Thank you so much to St Martin's Press/SMP Romance for an advance copy of this book!

This was one I had heard early buzz and rumblings through the bookstagram world and knew I needed it in my hands. And I believe I had heard that Andie was a bookstagrammer before she became an author. Which as a bookstagrammer that is so awesome to see it become full circle. This was such a solid debut!

"People always joe that their first part of their paychecks goes to the mortgage, but I always joke mine goes to Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts."

Don't let this cover fool you, this book has some definite serious undertones and topics that are scattered from the start to the end. I was not expecting that grief and mourning someone who is alive would be a theme in the book. The book kicks off with Olive having a panic attack while on a flight to Disney to run in a marathon that she was supposed to do with her brother who is in a vegetated state. While on this fight, a fellow passenger is having a medical episode and she is a nurse and steps in to assist. After the incident, she meets the pilot of her flight - Stella. And let the fun begins!

I thought the connection between Olive & Stella felt very real and was not rushed. I love that they got to spend time together even prior to Stella propositioning Olive into fake dating her in order for her to get ahead in her role. I thought they really complimented one another. I am not a fan of the trope of how one of the party for whatever reason doesn't think they are worthy of the other person's love or claims they wouldn't make a good partner. Because with fake dating you know what is never the case and that there is always a HEA. I really enjoyed the epilogue and it just made me so happy that Olive got to accomplish a goal of hers and got to do it with Stella.

"And I know you're scared of hurting me, but I'm here to tell you that you are worth that risk."

I don't want to go too much into detail with Olive and her brother Jake but I thought that whole storyline was so sad and just tugged at my heart strings. I just felt so bad for her and she wanted to do right by her brother but her family not recognizing or caring what he wanted. It was very sad and you know that families go through this all the time.

There are multiple villains/unlikeable characters and so many times I wanted to scream because I hated them so much.
I was so frustrated for Olive. She was already going through so much which grieving her brother and his state that she got no breathing room between her mother and her ex. The ex definitely came on a little strong and the last incident just seemed like a bit TOO much. It was refreshing to see that Olive and her family's relationship was not cleaned up by the end of the book. In most books whenever there are familial issues, it's usually tied together with a bow by the end of the book. It felt more realistic leaving not be tied up. I also would not blame Olive if she decided to set boundaries and separate herself from her family.

As I mentioned in the beginning this was such a solid debut & I'm excited to see what else Andie is working on!

Swoon: 6/10
Karaoke: YES

Fly with Me really struck me. The author, Andie Burke, used her experience as a nurse during COVID as inspiration, and it really felt so accurate. As a healthcare provider, so much of it was so close to home and what I see too often.

Olive is trying to work on her brother’s “bucket list,” as he’s no longer able to while in a vegetative state. One of the things on the list is flying to Disney World and running the marathon, but a medical emergency mid-flight causes the flight to be rerouted. One of the pilots, Stella, discovers her after their landing and ends up driving her to Orlando.

Long story short, the media gets involved and Olive and Stella decide to “fake date,” but c’mon folks, they basically real date the whole time. Their relationship is adorable, full of cute and witty banter and sexual chemistry/tension. Their relationship progresses at a natural pace and it felt very realistic and sweet.

But what really stayed with me was Olive’s relationship with her brother and family. I work in an intensive care unit, and my team often has to have difficult conversations about goals of care, and family isn’t always on the same page. It can be so heartbreaking to watch a patient decline, with no hopes of improvement. So I really felt for Olive. I know how it feels to be a healthcare provider and know the science behind what’s happening and feel hopeless. The author’s writing truly brought me to tears; it was so real.

I couldn’t put Fly with Me down and I’m super interested in reading more from Andie Burke.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the review copy!

I was very excited to receive Fly with Me as an eARC from netgalley and st. Martin's press in exchange for a review.

I was invested in this debut novel by Andie Burke from the get go. Sometimes I find that romances can lack depth or characterization and can be all fluff, but this certainly had its share of real life, grief, fears, and drama, which I appreciate. I also appreciated all of the extra details about nursing that helped further flesh out Olive.

