“I never believed in fate until you”

Fight or Flight is an enemies to lovers romance starring two people who met during a layover in an airport under the worst of circumstances. I’ve read a few books by Samantha Young and I’ve enjoyed every one, including this one, but this one had a few aspects that really did have me side-eyeing. But overall, I did think this was a fun and fast read!

➽ Ava Breevort - Interior designer. Boston local. Grieving the loss of someone who used to mean a lot to her and is currently trying to fly back to Boston after attending a funeral.

➽ Caleb Scott - CFO for an up and coming tech company. Visiting from Scotland. And currently at the airport and realizing that he is going to be stuck in the US for longer than he anticipated.

And I said this was an enemies to lovers story, so they obviously hate each other… at first. But they soon realize that the only way for them to stop thinking about each other is to get whatever it is out of their system. But only for one night. But after that one night, they realize that it might not be enough. Yet, both of these characters have built such walls around their hearts because of things that happened to them in their pasts. Plus, Caleb is stuck in Boston for a little longer. And he gets to see Ava for who she really is, and he gets to slowly meet the found family she has created for herself. This is really a story about fate and how sometimes unexpected things can really completely change the outcome of lives; for the better and for the worse.

“You win when you realize that anyone can hurt you, even those you never expect it from. Once you know that … you’ll never be knocked off your feet long enough to lose.”

This book was completely addicting, and I never wanted to put it down. Ever. No matter how infuriated I got at some of the things Caleb did and some of his gross actions. But I couldn’t write this review without talking about some of the gross things he did in this book. First off, during a sex scene, Ava realizes that he doesn’t have a condom on, and after asking him to go put one on, he kind of hesitates and goes for another stroke and…. *throws up forever* I can’t, friends, I really can’t. Next, he totally villainizes a woman for having an abortion. Like, there are a lot of aspects you could villainize this woman for; lying, using him, whatever really, but villainizing her for having an abortion just makes me sick to me stomach to read. Nothing, and I truly mean nothing, gives him a say in what any woman does with her body, ever. And lastly, this book is for sure an enemies to lovers storyline, but Caleb says some really horrible things to Ava about her appearance and judging her because of it. And I get it, sometimes we all have stereotypical thoughts about people at times, but Caleb turns it into “you don’t have power over me just because you look good” type of shit. And I’ve personally had dudes act like that to me before, and you know where they are? In the fucking trash where they belong. Like, no. It’s unacceptable, especially for the length that Caleb continued to judge Ava.

And I’m not going to say that Ava was my favorite protagonist of all-time or anything, but I really did love reading about her for many reasons. First off, she is successful and did it all on her own, with really shitty parental figures that didn’t do anything to help her. Next, she is just caring and reaches out to help others around her. Her and Harper’s friendship was probably my favorite aspect of the entire book. Lastly, I get that Ava is that typical blonde heroine, that’s skinny but has big boobs, but the author kind of has a unique spin on it, because Ava brings up how everything is always sexualized because of her bigger chest. And, I know this seems so small in comparison to everything else that needs representing in the world, but I used to really struggle with this growing up. My mom would always make me feel terrible, even just wearing a v-neck t-shirt. But, friends, I moved away from home and realized that was entirely her (and society’s) problem, not me or my genetics that I have no control over. Basically what I’m trying to say is that Caleb makes some questionable choices in this book, but Ava really is the shining star of it.

Overall, I really never wanted to put this down. I felt completely immersed and captivated while flipping the pages every time I opened this book up. And I can’t wait to see what Samantha Young does next, because she really set up a lot of characters to have side books. Seriously, I’ll commit a minor felony for a Harper book. And I know I sound a little negative in this review, but I just didn’t want to make light of anything. But I did enjoy this story, and I think a lot of people are going to completely love this book upon release.

I reached up and ran my fingers over the prickle of thick stubble on his face and whispered, "Will it tickle my thighs?"

