I received this book for free from Piaktus in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Fight or Flight by Samantha Young Published by Piaktus on October 9, 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 361
Format: Paperback
Source: Piaktus
Goodreads
Amazon
Apple Books
The universe is conspiring against Ava Breevort. As if flying back to Phoenix to bury a childhood friend wasn't hell enough, a cloud of volcanic ash traveling from overseas delayed her flight back home to Boston. Her last ditch attempt to salvage the trip was thwarted by an arrogant Scotsman, Caleb Scott, who steals a first class seat out from under her. Then over the course of their journey home, their antagonism somehow lands them in bed for the steamiest layover Ava's ever had. And that's all it was--until Caleb shows up on her doorstep.
When pure chance pulls Ava back into Caleb's orbit, he proposes they enjoy their physical connection while he's stranded in Boston. Ava agrees, knowing her heart's in no danger since a) she barely likes Caleb and b) his existence in her life is temporary. Not long thereafter Ava realizes she's made a terrible error because as it turns out Caleb Scott isn't quite so unlikeable after all. When his stay in Boston becomes permanent, Ava must decide whether to fight her feelings for him or give into them. But even if she does decide to risk her heart on Caleb, there is no guarantee her stubborn Scot will want to risk his heart on her....
This book was so good. So, so good. One of my catnips is characters who act the way actual people would act. It’s
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Ava and Caleb have the exact opposite of a meet-cute. In fact, to be honest, during the entire third of the book, I didn’t know how we were supposed to like Caleb. He was such a dick. Seriously, I have no idea how Samantha Young brought him
I’m so glad I didn’t give up on the book, though. Caleb and Ava ended up being my favorite type of couple – they became genuine friends before they were romantically involved. (Romantically involved, not sexually. They started that part of their relationship pretty quickly) Watching them evolve from enemies who are continually and randomly thrust into each other’s orbits, to 2 people who have decided to give into their clearly off-the-charts sexual chemistry, to friends, to 2 people in love who won’t admit it, was so gratifying.
Until Caleb’s asshole tendencies came back to the surface toward the end of the book. And, boy howdy, did they ever. But by then I didn’t care as much. Not because he was less of an asshole, but because for me, the appeal of this book was Ava, not Caleb. She was in such a bad place at the start of this book, just returning to Boston from her hometown where she went to attend the funeral of a childhood friend and had a terrible experience. She had so much to overcome, so much to get over, and watching her confront the people from her past she needed was almost as cathartic for me as it was for her.
What I loved about her was her ability to see that something in her life wasn’t the way she wanted it, figure out what was wrong, and take steps to fix it. She had an ability to recognize what wasn’t working and didn’t take anyone’s bullshit. She wasn’t wishy-washy, or indecisive, or quiet about what she wants. I am all of those things, so I love seeing women who are not. It gives me hope for myself.
Overall, I have to say – go read this book. Deal with Caleb’s shit for the first few chapters, but stick around for the chemistry between these two and the for Ava’s journey to realize that she’s not satisfied being anyone’s toy anymore.
About Samantha Young
Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Fight or Flight, a new standalone to be published by Berkley Romance, is out October 9th 2018. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us was published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook & hardback in June 2017. Her next YA contemporary novel THE FRAGILE ORDINARY is due for release in June 2018.
Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author. When she’s not writing books, she’s buying shoes she doesn’t really need and searching for nooks and crannies to shelve her ever-expanding book collection.
