I wasn't expecting much out of this fake-dating, sapphic romance novel, but this was so cute and good!

I'm not normally a fan of the miscommunication trope, but this one actually made sense to me. Olive and Stella were both sweet but flawed characters, and I loved their different family dynamics (I'm not used to reading books that include family members in comas, so this was a nice change of pace).

The cringiest part was the fact that the beginning had so much detail about Disney World. As someone who loves going at least once a year and used to work there... I hate reading about it in fiction. It just gives me the ick.

Otherwise, this was such a fun read with a lot of heart and some deeper topics, so I highly recommend if you're looking for a quick read!

Fly with Me tells the story of Olive, an ER nurse, who goes viral after saving a man’s life mid-flight. The airplane’s co-pilot, Stella, offers to drive Olive to her final destination, since the flight was rerouted to a different city when the emergency occurred. If this sounds like a set up for a road trip romance, let me tell you: it is not that. Rather, the book’s primary romance trope, fake dating, isn’t brought up until a quarter of the way in, which is a little too late for the plot to start. Most romances get to the point pretty quickly, but this one seemed to dilly-dally.

Because the author is a nurse herself, both Olive and Stella are dealing with medical issues in their families. I won’t give away the specifics of Olive’s circumstance because you don’t get the full story until well into the novel, but I really appreciated the author’s experienced and careful depiction of a sensitive topic. I think it’s great that her day job influenced and informed her writing.

However, Fly with Me really struggled to capture my attention. There didn’t seem to be a lot of momentum in the story, and I’m struggling to remember what happened even now, a few days after finishing it. To make the fake dating trope more interesting, it should’ve happened sooner, and it probably needed another element to up the angst between Olive and Stella.

The plot focuses on Olive (nurse who has a fear of flying) and Stella (pilot). Olive assists with a medical emergency while on a flight. The flight was diverted due to the medical emergency so Stella offers to drive Olive to her destination. Stella asks Olive to be her fake girlfriend. They agree on the arrangement since they both will benefit/gain something. Overall, I would recommend. Good romance with some spice. Great debut novel!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s for the ARC

3.5/5, rounded up to 4

thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

to start, this story did cover some heavy topics, so definitely look out for TW’s!

onto the actual story— Fly With Me is a debut novel by author Andie Burke and centers Olive and Stella as they both cross paths in what is Olive’s nightmare scenario but Stella’s favorite thing in the world, an airplane! they’re both going through extremely difficult familial situations at the time which are central points in the story, but do not detract from the fluffy love plot!! im not entirely keen on fake dating plots and while that did take away a couple of points for me, olive and stella were overall a really great pairing and there was so much development between the two that made their relationship and eventual falling for each other seem so plausible!

a couple isses-
1. stella was SUCH a piece of token representation from a white author it fell really flat. so, if you’re going into this looking for latine rep, you’re much better off reading a book written by a latine author who can give justice to the character.
2. this should’ve been dual POV!!!!!! stella was really hard to read at times and I think the story would’ve benefitted so much from hearing what’s going on inside of her head and to better understand her hesitancies re:relationships
3. olive’s family issues felt like such a loose end and there was absolutely no resolution there that i felt like I was waiting for! not necessarily making up, but at least seeing olive find some peace within the turmoil

overall, this story was really solid for me!! i enjoyed reading it and found myself consistently going back to read more, I was excited to keep learning about stella and olive. i recommend this for anyone looking for a sapphic romance!!! this is such a solid debut novel :)

What a wondeful debut novel from Andie Burke!

Fly with Me is so much more than a sapphic, romantic story between Olive and Stella. It deals with heavy topics such as mental health issues, complicated medical decisions, societal opinions, and a lot more.

***SPOILERS***

To be a little more specific about the heavy topics, this deals with specific medical issues such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Parkinson's. Olive's brother Jake suffered from TBI after saving a kid from getting hit by a car and despite best efforts by the medical team, he's in a vegetative state. Because of this, Olive and her deeply religious mom are in conflict- pull the plug or wait for a miracle? This has created such a divide with Olive and her family as they treat her as the enemy as she wants to let him pass peacefully. As someone who works as a nurse like Burke, I've seen this happen too many times (especially during the pandemic). Stella on the other hand is dealing with her dad who's suffering from Parkinson's and its progression. This is also such a debilitating disease and would require a lot of care and attention which she really can't fully be there 100% of the time due to her job- hire more help or have him stay at a facility for 24/7 care? There's always that guilt, of course.

Other parts that I also liked include:
- DEREK
- Sibling love between Jake and Olive (the of the Jake's list made me a little teary-eyed ngl)

What I wished got explored further:
- Stella's feelings for Olive- I was still wishy-washy about her true feelings until the last couple of chapters... this book would've definitely benefitted from a dual POV.

