3.5 Stars
A cute sapphic read that also delves into heavier topics of anxiety, grief, sexism, and toxic relationships.

I love the story and the cute romance that blossomed between Olive and Stella. However, the excessive subplots detracted from the main storyline and the romance. Particularly the crazy ex-girlfriend. Her character added too much unnecessary drama. Also, Olive's family drama was rushed at the end and didn't get fully resolved, which left me a little unsatisfied. Despite the few flaws, it was still an enjoyable read.

Would recommend it to fans of sapphic romances.

*** Thank you to NetGalley, Andie Burke, and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Actual Rating 3.5

Fly with Me by Andie Burke is an adult sapphic romance featuring Olive, an ER nurse and Stella, a pilot who meet on a plane as Olive saves a life during her flight.

There's pretty good spice, fake dating, lots of miscommunication, and a lot of really terrible characters (like, intentionally horrible - toxic family members, crazy ex's, gaslighting left and right)

One thing that left me feeling a little off was the one of the first spicy scene that they had together was when one of the FMCs was a little high so her faculties were a little on the questionable side. The romance also felt a little flat to me... I didn't feel like they meshed together very well as a couple.

More than that, the book tackles issues one anxiety, grief, and how family members deal with loss and the sickness of their loved ones. It also brings up issues of end-of-life care and respecting one's wishes at the EOL which I found to be such a beautiful topic to see in a book. To me, the tackling of these loaded medical issues is rarely seen in romance and I would most probably want to pick up another book from this author to see what else she would bring to the table, medical-wise, even if I did not much enjoy the romance aspect.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC I exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It made me laugh, cry, blush, and giggle so many times that there were few moments where I wasn’t feeling some type of emotion toward the story. I won’t lie, I do have a soft spot for sapphic fake dating romances, so this was exactly what I was looking for and I was NOT left disappointed after finishing it.

The connection between Olive and Stella was almost instantaneous and I was rooting for them from the beginning. The complimented one another so well and their chemistry was so strong and organic. Between Olive and Stella, I definitely liked Stella more and would have absolutely loved to get her POV as well instead of just Olive’s. In my opinion, Stella was the heart of the story and the reason I ended up enjoying it so much. That’s not to say that I didn’t love Olive’s internal dialogue, because it was an absolute highlight for me.

The only reason this isn’t rated higher is because I prefer romances to be a bit more of a slow burn, and the romance started almost instantly between our heroines, which can sometimes take a little enjoyment out of a story for me. This, of course, is simply a personal preference.

This story definitely had many moments of sadness and angst, and they were woven in so well that they added so much depth to the story, which solidified this as a book that’ll stand out amongst the hundreds of other romances I’ve read.

The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job and added extra life and personality to the characters, which was the cherry on top to an already wonderful book.

Okay i like the characters and the start of the book but I think this will need to be an eyeball read

Overall an enjoyable queer rom com with some classic tropes - fake dating and opposites attract - that also tackles/explores some heavier topics, including: emotionally abusive/manipulative relationships, complicated family dynamics, mental health/anxiety/depression, care giving, death, sexism, homophobia. The author did a good job balancing the very real struggles/reality of Olive’s life/current situation with moments of whimsy, witty banter, and joy. While not as fluffy or carefree as the cover/title led me to assume, I appreciated how some of these complexities added depth to the characters and gave them some grounding in reality (especially given some of the other more dramatic aspects of the story). Definitely a story with a lot going on, but it still kept me invested and rooting for Stella and Olive. Would have loved a bit less drama/angst (really, poor Olive just can’t catch a break), but worth the read (or listen in my case).

Thanks for NetGalley for the audiobook.

This book I fond very swet sapphic love story that also was able to flawlessly, deal with heavy topics, Stella and Olive are two very interesting well developed characters if you’re looking for a fake dating sapphic romance, that’s sweet, but also has a lot of depth to it. This is the perfect book for you.. I listen to the audiobook. I genuinely enjoyed the narration. I thought it was done very well..

Great entry for Sapphic September!
Really enjoyed the fake dating trope of this one, when normally it isn’t for me. There was a little slow build for the reasons both are struggling with certain things in their lives, but enjoyed the characters to stick with it. Grab this one if you are hoping to find sexy lesbian open door, friendships worth merit, seeing yourself in writing - gluten allergy, father has dementia, airplane captains, nurses, caring for family, social media trending. I would be excited to see future novels by this author.

This was such a fun, sapphic read staring a pilot who is afraid of anything getting in the way of her dreams and a nurse who fears flying. Olive and Stella meet on a plane before take off because Olive saves a man going into shock. Thus their fake relationship begins.

Fake dating is my favorite because there is so much angst between the two characters. This book had me laughing and crying along with Olive and Stella.

