Love at First Flight

by Marie Force

He knew with one glance that she would change his life….A prosecutor about to try the trial of his career and a hard-luck hairstylist meet at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on a Friday night, on their way to visit significant others in Florida. Michael and Juliana have a lot riding on this weekend as they try to repair relationships strained by distance. When they discover they’re on the same flight home, they agree to meet up again to compare notes about how their weekends unfolded.…. but he couldn’t have know that everything is about to change…The instant connection they shared the night they met forms the foundation for a new friendship that soon leads to love, and as Michael’s trial takes a violent turn, staying alive becomes their top priority. Follow Michael and Juliana’s emotional journey in this newly reissued edition of one of Marie Force’s most beloved standalone contemporary romances. Included in this edition is a never-before-published extended Epilogue that takes you inside Michael and Juliana's happily ever after. Second Edition. This book was previously published in 2009.“LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT by Marie Force is most definitely a keeper. It is an astounding book. I loved every single word!” —Wild on Books, 4.5 Bookmarks“Ms. Force did a wonderful job of drawing you in to the story. She made it very realistic in the sense that not only did I fall madly in love with Michael, but she forces you to really feel for Jeremy (Juliana’s first love). You are struggling inside as to which man you really want her to be with.” —Book Lover, 4.5 Stars “I read this book in less than a twenty-four hour period. I can’t remember the last time a story held me as mesmerized as LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT; I couldn’t get enough and wanted more… Ms. Force pens so much more than a simple romance, her voice has that “certain something” which captivates the reader from first word to the last. She creates a story and characters the reader can embrace and cheer on whole-heartedly with a smile and a lump in the throat.” —Once Upon A Romance“And to you, Marie Force, what a talented author you are—your characters are captivating and come to life through your writing—they jump out of the pages and into the reader’s heart. The plot is well-developed, flows smoothly, and engages the reader from beginning to end. Emotions are strong and written with such clarity that you feel them inside as if they were your own.” —World According to Books“This isn’t just a romance novel or a legal story or any other classification but a mixture of many that cannot be separated. It’s a fantastic mix of romance against a legal story with danger lurking around every corner. There are high-speed car rides as well as romantic dinners with walks along the beach. An assassin comes into play as well as a teenage witness. It’s a book that should interest a broad spectrum of readers.” —Night Owl Reviews, 4.75 out of 5, Reviewer Top Pick“LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT by Marie Force is most definitely a keeper. It is an astounding book. I loved every single word!” —Wild on Books, 4.5 Bookmarks“Marie Force really has a knack for getting the reader emotionally involved with her characters. I felt the same way when I read Line of Scrimmage and Love at First Flight is no exception. I have to give kudos to her for writing such an unconventional romance so well. The fact that she could engage my emotions throughout the whole book really is a testament to her skillfulness of storytelling.” —Book Binge

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Chick Lit, Ebooks, Audiobook

358 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2009

About the author

Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, romantic suspense and erotic romance. Her series include Gansett Island, Fatal, Treading Water, Butler Vermont and Quantum.

Her books have sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller more than 30 times. She is also a USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller, as well as a Speigel bestseller in Germany.

Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.

Join Marie’s mailing list on her website at marieforce.com for news about new books and upcoming appearances in your area. Follow her on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/MarieForceAuthor and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/marieforceauthor/. Contact Marie at marie@marieforce.com.

Reviews

[Auntee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved 2/3 of this book. The writing was excellent, all of the characters interesting and well developed, the plot intriguing, the pacing superb, and the hero a dream-come-true.(*sigh*) My only complaint--the heroine made me want to pull my hair out in frustration so many times, I nearly gave up reading the book with 50 pages to go after she pulled one of the stupidest moves...arrgh! If I could have reached inside the book and slapped her silly, I swear I would have! When it came to this heroine, a couple of sayings come to mind: 'If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with', and, 'Out of sight out of mind'. This woman flip-flopped, waffled, and changed her mind so many times about who she wanted to be with, I wasn't at all sure that she wouldn't change her mind one last time at the end of the book!

Okay, as for the plot--it was a pretty good one. Beautiful hair stylist Juliana Gregorio, age 27, and handsome prosecuting attorney Michael Maguire, 32, meet in a Baltimore airport while awaiting their delayed flight to Florida. Michael's working on the biggest case of his career involving some notorious gang members who gunned down three teenage boys, has his star witness in a witness protection program, but has to take some time out from his extremely busy schedule to attend his engagement party in Florida, where his spoiled, rich fiancee lives with her parents. Juliana's on her way to Florida for a visit where her boyfriend of 10 years(!) has been working for the past 7 months. They get to talking, have an instant connection as if they were old friends, and Michael even finds himself a bit smitten with Juliana. But nothing will come of it, because he's about to get married, right? And Juliana has loved her only boyfriend Jeremy since high school, when he rescued her from a miserable home life. So what if lately he's been taking her for granted--they're bound to get married some day.

Well, things don't go well for Juliana or Michael in Florida. It seems Jeremy has been thinking about maybe needing to sow some wild oats before getting married, which throws Juliana for a loop. They agree to a 3 month cooling off period in their relationship, and when the 3 months are up, they'll either get married or break up. As for Michael, he's getting tired of fiancee Paige manipulating him into things he really doesn't want to do, and the final straw comes when her doting father arranges for him to take a job as an Assistant Attorney General in Florida without bothering to ask him. Michael blows his stack with Paige, declares the engagement off, and gets ready to head out of town. He meets up with Juliana (who's looking all forlorn) at the airport, they cry on each other's shoulder, bonding over their miserable love lives, and their new friendship is cemented.

Now here's where Juliana first gets into trouble. She doesn't feel right about living in Jeremy's house while they are taking a 'time out' from their relationship (too many memories), but guess who lives just a few blocks away? That's right, new buddy Michael, and he wouldn't mind having Juliana as a roommate for a couple of months. Platonically, of course. Uh-huh.

To make a long story short, sparks soon fly, Juliana puts up a token resistance, and Michael and Julianna are hitting the sheets for some awesome sex. Ironically, it's Juliana sowing a few wild oats, not Jeremy. Michael falls head-over-heels, declaring his love. (This guy holds nothing back, which is a good thing.) It's not long before Julianna admits it too. What? Okay then, you'd better get on that phone and tell Jeremy that it's over, right? Wrong. Juliana agrees to give Michael 3 months, but she's just not sure what she will do after that. She's been with Jeremy forever, she still thinks she loves him, he's been there for her at her lowest point in her life, yada yada. Can she just dump him like that?

Michael, having the patience of a saint, agrees to this little arrangement. I guess a little bit of time with Juliana is better than no time at all. Things heat up with the trial, attempts are made on his life (and Juliana's), and finally it looks like Juliana realizes that she can't live without Michael! These two were so perfect together, had so many swoon-worthy moments, that they had me convinced that there would be babies and a white-picket fence in their future. But not-so-fast, Juliana still hasn't broken the news to Jeremy. And he's due back any day now...

Without going into it, Juliana does something incredibly stupid and hurtful to Michael, and then saint that he is, Michael says something incredibly loving that had me tearing up and questioning Juliana's sanity. This is when I started screaming "I can't believe this", and "You idiot" (directed at Julianna).

Thankfully, (thankfully!) the author pulls this one out just as I was about to throw in the towel. She manages to convince me that Juliana isn't the dumbest woman on the face of the planet, gives her a little backbone, and almost makes me forgive her for what she did to Michael (and Jeremy, for that matter). (*Big Sigh*)

Just to mention a couple more things that bugged me. I thought Jeremy got kind of a raw deal. He was just being honest with Julianna about having cold feet, he came to his senses almost immediately, and I believed all his professions of love to Juliana (not that I wanted them to end up together). As for Paige, yeah, she was a bit of a princess, but I thought Michael owed her a better break-up than he gave her. They had a conversation near the end of the book that proved she wasn't a bad person at all, just not the right one for Michael.

So to sum up: wonderful writing, great little story with a good deal of suspense and atmosphere, some hot, romantic sex, fantastic hero, a bit of a bird-brain heroine, and a nice little HEA. I'm going to forgive Juliana and blame her stupidity on inexperience, immaturity, and a guilt complex, and let it go at that.:) 4 stars.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

I can see why Marie Force is such a force on Kindle. I read this book as quickly as I could, and I enjoyed every word of it. Other people have reviewed the plot so I won't go there. What I will say is that Juliana and Michael are characters we can relate to. They feel real. The dilemmas they face feel real. As a result, the emotions they go through feel real.

