In the corner of one of the drawers Alexander allotted me, I have a list I wrote when I was thirteen. Written across the top are the words Ava’s Adult Aspirations… It’s only two things, and I’ve long memorized it, but I still pull it out sometimes to read it aloud, just to remind myself. It says:
1. Stay in one place.
2. Have real friends. Friends who don’t travel. 

The Layover (From ARC, quotes may have changed in publication copy)

Thank you, NetGalley and Putnam, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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….

This book was so cute and was the perfect way to kick off the summer reading season. 

The Layover follows Ava, a recently engaged flight attendant getting ready for her last trip before finally settling down. She’s sad that it’s going to be her last trip, but her dream has always been to put down roots and live a stable life, so she’s ready to make the most of it. At least, until she realizes who the other flight attendant on her flight is: Jack Stone, a cocky, womanizing former Air Force pilot who she’s held a grudge against for years. 

She’s determined not to let him ruin her trip, especially since she’s never going to have to see him again. But the more time they spend together in the air and on an extended layover with him in Belize due to engine failure, the more she begins to realize two things: 1) she might have been wrong about Jack, and 2) her dreams of putting down roots may not be what she wants after all.

Lacie Waldon’s debut novel is everything you could possibly want from a summer rom-com. The setting is perfect and immersive. Waldon’s descriptions of the day-to-day tasks of a flight attendant and the island where Ava and Jack spend their extended layover were realistic and really helped set the mood. Waldon also did a fantastic job at making me really feel everything Ava was feeling during her soul-searching last trip. From the beginning, it’s so clear how torn Ava is between her love of flying and the desire to have the stable home life she craved as a child. 

I also loved the love triangle between Ava, her fiancé Alexander, and Jack. I’m not usually the biggest fan of love triangles, but this one was so well done. Upon his introduction, I immediately didn’t like Alexander. It was so clear to me that he’s wrong for her, and although Ava’s inner monologue about him is subtle, it’s clear she knows that too. It’s undeniable in contrast to the sparks that fly between her and Jack. Their chemistry is fantastic, and they have a lot more in common.

Overall, The Layover was a great read. It was fun, flirty, and had just the right amount of emotional depth. If you’re looking for something to add to your summer TBR, definitely check this one out.