The Layover by Lacie Waldon Published by Putnam on June 15, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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After ten years as a flight attendant, Ava Greene is poised to hang up her wings and finally put down roots. She's got one trip left before she bids her old life farewell, and she plans to enjoy every second of it. But then she discovers that former pilot Jack Stone -- the absurdly gorgeous, ridiculously cocky man she's held a secret grudge against for years -- is on her flight. And he has the nerve to flirt with her, as if he doesn't remember the role he played in the most humiliating night of her life. Good thing she never has to see him again after they land....
But when their plane encounters mechanical problems, what should have been a quick stop at the Belize airport suddenly becomes a weekend layover. Getting stuck on a three-hour flight with her nemesis was bad enough. Being stranded with him at a luxury resort in paradise? Even with the sultry breeze and white sand to distract her, it will take all the rum punch in the country to drown out his larger-than-life presence.
Yet the more time Ava spends with him under the hot Caribbean sun, the more she begins to second-guess everything she thought she knew about him... and everything she thought she wanted from her life. And all too soon, she might have to choose between keeping her feet on the ground and her head in the clouds....
An unexpected tropical layover with her nemesis turns a flight attendant's life upside down in this witty, breezy debut romantic comedy about life -- and love -- 30,000 feet above the ground.
I was so, so excited to read The Layover by Lacie Waldon. I love anything that involves travel (especially right now when traveling isn’t very safe), so reading about a flight attendant’s adventures was extremely appealing to me. And I really liked parts of it! The writing is very well done, and I loved the descriptions of the views from the cockpit of the plans and of. the scenery in Belize. The discussions about Ava’s passion for her career were also very nice to read. I made it about halfway through, though, and looked at how far I had come and realized I still had so much left to read. Essentially, I felt as though I had been reading forEVER. The book was seriously dragging for me. For the most part, Ava is extremely rude and judgmental and I decided I was done with her once I realized how much left I had to read. The things she says to Jack and the way she treats him were horrible. I’m assuming there will eventually be some kind of reveal that will try to justify her behavior and her attitude, but I already know it won’t work for me. Ava is an adult, and by this point in her life I’m sure she has learned how to fake being civil to people. I felt really bad for Jack. Plus, at the halfway point there had been no romance and had also only been mildly funny a couple times. So a romantic comedy this is not, just fair warning. The focus is really on the changes in Ava‘s life and her journey to figure out who and what she wants to be. There’s nothing wrong with that, but when I don’t even like her I don’t care to read about her journey. And once the romance begins all I’m going to think is that Jack doesn’t deserve having to put up with someone like Ava. I’m so disappointed.