HUGE props to Ms. Force for avoiding any number of cliche plot scenarios. If you need proof that romantic fiction needs to broaden its parameters a bit, this book offers it. The story begins with Juliana and Michael in long-term relationships with other people. She's been with the same guy for 10 years, and she loves him. He's engaged and on his way to his engagement party. They even have sex with these people in the early chapters of the book. Yes, sex. In front of us. And you're going to have conflicted feelings from time to time about these four people — Juliana, Michael and their significant others who turn out to be less significant than they believed.

Think a mainstream publisher is going to publish that scenario any time soon outside an erotica novel? Probably not. And that's too bad because it works, at least when guided by Ms. Force's skilled pen.

The story had some twists and turns — at least one of which will have you shouting "NO!" — and though I knew how the story would work out in the end, I couldn't wait to see how it got there. I read the ending in a hair salon while getting my hair shampooed and cut and kept lifting my head out of the basin so that I could look down at my Kindle and read the next few lines. No joke. Also, I bit off all my fingernails. Well, at least I didn't have to polish them.

I plan to read the rest of Marie's books when I get some time. With my own deadlines, that's not easy. But I really love her voice. And I love the fact she's not allowing herself to be straight-jacketed by the goofy parameters that make so many novels predictable. In real life, most of us have multiple relationships. And sometimes we find ourselves with one person when we belong with another.

The way Ms. Force handle's Juliana's side of things at the very end, having her learn the value of independence, was extraordinary.

So five big, fat stars from me. Marie Force

[Syndi · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

I usually like Miss Force books. She is one of my favorite author. However Love at First Flight does not work for me. The timeline is very confusing.

The conversation between characters also dragging. It seems like a never ending push and pull.

2 stars

[ReaderOz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is populated by nasty characters.

The ‘heroine’ – Juliana – cheats on and screws over the two men who love her. She’s a princess in constant need of rescuing, and never really makes a choice between the two whipped men who follow her around for some inexplicable reason.

The ‘hero’ – Michael – screws his fiancée over and handles the breakup like a four-year-old. Then he meets Princess Juliana and becomes the most unrealistically perfect romance hero in the history of romance writing.

The fiancée was a walking, talking cliché and I did not appreciate her part in the story.

The other man was – apart from one moment of weakness – far too good for Princess Juliana, and he got a lucky escape.

The plot was too drawn-out and it started going in circles about halfway through. The moment when the hired killer let Juliana go to the bathroom before he killed her (where she called 911) was beyond strange.

This author might have some potential, but the way this book was handled was not good.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading this book I realized something about myself. I don't like the "torn between two lovers" plot device. Juliana had been with Jeremy for ten years, since high school. He tells her he's had thoughts about seeing other women. When he sees how hurt she is by this, he tries to take it back. But she decides that they should take a break from their relationship, be apart for 3 months. After which, they will break it off for good or get married.

Julianna ends up moving in with Michael, a man she met on a plane. They fall in love and the bulk of the book is about their blossoming relationship. Here's where I start having problems with the book. She's with this guy Michael now, she swears she loves him, but she doesn't want anyone to know about him in case it gets back to Jeremy. Wait.....what?! She makes the decision to be with this guy, says she loves him, but she wants to keep him her dirty little secret? In case the OTHER man whom she may or may not still love gets his feely weelies hurt?

Finally her time is up and she has to confront Jeremy again. She has decided to break it off with him and stay with Michael. She tells Michael this, in so many words. But then she sees how sorry Jeremy is and accepts his marriage proposal with barely a second thought! OMG!!! Could this girl be any more wishy washy?!!

Well, Jeremy does something stupid and Julianna calls off the wedding, but does she go to Michael and heal his broken heart? NO! She decides to take some time for herself. Now, this would be a good idea if she hadn't just ruined the lives of two men. It would be a good idea if Michael wasn't crying in his beer waiting for her to re-ignite the love she so adamantly professed for him.

This heroine has given me my first opportunity to use the term TSTL! No more "torn between two lovers" books for me.

[Pepito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another terrific read from this amazing writer! What can I say? When it comes to contemporary romance, Marie Force is the writer you should read.Realistic characters, terrific plots and places. And always an otherworldly romance. Her couples are so so good you just can't help but to adore them.

