3.5 rounded to 4 stars

Two sassy twenty-somethings have a traffic dispute that ends with them flipping the bird at each other, then find themselves seated beside each other on a flight. The author made this somewhat cliche meet-cute feel charming rather than tired.

The author built some intrigue early on by creating questions around the circumstances of the FMC’s breakup with her former partner. I won’t give any spoilers, but the answers are a bit unexpected, and make for a unique plot.

The latter part of the book started to feel heavy, without enough humor or character development to carry it for me. Additionally, the main characters felt one-note to me. There wasn’t a significant amount of change in these characters, and the loving sentiment between the FMC and MMC felt repetitive.

While I didn’t love this book, I would definitely try other books by this author. There was a lot there to like and I would still recommend this book to readers who like contemporary romance with medium angst.

Daisy is attending her mother’s wedding in D.C. and she is not happy about it. To make matters worse, she has to fly from Denver next to an annoying passenger, a stuffed-shirt lawyer who cut her off in traffic. Still, the two rub along and find common ground in the capitol and he becomes support as she attends a very difficult wedding.

This book is very much about the messiness of life. I appreciate Harbom’s ability to inject difficult topics into a light-hearted romcom, and she does so deftly, arranging the plot and characters into genuine, moving moments between all parties. Sure, it is a romance, but it is also how we get in our own way and harm those we are closest to. Trauma, poverty, and abandonment are at the heart of this quick read romance, and I think is is worth the read. I kind of wish the last few pages were less of a wrap-up than they are. I think they need an epilogue chapter all to themselves or need to be fleshed out a bit more. All in all, a good, thoughtful read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I enjoyed reading this story. The characters were likeable and the plot was interesting. I did struggle to stay engaged in the story at times, but I will be rereading on down the road because I think I might enjoy this book more at a later time.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑻𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈."
4 stars

Thank You NetGalley and Anna Harbom, for giving the arc for this book!

This book follows Charles and Daisy, who meets in a rather meet cute of way, her flipping him off at the airport because he cut her off, then having to sit next each other on an airplane. They instantly have chemistry, and when daisy has to see her ex fiance at her moms wedding, Charles is her fake date(and support system) so she can get through the wedding without losing it.

I really liked this book, i think that Charles was so amazing and supportive for daisy, even after barely knowing her, and really helped her be confident in herself. I really liked at the end how it explained just how money impacts everyone in different ways, and daisy really shows a lot of character development by being able to admit that she grew up privileged, and how she realizes that it doesn't make someone a bad person for doing a job that may be morality kinda wrong, but helps them have the financial security they need to survive and have the life they didn't have growing(i cant explain a lot without spoiling the book!) I also liked how the third act breakup didn't get resolved immediately, instead daisy was able to make up with her mother, and go back to living her normal life, where she learns that she can live without Charles and still have a good life, but when she has him back, it shows her just how much he truly means to her. This isn't something you see in most of books, usually the characters just get back together soon after breaking up, and dont get to experience just how much their life is effected without the person. Anyways, this was a really cute rom com, and i am excited to read more by this author!

I really, really enjoyed this book. It was a fun and quick read that left me smiling and feeling good about life and humanity.
The banter between Charlie and Daisy was wonderful and you fell on the love with the couple while they fell in love with each other.
A fun meet cute and dating of convenience mixed with a story of really learning to love yourself and letting others love you too.

The plot for this book was cute: man and woman have a negative interaction in the airport parking lot, and end up at seat mates on the plane. From there, they learn more about each other, and become friends and then more.

The chemistry was good between the main characters, and things between them was very heartwarming. Charlie was great with comforting Daisy and letting her vent about her very immature mother.

All in all, it was a quick and fun read.

You really feel the gut punch coming with this book but, thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. What a gem! The chemistry between Daisy and Charlie is undeniable, the way they push each others buttons and go back and forth is such a treat and always makes you want to shove them together and make them kiss like dolls!

Seat Mates is such a perfect vacation/summer read! Depicting every single girls dream meet-cute at the airport, this book was really lovable and cute! I absolutely love the banter between Daisy and Charlie which literally starts chapter one 🥰

The book is quick and a little insta-love but it was well written and the character development/situations somehow made it seem plausible! Thanks to NetGalley and author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Seat Mates was a charming and relatively easy read.

Daisy and Charlie were so sweet. I liked that their meet cute and their ensuing friendship developed in a really believable and heartwarming way. There was honestly nothing to dislike about these two. I think a lot of readers are going to resonate with Daisy, and fall in love with Charles. Even the annoying secondary characters end up becoming redeemable and somewhat likeable too.

This book definitely relies on a lot of typical romance tropes: emotionally abusive + immature mother, douchey ex + new hot gf, and a messy drama-filled wedding... And in some ways, I think it made the story rather formulaic, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just means that this story isn't going to be as unforgettable as others.