You know that fine line between love and hate? Well, Caleb and Ava cross it repeatedly and it's funny and it's so damn HOT! I loved the snark and witty banter between this couple. And did I mention that Caleb is an asshole with a sexy accent? Can you imagine the dilemma of not knowing whether to slap him or to find out how that stubble really feels?

I fell hard for Ava and her bestie Harper. I wanna hang out with those two and have a girl's night. When your own family lets you down, you find your own, and that's what they've done. They are each other's family and they also know where all the bodies are buried. So not only do that have each other's back, they know each other so well that they can hear what's not being said. My fingers are crossed that the author decides to give Harper her own story because I'd love to meet the man that deserves her. Actually, I'm already doing some mental matchmaking and I have my eye on someone I think could ease her pain.

As usual, Samantha Young gave me all the feels. She put me inside the heads of these broken characters and made me feel their pain. I yearned for them to let go of their stubborn determination to never let anyone into their hearts again. Even I could feel their chemistry through the pages of my Kindle, so there's no way they could deny it forever, right? That's what I kept telling myself as I worried and waited for them to fall. And then, when they were faced with the decision of either Fight or Flight I hoped they would stay and play. How can he resist her when she tells him, "I'm going to miss you in my bed, Caleb Scott. And in a hotel bed. And against the wall. And in the shower."? Will he decide she's worth the risk to his heart?

Haha ok... can I just say I LOVE the enemies to lovers concept! This always gets me! I think this honestly is my favorite type of romance/love stories!

This was my first novel by Samantha Young and I definitely was engaged by her writing!

Caleb and Ava meet on a flight after Scotsman Caleb pisses off Ava to the max at the checkout counter. Their story quickly takes off with the enemies to lovers plot.

Ok.. let me start off I LOVED Ava! What a fiesty strong little chica we have here! Now... Caleb... not at all... just thought he came off as a tad bit too arrogant and the author was trying a bit too hard for the typical "bad boy" character. I would never have him on my boyfriend list lol.

What I loved about this novel? Samantha does a wonderful job leaving her readers on edge wondering when the romance will kick off. The characters have a nice balance of fighting/bickering, then sexual chemistry, and finally a cute overall swoon ending.

But, I was pretty shocked that the author took more of a serious note in this romance.. to the emotional side. Which not sure I liked honestly.... I was hoping for a light and cute romance novel.

Overall, I was glad to experience a new author and would read more from her.

3.5 flight stars!

Huge thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the advanced arc.

Publication date: 10/9/18
Published to GR: 9/17/18

This book was fabulous! My first but not my last by this author. I loved the characters and their chemistry. I even liked finding out about the baggage they carried. I hope we get a book about Ava's friend.

ARC kindly provided by Netgalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

TW: Physical abuse

This was my first Samantha Young book, so I wasn't sure what I was expecting going into it. I know her previous books are pretty popular. I didn't love this book I found it good but not great. I really didn't like the love interest, he eventually grew on me as the book progressed but I still disliked his personality.

This story follows Ava Breevort who is flying back to Boston after attending the funeral of her childhood friend, Gem. She has a unpleasant encounter at the airport with another traveler Caleb Scott, a rude Scot who steals her spot in line and grabs the last first class seat on the plane. They end up sitting next to each another and spend most of their flight bickering .After all there unpleasant exchanges it somehow leads to these two spending the night together while on a layover.Once back in Boston fate throws them together again,where they decide to carry on with a no-strings-attached relationship. Ava and Caleb might hate each other, but the tension and there attraction towards each other made there encounters very passionate.

Ava Breevort: I loved Ava! She is a beautiful interior designer at a small company.She is feisty, confident but had some self esteem issues, people have been telling her entire life how beautiful she is, making her feel like that's all she is. I love how she kept putting Caleb in his place and didn’t put up with all his crap!She is a loyal and trusting friend. Her friendship with Harper was one of my favorite parts of the book. Even though Harper goes through something traumatic later in story, Ava is right there supporting her friend.