READ THIS if you like:
- nurse and pilot MCs
- fake dating
- forced proximity
- spice!
- awesome best friend

Some TW include:
- mental health issues- panic attacks, anxiety, depression
- medical issues- tbi, parkinson's, end of life discussion, quality of life
- OW drama (toxic ex-gf)
- family conflict
- death of a loved one
- fear of heights

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This isn’t just a delightful fake dating turned-love story, but one about complex women navigating complicated families and tragedy. As their friendship develops, despite their electric chemistry and palpable attraction, it becomes clear that their resistance to their own happiness is fear based on previous wounds and current obligations. You find yourself not only cheering for them to finally admit their feelings, but to lean on each other as they process their grief. This book is funny, sexy, and while at times heartbreaking, ultimately a beautiful story about letting yourself live a joy-filled life with the person you love.

Setting: Maryland
Rep: bisexual protagonist; sapphic Latina love interest

This was very middle of the road for me. It was fine, nothing more. I did find myself getting bored at times and I wasn't that convinced of the connection between Stella and the protagonist (I finished this evening and have already forgotten her name). Also, the Lindsey subplot felt totally ridiculous and over the top and also it didn't go anywhere? Everything seemed to just fizzle out? Very underwhelming end. I felt like none of the subplots had much closure. As I write this I realise my rating is dropping down to a 2 as actually there wasn't much, if anything, that stood out to me or that I liked. Also, the Latina rep felt very flat. I had no idea Stella was Latina until she literally used the word to describe herself, and the only other mention was her dad calling her mija and her referring to her abuela. It felt like very flat 2D rep.

I received this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This started off great and I was super into it. I loved Stella and Olive, and I’m a sucker for the fake dating trope. Olive has some huge family issues and it’s dragged out so much (you don’t get the full story until the end) that it made me enjoy the romance less. It had a lot of heavy content and was open and honest about mental health, which I loved, but for me to enjoy the romance more I think having chapters from Stella’s pov would’ve immersed me back in. I didn’t care about the ending, it felt rushed. And I didn’t like that we got zero closure with the family. I don’t think this was for me, but maybe others will enjoy it! I did love the pop culture references and queer love and just Stella and olive in general.

Andie Burke's debut brings as much heat and heart as I'd hoped! Olive and Stella are each such wonderfully unique individuals. Their individual struggles with their families and careers make them that much more dimensional and real. Their love story feels honest and realistic. Burke takes a well known trope––fake dating––and makes it new and fresh again. Can't wait for the next one!!!

It was a very sweet story. I was hooked very quickly and really enjoyed reading it. I could have done with a little less of the crazy ex. I also wish there had maybe been a little more resolution with Olive’s family after all of the focus on them, but families can’t always find each other again after hard times. Overall, I would recommend! Great debut!

DRC provided by St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fly with Me is an effervescent young adult debut novel that will catch the heart of more than one reader.

This book started out strong for me and pulled me in immediately. The story itself was entertaining, and the characters were fleshed out really well. I liked the people I was supposed to like and didn't like the ones I wasn't supposed to like. There were so many things going on in the story - Olive's fear of flying, the issues with her brother and the rest of her family, her job, and her ex. The same goes for Stella - her career and her father, meaning there were opportunities to amp up the story along the way. The author did this well.

I have to admit that once the story moved to the "fake girlfriend" portion, I lost a little bit of interest. It just felt long and drawn out, but overall, it was a satisfying read. I did find some errors, but I'm hoping that's because this was an ARC copy.

A nice and cute sapphic romance. Really appreciated the characters, however a little too fast-paced for my liking.
It is a fun, quick and easy to read novel.
Looking forward to Andie Burkes next storys!

Thanks for NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review,

Thank you so St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book! This book kept breaking my heart and patching it up and breaking it again. What Olive has to go through with her family is devastating and horrible and I just want to yell at her family and tell them to stop hurting her so much, And Stella suffering in silence trying and trying to be the best and make her father proud and be the good daughter and take care of him is admirable and crushing and made me fall in love with her right alongside Olive. Also their chemistry is insane and the connection in their intimate scenes is unmatched. I was taken off guard and so pleasantly surprised by this one.

This book started with an adorable meet cute between a pilot and a nurse who ends up saving a fellow passenger on the flight. As I learned more about the characters, I really appreciated how relatable they were--each had their own clear flaws and baggage. However, as the book unfolded, I realized the major hook was actually a fake dating trope. I realize I am quite biased because I'm really not a fan of this trope, but I actually think the book would have been much stronger without it! The main characters were juggling a parent struggling with age-related illness, a brother who was on life support (and a family who wanted to keep him on it indefinitely, waiting for a miracle cure), seeking a promotion in an industry known for sexism, and a mildly emotionally abusive ex. I really think we didn't need a troupe to hook us--these challenging situations offer so much opportunity for miscommunication and conflict and if the author had leaned into that, I think the character's relationship would have been much stronger and the book would have felt less over-the-top dramatic. Still, plenty of folks read to enjoy the drama so I recognize this one just might not have been in my wheelhouse.

