A series of chance encounters leads to a sizzling new romance from the New York Times bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series. 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 … 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….
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From the charming illustrated cover to the swoony romance, I adore everything about this book!
A cute love-hate romantic comedy with steam…
In the beginning I thought Caleb, a.k.a. The Bastard Scot, was too brutish even for a supposedly broody leading man, but as the story progressed he grew on me… I enjoyed reading Ava and Caleb’s journey to HEA. Besides the love story, I enjoyed reading about strong female friendships… It was such an important part of the book. I was heartbroken for Ava and Gemma … and I’ve rarely despised a character as much as I have Nick!
Weird thing: I started reading this novel as I was waiting for the contractions of my induced labor to begin, and in the book there’s a secondary character who dies in childbirth. Needless to say, I was majorly freaked out! I had a panicked moment where I went down a crazy when-does-it-ever-happen-a-childbirth-death-in-a-romcom-this-is-a-sign-I’m-going-to-die-tonigh rabbit hole. Of course, I didn’t die. Both me and my baby are fine 🙂 just what are the chances of me picking up this book on that very day?
Why only 4 stars? There were some very serious topics mentioned in the book that I don’t enjoy in romcoms: childbirth death, sexual predators, domestic abuse and violence, and abortion. Nothing wrong in writing about more serious topics, I just personally prefer romantic stories that are lighthearted start to end.
Samantha Young writes fast paced, witty, and utterly charming romances. She makes me want to move to Scotland with her hunky heroes and Caleb is more than swoon worthy. A very fun and funny read. Perfect for your next flight, or beach bag!
Wow! I’m such an emotional mess right now. My bestie could not have said it better, “Who knew this cute cover held so much angst underneath it “. I’ve read enemies-to-lovers romances before, but this one was on a whole other ballpark. The hero was a bastard Scot. You either loved or hated him, but the beauty of him was the mystery that lurked within. It didn’t even matter that he didn’t get a POV because Samantha Young gave enough away about him that made you ultimately crave him in a sense.
From the moment these two cross paths that one fated day at an airport and then being stuck on the same flight to Boston, it’s just pure hatred of the other and as the story progresses the chemistry and attraction is off the charts! The rules were clear… Things were to be kept casual. Soon a friendship blossoms and then of course, the heart is a treacherous thing. Feelings begin to grow and you can imagine how that goes.
Oh, Samantha Young! Why it has taken me this long to read this woman’s words is beyond me. I just know it won’t be my last. She gave us two very different characters with flaws and hurtful pasts. I could see why many didn’t like Caleb, but I loved the big brute! He is the very embodiment of mixed emotions. He wasn’t hurtful to be cruel, he did it because it was a defense mechanism to protect his own heart. Thank God he saw the error of his ways. Ava should have made him grovel a little more, but can you blame the girl
Sexy, fun, and wonderful! This book was fantastic!! I seriously couldn’t get enough. Bonus was the beautiful friendship between Ava and Harper .
I’m crossing my fingers for a book for Harper and Jamie!
5 “You’re All I Need” Stars!
Ava Breevort is a beautiful, successful interior designer living in Boston. She unexpectedly has to travel back home to Arizona after an old friend passes away, and is forced to face the past she’s tried so hard to forget. Desperate to return home to Boston, Ava is relieved to learn there is one first class seat left, that is until an arrogant Scotsman named Caleb Scott steals her seat. Things continue to go downhill from there, and she can’t stop clashing with Caleb. She finds him obnoxious, offensive, rude, and uncivilized. He completely infuriates her, but also flusters her. He’s like a blond, tattooed modern day viking. He’s absolutely gorgeous, and she wishes she didn’t feel this intense physical attraction towards him.
