Thanks so much to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advance read in exchange for this review.

ER nurse Olive is on her first flight ever, and she is terrified. She ends up helping in a medical emergency and goes viral for saving someone's life. One of the pilots, Stella, proposes that they fake date so she can get more exposure from the airline and become a captain. . It's not fake dating for Olive who quickly falls for Stella. It's hard to determine what is real and what is fake.

This is a sweet and spicy read that talks about mental illness, homophobia, trauma, and end of life care. I wasn't expecting the book to discuss harder topics, but it gave the book a lot more substance. This was a quick read, but at times it felt too long. Enjoyable nonetheless!

“It’s not going to feel okay. But it’s okay to feel.”⁣
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Andie Burke’s sweet, sexy, sapphic romance is an emotional, charming, satisfying debut filled with fun pop culture references, characters with depth and purpose, and an adorable old dog named Gus. ⁣
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As a dedicated nurse, Olive Murphy has suffered from too many instances of “Murphy’s Law” to be content when good things happen to her. When beautiful, accomplished pilot Stella Soriano soars into her life with a fake dating scheme, she happily goes along with it because she actually really likes Stella, but Olive is constantly waiting for that law that shares her name to bite her in the ass. ⁣
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Both Olive and Stella have emotional baggage that puts them on more equal footing than they initially realize. Olive needs to see her own worth and Stella needs to see that there’s more to life than her hyper focused drive to earn her Captain’s wings. As these two women get to know one another, and fall for each other, they face separate emotional journeys that will ultimately strengthen their bond. ⁣
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I adored reading this book. From the anxiety and bisexuality rep to the romance tropes like only one bed, fake dating, and take-care-of-me-while-I’m-sick, it hit all the right buttons. ⁣
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Also, it validates my belief that there’s no one hotter than Rachel Weisz in “The Mummy.” ⁣
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All the stars!

Really enjoyed this debut. Loved how the fake dating trope was woven in and all of the emotions around it. Both MCs were so likable in their own way, and the internal dialogue from Olive was one of the highlights of the book for me. They were written so well it was like you’re really in her head. There are multiple layers which only added to the story and how much I liked Olive and Stella. Could have easily read a few more chapters.

ER nurse Olive Murphy is afraid of flying and during her very first flight to Orlando, she saves a man during an in-flight medical emergency. The man happens to be a popular character actor who plays Mickey Mouse at Disney and the video of Olive saving him goes viral. The plane is diverted to another airport and Olive is stuck and most likely will miss running in a Disney half-marathon in honor of her brother. Luckily, the co-pilot, Stella Soriano, offers to drive Olive all the way to Disney so she doesn’t miss the race. After spending more time together and getting along surprisingly well for two very different people, Stella proposes that she and Olive fake date. Stella needs more attention from her airline if she’s going to make captain, which she desperately wants to do before her sick father passes. Olive sees the arrangement as a way to get closer to Stella and hopes to turn the fake relationship into a real one, so she agrees. The two grow closer through their ruse and it becomes hard to decipher what’s real and what’s fake.

This was a very enjoyable and surprisingly quick read. I wasn’t expecting the heavier topics around caregiving and end-of-life care and decisions that both Stella and Olive had to consider for their loved ones. I wish that Olive would have been able to reconcile with her family, but her friend Morgan was right, some people never get over the changes that grief and loss bring. It was heartbreaking to read nonetheless. Also, the miscommunication and withholding of feelings between the main characters drove me crazy at times. They both were inconsistent and hurt the other person by not being honest about what they were feeling or what they wanted from the other. Overall, I liked the story and the characters.

i read andie burke's debut sapphic romcom, FLY WITH ME, and it’s one of my new favorite books. ♡

it’s poignant exploration of grief, mental illness, and caregiving formed the tender heart of this hilarious & steamy love story about a nurse & pilot fake dating.

Olive Murphy has had a rough year and her first flight ever doesn't get off to a great start when she is called in to help avert a medical crisis despite her intense fear of flying. When the video of her helping the passenger makes the rounds on social media she finds herself the focus of many but she'd rather just disappear. Stella, the co-pilot on Olive's fateful flight, enters and helps her get to her final destination where they have a perfect day together. When Stella helps Olive navigate some media attention she comes up with a fake dating scheme that will get Stella the promotion she wants and also give Olive some help with all the interview and appearance requests she is getting after the in flight ordeal.
This was a solid debut from Andie Burke. Olive is a very likable character going through a tough family time when she's thrown into a tail spin. Stella is trying to be the perfect employee and daughter so she can get to where she wants to be but also seems to have a kind soul and wants to help in any way she can. Derek and Hector make great supporting characters and I'd have loved a bit more of Hector than we got. Olive's family was terrible but I also feel like Olive didn't really get a resolution there and I'd have liked to see a bit more of an ending on that front. I also feel like there are some loose ends there that don't quite make sense to me that I feel would have been better with a bit more detail. I liked Stella and Olive's chemistry but I felt like the ramp up was a bit prolonged and we spend a lot of time with Olive's internal dialogue that didn't really push the story forward. With the extended build up the end was a bit too quick for me. I liked what happened, it just was too fast and not as detailed as the beginning and just didn't quite hit the mark. I think it is a worthwhile read though and I did enjoy the story and the characters overall. I'd happily pick up any work by Burke in the future though as I think this was a wonderful start.