Thank you to publisher for providing a digital ARC.

This book was such a cute Sapphic romcom with engaging characters. Both MC's are fleshed out and real and I may have cried a little every time Olive talked about her brother.

There are only two problems I have with this book, both purely personal preference. The first is that I do not enjoy when an ex's personality trait is that they're obsessed with the MC. I wish there was a little but more to the character, but I do understand that this happens in real toxic relationships.

Second, I thought Stella's decision at the end was a little sudden. Her arc seemed weaker than Olive's, but that could just be because it's written through Olive's perspective.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and read it in like, a day. Would recommend!

3.5 Stars Fly with Me by Annie Burke was a surprisingly emotional, but heartfelt opposites-attract sapphic romance. ER nurse Olive Murphy is afraid of flying and during her very first flight to Orlando, she saves a man during an in-flight medical emergency. The man happens to be a popular character actor who plays Mickey Mouse at Disney and the video of Olive saving him goes viral. The plane is diverted to another airport and Olive is stuck and most likely will miss running in a Disney half-marathon in honor of her brother. Luckily, the co-pilot, Stella Soriano, offers to drive Olive all the way to Disney so she doesn’t miss the race. After spending more time together and getting along surprisingly well for two very different people, Stella proposes that she and Olive fake date. Stella needs more attention from her airline if she’s going to make captain, which she desperately wants to do before her sick father passes. Olive sees the arrangement as a way to get closer to Stella and hopes to turn the fake relationship into a real one, so she agrees. The two grow closer through their ruse and it becomes hard to decipher what’s real and what’s fake.

This was a very enjoyable and surprisingly quick read. I wasn’t expecting the heavier topics around caregiving and end-of-life care and decisions that both Stella and Olive had to consider for their loved ones. I wish that Olive would have been able to reconcile with her family, but her friend Morgan was right, some people never get over the changes that grief and loss bring. It was heartbreaking to read nonetheless. Also, the miscommunication and withholding of feelings between the main characters drove me crazy at times. They both were inconsistent and hurt the other person by not being honest about what they were feeling or what they wanted from the other. Overall, I liked the story and the characters.

3.5 stars! This was a cute, sapphic romance that covered on some heavier topics around mental illness and caregiving for a loved one (called out by the author’s note in the beginning as well!). I loved the relationship between the two main characters, but felt the ending was a bit rushed and wanted a bit more depth with the supporting characters. Overall definitely still worth a read though!

Fly with Me is a sweet romance following an ER nurse and a pilot. I think my issues with it are more about my problems with romances in general rather than this book. I don't enjoy romances as much as I used to and I think books read too self-aware for my personal tastes. A lot of romances read like YA to me which I personally do not enjoy. This book had a lot of external references that might've been more enjoyable if I was more aware of popular culture and a lot of phrases that took me out of the reading experience. The good about this one was the characters. I thought Olive and Stella were believable as people and enough of the side characters felt well developed to matter. The structure of the plot didn't bother me and buying into the fake dating excuse was easy since it was incredibly obvious from the first two chapters that they were both pining. The author handled a lot of heavy topics well and I did like both of the leads, but sometimes it felt like there was so much going on that it was hard to feel committed to each plot line. The bad, for me, was the writing style. I don't personally enjoy a self-referential style and a lot of details were over-explained. The "villains" were cartoonish in their cruelty, while I believe that there's a lot of horrible people in the world, I don't enjoy reading books where characters are so flat that they're either the scum of the earth or amazing people. The ex-girlfriend was overkill and I felt like her plot didn't really affect the rest of the story or add anything to it. The sex scenes didn't work for me, but that's just personal taste, it felt like too many thesaurus words: "probed her deep places", etc. I probably wouldn't have finished this book if I wasn't gifted an early copy, but I do want to make it clear that I think this is mostly a personal taste issue and I think a lot of people would enjoy reading this if they wanted a sweet, straight-forward, and heartwarming story.

What an enjoyable read! Fly With Me was a treat from beginning to end. Andie Burke did a wonderful job of tackling heavy storylines with levity and subtle jabs at classic romance tropes. What I enjoyed most was the chats of characters. I wish we had more moments with some, such as Stella’s dad Hector, or even Joni. Overall though. Fly With Me is a delightful book. Do yourself a favor and pick it up asap

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC