes.

Olive's backstory is compelling -- I liked the look into her problematic family even if it was a little borderline soap opera-y at times. Stella's relationship with her dad and her single minded focus on making captain really resonated. The only thing I didn't love was Olive's ex as the villain -- she was SO awful it was almost cartoonish at times and I didn't really understand her motivation.

But overall this is a swoony and fun romance -- definitely recommend picking it up the next time you're traveling!

This book is amazing! I enjoyed the representation of queer women in this book. Not was there a lesbian relationship, more lgbtq characters were introduced. The representation of queer women as well as women in the work place makes me feel seen. Stella being a strong woman in her field yet continuously being passed up for promotions men receive is a relatable situation I believe most women understand. She is very exact and when things go bump, they tend to throw her out of the loop. In contrast, Olive is more of a mess. She is an ER nurse that wears her heart on her sleeves. The two of them together complement each other. Stella’s obsessive cleanliness is dialed down by Olive’s go with the flow attitude. I wont say much more because it would spoil it, but I think their relationship demonstrates much more than about love.

Not only is this book a romance novel, but it has a deeper meaning of mental health and representation from multiple communities. I appreciate how Olive’s mental health and struggles with opening up was shown in context to being in a relationship.

Read this book if you are looking for a LGBTQ+ romance novel with traces of healing and friendship.

wasn’t completely sure what to expect when i started reading this book but i really enjoyed it more than i thought i would. i am the biggest fan of fake dating so i loved that. this was a good debut and i recommend it.

<I>Fly with Me</I> is a fluffy title for a book that deals with serious issues. Just know before you start, the book is deeper and more real than the title implies. I'm quoting the author note below for the details.

The first page grabbed me, with Olive on the edge of keeping it together waiting for takeoff. I've read so many books where skipping the first few pages or even the first chapter would have improved it. Not this one.

I was actually a little sad when the fake dating was introduced, because the budding romance already had enough complications and obstacles without that particular trope. Luckily, it is used with a light touch and to deepen the interaction between Olive and Stella, giving a bit of structure to their back and forth.

The author is a nurse, so it was a delight to read really accurate workplace scenes.

The only disappointment was a quick ending. I really wanted some more chapters before the epilogue. I wanted some time with Olive and Stella without as much angst. I wanted some time with Stella's dad. I want Olive's mom to get some therapy. I want Heather to invite Olive to the birthday party. And I want an ethics investigation into Lindsey for her vindictive acts toward another employee (and I want her fired). I want them to go to a Brandi Carlile concert and talk about it on a date.

<blockquote>I wrote the first draft of Fly with Me in between working a few very difficult nurse shifts in the Covid ER. My personal and professional experiences with both caregiving and coping with mental illness were a large influence on this story. One character faces end-of-life decisions for a loved one and another is helping a parent manage a progressive neurological disease. There are also descriptions of panic attacks and an acute depressive episode. In my toughest times, it’s been friendship, romance novels, and laughter that have kept me going. And while I do hope Olive and Stella’s story will make you laugh, I did want to provide this content warning about a few of those heavier plot elements.</blockquote>

One a flight to Orlando, ER nurse Olive, gets asked to help with an in flight medical emergency. As luck would have it, she ends up saving the guy who plays Mickey Mouse. Unfortunately, this leads to her flight being diverted to Atlanta and Olive is stuck the day before the half marathon she planned on running. Enter sexy co-pilot Stella. Stella swoops in and offers to drive Olive. After a few days together, Stella propositions Olive with being her fake girlfriend so she can get a promotion. Olive agrees because she is already falling in love with Stella. However, as they grow closer, things start to feel more real and they both get scared. Will their relationship take off – or crash and burn?
This was such a wonderful debut! I loved so many things about this one. A few of the tropes were a little worn, but overall they did work nicely. I enjoyed reading about Stella and Olive’s relationship – and the spicy scenes were awesome! All the characters, from the main characters to the side characters, were well developed and added to the story. I only wish that we would have gotten some chapters from Stella’s perspective! I really enjoyed reading this one.
If you’re looking for a sapphic fake dating romance, then check this one out September 5th!

Thank you to the publisher St Martin’s Press, @stmartinspress, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love the development in the romance publishing industry to publish deep meaningful novels where the characters are growing as a person and in their relationship. I thought it was so important that Olive's struggles with her brother and anxiety weren't pushed aside for the romance, she worked through them as she fell in love with Stella. Of course, Fly with Me still has all the crucial tropes for a romance book: fake dating, jealous ex, supportive friends, but it also brought so much more in representation and breaking the mold of romance books. I would definitely recommend Fly with Me to everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was fun. fast-paced, and very sweet. The main character, Olive, had a very distinct voice, and Stella, the love interest, also felt incredibly unique. I was surprised to see this was Burke's debut. I though "Fly with Me" was very good overall.

