Romance novels can sometimes fall right into stereotypes or tropes about the main characters. In order to avoid the status quo, authors must describe intriguing worlds, interesting backstories, and well-developed main characters to keep readers invested in their novels. My latest romance read battled these tropes and, in my opinion, ultimately succeeded in writing a well-crafted novel worthy of your attention.
Fight or Flight by Samantha Young did not immediately grab my attention. The beginning was rough for me as the introductions of the characters seemed to rely heavily on their outward appearance. Doing so makes sense when you look at the development of the characters in the long run, but it was something that had the ability to put me on edge throughout the duration of the book. Also major trigger and content warnings for some readers: This book deals with topics of assault, violence, sexual assault, abortion-shaming, etc. While the blurb makes this out to be a light romance read, it does get down to some gritty topics. Now let’s move on to discussing the actual book!
Ava Breevort is having a rough time. Flying back to Boston after a harrowing trip back to her hometown, Ava just wants to make it home smoothly. The universe is plotting against her though. A volcano has erupted overseas leaving a cloud of ash that has cancelled flights across the country and delayed others. Ava is desperate to try anything to get home, but in addition to the volcano ash issue, another flyer continuously gets in her way. An angry arrogant Scotsman named Caleb Scott takes a first class seat right out from under her and is increasingly antagonistic throughout the whole flight. Once they land, Caleb and Ava bump into each other again and eventually end up in bed together.
After landing in Boston, they both move on with their lives. Chance brings Caleb and Ava back together again though. They renew their steamy relationship while Caleb is stranded in Boston with the understanding that this is purely a relationship revolving around casual sex. Ava agrees since they both clearly don’t like each other. They separate and Caleb goes back to Scotland.
A client of Ava’s brings the two together again. Ava and Caleb begin again. This works for a while until, of course, Ava discovers she has feelings for Caleb. She realizes that she’s starting to like Caleb and that he’s actually not that bad to hang around. When Caleb announces that he is going to be staying in Boston permanently, Ava has to decide whether or not her feelings with him are genuine and worth fighting for. Even if Ava is willing to fight for her feelings, she is still left to wonder whether Caleb, who is as stubborn, icy, and closed-off as ever, can work through his issues and would want to love her too.
I’m curious what other people think of this book. While it took me a bit to get into this novel, in the end I enjoyed the development of the characters and their chemistry. Read it and let me know what you think in the comments below!