As the romance hit certain expected romance story points I found myself just as hungry for it as Olive and Stella. With an early taste of chemistry I was rooting for the couple the whole time.

This was a solid debut and I'm excited to read future Andie Burke novels as well.

All in all, I enjoyed this sapphic romance novel with some steam, fake dating, Swedish Fish, and 00's-ish rom-com references aplenty (literally all of my favorites, lolol)

I enjoyed reading this book, and I'd also enjoy revisiting it as an audiobook so I can sit back and listen to someone perform it)

Thank you to the publishers on Netgalley for the chance to read an ARC of the book.

This was honestly more emotional than I expected and I loved every word of it. Olive was so funny and caring for those around her. Stella was brilliant and sweet, and I was able to read her lines in my normal speaking voice. That part made me so happy, being able to read in the speed I normally talk in, and it not feel weird with the character or what is happening. I loved the different forms of representation within the story. From Stella herself, to her dad, to Olive, there was representation of normal aspects in most people's lives. As well as the struggles people with even just one of the mentioned face.

Their love story as well was amazing, and showed the struggles that having a previous toxic ex that is still in your life due to circumstances outside your control, can have on a new relationship. It was such an easy read and I devoured it when I could. The author did amazing for this being her debut book, and I hope she goes on to create more amazing love stories.

Amazing fake dating to real feelings sapphic romance.

Olive is terrified of flying. She's on a flight to FL to run in a marathon in honor of her brother.
She is called on for her nursing skills and saves a passenger having a reaction. She is dubbed a hero and praised by the copilot, Stella.

Stella lives to be a Captain, but her airline makes it hard for women to reach that status. After the event on the plane, the media thinks Stella and Olive are dating. Stella proposes a fake relationship with Olive that she thinks might help with her career.

I loved both these characters and was rooting for true love!

Many thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for both an ALC (great audio!) and ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Olive is terrified of flying but has to get on a plane to get to Disney to run a marathon for her brother. Naturally on her first flight ever, another passenger has a medical emergency. Being an ER nurse, Olive jumps into action and saves the stranger's life. After the plane is diverted, the (hot) pilot Stella offers to drive Olive to Disney as a thank you so she can make it to the marathon. The two spend an incredible day together at Disney which leads Stella to ask Olive an important question... will Olive be her fake girlfriend?

Fly with Me surprised me in its depth. Both Olive and Stella are dealing with sick family members, and the care and compassion that Burke's writes with was really great to read. I love a good fake-dating trope, and this novel is no exception. While the pacing felt slow at times, I really enjoyed reading this!

thank you to the publisher, author, and netgalley for the chance to review this book!

Fly With Me by Andie Burk is a very cute sapphic novel. I think the premise of them meeting (olive being scared of flying and stella being a pilot) was really cute. I think they have a good "fake" relationship and the pinning is really sweet throughout the story. There was a bit of miscommunication and a slight third act breakup near the end of the story but it does get resolved in a really good way. It was worth the stress of "oh my god i hate third act breakups lol". If you're looking for a fast paced, sweet, spicy, fake dating, sapphic adult romance this book is for you!

What an incredible debut!! And from a fellow ER nurse - this seriously makes me so proud 🥹 The dedication and the details about #nurselife were so amazingly accurate, it made my nurse heart happy for sure!

What to expect::
•Fake dating
•Opposites attract
•Great opening scene
•Pilot/ER nurse
•Caring for her when she’s sick
•Emotional
•Great bestie
•Sides of family and work and ex drama
🔥Light details

I could have gone for a bit less drama, as it destructed a bit from the really great romance happening. I absolutely can’t wait to see what’s next from Burke after this super strong debut!!

So, I’ve been very anti-romance books lately (my previous favorite genre), but when I saw that Andie wrote a sapphic romance about a nurse, I knew I had to read it.

Then I read the dedication. 🩷
(Swipe to see)

📖 Olive is an ER nurse, caring for her injured brother while dealing with depression, anxiety, and a terrible ex. Stella is an pilot caring for her father and is extremely career driven. After an incident on a plane makes Olive famous, the two fake date to help each other out.

I love fake dating and sapphic romance so 🩷🩷.