In this installment we have Juliana as a heroine. She was just another typical girl, young and in love. She has been with her boyfriend for 10 years, since she was 17, but they never got married. One day she realizes her childhood sweetheart has been wondering what it would be to be with another person. There has only been them since they were very young, so he just feels he needs to find out what it would be like to be with another woman. Still he immediately finds out he was wrong and he doesn't wanna know. But it's too late, Julianna feels she can't keep the things the way they have always been, not now that she knows how he feels. I mean, how can she know he wont feel the same again later? You can see very clear the love this characters have for one another, but still changes must occur now. So after all this,Juliana decides they need to be 3 months apart. They will be single all this time and come back together after it. Also they will never tell the other what they did in that time.
Her boyfriend, Jeremy, realizes this is not what he wants, that he needs only her and he made a mistake, but Julianna feels they need this time. After this, we see how the heroine falls for another guy even though this was never in her plans. So now what will she do? Go back to the guy she has loved for 10 years or this new amazing love?

I really loved how everything developed. This new guy, Michael, is an amazing lawyer and a sexy to dye for hero. I loved everything about him Marie has created many of the best heroes I have read about. I would kill to find a guy like the ones she writes about. We get to read about Juliana and her travel through life to discover who she is and what she really needs in life. I had only one problem with this book, and it was that it is about a love triangle, and I hate those. But still I was able to adore this book, so I guess that says a lot about it.

This was a very sweet and nice read. I just adore this author and I know I will read everything she writes.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been such a good story, but unfortunately it was not. Boy was I confused at times. I found myself wishing it was over, but I stuck it out to the end hoping that it would get better. Michael and Paige's break up was understandable, although Michael was very harsh about it. Yes, she was a spoiled brat, but you'd have thought she betrayed him the way he reacted and broke off his engagement. What I really did not understand is that the author thought that we could sympathize with Juliana. Jeremy, her boyfriend, merely expressed his thoughts about their relationship and then immediately regretted it. He never acted upon it. She was consumed with the idea that he might be unfaithful during their hiatus, but was the one who wasted no time hopping in the sack with Michael. Jeremy obeyed her wishes, kept to the agreement, did everything from buying her a house, wooing her with love letters, calling her, expressing his love, and not once did he act upon his original thoughts. Then he buys her a ring, it's a little to big, and that's sign that they were not meant to be! Any sweet moments in the book were with Jeremy and I felt sorry for him. Maybe the focus of finding true love should have been on him, and Juliana should have been depicted as the betrayer. That would have made sense.

[Splage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just fell hook, line and sinker for Love at First Flight. I think what I loved about the book is that it had so many relationship twists and turns, as well you are blindsided by a few left hooks-- it was very emotional. I felt very deeply for the characters I even at times found myself heart broken for the exes Paige and Jeremy. The story was very interesting, and the sex was smoking.

Juliana and Michael meet on an airplane as they each head to visit their significant others, Juliana's longtime boyfriend, Jeremy, and Michael's fiancee, the spoiled brat Paige. Things go bad over their weekend and they both break up with their partners and then Juliana and Michael meet again on the return flight. Juliana is devastated over Jeremy's interest in another woman even though he hasn't acted on his curiosity and regrets voicing his thoughts to Juliana. Juliana wants a break from Jeremy for 3 months with no contact to let him sow his wild oats (way to generous- I would have made him suffer). Michael has finally seen the light of Paige and her domineering father and decides he is ending the engagement immediately. I thought Michael was pretty harsh although I was not overly sympathetic to Paige.

Paige and Michael become each other's support group through their ordeals, as well as, room mates. This is where the kitchen sinks practically get thrown at them as they deal with obstacle after obstacle in their new developing relationship. It is platonic at first, although Michael knows Juliana is "his one" and professes his love very quickly. Juliana is slower to come to the realization because all she has ever known emotionally is Jeremy. I thought Marie Force did a very good job of showing how both Michael and Juliana were at one point genuinely in love with their exes, but grew into a much more mature relationship with each other. I don't usually see or feel that about exes. The ending (and climax) were very emotional and did a great job of choking me up.

[Lynette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I promised myself recently that I would start writing more insightful reviews and I don't know if I can do that in this case.

First off, the above back cover blurb is highly misleading and doesn't reflect what's going on inside the book.

When I first opened LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT, I was startled at the content but was allowing myself to set aside my preconceived notions and just let myself go with it. However, that changed as I read and I found myself uttering 'REALLY' several times while reading.

Really. The hero and heroine are both in serious relationships at the start of LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT and I'm supposed to connect with them?

Really. The heroine accepts two proposals from two different men within a couple days of each other.

Really. The hero and the heroine have sex in a hospital bed after she is attacked and nearly raped.