Caleb Scott: This guy was definitely an alpha-male, tall, scruffy and tattooed. He is rude and some of the things he says were just really mean. As the story progressed we do understand what has lead him to be this way, but just because you were hurt in the past doesn't mean you now get to be an awful human being. He is sweet at times and he does care about Ava, but he is scared of getting to close to he is mean to guard his own heart.

Fight or Flight is a hate-to-love romance, which is many favorite trope, I just wasn't feeling it for these two. I did enjoy the writing and the character development, and I will probably read another book by this author in the future. It was a pretty fast read and it was enjoyable.There were some really good writing in there, and some very well built tension and characters. But I didn't love it.

I gave this a 3.5 stars. This book is set to release on October 16 2018.

you know that gif of emma stone going 'THIS IS THE BEST' with her hands in the air? that's me right now.

THIS WAS FANTASTIC.

if you like:
hate to love
any kind of anything where they are forced in close proximity for a little while
alpha broody grumpy guys
strong heroines
fantastic side characters
perfect mix of light hearted fun and serious stuff
and all around just good romance?

you need this in your life.

and you know what i need in my life? harper's book. or jamie's book. or how bout a book WITH BOTH OF THEM squeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

in all seriousness, this book. GAH. FEELINGS.

if you read romance, you probably like your HEAs. SAME. i know what i am getting and i like that. but you know sometimes how you are reading a romance and you think 'i *know* i am going to get my HEA but honest to zeus do not know how we are getting there right now' - you know? i don't feel that a whole lot. but i love it. and gosh. i felt so many feelings with this. i felt all the uncertainty, i felt the heartbreak - my husband looked over at me during that scene in the shower when she's heartbroken and asked me what the heck was wrong, i was that distraught.

i LOVED this. i hope we get more of caleb and ava in books following this one, I HOPE THIS IS GOING TO BE A SERIES I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED IT.

i do understand some of the negative reviews in regards to caleb being rude, especially to wait staff. just because ava came to understand and accept that, doesn't mean we or the fictional wait staff ever did.. but i guess i can look past certain things like that in books because it's definitely more authentic. i could have handled a wee bit more grovelling from caleb, but i really don't have any strong complaints. caleb was definitely a jerk and crossed the asshole line a couple times, however, i love hate to love for many reasons i won't go into here and i do feel like sometimes people read hate to love even though they don't understand or like it, and then they hate it... i stay away from friends to lovers because it irritates me. i only read friends to lovers from trusted authors. so i just don't get reading a trope you know you won't like or understand, you know?

this is my 3rd or 4th samantha young book, i read and liked on dublin street years ago, wasn't the biggest fan of hero, LOVED Villain... but this, this might be tippy top. loved it so hard.

thank you so much netgalley and publisher!! i will be buying this book when it comes out and recommending it to all my romance loving friends.

I agree with all the negative reviews at netgalley. The sexy Scottish faux accent is not enough for me to make up for Caleb's rudeness in almost every circumstance. Being rude to wait staff and other service industry employees would make me want to punch someone in the throat.. His arrogance towards Ava is inexcusable and the even worse things other reviewers mentioned which I hadn't quite gotten to yet would have been the cherry on the shit cake. I'd wanted to try this author for a while but this isn't the book for me.

This book was absolutely incredible. The author wove a story with the main character, her past life, and her current life that cannot be matched in most of todays romance books post 50 shades. I instantly fell in love with Caleb and his hardened exterior! He was the best part of the book for me. There were parts that were not needed like the visit from Nick. All in all, i would not be mad if Samantha Young wanted to write another book about Harper and Jamie. Here is to hoping!

The innocent looking cover, two people seen through the windows of an airplane, fooled me into thinking this was going to be a light enemies-to-lovers romance. I did not expect things to burn as hot as they did between Ava and Caleb. Hel----lo.