Such a cute story! Sweet, spicy, and fun to follow. Wonderful narration, and several great storylines to follow. Will def look for this author in the future.

thank you to netgalley and macmillan audio for providing me with this alc in exchange for my honest thoughts <3

olive murphy is a flight-phobic er nurse gripping the armrest during her first ever flight take off when it is announced that there is a medical emergency happening on the flight. olive steps in to save the man’s life, but when her flight is redirected and she is left stranded several hours away from her destination, stella soriano is there to save the day. stella, the type a copilot from the flight, offers to drive olive the rest of the way, so she won’t miss out on running a marathon in honor of her brother. they spend a magical day together, and after returning home olive cannot get stella out of her mind. a video of olive saving the man’s life has gone viral and is generating good press for the airline and the hospital. so when stella shows up in the er asking olive to be her fake girlfriend, olive agrees. stella will finally get the promotion she’s been after for years and olive will have someone who can help her navigate all the press she’s getting. as their fake dating continues, they grow closer and things start to feel more real. will the looming expiration date prevent them from going after what they want?

fly with me is an emotional and steamy romance that had me captivated from the first chapter. the depression and anxiety rep was so well done. you could see the care the andie burke put in with much of the heavier topics in the book. olive and stella’s romance was so sweet and i found myself so invested in the moments between them. there were so many moving parts in this story that i wish there had been just a bit more at the end to see where things went after they got together. overall, this was a great sapphic romance!! make sure to read the author’s note at the start for trigger warnings.

chelsea stevens did a phenomenal job with the audio!! i love how well she captures emotions and desire with her tone.

Why, and I mean this sincerely, WAS IT OLIVE’S RESPONSIBILITY? It ABSOLUTELY should have been STELLA who reached out! I so greatly dislike that.

And I wish we hadn’t gotten so involved with her family and then…there wasn’t really resolution? At least I didn’t feel that there was.

I did like that they both saw the error of certain things (Stella’s job, olive’s fear holding her back). That was good and actually real.

"Fly With Me" by Andie Burke takes readers on a delightful journey with Olive and Stella, two strong sapphic women who feel underappreciated in their professions. The story's chemistry between the characters is undeniable, and you can't help but root for them. While the beginning may be a tad cheesy and the nemesis character a bit over-the-top, the heartfelt moments and the growth of their relationship make it a worthwhile read, especially with the addition of Chelsea Stephens’ enchanting narration. It’s hard to believe it’s only one person creating a whole community of voices!

Overall, “Fly With Me” is a charming (and spicy!) tale of fake dating turning into something real, with turbulence and all.

‘Fly With Me’ by Andie Burke was so emotional and sweet!

Stella and Olive stole my heart. From their meet-cute on, they were just the cutest together, with off-the-charts chemistry. Even when I wanted to boop them both in the forehead, old-V8-commercial-style, for their obtuseness, I was smiling. I was so proud of both of them together and individually as they moved through through their character journeys, and my heart absolute shattered for them both too as they worked through the grief and pain of watching their loved ones whittle away, helpless to stop it. As someone who has experienced a similar situation, Burke wrote about it with perfect poignancy and compassion, not afraid to delve into the darker places loss can take us. And the way she wrote about mental health with such honesty and deference - it was well represented and well done. It made me love this book, these characters—all so relatable in different ways—even more.

I also loved the hint of found family, too, the message buried within this beautiful multi-layered story that embodies one of my favorite quotes of Unknown origin: “Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what.” I felt this so strongly with Olive, and loved the people in her circle (not Lindsey). Her friendship with Derek was the best.

The audio performance by narrator Chelsea Stephens was stirring and affective; she was the perfect voice for these characters, this story.

This is a splendid debut; it will suck you in from the very beginning and not let go. Delightful, touching, sweet, swoony and spicy, this book has all of the things and I highly recommend it.

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬-𝘺𝘰𝘶!). 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

Honestly the Trigger Warnings need to be considered greatly before reading this book.
Two people who really need to go to therapy. But instead find each other.
Olive is an anxiety riddled nurse who deals with horrible mental abuse from her family, while also trying to get away from her horribly manipulative ex.
Stella is trying to make her way in a "man's world" as a pilot and having a horrible time. It doesn't help that she works for a misogynistic group of a**holes.
This story was hard to get through when it was riddled with so much trauma and so little happiness. There was so little to look forward to and keep me motivated to read more.

Full review on Pages n' Pages podcast (episode post date 9/19/23- Chapter 117).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Love a fake dating scenario especially when it's paired with a meet cute.
Stella needed a date to an event and Olive was drawn to her kindness and personality.
From the beginning authors note she wrote this and said she drew from her experience as a nurse in the ER during COVID and..
"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."
These large life events resonated with me. Their connection and "dates" that became dates happened while they were going through those difficult times. While Olive's parents were pushing her away because she was giving her healthcare advice as a nurse and they didn't like it. Think of losing a child and disowning another cause they are trying to honor their wishes.
And Stella is watching her father live with Parkinsons. Also both of them have had bad relationships or felt like they were the selfish one so they didn't think it would work. Don't get me started on Lindsay - really needed to issue a restraining order against that gaslighting awfulness.
Wish it wrapped up better with Olive's family but life isn't always wrapped in a bow. At least they got to start their hea.