Really. The hero tells his fiancée who he knows was a virgin when they first hooked up that if she is truly pregnant then the baby wasn't his.

Really. The hero's ex who is portrayed as an nice woman who leans to much on her family suddenly turns into Glen Close in Fatal Attraction just because it would be more convenient for the plot and justify the hero's lame butt for dumping her.

Really. The hero ignores his fiancée's phone calls and doesn't try to talk to her and explain why he felt the need to break off their engagement. And he did this for weeks.

Really. The hero who treated his ex abominably accepts the heroine back with open arms after she dumps him and runs back to her ex.

Really. The heroine is shocked when her boyfriend of ten years (who avoids every attempt at the discussion of marriage) admits that he's been thinking of dating other woman.

Really. The heroine and hero immediately fall in love. Why? How? I saw no reasoning behind this.

Really. The heroine can sleep with the hero days after meeting him and declare her love but can run back to her fiancée who didn't value her.

Really. The heroine's boyfriend, who seemed like a realistic guy scared of getting tied down suddenly turned into a prick because it was convenient to the plot.

I have several more really's but I'm going to stop here. LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT didn't work for me and those are my reasons why, but maybe you will be different and will enjoy it very much.

http://lynettestwocents.blogspot.com/

[Camy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, honey, no. This was a DNF for me. The dialogue (and it's lovely to see that there is quite so much of it...great attempt at showing and characterising as opposed to telling) is soooo stilted. It's rather unbelievable too. Now I'm all for fleshed out conversation as opposed to "heroines" just repeating the hero's name ad fricking naseum *coughKristenAshelycough* but no one speaks like this. And the hero's voice is rather feminine. That sealed the deal breaker that is the dialogue in this book for me.

**Spoiler alert**

I do congratulate myself on reading past the tstl behaviour of both the hero and heroine in regard to their respective break ups with their ousted significant others though. I mean, you break up with a woman and you look to STAY in her father's house for the night. Seriously?! You needed that slap to realise, hey perhaps I should be dragging my un-affianced arse to a hotel, just maybe? Okaaaay...

And the heroine who garners and is told her boyfriend is cheating STAYS and goes to dinner with him and makes love with him? Really? And then gives him a three month trial. The relationship is over. Accept it and move on. I can't endorse the idiocy.

Furthermore, an all-out weak heroine who turns her income and life over to her abusive alcoholic mother is just too much on the victim Richter scale for me. I've had my fill. This book never took flight for me.

God, where are the romance books featuring women with brains functioning at full capacity. I'm so over the damn damsel in distress chicks.

[Sofia · Rating 1 out of 5]

The heroine gets my vote for the most selfish and irritating ever.

[Gina · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's not worth the rant.

[AH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warning! If you dislike Love Triangles then.....

Micheal and Juliana meet on a plane on their way to be with their significant others in Florida. They hit it off immediately, talking about their respective relationships and find out that they are on the same return flight. Micheal is on his way to his engagement party and Juliana is off to see her boyfriend of 10 years Jeremy. Things don't go well and Michael breaks off his engagement. Juliana's fiance suggests that they separate for three months, just to see if they are meant for each other. Juliana is devastated and Michael finds her crying at the airport. On the flight home, they realize that there is a spark between them. Juliana then moves in as Michael's "roommate".

OK, I enjoyed the story for the first two-thirds or so. It was a quick read and I loved Michael and Juliana together. But here's the thing...there should never have been a love triangle in this book. Michael spends a lot of time on the relationship, and he is caring and attentive even though he is working on a crazy busy trial that puts both his and Juliana's life in danger. For the first time in her life, Juliana is away from Jeremy and she sees that their relationship was far from perfect. Micheal is sure that he has found the one - and he proposes rather quickly. Juliana keeps her head on her shoulders and tells him that she has to give Jeremy a chance and that she needs to wait out the separation period.

Then she chooses. ARGH. Throw the ereader across the room! Definitely not happy with that choice.

Of course this being romance, there is a happily ever after eventually.

In any case, I've enjoyed several books from this author and I will continue to read her books....

Book includes a love triangle - you've been warned.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

My main problem was with how in love Michael and Juliana were for no apparent reason. They were both in relationships with good people but the two main characters couldn't compromise in their relationships to make things work.

I just hated Michael for deciding to get engaged after a few weeks. And this was just after him saying how fast he moved with his ex-fiancee. and he kept sprouting how much he loved Juliana.