I ripped through most of the book in a single night, the getting to know each other phase and the fun part of the relationship was steamy and thoroughly entertaining. Ava’s backstory and baggage is well-developed, Caleb’s a little less so. My one quibble is the conflict comes pretty late in the book, almost too late for me, so it was like whiplash from conflict to HEA.

It was my first Samantha Young, but it won't be my last. Fingers crossed we see follow on books with the secondary characters.

I really enjoyed this book - Although I felt like i Missed a part of the story while I was reading it. A lot of pieces fell into place towards the end of the book, but I always felt like I was missing a vital part of the story. I'm not sure if she intended to do that. I loved the concept, enjoyed the banter between the characters. I'd recommend this to our customers.

I loved the first part of this book much more than the second. I felt like the first half was a lot more humorous and light hearted while the second half tried to do too much.

A sexy Scot and a sassy designer go head to head as sparks fly in this deliciously wonderful, heartwarming tale. All the feels, swoons and delicious banter I've come to adore from Young make Fight or Flight the perfect romance to fall into. Coffee date review will appear on Caffeinated Reviewer October 9th.

I wanted very much to be charmed by this book but the characters were the weakest part for me. Caleb 's defining traits include his rudesness and arrogance and Ava's no better, somehow enjoying this kind of treatment. I found myself more curious about her best friend and his brother who I feel would make a much better match than these two would in the long term. Decently well written. 3.5 stars, I received a copy of this book as an egalley in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

4.5+ stars
It has been a while since I read a Samantha Young book, but something about this synopsis intrigued me. And I was pleasantly surprised at both the banter and emotional undertones she managed to pack into this enemies-to-lovers story.

Ava Breevort is not having a good day. She is already upset, anxious, overwhelmed, and emotionally tapped.

Then at the airport, a mysterious, obnoxious stranger seems to keep getting in her way and making it worse. Caleb Scott is a big, burly, tatted, rude Scot with no manners, patience, or sympathy. But he is nice to look at in a Norse God, Scottish Bastard kind of way.

These two rub each other the wrong way from the first interaction and push each other's buttons. They taunt, tease, criticize, and spark. But fate seems to have plans for these two that keep finding themselves in each other's orbit. The spark eventually starts a blaze that is only supposed to be one night thing, but eventually has a chance to become a serial casual fling.

Both of these two are guarded and are afraid of real relationships or commitment. Past betrayals have marked them so much that they swear it won't change. But it does not stop them from transitioning to more friends with benefits. I was glad to see behind their barbed exteriors and see them beginning to relate to each other as real people. He runs hot and cold, and is closed off. She usually thrives on control, but he makes her lose control and also takes it away from her. He is so brutally honest which can sometimes be good and sometimes bad. They begin to see past each other's flaws, but sometimes getting a bit too close increases anxiety and fear.

But eventually someone is going to start to feel more. Which one is going to be the biggest flight risk? And which one is going to stand up and fight for something more?

This is a story about fate or perhaps coincidence providing opportunities, but actions and choices also affect the outcome. In battles of the heart one person cannot win alone. It shows the importance of being vulnerable, overcoming fears, fighting for love and a future...but the key is being willing to take a risk. But with two people who have been burned and have serious trust issues, it is a challenge.

This is a feisty, fun, angsty, sexy enemies-to-lovers-to-friends story that packed more of an emotional punch than I expected. It was a bit hard to warm up to Caleb at first. He really was a jerky alpha-hole and appeared to have no remorse. And Ava could definitely be prickly and rigid, but she could give it right back to him making their antagonistic banter entertaining. And then their relationship dynamics built slowly and changed while there was more depth with their backstories that was gradually revealed. They had great chemistry and a burning attraction. I enjoyed their progression even if it was full of tension, angst, drama, and stops-and-starts as they both had issues to deal with and had to come to terms with their own feelings and insecurities. They definitely both had opportunities for growth and it was not an easy or smooth process.