The main thing I found that bothered me was that scenes were occasionally described after the fact rather than shown, when they would in theory be important to the story overall. For example (spoiler free), a confrontation between to characters happens off page, and is then mentioned later and clearly affected one of them. This happened a few times, and did not impact my overall enjoyment, but was a reoccurring writing choice.
It was a fairly minor pattern, and was not really noticeable, but once I saw it I started looking for it.

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned to the sky, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."
-Fly with Me
(A Netgalley arc in exchange for an honest review)
We have the quirky and anxious filled Olive, and then we have our gorgeous pilot Stella.
Olive dealing with the grief of her brother Jake and trying to live his dreams instead of her own.
Then we have the exciting and glamorous pilot named Stella.
By circumstance the two ladies meet as Olive saves the life of a passenger.
Olive ends up going viral much to her distaste, and then we got the beautiful Stella that's trying to advance her career from Pilot to Captain.
You can literally feel the sparks and chemistry fly between these two characters. If you love a fake romance trope and cheesy romance novel this is the book for you. I literally couldn't put the book down. The tears, the laughter, and the joy of reading this was like chicken soup for the soul.
If you wanna find out what else happens, you should take a chance on this debut novel!

This was perfection wrapped up in a book. I saw myself so much in Stella. Also can we take a moment to acknowledge the amount of steam in this one. Loved it.0

I enjoyed this not typical fake dating, LGBTQ2 love story featuring a pilot and a nurse.

When Olive saves a Disney World fan fave on a flight she'd rather not be on, she doesn't realize that she's caught the eye of pilot Stella AND of millions of viewers and readers. Although her primary goal is running the half-marathon the next day at Disney World (which Stella makes sure she gets to!), her life continues and ends up colliding with Stella's in a way that will be familiar to most romance readers.

Fake dating might be just what Stella needs to show her possibly homophobic, definitely old boys club airline, that she's got what it takes to be promoted to Captain (her life goal). Olive has had a really awful year, and Stella is the brightness that ends up helping her climb out of the rote of grieving her brother, managing tension with her family, keeping up with her busy job as an ER nurse AND dealing with her ex. All in a day's work, right??

The two end up bonding (because of course they do) and we have a lovely love story on our hands that centres grief, the impact of social media and the struggles of women in male-dominant fields.

Fly with Me by Andie Burke is a remarkable debut!
A fantastic fake dating sapphic love story that took my heart a an amazing ride.

Andie did an amazing job of immediately drawing me into the story and getting me invested in Olive and Stella’s journey.
A sweet and very entertaining read. The characters were well developed and liked.
This one did not disappoint. I loved everything it had to offer.... the story it's amazingly written, the characters, the storytelling and style. Every single thing was pure perfection!
The atmosphere she creates is fun/charming/adorable/magical.
Gawd, her writing was pure perfection.
The banter was fun and romance swooned me.
A shining debut with steamy opposites-attract romance and characters you’ll absolutely love.

No rush Andie, but whenever you’re ready to write the next one….. I’m ready to dive right into it!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

3.5 stars. I'm finding it difficult to rate this one, because I feel like there are things Fly With Me did well and things it did just ok. Firstly, let me start by clarifying that this is a romance book that deals with heavier topics, including making end-of-life decisions for a loved one and trying to make the most of the time you have with a parent with a progressive neurological disease. Full content warnings are at the end of this review!

Olive is a nurse with a fear of flying. Despite her fear, she gets on a plane for her brother, who has been in a coma for a year. Her flight gets rerouted after Olive accidentally saves a passenger on board, and she ends up meeting Stella, the gorgeous captain of the plane. Stella, who wants to be taken more seriously by the airline company, proposes fake dating Olive, whose video of saving the man has become an internet sensation... and Olive is so awestruck by the woman in front of her that she says yes.

Fly With Me is an engaging read! I really enjoyed Stella and Olive's characters. One thing that annoyed me was how Stella and others were constantly described as "Type A." In comparison, Olive is messy and imperfect. I understand why Olive is insecure about this, but I felt that the comparison between Olive and the people in her life was already highlighted through other forms of characterisation. This is a small bone to pick, but the repetition of a word or phrase sometimes sticks out to me more than it should.

Also, there is an adorable dog named Gus in this book. Gus is amazing.

I thought that mental health was handled well in this book. Olive has panic attacks (which are described in detail) as a result of her anxiety and suffers from depression. I enjoyed the romance and how the author used the fake dating trope.

Fly With Me was a book that you could tell was going to be spicy early on. The book is on the longer side, and on-page spice doesn't occur until around the 70% mark. This isn't a grievance, just a heads-up to readers who may be expecting spice going into the book.

I enjoyed Olive and Stella, but some side characters felt flat. Olive's ex particularly felt like a classic villain who gaslights and emotionally abuses Olive. Every time her ex-girlfriend spoke, she was saying the same things with slightly different wording. For a character who had such a huge impact on Olive, it didn't feel like much thought was put into her character. Olive has two friends, Derek and Joni. Derek's character is explored a bit more, but we didn't spend much time getting to know Joni.