My only tiny issues were the transitions, which sometimes felt skipped over or blunt, including some of the spicy scenes, but I also had an arc copy so not sure if that’s been polished already. There were also a few too many coincidences making it a tad too cheesy for me (I love a little cheese, but not a ton).

But overall, I loved the story, the characters, the nurse rep, the mental health rep, and the gluten free rep! 🙌🏻

Fly with Me was a fun book. I’m usually not a fan of fake dating troupes in literature but I ended up really enjoying this book. Olive and Stella were both compelling characters from completely different backgrounds. It was interesting watching them navigate their “relationship”, and other challenges in both their personal and professional life. Overall a solid read.

Solid Premise Marred By Pervasive Bigotry Against Anything Non-Queer. My book stats don't lie- I read pretty well damn near everything. I've read several lesbian/ bisexual (of all forms) romances over the years, and actually still have another outstanding one to read in the next few weeks. And this one, as a slow burn with very heavy concepts... eh, it works reasonably well. Even as I find myself writing a 4* review and mostly siding with the existing 1* - 2* reviews that are currently on Goodreads as I write this as far as my own personal feelings about the book. But I pride myself in my "subtractive method" and trying to be objective-ish when deducting stars, and really the only thing objectively wrong here is the bigotry against anything non-queer, as noted in the title. As in, literally every single character - religious or not - that is not queer in this book is a bad guy, and while there is a singular queer bad guy as well - the ex-girlfriend of one of our MCs here - even this is portrayed in a better light than the non-queer characters. Yes, there is also a trans character that plays a small yet somewhat important role as well.

But, as I constantly say - "someone is going to LOVE the book for *EXACTLY* the reasons a given reviewer HATES it, and vice versa", and I fully expect this to be the case here. A girl/ girl romance, no matter how you want to classify it, already has a fairly limited market, for any number of reasons. Within that market, I expect this tale to do reasonably well, as it is actually reasonably good from certain perspectives. Outside of that market, I think the bigotry so pervasively on display here is going to sink its chances even more than the girl/ girl romance nature of the tale.

I will say that as someone who frequents Walt Disney World and as a former runner with a couple of half marathons (though never a Disney one) under his belt... the sequences inside the park were actually quite fun, and the descriptions of a half marathon... show this particular runner didn't train and/ or prepare particularly well for that length of race. Just to toss in a couple of observations I haven't seen in other reviews as well. :)

Overall, if you're into queer and/ or girl/ girl specifically romances... give this one a try. I genuinely do like to try to support debut authors, which is the actual primary reason I picked up this ARC, and there is certainly a sizeable market amongst those who will more readily agree with the author's overall perspectives. If you're less open to those types of romances... I'd say skip this one. There are certainly less problematic ones out there to try to broaden your horizons with a bit than this one, and maybe you skipping it will spare the author a 1* or 2* review. Recommended.

Thank you @macmillan.audio @smpromance for a copy of this book. This was a great debut book from the author. I like the meet cute between Stella and Olive and seeing their relationship develop. I did sort of lose interest somewhere along the way with some much going on with work and family issues for both of them. I appreciate the author bringing up relevant topics like sexism in the workplace and the difficulty of working in a male dominated field. The narrator did a good job but I wished there was 2 distinct narrators for the 2 POVs.

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Andie Burke's debut novel is sweet, emotional, and oh-so-lovely. At times, it was so poignant in its portrayals of grief and loss, but that was tempered with so much joy and tenderness.

Read this if you like:
- opposites attract
- A+ banter
- vulnerability
- fake dating
- queer love & joy

I will start with saying that I’m not the biggest fan of fake dating. I find that there’s rarely stakes that are high enough to need fake dating. I think this book is about the same in that apartment—while promotions are important, the stakes aren’t quite high enough. Even though I say this, I still really enjoyed the story (as you notice, I rated it 4 stars).

What I do enjoy:

I really liked Stella and Olive’s chemistry. I think they work well together and are naturally great together.

I liked the side plot of the ladies and their families. There’s a large contrast between how Olive’s family deals with tragedy and how Stella’s does and it’s interesting to see how they navigate their relationships because of it. I also really love how Olive stood her ground with Jake. She didn’t deserve what she got from her family and I’m glad stella was there to reassure her.