This was a cute book with likable characters. I am sad it won’t be published in time for Pride month, because I’d love to include it on our pride table. I would read other books by this author.

A sapphic love story with slow burn spice.
Olive saved the life of a fellow passenger on a flight to Disney World. She meets pilot Stella after the flight is diverted. In order to get to Disney on time for a half marathon Stella drives them both through the night.
Once back home Olive can’t stop thinking about Stella.
Stella reaches out to Olive asking a big favor
This is a sweet fake relationship story

3.5 Stars Fly with Me by Annie Burke was a surprisingly emotional, but heartfelt opposites-attract sapphic romance. ER nurse Olive Murphy is afraid of flying and during her very first flight to Orlando, she saves a man during an in-flight medical emergency. The man happens to be a popular character actor who plays Mickey Mouse at Disney and the video of Olive saving him goes viral. The plane is diverted to another airport and Olive is stuck and most likely will miss running in a Disney half-marathon in honor of her brother. Luckily, the co-pilot, Stella Soriano, offers to drive Olive all the way to Disney so she doesn’t miss the race. After spending more time together and getting along surprisingly well for two very different people, Stella proposes that she and Olive fake date. Stella needs more attention from her airline if she’s going to make captain, which she desperately wants to do before her sick father passes. Olive sees the arrangement as a way to get closer to Stella and hopes to turn the fake relationship into a real one, so she agrees. The two grow closer through their ruse and it becomes hard to decipher what’s real and what’s fake.

This was a very enjoyable and surprisingly quick read. I wasn’t expecting the heavier topics around caregiving and end-of-life care and decisions that both Stella and Olive had to consider for their loved ones. I wish that Olive would have been able to reconcile with her family, but her friend Morgan was right, some people never get over the changes that grief and loss bring. It was heartbreaking to read nonetheless. Also, the miscommunication and withholding of feelings between the main characters drove me crazy at times. They both were inconsistent and hurt the other person by not being honest about what they were feeling or what they wanted from the other. Overall, I liked the story and the characters.

Thank you to the author and St. Martin's Griffin for my early review copy; all opinions are my own!

FLY WITH ME took me on a deeply emotional journey. This touching sapphic romance champions the healing power of found family, facing your fears with compassion and patience, and surrounding yourself with people who see and love you just as you are. Perfect for fans of Alison Cochrun and Abby Jimenez!

Olive and Stella are adorable! This book plays up every lesbian romance trope, and even boldly states these intentions - fake dating, crazy ex and more. I loved all of it - what a fun read!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I enjoyed reading this quick and easy rom-com book! I loved the world the author built, including Olive's best friends and coworkers. They really made the book more interesting and realistic. They're there with advice that Olive definitely should've taken to save all the trouble, but that would make the book boring haha. This book has the traditional 'bad communication because someone caught feelings' trope which i didn't particularly like but other than that, a great read!

I enjoyed reading this book, oddly enough I read it on a plane so it felt very fitting to the environment. But as a story, it just had too much going on. Though, it was certainly enjoyable for the time I spent with it.

The fake dating never actually felt fake because we knew that both characters were into each other the whole time. And I realize you have to set aside logic a little to believe a fake dating story, but there needs to be an end goal that explains the need for the ruse, I didn't feel that we had one here. The story was also too serious, without the space to properly deal with all the pieces the author wanted to cover. Both MCs are both dealing with varying forms and amounts of family trauma, illness, sexism, grief, homophobia, and loneliness. Maybe it was just me, but I felt like we had two competing stories here.

Huge thanks to StMartins and NetGalley for the gifted ARC.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

I read this book as an arc from Netgalley.

Fly with Me begins with Olive traveling to complete a run in honor of her brother. After saving a man's life on her flight, she meets Stella. Stella is the co-pilot on the flight. This book only has Olive's point of view. I would have enjoyed the book more with Stella's point of view. It would have been nice to know what she was thinking directly. Olive is really going through it in this book so it was refreshing to see some cute moments between her and Stella. The heavy topics of this book involve family and dealing with loss. I was very frustrated with the way Olive's family treated her. Honestly, I wish Olive would have gone to therapy. This book also dealt with fear. Sometimes, fear can stop you from making mistakes but it can also prevent you from living your life. Olive definitely shows that there are some things worth taking a chance on

This is a sweet story mixed with a lot of heavy family issues. The book started out pretty exciting with Olive freaking out over flying for the first time and then saving a passenger's life. She spends time with one of the pilots Stella soon after and a fake dating scheme to benefit them both begins. It's a bit of a slow burn romance where the characters become good friends first. The relationship between Olive and her friend Derek is the best.

