Review: Flight SQA016

Flight SQA016 by A.E. Radley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished on April 4, 2021

Favorite Scene/Quote: "You promised that you would try...That we'd find a way to communicate."

4.5/5 rounded up

I’ve been going back and forth about whether to read this book for almost a year now. I was never quite sure, but I decided to give it a chance and I’m quite glad that I did.
    
This story follows Olivia, a business executive (“piggy bank” by Henry’s wording), who flies into London on Monday and out of London on Friday. She meets Emily who works in the first-class cabin in order to pay back the debt that she’s in. The two are brought together when Emily’s son has an emergency and Olivia quickly bonds with the kid.

I really enjoyed the characters for the most part. Olivia is awkward in social situations and can’t quite read the room but she’s big hearted and sweet. Emily is slow to trust and doesn’t want to need anyone’s help. Henry is charming and an all-around joy. I had some issues with Emily because of how quickly she would jump to conclusions. They weren’t always unfounded conclusions but some of them just seemed a bit much. I adore Olivia. Even with her social awkwardness, she can understand things once someone explains them to her.

I really enjoyed most of this book, but I didn’t like how it ended. It was a good ending for an author trying to set up a sequel, which there is, but I just found it to be a little unsatisfying and rushed.  I especially didn’t like how Emily just ended things with Olivia without really trying to communicate. Yes, Olivia had acted out of line, but Emily didn’t even try. Olivia had admitted multiple times previously that she isn’t good in social situations and would mess up, Emily even agreed to always try to listen to her and give her a chance. Then she cuts off all contact with Olivia because she made a mistake because she was worried about Henry and made poor decisions in her worry. I wish it hadn’t ended the way that it did because now I have to decide if I want to read the sequels.

This is a good book that is quite well-written. I loved the characters in spite of their flaws. But if you want a feel-good book with a happy ending, stay away unless you want to read the sequel to get it.