And her... Don't get me started. She decides that her boyfriend of over ten years wanted to sleep around so she decides to go on a break and get engaged to another man but it's just so hard being her... She pissed me off.

[TongieGirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tend to steer clear of love triangles (or, love squares, as the case may be), but, I was curious...and, I've discovered that--- not ALL love triangles (or squares) are a hard limit for me and aren't ALL that bad...

I'll try not to be so quick with my red flag in the future...on a book-by-book basis, ofcourse!

[Viv · Rating 1 out of 5]

yuk. what a horrible book. Didn't like how she couldn't decide between her boyfriend of 10 years and the new guy. This is my first Marie Force book which I read because of reviews on goodreads. Tell me this is just one of her worst books??

[Dinjolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow.This book was...something else!
I loved it all...the new romance,the old relationships,the failed pregnancy.It was just great!
I highly recommend it.

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

Free Kindle download. This review is difficult for me to write. I really liked the writing, and I have a feeling I'd like the author's other books. I even sort of liked the premise — or at least found it interesting. I was curious to see how the author would handle it and if she'd pull it off without making the "other" man and woman pure evil in that two-dimensional way that you sometimes see in other stories to justify any extramarital-like affairs between a hero and heroine, and for a while, I really thought she'd do it. Certainly, it's a challenge, and I thought the author would rise to it. There's a thin line between something like this working and something like this NOT working, and at first, it worked for me.

It worked because Force didn't make the first relationships extremely flawed. She didn't make the hero and heroine fall madly in love with each other at first sight; plus, they really cared for the people with whom they already had relationships, even though the long-distance state of them strained things. More importantly, the breakups were properly justified in ways that felt right, and the causes for the breakups had nothing whatsoever to do with the hero and heroine having met each other at all — they were completely independent of that.

That's why I thought this book would actually work. That first third or quarter of the story was just very nicely done. All the characters involved were sympathetic and real, and there were no "bad" guys; it was like life made real on paper. Sometimes timing and circumstances alone determine with whom we have relationships in life, and I proceeded reading the book, feeling really impressed with the author's handling of the story and feeling really good about the whole thing. I could have bet a great deal of money that the book would turn out great based on the beginning alone.

And then things changed. The heroine moved in with the hero, and though she was really only officially on a break with her guy, she and the hero started to develop feelings for each other. They continually crossed lines and broke barriers with each other, and yet with their former significant others they repeatedly ignored them and their attempts at communication and apologies. I thought that was inexcusably cruel of the hero and the heroine — not even to hear the others out — especially in view of how long they'd been with them prior to the breakups.

I'd been so worried that the "other" man and woman would end up being painted villainous, but here the hero and the heroine were acting in a way that made me dislike them more and more, in a way that made them seem villainous — or at least just plain heartless. It actually got to the point where I hated them. More and more, they saw their former lovers as being manipulative and demanding, but I didn't feel that their perspective was in any way objective because they kept refusing to even have a proper sit-down discussion with them. If the "other" man and woman seemed desperate, it's because they've been made to "talk to the hand" in a figurative sense. They've been kicked out the door without so much as a by-your-leave, without a proper goodbye, without the closure they needed. So of course they'd continually call and ask to be heard. Have a heart, hero and heroine, for crying out loud!

And the few times they did have a discussion with their former significant others, the hero and the heroine never tried to let them down easy with calm, reasoned words — "I'm sorry, but I just can no longer be with you any more. That thing you did was a total deal-breaker for me, the last straw on the camel's back so to speak, blah, blah." Instead, they got emotional and yelled or hedged and continued to string them along. Even if they had let the "other" man and woman down easy, I don't feel that what the heroine's boyfriend of a decade did was that much of a deal-breaker (wondering what it would be like to date someone else? come on!), especially as he never did sleep with anyone else and especially given how demonstrative and loving he was with the heroine.

Through all this, there was this tinge of shame through it all. The entire time that the hero and the heroine were together, they didn't really see their other friends or visit their families — so you got this sense that they knew deep down that they must have been doing something wrong in the way they handled things with their exes, and they were hiding from the world, keeping only to themselves so that they didn't have to justify their actions to anyone.

So the result of all this was a bad taste in my mouth over the whole thing, and that by itself might have been forgivable if the author hadn't also piled on a lot of external sources of stress to the hero's and heroine's budding relationship as well. The hero is a prosecutor, and in addition to all this romantic intrigue, he's in the process of putting away some mob guys for murder. This means some nefarious types going after the hero, the heroine, and the eye witness about whom they've both come to care very much. It all just became too much to handle.