Finally, I want to discuss some quotes that were in the e-ARC:
- Derek says Olive and Stella are dating, but Olive insists they are just friends. Derek asks, "What's the difference?" In response, Olive says, "We aren't having sex." Even if the author only meant to apply not-having-sex as an indicator of having-a-real-romantic-relationship to Olive and Stella's relationship, it read as a general indicator. This is harmful because having sex is not an indicator of romance. Asexual people can have meaningful and fulfilling relationships.
quotes
- Olive gets sick with pneumonia, and when Derek brings food for her, he reports that he's there "to provide sustenance for the invalid." The term 'invalid' is widely viewed as offensive by the disabled community. This is the first time I've seen this word used in a book (in this context), and while I don't think the author had ill intent behind the usage of the word, I want to urge authors to stop using this word.

To summarise this review, this was a good debut novel. Although there are things I'd change about this book, I'm going to keep an eye on Andie Burke to see what she releases next. Thank you St. Martin's Press Romance for providing me with an e-ARC!

Content Warnings: panic attacks, hospitalisation of loved one (result of permanent coma caused by a car wreck)*, (view spoiler) terminal illnesses, progressive neurological illness in a parent, depressive episode, religious conflict, online bullying & harassment, medical content (brief; consists of an allergic reaction and use of a shot), toxic relationship (emotionally abusive ex-girlfriend), sexual content.\, familial estrangement, sexism, sexual harassment.

*The main character faces end-of-life decisions for this character.

Olive is a nurse with a fear of flying, during her first ever flight a medical emergency puts her into the spotlight and gets the attention of co-pilot Stella.

As Olive is thrown into her 15 minutes of fame her and Stella agree to fake date in a mutually beneficial agreement (that comes with its own binder organized with colour coated tabs). Add Olive's jealous ex, Lindsay into the mix and what could possibly go wrong.

This book was equal parts fun & fluffy mixed with equal parts heavy. Both Olive and Stella have some heavy stuff going on in their lives which makes fake dating the easy choice, as both continually reiterate how bad they would actually be in a "real relationship". I loved how well developed both the main characters were in addition to loving Derek as a side character! I honestly couldn't get enough of this book!

This was such a great read! I really enjoyed Olive and Stella’s story, and I think they had great chemistry. The only element I felt some kind of way about was, personally I don’t think that the brother’s storyline was necessary. This may seem a little weird, but I think Olive could have wanted to do the marathon, and instigated the storyline without weaving the trauma through the rest of the story. Otherwise, I think this was a great read!

Loved this. Slowburn, good tension, super fun and I loved the fake dating. some of it felt unrealistic, though, and alot of the characters felt like they were just there to be evil. Overall, I enjoyed it though.

What a cute and delightful read!! I loved the characters so much and I also really liked how fast paced this book was. Overall a fun and enjoyable read. Can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

I didn’t like this one. I just don’t think the writing style was right for me. Besides that the premise is really nice! I liked the airplane hater x pilot romance was good. It just wasn’t for me.

I was so excited to read an advanced copy of Fly With Me, and it did not disappoint!

This book gave me all the feels! I was super invested in the romance, and I could not put this one down. I quite literally flew through the pages (pun intended!)

If you're looking for a sapphic romance full of heart and wit, Fly With Me is the book for you. Two thumbs way way up!

Rating: 4⭐️

I honestly wanted to love this book! My girlfriend is a nurse and I work in the airline industry...it was tailor made for me!

However, in the first 3 chapters I had to DNF. The medical emergency that happens on the plane is completely inaccurate. Olive, the nurse, responds to an emergency of a passenger having an allergic reaction to an energy bar. But she proceeds to provide fluid IVs and give this man oxygen. Neither of these things would actually happen on a flight. Airlines do not carry fluids, nor is there continuous flow oxygen available, for medical emergencies.

This may end up being a cute rom-com type book! And I'm sorry I can't continue with it. But that lack of research into how medical emergencies work on planes just made it impossible for me to proceed.

I'm still giving it 3 stars for the simple fact that it's a sapphic love story and we need more of those in the world! I just wish the author had done some more research.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review!

This was a romance I thought wasn't going to hit the mark after I read the first few chapters but I ended up loving the story of Stella & Olive! Individually and together, both characters have so much depth and I just wanted to live in their world for a while!

A strangers, to friends (?) to fake dating to falling in love, the story follows Olive & Stella where they meet on an airplane after Olive saves the life of a fellow passenger and Stella is the pilot. Upon their arrival to the nearest airport, Olive & Stella end up travelling to Orlando together where Olive is to run a marathon in honour of her brother. Each of them is dealing with their own lives and the ups and downs life provides. When Stella needs some help with her professional life, she hatches a plan to fake-date Olive...which is destined to never work out!

A slow, slow burn that turned into a lovely book! It was an easy read and a total escape into the world of Stella & Olive! Andie Burke is definitely going to be one of my favourite sapphic authors from now on!

Instagram Review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CsFDabZLUXJ/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==