There were also some side stories that added to the drama of the book. I really liked her edgy best friend, Harper and his artsy brother, Jamie. I hope she writes more with them.

I received this book for free from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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I read 20% of this book before calling it quits. The writing was average and I didn't care enough about the characters to be concerned with their conflict/potential romance. I'm sure this book is fine for a light read, but I have enough romances to read that I didn't feel compelled to finish this one.

Just minutes from finishing it I decided to write my review just to feel all those emotions fresh inside of me. FIGHT OR FLIGHT was such a wild ride. My head hurts because I cried so much in so many scenes. I really enjoyed this book, it was so easy to get into. The banter, the hate to love trope, the easy dialogue and the characters were relaly interesting. You get introduced to Ava and you know something has happened but you don't really /know/ what until much later and there is also something happening inside Caleb, in his heart, in his life. I obviously drew conclusions but nothing prepares you when you actually know and I just bawled my eyes out for both of them. Samantha Young really knows how to bring the emotional side of me with epic storytelling and a romance that made me swoon.

Of course I don't want to say everything was perfect because I did find some thing that bothered me a bit that I'd like to comment like:
- Caleb should have groveled a WHOLE MORE sorry but that apology? Not enough for me.
- Very controlling sometimes, grabbing her bicep, her arm and I just, he's strong, it's noted so I'm like ugh hopefully Ava doesn't have a red mark and something because sometimes people get easily bruised so.
- I understand the initial hate to love and stuff but sometimes I fell so bad because they said so many awful stuff and I was like how can you like someone you hated and said that stuff to you and doesn't say thank you or please to staff or waiters?!!!

Still I truly expect Samantha Young has another book coming out maybe with a Harper and Jamie? I really want more because I like the romance and Young really knows how to tell a story and get me engaged with it all because after all, I did finish it all in one day and these days... I haven't been reading ANYTHING. So thank you for getting me out of this awful slump..

When this one started out I was annoyed, much like Ava. I hated Caleb, he was a bastard. Even as things started to turn for them I was iffy. It really took me time to warm up to him, I think it changed when things between Ava and Caleb moved from just sex to more. They had this small period of time were they were having fun with each other and it was great! I liked how Caleb was able to help Ava move past the big horrible event from her past, to see things in a different light and finally put things to rest.

When things went bad for these two they went really bad. As they had gotten to know each other there was some things said that were low blows. I liked that Ava stood up for herself and let Caleb know why his words hurt.

Ava was a bit of a mess for a while, but had a great support system in her friends, boss and even a client. All of them helped her get to an ok point, but one night out caused a bit of a set back. I was torn with how I felt about what happened afterwards. Part of me was cheering, hoping things would work out, another part of me was pissed at the high handed way.

This was a light-hearted story that I enjoyed reading for the sake of reading. Characters made me laugh and I enjoyed the analogies and assumptions made that many can relate to about judging based on appearances. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Samantha Young has become an auto-buy author for me from the moment I read On Dublin Street. Years later, that hasn’t changed.

I will admit being slightly weary as I started this book. I’m all for the enemies-to-lovers trope, but Caleb was just plain MEAN. Would I be able to ship this couple?

Oooooooh boy did I ever! Samantha Young, forgive me for doubting you because this was a fantastic read! It made my heart hurt in all the right ways, and not only was the love story great, but the friendship between Ava and Harper was #goals.

I loved this read so much, and I’m hoping there is more to come about the other characters in this book as well!

I must admit that it's been too long since I picked up a Samantha Young novel, but the blurb for Fight or Flight tickled my fancy and I just had to have it!

Caleb & Ava meet on a flight after broody Scotsman Caleb seriously pisses Ava off at the checkout counter, and thus their story begins with serious enemies-to-lovers vibes.

High on banter, constant back and forth sniping, and huge amounts of sexual chemistry, finishing off with a nice bit of swoon.

Great little read!