I also love the edition of the sloppy ex girlfriend. Lindsay really made my blood boil.

Things I didn’t like as much:

The fake dating. I get why it’s involved. It’s to bring the characters together. But I think there’s a different way to do that.

Another reviewer brought this up, but viral videos nowadays flash in and out before a new viral thing is what everyone is talking about. The fact that it was stretched out so far is a bit far fetched. Would she end up in People and on TODAY? Sure. Hell, if Ellen was still around, she’d be on there, too. But the timeline should’ve been a bit condensed.

I really think the story should’ve been in Stella’s point of view. I get that this book is Own Voices. Andie is an ER nurse, so she knows what being an ER nurse is like. However, I think that Stella grew and changed so much more than Olive did, and that growth in the main character is so important to storytelling.

While I did have these qualms, I loved this story. It was really fun to read and I’m so glad I had access before it was published. I can’t wait to see what else Andie Burke puts out!

This was so good. I loved Stella and Olive. A excellent fake dating and slow burn! Olive deserves all the love and I am so glad she found it with Stella. So much tension and longing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e arc in exchange for my honest review

I wanted to like this, I truly did. However, I just felt that there was a lot going on, and I wasn’t really in the mood for miscommunication and people making Olive and Stella’s lives harder. (Which is 100% a me problem) I liked the Olive and Stella and found them relatable!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of FLY WITH ME by Andie Burke. This was a fun, sweet story with a lot of heart, especially where the two love interests' family were concerned and how that affected their ability to develop a genuine relationship. I'll admit I'm getting a little tired of the fake dating trope—it's just unbelievable at its core—but it does create tension, and thus it lives on. Regardless, I enjoyed myself through the mix of light-hearted and more emotional scenes. I liked that the author was able to apply her real-life nursing career experience to the MC's career in the book—I thought that was different and interesting. It didn't blow my mind, but it did it's job as a romance and I liked it.

This debut novel was unexpected, emotional and sweet all at the same time. Olive and Stella’s story was awkward and funny while also dealing with many heavy topics along the way.

Olive Murphy is an ER nurse who’s terrified of flying and ends up spending her first flight ever saving a man’s life with tons of camera (unknowingly) pointed her way. From there, she gets a lot of unwanted attention, but it also brings Stella Soriano into her life as she was one of the pilots on the plane. Stella is a Type A person - she’s organized, methodical and always has a plan, though her dad’s health issues have thrown her for a loop the past couple years. These two go on quite the journey together - a road trip to Disney World, fake dating for employment gain, family health struggles and more. Most of the story revolves around their fake dating and while this isn’t my favorite trope, it worked here (for the most part). I would have loved some more open and honest conversation all around, but the fake dating trope doesn’t have much opportunity for that.

These two are opposites in so many ways, but their differences bring them closer together most of the time. Olive and Stella’s ease around each other made even the awkward moments in this story endearing. But, there were two things about the story that weren’t my favorite - Olive’s inability to stand up for herself and take better care of herself and the whole of Lindsay’s character. Olive’s mental health struggles were realistic and honest, but I just wanted her to go to bat for herself and her well-being more; it was something she started to do, but just didn’t follow through. And Lindsay was a distraction more than anything else - I don’t think she added anything to the story and everything could have been handled just the same.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and am looking forward to reading future stories by Andie Burke - she has such a unique voice and I’m excited to see what other stories she’ll tell us.

Fly with Me is a very entertaining debut from author Andie Burke. Olive's story has some painful similarities to my own life, so I was instantly drawn to her and felt a tremendous amount of empathy for what she was going through. Stella is just as lovely and the perfect person for Olive.
This is a lighthearted, yet deeply emotional story, if that makes sense. It gives the impression, even from the look of the cover, of an easy, light read, but there is a lot of pain for Olive, especially to deal with. This book has depth yet humor and I was very impressed with how Burke put it together so cohesively. I will be looking forward to more from her in the future.

An ARC was received from NetGalley for an honest review.

This book was so cute! I love anything with LGBTQ representation and this book did not disappoint. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!