Read if you like:
✈️Fake dating
💺Meet cute
🏞️Grief
🍰Sapphic

Thank you stmartinspress for the eArc for the honest and voluntary review.

I absolutely ate up this audiobook. I went into this read completely blind. I solely picked up this book based on the cover alone. I was very happy to find out this book was a Sapphic romance novel about a Nurse and a female Pilot. Seeing characters in non-traditional jobs is one of my favorite things about reading romance. This book has a little fake dating in it as well which was a very fun twist after the two characters meet on the plane, and Olive saves a man's life. It’s evident from early on that they have feelings for each other more than this fake dating plan they have going on. Seeing these two fall for each other, dominate in some pretty cool career paths, and discuss some difficult topics with each other in a healthy way really made this book so meaningful. I loved every second of this book, you can see that there was so much heart that went into it. Truly amazing, I cannot wait to read more from Andie Burke! Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copies.

Olive is terrified of flying and is struggling through that fear on her first flight when there is a medical emergency, and as a nurse she happens to be the only medical professional on board. She ends up successfully saving a man’s life, but since the plane made an emergency landing, she is still very far away from her final destination. She is determined to make it on time to start the marathon she is running in honor of her brother, and luckily the beautiful pilot of her flight, Stella, offers Olive a ride. After a video of Olive saving a life goes viral, Stella sees an opportunity to help her career and asks Olive to be her fake girlfriend, for publicity. But as they spend more time together, the relationship feels more real.

I loved this book. There were a lot of emotional and deep issues at play that could have made this book feel heavy, but it didn’t. With everything Stella and Olive had going on in their personal lives and within their families, it was easy to root for them and want them to find their happy endings. This book is on the longer side for a romance novel, but that really allowed the characters to develop, and the readers to understand all of the things going on in their lives. I will definitely be reading more from Andie Burke in the future!

I particularly enjoyed the audiobook and thought Chelsea Stephens did a great job bringing this story and these character to life.

Thank you to SMP Romance, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copies.

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘

Thank you #partners @smpromance & @macmillan.audio for my #gifted copies.

𝗙𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗲
𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗲

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📖 ER nurse Olive Murphy is white-knuckling it on her first-ever flight, when a fellow passenger has a medical emergency. Olive saves his life, but now she's stuck hours away from her destination. Thankfully, Pilot Stella Soriano comes to Olive's rescue and drives her the rest of the way. But that's not the last they'll see of each other as they enter into a fake dating situation. The dating may be fake, but the feelings are all too real.

💭 I absolutely LOVED this swoony, steamy, emotional, opposites attract, sapphic romance novel. It's brimming with heart, humor and so much depth. And while it's a light romcom on the surface, it explores some difficult themes with delicacy. Readers are certain to fall head over heels for Olive and Stella.

🎧 I read this in both print and audio and loved both formats equally. The narrator, Chelsea Stephens, did a wonderful job differentiating between Olive and Stella. Highly recommend both formats.

• • • • • •

**review as posted to my IG on 9/5

Be still my beating heart. Sapphic fake dating with two heroines who are convinced they're 'broken' and not worthy yet absolute badass characters you fall head over heels for? What more can you want! The audio of this one was fantastic! The narrator handled the characters perfectly and I was able to fully immerse myself in the story with her.

Between a pilot struggling to make captain to a nurse who is just trying to abide by her brother's wishes while being painted as the money-hungry villain in the family- both Olive and Stella are the taking care of others before themselves kind of people and work together to help themselves grow individually. This was a rollercoaster- my heart absolutely was wrecked for the struggles Stella and Olive face as they play caregiver for loved ones. The frustration and anger I felt for Olive when faced with the awful treatment her parents and sister puts her through in the name of grief. While the relationship started out as a plan to help each other in different ways, their foundation was strong and the connection was magic. The chemistry between these two was squeal worthy and the spice was worth the wait. From our secondary cast of characters, the banter, the drama, and the happily ever after- I stayed rooting for these two.

My one and only annoyance was that brief third act split which I mean, can we even count it as that since technically it was in fact the end of their 'dating' agreement? A smidge of miscommunication/lack of communication clouds our leading ladies for a short moment but I will fully forgive Andie Burke for those moves simply because the rest of this read was so incredibly addicting.

I've been a follower of Andie on Bookstagram for a while and I was so ecstatic for her and her debut novel.

* sapphic romance
* fake dating
* great LGBTQ+ representation

This story centers around Olive, an ER Nurse who is severely afraid of flying, and Stella, a major type A pilot, who meet on one of Stella's flights (after Olive saves a passenger's life). I really enjoyed watching their fake relationship grow into something real - there was a lot of about both of these characters that I found to be very relatable! The storyline had so much emotional depth too - you will be in your feelings for a lot of this book (you have been warned). Overall, I liked this debut by Andie and can't wait to read her next book!

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, SMP Romance, and Macmillan Audio for an ARC/ALC of this book - all opinions are my own!

TW: loss of a loved one, depression/anxiety, chronic illness.