Their journey home is plagued by unexpected delays, and during a layover their anger turns into uncontrollable passion. They decide to explore all this sexual tension and explosive chemistry between them. They are being spontaneous and not overanalyzing things. Just enjoying each other while it lasts. He was offering her a rush and escape she couldn’t turn down. No attachments, and incredible pleasure. She couldn’t believe she could desire a man she disliked so much. He’s not even her type, but damn is he sexy, and leaves her breathless with one touch. He gave her unbelievable no strings satisfaction while overwhelming and owning her completely. She was insatiable for him. Thank goodness it was only temporary. She would go home, never see him again, and would only have the memory of the night she’d never forget. Then Caleb unexpectedly shows up in Boston.
Ava & Caleb begin to spend some more time together now that he’ll be in Boston. Something that’s to remain casual soon starts to feel all too real. Ava’a faith in love had long ago been destroyed, and she’d learned the hard way love hurt too much to be worth it in the end. Caleb is turning out to be different from what she expected. As his redeeming qualities are revealed Ava realizes he could be very dangerous to her heart. Will she protect herself from being hurt or risk her heart for love?
This book was phenomenal! By far my favorite book I’ve read by this author, and I love Samantha Young’s books! This story was incredibly sexy, full of hilarious banter, and packed with emotion. I loved everything about it! It was an easy five stars for me, and will be in my top reads for 2018.
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?
Final Score – 4.5 Stars!
The book starts off with an assumption from an otherwise ass (and I say that because that’s how he comes across) of a man. Caleb is judgmental, blunt and insensitive – otherwise an ass. That’s not to say that Ava is/was always in the right – she did poke the bear so to speak. However, first impressions are a big deal to me and well, I identified with Ava more so than Caleb. My feelings for Caleb were a slow burn – he didn’t completely win me over enough, but the overall ending was plausible for me and enjoyable to read.
What can I say about Samantha Young’s books that hasn’t already been said by me and countless others? Everyone I’ve talked to has not only read her On Dublin Series (and LOVED it as much as I do). Her style of writing about funny, witty, and sarcastic characters – you can’t help but be blown away with each and every new book she releases. They’re just that good! And with FIGHT OR FLIGHT, she’s added an element of heartbreak I’m sure every woman – especially nowadays – can relate to. The story was engaging – I could not put it down – and chemistry between Caleb and Ava was strong. I will be buying the paperback/hardcover to add to my ever growing collection of Samantha Young books.
I definitely recommend this one.
I picked up Fight Or Flight at a thrift store, I didn’t know anything about the book. I bought it because I loved all Samantha Young’s books I’ve read before. I bought the audiobook while Audible had a sale. I went into the store blindly and I have no regrets, the story surprised me by how good it was. The plot was awesome, the characters fantastic. Every minute of the book was worth my time, I was entertained, felt in love with the story and all the characters.
3.5 stars
I’ll admit some of the content in this book could be considered problematic—multiple tragic characters and situations, a mean Hero, politically incorrect and triggering topics. I almost feel guilty about liking it. But I did like it in the sense that the hate banter was really funny and I liked the ending, and the epilogue was fantastic. So I finished with a good feeling about the story but what went on between the first 20% and the last 20% was sometimes hard to take.
This is written from the heroine’s POV so the whiplash of emotions that she experiences from the Hero are a mystery to both her and the reader. And just as she wonders if it’s worth it, we do too. Ava’s pain is right on the surface, but Caleb’s is buried so deep he’s no longer in touch with it. Anything that comes close to Caleb’s issues sends him spiraling out of control. He’s frankly scarier than any other enemies-to-lovers Heroes that I’ve read because of his knee-jerk reactions and justifications for them. He just can’t be trusted.
I find that my thoughts on this book are different from what they were on my first reading in 2019. It’s only been two years and yet what I was ok with then I don’t feel so good about now. There’s a lot of hot button topics in here—too many for any one book. And there’s one particular scene that sends up a lot of red flags.
Yet I can’t say I wasn’t compelled to keep turning pages. Most of the story I could work with, and in the end the author convinced me that Caleb’s “simmering anger” had been resolved, otherwise I could never have considered this an HEA. (In real life I’d say therapy would be a good idea all around.)
