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the layover review

Writer's picture: Annika PillaiAnnika Pillai

I kind of am going through a rom-com phase right now––I’ve basically read every popular rom-com to exist, ever, which is what lead me to picking up this book. That and the fact that the cover is just so pretty, oh my goodness. The premise also just sounded so interesting?


The Layover is the story of a flight attendant, Ava, who is prepared to finally hang up her wings, and put down her roots––after this last trip, she is quitting her job. She is prepared to relax and enjoy her last flight, up until she discovers that former pilot Jack Stone, the cocky man she's held a secret grudge against for years, is working her flight with her. She wants nothing more than to just get through this trip, but then their plane encounters mechanical problems, and what should have been a quick stop at the Belize airport suddenly becomes a weekend layover. Having to work with him is bad enough, but being in such close proximity with him for an entire weekend? Hell no. Suddenly Ava is forced her to start rethinking her entire life, starting with him.


I’m going to be honest, I really don’t know how to feel about this book. In terms of romances, I thought that it was pretty average? Jack and Ava were cute, but there wasn’t anything groundbreaking about them, and the entire book was relatively tame (this was very clean). I really don’t mind if a book is explicit or not, so this wasn’t that big of a deal to me.


The whole book was told from Ava’s point of view, which I didn’t mind for the most part, but there were times where I really wanted to hear Jack’s thoughts on things. Another thing worth mentioning is that the whole book takes place over like three days––I don’t usually love this in my books (I hated it in People We Meet on Vacation), and I think that it contributed to the overall averageness of the romance. I just have a hard time believing two characters can fall in love over the span of three days.


I know that from what I’ve already said, it seems like I have a really strong idea of how I feel about this book, but the reason I’m having a hard time rating it, is because I really appreciate what Lacie Waldon was trying to do with Ava’s character––and a huge part of me related to her.


Ava desperately longs for a life filled with stability––growing up, her parents were wanderers. They were constantly traveling; they never stayed in a place for long, leading to them being incredibly unreliable. As an adult, she wants to be the exact opposite of them, living a safe and structured life––and she believes that her job as a flight attendant is the exact opposite of safety, stability, and reliability, costing her many friendships, which is why she is ready to quit.

I have a hard time with this book because of how much I related to Ava––I was constantly moving as a kid, and I hated it; for the longest time, I wanted to be the exact opposite of what my parents were––wanderers. I wanted stability, and I wanted to live in the same place my whole life. I appreciated Ava’s journey of realizing that she, too, may be a wanderer at heart, and that it is not necessarily a bad thing. It was something that I definitely needed to hear.


Lastly, I loved learning about the aspects of being a flight attendant–-I knew virtually nothing about them, and I believe the author is a flight attendant as well, so everything felt very authentic and real to read about, which I really appreciated. Learning about the job was very interesting, and definitely kept me intrigued.


I think that my final thoughts are this; I didn’t love the romance, or anything––it was painfully average––however Ava’s journey of growth and self-acceptance was very necessary and painfully real to read about.


Rating ➳ 3.5/5 stars

(tw: cancer, death, infidelity, toxic relationships)

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