What drew me to the book was definitely the cover, but I want to point out that it's a little misleading... (And I know, I know, I'm being SO PICKY here, but I have this thing about covers needing to represent a story perfectly) Only a very small portion of the story is set at the airport/on the plane and about them being seat mates...

Overall, not bad for a debut novel. If you're looking for a romance with some emotional depth to it, give Seat Mates a try!

Rating: 3/5


Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author, Anna Harbom, for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the story line and it was creative and different from any other book I’ve read. I would highly recommend!

This book was amazing! I absolutely loved the enemies to lovers. And the setting of this story was so unique!

Seat Mates by Anna Harbom was such a fun book to read, which, I was ironically reading on a plane for the most part.

Daisy sits down on a plane and realizes that her seat mate is the guy who cut her off trying to get to the airport and that she flipped off. What a great way to start the flight, eh? Luckily for us, that guy, Charlie, is a good guy and that their meet funny/meet cute sets the pace for the whole story.

It's rare to find a story that you root for both characters from the beginning, but I did with this book. They quickly get over the way they got to the airport and find something more with each other over the flight. The connection they make turns into them helping each other - no spoilers - and the book ended up being more than a light hearted romance.

I found myself rooting for the growth each of them went through, the struggles they faced, and the support they gave each other. Can you find best friend/love in 3 hours on a plane? Maybe. Just maybe.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are mine.

You know that saying that everyone is more attractive at the airport? This book captures that fantasy and more. I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did, I was hooked from the first chapter! Daisy and Charlie's journey made me feel light and fluffy, made me laugh, and I'll be thinking about this book for a long long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC!

This book was so sweet and comforting! I love airports and hotels so the meet cute and setting felt like they were written for me. The banter was great, the chemistry flowed so well! This book reminded me of Emily Henry or Lynn Painter, both of whom I love. While it’s definitely a “typical” romance, it felt fresh to me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Seat Mates is about a woman, Daisy, reluctantly going to her mother's wedding. Daisy has a few mishaps with Charlie at the airport and ends up sitting next to him on the plane to DC.

I really enjoyed reading Seat Mates. The beginning was a little difficult for me due to the wedding party, but it makes sense later. The relationships between characters were realistic and wonderful and I loved Charlie as the MMC.

NOT ON GOODREADS: The formatting on the Kindle was a little wonky. I tried reading on NetGalley (not wonky), but the font was too small and I couldn't figure out how to change it. Also, I dont know if you can change this, but on page 137 it mentions Charlie's work colleague, James, turns back to Rob. I think the wrong name was put in since Rob is Daisy's ex fiance.

4 stars. Fun read!

Daisy is on her way to her mother's wedding, even though she doesn't want to. Her family relationships are quite difficult. On the plane she meets Charlie, with whom he would not like to sit at all, but who turns out to be nice and helpful as the journey progresses. Daisy has to face rich social circles, problems from her past and difficult family relationships on the way, but Charlie is surprisingly there for her.

Seat Mates was an entertaining book to read. It was fun and relaxed, but also dealt with more difficult topics. The plot progressed well and at an appropriate pace. The book was easy to read, but hard to put down!

I believe this is Anna Harbom's first book and I really hope she writes more!

WHAT TO EXPECT:
* Difficult past
* Enemies to lovers (a bit)
* Fake dating
* Forced proximity
* Hea
* Opposites attract
* Slowburn
* Third act: break up
* Weddings

Surprisingly good, juicy, read it in a night, couldnt really put it down too easily. But plot was essentially non existant, could not only see it all coming but the tension the author would dissipate before the plot points even played out. I dont know how she made it such a fun read inspite of this all but its good!

5⭐️

**ARC provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I LOVED this book. It's the meet-in-a-flight/going-to-a-wedding romance I've always wanted to read. There's a lot of hilarious and swoon-worthy scenes that make it extremely enjoyable. They make such a cute couple, I can honestly say nothing bad about them.

I suspected something gut-wrenching coming towards the end, and... it happened. Luckily, it wasn't nearly as bad as I feared. So it's safe to say I loved all of it! I think it's a new favorite!

There was an editing mistake in chapter 19 that instead of saying "Charlie", said "Rob".

I would love to have a copy of it to be able to go back to it!

Seat Mates by Anna Harbom is a delightful romance that captivated me from the start. The chemistry between Daisy and Charlie is palpable, and their banter adds a charming dynamic to the story. While there were moments of frustration with certain characters, the overall journey of self-discovery and growth is engaging. The storyline unfolds with depth and humor, making it a thoroughly enjoyable read. I would highly recommend Seat Mates to fans of contemporary romance. Thanks for the ARC!

This is an absolute gem of a romance novel that has me hooked from the very beginning. The chemistry between Daisy and Charlie is undeniable, The push-and-pull dynamic between the two is a true highlight and their banter and button-pushing are equal parts frustrating and heartwarming. I enjoyed reading it.