A number of reviewers have called this book “cute” or “light”. IMO it’s definitely not cute or light. It’s pretty heavy with the exception of the banter. The blurb and the cover aren’t any indicator of what you’re getting yourself into when you start reading this book. I really can’t recommend or not recommend this story as I think there will be a very wide range of opinions and you need to decide that for yourself.
I loved this book and hoped it would never end. Samantha Young never disappoints.
4.5/5 Stars
4/5 Steam Rating
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I picked up Fight or Flight after a really emotionally draining book. I needed something that was a bit lighter and not emotionally taxing, luckily this was just what the doctor ordered!
Fight or Flight is an enemies to lovers romance, with a one night stand trope that turns into a relationship of convenience. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and I loved that this wasn’t the typical long standing enemy situation. Quite the opposite, these are two strangers who don’t like each other from the beginning, yet are still insanely attracted to each other.
I thought that the characters were well built, complex, and loveable even when you wanted to right their neck. Ava’s character was one of my absolute favorite protagonist in a romance in a long time; Caleb made a lot of mistakes (and I wanted to smack him a few times) but I still fell in love with him too. I devoured this book and their story, I just couldn’t get enough. This book did a really nice job of balancing out the steamy romance, the past hang ups, and banter/tension between Ava & Caleb.
I did make the mistake of reading a couple reviews for this book Luckily, I read Fight or Flight before reading the reviews because I might not have read it otherwise. While I won’t spoil this for you, I do want to point out that there’s a controversial part to this book (not having to do with the MCs relationship with each other). I personally understand why it was written into the story and don’t believe that some of the negative reviews discuss the full scope of the situation. I am more than happy to talk about it with anyone that would like further details.
review on my blog
https://www.emilythebooknerd.com/2020/05/fight-or-flight.html#more
Can I just say how much I enjoyed Fight or flight!!!! It earned those 5’s for making me:
giggle
snort laugh
become angry
hot flashes….the good kind….
Because Caleb Scott is a HOT Scot!!!!!
I loved the way Caleb and Ava met….and continued to meet. Casual??? Ummmm…NOPE! Thank god!!!! Lol
There was one sentence that really stood out to me:
“We’re all afraid of something, sweetheart. It’s up to us whether we stay and fight that fear”
That right there! FIGHT!!! And the grand gesture……perfect!!!!
I really, really hope we get Harper’s story next!
An enemies to lovers novel with good banter. Caleb and Ava are on a flight together and get into each other’s space and annoyance. Being diverted to a different state with an overnight layover leads them to have a one night stand. Once they both reach Boston, they go their separate ways until fate or love steps in to bring them back together.
This was a good storyline with fun secondary characters. Both characters had baggage from previous relationships that hindered them to commit. With time and patience they discover that being together is worth fighting for.
This cover might give you the impression that it is a rom com, I would say more a contemporary romance as there is a dollop of angst thrown in while they try to work out their feelings.
Worth the read for any romance lover.
Another boy meets girl
very good
Fabulous read!
Sexy, flirty with real characters—no virgins, “brothers best friend”, billionaire boss- -in sight. Hot …
For anyone who is touchy about domestic violence, cheating spouses, or abortion. This may not be what you like.
This was my first Samantha Young book. I I absolutely loved it. I loved the hilarious bickering between the two main characters Ava and Caleb. They were like an old married couple.
It can’t be a coincidence when Ava and Caleb keep bumping into each other at the airport and then back in Ava’s home in Boston. It’s like the fates have brought them together. Both are suffering from hurt from previous relationships and don’t really feel like putting them self’s out into the dating world. The two decide to have a casual fling no strings attached. But soon feelings are developed causing a snag in the no strings agreement. But love may just have a way of bringing them back together.
I was a little shocked when Jamie and Harper never became a couple I was for sure that was going to happen. But I believe it did hint around that it might have been in the works.
Great story, with characters that I immediately cared about! Would read again!