In the end, it made the relationship seem unnatural and almost dysfunctionally codependent in its isolation that their self-imposed separation in the end did very little to fix. I'm actually kind of stunned how I went from being intrigued by the book to being disgusted.

[Ipshita · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book showed a promising start but started taking one undesirable turn after another.
It got so cheesy and over-the-top dramatic and ugh, really cringy. I am sooo over such drama.

[TinaNoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea how this book came into my orbit, but I was not clicking with a couple of other books I started and picked this one up. I clicked to it right away.

The basic story is very interesting. Juliana Gregorio has been in a relationship with her high school boyfriend for more than 10 years. But he has never made the move to ask her to marry him, much to the scorn of her friends and family. Making matters worse, he has taken a job in Florida (they live in Baltimor), the long distance adding more strain to their relationship.

On a flight to visit him, Juliana strikes up a conversation with her seat mate. Michael Maguire is a prosecutor in Baltimore who himself is in a long distance relationship. He is on his way to visit his fiancee and her family in Florida and to be the guest of honor in an over-the-top engagement party. During the flight, the two are so comfortable with each other (and a little attracted) that they find themselves easily discussing their significant others with a frankness that is rare in strangers.

On the flight back, the two are in a very different state of mind. The weekend has seen Michael break off his engagement in disgust with the manipulative nature of his fiancee and her family. And Juliana has just has her heart broken by her boyfriend and has issued a 3 month time out in their relationship. Miserably the two unlucky in love travelers commiserate.

Once back in Baltimore (through a series of somewhat contrived circumstances) Juliana becomes Michael's roommate. Amidst a high profile criminal case and two ex-es who aren't quite done with them yet, the two fall in love.

As I was reading this book, I was totally digging it. The writing is really quite good and the characters are also excellently drawn. The author did a great job of drawing a complete picture, not just of the current relationship with Juliana and Michael but of their relationships with their exes. She makes the exes unsympathetic up to a point but doesn't go overboard completely vilifying them. She makes them surprisingly human.

And if anything thing stands out in this book is how not text-book romancey it is. The author makes a few narrative decisions that struck me as unconventional for a romance novel. At the end of the book Juliana does something that made me completely scratch my head and go WTF?. But then I thought about it for a minute and realize I had been taken off my stride because it wasn't a 'romance novel' thing to do. Instead it was, strangely, something I could see someone doing in a very un-tidy, not everything is wrapped in a bow, real-life kind of way. It aggravated the heck out of me at the time and made me at first want to give this a 3-star rating, but after some thought I actually liked the decision. It made the character grow, in a much needed way. imo.

The other thing that almost made me give this a 3-star was the suspense sub-plot. I detest it when a perfectly good contemporary romance get a suspense subplot shoehorned in. You could have easily removed the high-profile case with the witness protection, murderers and police details and the story would not have suffered a bit.

Good writing and good characters prevailed though and I do recommend.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Problematic contemporary romance about 2 people who meet on a plane. They are flying from Baltimore to Florida to visit their long-distance relationship partners. In Florida, they both break up their relationships, go back to Baltimore on the same flight together again, her car breaks down in the airport parking lot, he sees her home, they're in looooooooove with each other, and his trial (he's a prosecutor) of some mobbed up types creates a suspense subplot that resolves before the romantic plot does.

The problem I have with this book is that both the "hero" and "heroine" are such despicable jerks to their other partners (you know, the ones at the beginning of the book) that it makes them totally unsympathetic. The heroine dumps her ex twice! Once because he mentions that he has wondered what it would be like to be someone else, and the second time because he has a moment of jealousy--this would be a person that the heroine acknowledges was with her, sometimes the only one to love her, through thick and thin for 10 years. He was portrayed as a sweetie and totally deserved better than that. The hero is similarly assy to his fiancee--granted she was turning into a bit of a bridezilla and her parents were overbearing, but rather than try to work things out he dumps her in the middle of their engagement party, refuses to work things out, and later (even though she does something to him that I think is absolutely reprehensible) he refuses to take her seriously when something really important happens.

So, this book just didn't work for me. Luckily, it was a free offer so I don't feel like I wasted my money so much as my time. It gets the second star because the author actually writes rather well; if she could summon up some sympathetic characters I might try something else by her.

