Fight or Flight

By: Samantha Young

Narrated by: Angelica Lee

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

A series of chance encounters leads to a sizzling new romance from the New York Times best-selling 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 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....

©2018 Samantha Young (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“A delightfully flirty read full of banter and heat, Fight or Flight also captivated me with the depth of its emotional intuition. Ava and Caleb positively explode from the pages, and I was left at the end hugging my copy, both satisfied with the fantastic read and bereft that it was over.” (Christina Lauren, New York Times, USA Today, and number-one international best-selling author)

“[Young’s] books have it all - gorgeous writing, sexy characters, heartbreak - I’m addicted.” (Number-one New York Times best-selling author Vi Keeland) 

“Funny, witty, sexy, and a little heartbreaking, [Young’s] outdone herself with Fight or Flight, and that’s saying a lot.” (USA Today best-selling author Penny Reid) 

Holy Macaroni!

I am SOOOO proud of myself: I fought an upward battle to the end of 'Fight or Flight' so that I could give you a completely informed review....

It was TERRIBLE!
Imagine every trope of every romance ever written cobbled together into a single book and you can only begin to conceive the mess that is this story. The last third of the story consists of cliche piled on top of cliche until the weight of the cliches on top made those on the bottom squish and ooze out the sides.

The prose itself was a roller coaster ride; generally passable with a few passages seemingly written by a seventh grade fangirl while the whole thing is lightly peppered with head scratchingly brilliant turns of phrase and observations. The writing was so uneven, I triple checked to make certain there was only one author.

My ability to make it to the end rests entirely on the strength of a most valiant effort made by reader Angelica Lee who, despite the facts that her Scots accent is decidedly jobby and she can't pronounce the word 'forward', deserves a medal for making Fight or Flight bearable enough to finish.

Okay, Fine. I understand that books have become consumables like french fries or smoothies but honestly, shouldn't we expect more? More not only from writers and publishers, but more from ourselves? What has happened to our fiction? This book has a 4.5 rating from my fellow readers and the last third of the book didn't even make sense. I'm baffled by this- I don't enjoy saying that a book is terrible, particularly not one that makes me think the author can do much better (if she were paid more? if she had more time? if our reviews provided honest guidance?). I don't want Proust or Nabokov while I'm driving or scrubbing floors, but this highly rated novel crossed a line for me.

Fight or Flight

Ahh YES! I loved this book from the beginning to the end. This felt like a Samantha Young book. I loved the back and forth between the characters the do they like each other or do they hate each other.

It was fun and light-hearted and deep when it needed to be. I very much loved everything about Ava and Caleb. I want more this is going to be an audiobook I listen to again and again.

Ava’s past is a pretty big part of why she surrounds herself with the people that she does and I like that they are not who you would normally think they would be like her one client how she takes her under her wing or her out there best friend. Just not people you think of when you get to know who Ava is and I think that is what makes her so much more than what you see. She sees passed what you look like to the person you are so it’s it any wonder that’s what she wants others to do too?

Caleb is a Scot ohhhh yeah so you know what that means that delicious accent that I love so very much. 100% it makes him hotter if that is even possible. He really has a stick up his butt, but as we learn more about him you see that he uses it as a barrier between himself and people he thinks might hurt him.

I am hoping Caleb’s bro gets a book because a painter with a past like his let me swoon now. :)

The narration is phenomenal a home run for me, I love that she can so the male accent so freaking well that it gives me shivers! I want more, please!

A Jamie Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser for 2018

Ok ... so I am not too frivolous save for a light read here & there...& I NEVER stop what I’m doing to just listen. But I did just that for the last 2 hrs of this one. You made my Friday night Samantha Young. I love all your reads. Can’t wait for the next.

Trash, trash, absolute trash. Oh, and spoilers below.

If you’re into predictable story lines with an unlikable uptight female lead and a hyper-toxic masculine love interest then look no further. I’m not sure why the author wants so desperately to romanticize a man with emotional issues who treats a woman like shit and is mean to her consistently throughout the book. The woman tries to change the man- who is blatantly just emotionally abusive and uses physical intimidation in arguments- and the happy ending is that she succeeds in changing him. The author attempts to distract the reader from the toxic and abusive romance she’s spinning by adding a side plot of the main character’s best friend being physically battered by her boyfriend. Sorry, it’s disgusting. I’m not down with romanticizing a story of a man who is rude to nearly everyone he comes across because he’s an “alpha male” as the author calls him. She writes at multiple points about the man seething in a jealous rage that seems like it could tip into violence at any moment, and then adds that the woman takes this to mean that he really does love her. This book is so rampant with red flags for abuse that are being romanticized for no good reason.
While there are many enjoyable tidbits in this book and I liked it in parts, she lost me when the big reveal was that the guy hates his ex girlfriend so much because she “killed [his] baby” and “smothered the life of his child inside her” when she chose to have an abortion early in her pregnancy because she didn’t want kids right now. She was “selfish and vain”
This apparently was supposed to validate the male love interests abhorrent, childish, and controlling abusive behavior.
This is the last book I’ll read from this author. I’m honestly disgusted and hope that young women don’t read this and think that this is what passion looks like and think it’s okay for anyone to treat them this way.

Reader drove me crazy

I stuck with the book for the sake of the story, but I couldn’t stand the reader’s voice! She sounded pissed off throughout the whole book and it definitely distracted me from enjoying the story.

Love it!

I really really liked this story. I’m running out of contemporary “millionaire” romances by Samantha young and am so sad! I love her stories. I stumbled upon her as an author 4 days ago and I’m already 4 books in to get collection. Very happy and I want more!!

It had me at the Scottish accent and never let go.

I loved this story. Ava & Caleb were great characters and I enjoyed following along with their story. I laughed out loud and shed tears for them both throughout the book. It’s a story I know I’ll happily come back to again and again. I’m hoping that there’s a second book for Jamie & Harper too…

You almost had me

Very well read and performed I was completely hooked but somewhere in the middle the story lost my attention. So well read and performed though.

Not a fan.

Naive & desperate. Fickle sarcastic sexual banter between two main characters. Terribly predictable & extremely disappointed. Thought it might be a fun summer read. Made me feel creepy, like reading a nerdy 15 year old girls diary kustng after her hot neighbor. Blah.

I loved it!

Right from the moment Ava Breevort and Caleb Scott crossed paths, it was evident that their personalities clashed. From a chance encounter at the airport to their one-night stand, the problem was that Caleb Scott lacked the qualities of a gentleman, and Ava found herself helplessly drawn to him, defying her own beliefs. Despite their mutual disdain, fate had another plan for them. And now, he's in her city proposing to continue their physical connection. What could possibly go wrong? Surely, she couldn't allow herself to fall for someone she disliked. Then again, Caleb had turned out to be a person of unexpected depth and substance, someone whose company she couldn't resist.

✨ Thoughts
Samantha Young knows how to write good chemistry and fascinating characters, especially when it comes to her Scottish male characters. From the beginning, Ava and Caleb had my undivided attention. Their chemistry and banter were out of this world.

Despite Caleb's rudeness, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the pages. I wanted him to stop with his insolence while simultaneously craving his audacious remarks. As Ava and Caleb maneuver through the complexities of their relationship, the story becomes laced with anguish and moments of exasperation, further fueling my emotional investment.

Overall, this is an absolute must-listen for those who love a good strangers-to-enemies-to-lovers trope with opposites attracting.

The narration was absolutely brilliant. Angelica Lee is very skilled and was able to flawlessly bring every character to life.