There is a lot of family drama for both Olive and Stella that becomes a major part of the story but ends pretty abruptly without feeling resolved. The story also included ex drama which was not really needed and took too much away from the romance part. Every time the ex was mentioned or showed up it brought the story down so much that it made it hard to be excited for the characters again. It seemed like the story just had too much going on for one book.

Overall the book started out really well with great characters but the end was so heavy loaded that the happy ever after didn't feel as happy as it should. (ARC received from Netgalley for review)

A great debut featuring fake dating, an adorable dog named Gus, and Disney World!

This was definitely a slow burn- all we got were a couple kisses before about 70%. I really like Derek and Joni and Stella's dad Hector is great as well.

Olive's entire family (except her brother obv) can eat a fart , they are literally the worst. Lindsay is also the worst. There was a lot of drama and tension in this that sometimes leaned into super dramatic territory, (mostly where Lindsay was concerned) but mostly it was well-done tension due to the trauma Olive and Stella were going through.

There are a lot of emotions and I really felt for Olive and all she was going through. I enjoyed seeing her find herself and how she wanted to live her life. For real though, I wanted to kick her entire family's ass for her.

Overall, a fun sapphic read and I look forward to what this author does next.

This was such a cute sapphic book!

The preface of how Stella and Olive met is quite entertaining and definitely worth the appeal. Stella being a pilot while Olive having a fear of planes and flying in general was such a great contrast between them!

Now if you were to ask me if this book had a plot? I would say No.

I think there was in intended plot with the whole fake dating trope being brought into the story but I just don't think it provided the story with any actual plot. The same thing honestly could be said for Olives fear of flying, it's strongly mentioned throughout the book but it never really impacts the story in any serious way. (I could go on and on and on about other conflicts introduced to the story that didn't provide any plot *cough *cough Lindsey)

As for Olive, I did really feel terrible for her. She really had terrible circumstances with both her ex girlfriend and her family. And as someone who had been in her place in her grief my heart really hurt for her. Something I really wish we could've seen was a more confident version of Olive, it seemed like throughout the entire book she let herself get walked on which might be a part of her characters personality but honestly I would've liked to see that change towards the end.

Stella had me cheering as a Latina Bisexual myself, and honestly I could see myself a lot in her. And although I love her, I just do not agree with the way the book ended. In fact, I just felt like Stella didn't have any growth throughout the whole book and although her and Olive were cute, I just didn't see much chemistry between them.

Also Lindsey was just so annoying, what was the whole point of even having her a part of the story? she was like a continuous fruit fly that couldn't be squashed away.

but overall the book was cute!

Olive is afraid of planes so naturally her soulmate is a pilot. Perfect rom com math in this book if you ask me. The characters are fully fleshed out in so many ways, albeit unrealistic in some of their decisions, like driving cross country with a stranger. The charm of this book wins out though. From family dynamics to toxic exes this has the whole cast for you to love. Olive doesn't want public attention after saving a man on a plane because of a past trauma, but Stella is a pilot searching for her captain spot and convinces her to do some fake dating.

Burke does wlw the way I love, she allows them to be fully fleshed out people with problems and toxicity. She allows them to hold thins back. The problems I have with this book that knock it down to 4 stars is the length and the toxic ex. If this was trimmed down about 60 pages, it wouldn't feel like so much filler. Onto Lindsay the annoying ex, she is so unnecessary. Her existence is vital to Olive's insecurities with Stella, but past the beginning and the texts she does not need to be in this book. Especially in the end with her 'climax' it was unnecessary to the plot. The stresses of their families, the death, and own relationship traumas would have been enough to get the same result without her contribution. Olive's family hurt me so much, but I think that's because I see too much of my own in them. As for Stella, her taking care of her father hit so close to home, and was handled so well. I felt seen in each dialogue she had.

Overall, this is a full and emotional book. The relationship is realistic, but to the point where you are rooting for them. Who needs a heroine to sweep you off your feet when you can both save eachother.

This was a pretty great sapphic romance, and I'm not sure why I haven't seen more people talk about it, but maybe that's because this is a September release, and it's currently March.

Anyway, I really enjoyed reading this! This felt like a fairly long read, but in a good way, because I just felt like a lot happened over the course of this book. This could have felt like too much, but it just made me feel like the characters had full, complex lives, which was really nice to read about. There are some harder storylines too, like Olive dealing with her brother being on life support and her family being angry with her for wanting to honour his wishes, and Stella's father having Parkinson's. This all added to a fully fleshed out story and never made the book feel too heavy, just realistically human.

And there were lots and lots of cute moments, because the characters spent a lot of time together in different situations. There's even a road trip!