[Lucy (why do I bother to read chicklit) · Rating 1 out of 5]

The original plot is lovely: two people with problems in their relatioships find themselves sitting next to each other on the flight that is taking them to their loved ones and back.

Julianna is a hair stylist who is travelling to meet her boyfriend of 10 years (who is yet to propose)who is working out of state. He's been a bit distant lately and she is hoping to find out why.

Michael is a lawyer who is travelling to meet his fiancé who has been living with her parents while planning their wedding. He's upset she's not with him but mostly with her lack of understanding, since he's in the middle of a big case and she planned their rehearsal dinner for that weekend.

Michael's fiancé turns out to be a spoiled young woman who is willing to use her father's connections to make Michael change his life to accommodate her.

Julianna's boyfriend is suddenly wondering what would it feel like to sleep with someone else, before getting married and they agree on a three month break apart.

On the flight back, Julianna & Michael tell each other how their weekend went and a relationship grows from there.

They get togher really fast, Juliana's boyfriend tries to re-connect with her pleadging having made a mistake, but all over sudden she wants to pursue the three month break to the letter when two days ago she was heartbroken.

Anway, the plot starts original and goes down hill from there with unbelievable dialogues and a courtroom drama on the side... not that great afterall

[Anja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Marie Force's voice as an author and read this book in one sitting. However, there were several things that kept me from feeling the connection between the hero and heroine.

After the hero and heroine meet on the plane many pages are devoted to them spending time with their current boy/girlfriends including sex scenes for each. That didn't bother me as much as I would've thought since it was before the H/h got involved but I didn't get the point of it. Why waste so much page time on them?

After the H/h develop feelings for each other much time is spent on the hero looking back at the relationship he had with his girlfriend before the heroine and how he fell in love with the previous girlfriend at first sight. No mention was made about how he did the same thing with the heroine and how he was sure the heroine was the one when the girlfriend wasn't.

I wish more time had been spent on the H/h courtship before they started sleeping together.

I did like that the girlfriend didn't turn into the evil other woman (it was close for a while).

I also like that the heroine took time near the end of the book to focus on herself and grow before committing to the hero.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Michael is engaged to a high maintenance rich girl he's been dating for years while 28 year old hairstylist Juliana is patiently waiting for a ring from her high school boyfriend. They meet on a flight to Florida to visit their respective significant others and quickly connect. After they experience disastrous weekends (Michael calls off his engagement while Juliana and her boyfriend decide to take a break for a few months) they end up on the same flight back. The book completely jumped the shark at this point when she moves in with Michael (after only meeting him days earlier!). Force attempts to add some "tension" to the book with a subplot involving a court case Michael is prosecuting and some waffling on Juliana's part as to which man is the right one for her, but it is obvious how this book will end. I love a good romance novel like many women but this book was not good. It was a free amazon.com download for kindle and I got what I paid for. Don't waste your time on this one.

[Kjen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marie Force rocks...really. I totally loved and devoured most of this book. Micheal and Juliana were awesome together! There was just the right amount of romance and suspense, including external stressors (killers and problems with exes), to keep me zipping through the pages. Easily a 5 star book until 90% when Juliana did something that made me want to Scream. Vomit. Stop Reading. Force=Queen of Angst, oh yeah. I made myself finish...finally, after a day had gone by... and it was good but consider yourself warned! Micheal is a saint(;

[FlibBityFLooB · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars. This was another very engrossing book by Marie Force. I love that the characters she writes feel realistic with their emotions. I will say that I couldn't relate as well to the heroine in this book, she was a bit wishy-washy to me and made some bad decisions. However, I still couldn't put the book down and really enjoyed it. I will definitely look for any future books that Marie Force writes.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book freaked me out in the main plotline. I doubt anyone else would have an issue with it, but it affected my grade because I couldn't get past it. Also the heroine kept 2 guys on a string.

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there are 10 stars, this is an 11!

[Kerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, this was a miss for me. First, I never really bought into Michael and Juliana's instant attraction/love at all. I also hated the whole "break" between Juliana and her boyfriend. It was all dealt with horribly. I am not a fan of love triangles in general, but this one in particular was cringe-worthy.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Story

Cute, a true love story. Very light reading. Put it down several times thinking it was not realistic. I read while on a Hawaiian cruise so could read and people watch at the same time. As a divorcee, this didn't match my experience with romance but still enjoyed.