Spurred on by overwhelming and ever-increasing debts, Emily White takes a job working in the first-class cabin on the prestigious commuter route from her home of New York to London with Crown Airlines. A gruelling transatlantic schedule means she is in the air nearly as much as she is on the ground and desperately misses her five-year-old son.
On board she meets Olivia Lewis, who is a literal … literal high-flying business executive with a weekly commute, a meticulous schedule, and terrible social skills.
When a personal emergency brings them together, will Emily be able to swallow her pride and accept help from Olivia? And will Olivia be able to prevent herself from saying the wrong thing?
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What I Think: So, you already know I tend to run from tales with kids in them. The more adorable the kid, the further I run but this was unavoidable. A single parent? Coping with illness? An awkward millionaire who can’t handle kids or even handle the kid’s mother? My heart was already melting. So, let’s get to it. Being raised by a single mother, my mind was automatically Emily’s. Also, having up, close and personal experiences about how very reasonable people can mess themselves up just by choosing the wrong partner, the kinship was strong and instant. When Emily first finds out about Olivia, I cheered. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy relationship but I so wanted her to be Emily’s Knightress in shining armor. What I did not expect were all the feels I would get. Olivia is awkward but sweet and honest to a fault. But she’s so terrible at the way she goes about trying to help and woo Emily that most of her efforts are disastrous. Disastrous enough that I read through parted fingers with only one eye because I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me several times on Olivia’s behalf. I felt so protective of her that Emily’s current ego chip has me side-eyeing her suspiciously. And that was difficult too because as a very proud woman, I understand what it’s like to be in Emily’s shoes. Ah, being reasonable can be such a burden. But Olivia definitely has some moves. The way she uses Henry unashamedly to reel Emily in. The way she tries to make up for her foot in mouth disease. The sweet awkweirdness of their blossoming friendship, which was really helped, pushed, and prodded along by Simon. Simon actually had me pondering on the pros and cons of a best friend weighed against a super-efficient PA and I think I just might take the PA because he saved Olivia time and time again. How Olivia can be so awkward yet completely efficient business-wise, even going ahead to show crazy bosses out there how to be a proper boss, is so familiar that I fell in love with her all over again. Her simplicity and straight forward mind make me hope desperately that there’ll be a lovemaking scene where all that perfection comes undone and the awkwardness melts away. Emily also makes an effort to understand Olivia better, and finds it in herself to self-check and be more mature. When Olivia applies that mind to her detailed care of Emily and Henry, I fell deeper and couldn’t stop laughing as even Henry unwittingly ropes her into their small family. Honestly, this is quite unfair. I can’t even decide if I want to be Olivia or marry her fast. Emily needs to get her head in the game before I have to manually reset it for her. The attraction between them begins to come to the fore and I’m doing a jig for joy because this slow burn is killing me and I’m certain delicious things are about to happen. Then, Olivia crosses lines that can’t be uncrossed and I almost wept. I was angry with them both for spoiling something so lovely, then it hurt because I couldn’t understand how they can’t see how perfect they are for each other. By the time the cliffhanger ending came, I was gearing up to join Olivia in the war it will take to fix things. I have to admit that I don’t like slow burn tales being quite impatient myself, but having started this journey, I am hooked and must see it to the end.
Verdict? The beginning of a sweet and awkweird romance that’s a slow burn but oh, so worth it!
I am so in love with Olivia’s character. Radley perfectly develops her character with all her eccentricities, and that truly makes her just that much more endearing to me. By incorporating her first person inner voice to give a glimpse of how someone with social difficulties views her interactions with other people, Radley also gives the reader a character that does not conform to that perfect image too often portrayed in the entertainment industry.
Olivia and Emily develop a strong attraction to one another, however, Olivia’s need to fix things without asking first creates a huge cavern of misunderstanding between the two. That Olivia bonds more quickly with Emily’s son does not seem at all odd. She responds to the childlike honesty, finding it refreshing welcome and more natural than her interactions and relationships with any adult that is new in her life, including Emily. As this is the first book in the three book series, I will just say that Radley’s style, dialogue, and characters have a depth that will leave you wanting more.