Blog Tour ~ Flight Partners by Artemis Fey ~ (Review, Excerpt + Giveaway)
Author: Artemis Fay
Release Date: November 15
Cover: Natasha Snow
Length: 80,000 words
Buy Link: Amazon
Blurb
Can a romance that began a mile high make a smooth landing?
When a charming stranger soothes Andy MacKinnon’s fear of flight, it doesn’t take much before the two are snuggling at 40,000 feet.
Too bad that sexy guy turns out to be Andy’s new coworker, Kenneth Ohno.
Oh no, indeed.
As two expats in Japan teaching at the same school, not only will they work together, they’ll share a small apartment. It’s get along or quit.
After the explosive chemistry of their first meeting, Andy wastes no time in laying down the rules. A relationship is off the table. They aren’t even going to be friends—coworkers is enough to manage for two twenty-somethings who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other.
But it isn’t long before their living arrangements hit turbulence. Kenneth isn’t the first roommate Andy’s fallen for, and the last relationship ended in a nosedive. Can Andy and Kenneth make a smooth landing?
Or will work and play get mixed up one time too many?
When a charming stranger soothes Andy MacKinnon’s fear of flight, it doesn’t take much before the two are snuggling at 40,000 feet.
Too bad that sexy guy turns out to be Andy’s new coworker, Kenneth Ohno.
Oh no, indeed.
As two expats in Japan teaching at the same school, not only will they work together, they’ll share a small apartment. It’s get along or quit.
After the explosive chemistry of their first meeting, Andy wastes no time in laying down the rules. A relationship is off the table. They aren’t even going to be friends—coworkers is enough to manage for two twenty-somethings who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other.
But it isn’t long before their living arrangements hit turbulence. Kenneth isn’t the first roommate Andy’s fallen for, and the last relationship ended in a nosedive. Can Andy and Kenneth make a smooth landing?
Or will work and play get mixed up one time too many?
Excerpt from Chapter 1
Andy’s PoV
We’ve reached the head of the runway with two jets ahead of us. Five minutes until departure. Five more minutes of sitting here. I always do wear my running shoes to fly.
There’s a tap on the back of my hand. “Nervous flier?”
What gave it away, the white knuckles or the fact that I can hear my own teeth grinding?
My seat partner taps my hand again. “Hey. So. Uh. You’ve got a charm on your bag. Is it a good-luck charm?”
He’s trying to distract me, how sweet. “No, it’s a safe-flight charm. Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto. A friend bought it for me.”
“That was nice of them.”
“Very. Look, it takes a lot of concentration to not throw up at this part. I’ll chat when we hit the sky, but for now, I need to stop opening my mouth.”
Next to me, Seat Buddy shifts, no doubt away, or to get out the puke bag in preparation. Not that I’ve ever actually thrown up, but you never know, I could just make my day. Good job, Andy.
And then warmth covers my clammy knuckles. Fingers squeeze my hand, firm and strong. “No worries, I’ll just talk, then. I used to travel with my grandparents a lot, and my grandma gets really nervous when she flies, so my grandpa always told her stories. Probably kind of weird for a stranger to do that, but I figure if I annoy you, you can just throw up on me in self-defense.” His thumb is making circles around the side of my hand, slow and steady, the heat of it travelling up my arm. What the hell. Seriously, what the hell. I’m not going to throw up now, I’m going to die of shock. “How many planes to go?”
“One more, then us.”
“And you’re fine once we hit the air, got it.” The low tones of his voice vibrate down my spine, anchoring me tight to my seat. “See, my grandma wasn’t, so she’d take a sleeping pill and go out like a light. Problem was, when we were only going from Chicago to Orlando, she’d be groggy once we got there. One time, my grandpa told the flight staff she had sleeping fits, and we just borrowed a wheelchair and bundled her into the taxi from that. We put Minnie Mouse ears on her before she woke up. She walked around wearing them for half an hour before she realized.”
Okay, now I’m just picturing the Japanese baa-chan across from us wearing those ears, yelling at her husband about them. To-chan, dame yo! Add that to the fact that this guy is holding my hand and I’m in overload. Why…I can’t even…
The plane jolts forward, turning into position. Oh God, here we go. Brace. Two minutes and this will be over. Or we’ll be in flames.
Seat Buddy’s other hand lands on my forearm, kneading the muscles there. I can’t tear my eyes away from the window, but his voice sounds close as he murmurs, “Funny, charging the runway makes you sick, but it always gives me a hard-on.”
What?
His gray eyes are six inches from mine, witch-pale, surrounded by eyelashes a touch on the long side. Is he half-Japanese?
He’s so close.
The engines have reached a roar. Sudden acceleration slams me back into my seat as we race down the runway, faster, faster. The terminal is flashing by, trollies, other planes, but we’re not going fast enough. Oh God, we’re not going to make it, we’re going to go off the runway into the grass and hit the fence and die.
The wheels lift off, and my stomach swoops. We’re flying.
*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*
Andy has been living and working in Japan for three years and he loves it there. What he doesn't love is flying, so the flight back from his friend's wedding back to Japan is hell on his nerves. Meeting Kenneth on the plane and having him help soothe his anxiety is godsend, being so attracted to Kenneth is not as good for him, though, especially when a flight attendant notices some of the shenanigans they get up to and warns Andy off, which makes Andy close-off to any of Kenneth's other attempts at flirting.
Back in Japan and in the city he works at, he discovers he has to share his apartment with the new teacher at the school he works at, who coincidentally ends up being Kenneth. Andy has already had a relationship with a coworker crash and burn and is still suffering from it, but could he and Kenneth actually make this work?
I loved Kenneth! He was such a fabulous character. Easygoing and charming and willing to go the extra-mile for Andy, which I truly didn't quite get, but to each their own. I didn't particularly care for Andy, and really couldn't see the appeal or understand why Kenneth was so attracted to him. He was prickly as all hell, wasn't all that welcoming and the hot and cold routine got tiring very fast. The fact that I didn't like Andy, doesn't stop me from admitting that he and Kenneth had some chemistry and their scenes were hot.
There were a few things that I didn't like, like the issue with Andy's ex and how he had everyone fooled, or how Andy and Kenneth's boss dealt with things, but at least the people that needed to, got what they had coming to them, so that was good.
Overall, I have to say that I liked Artemis Fay's writing and I loved the glimpses into an expat's life in Japan, and like I said before I adored Kenneth, so even if I didn't like Andy, I would recommend this book.
Rating: 4 Stars!
Author's Bio
I'm Artemis Fay, author of gay romance set in Japan.
While in university, I studied abroad in Japan for a year. That of course wasn't enough, so having graduated with a degree in Global Studies, I returned to live and work there for nearly three more years.
First I was at an eikaiwa much like the one in Flight Partners. Later I worked at a daycare in another city.
So many of the background details of Flight Partners was taken either from my own experiences, or those I heard from friends. Even things that seem unlikely, like the state of oversight of visas (very lax!), are true to Japan. It's a country of contradictions, but so beautiful it keeps drawing people back.
These days, I live in the US with my husband, writing by day, teaching ESL by night. What can I say, it's a living.
While in university, I studied abroad in Japan for a year. That of course wasn't enough, so having graduated with a degree in Global Studies, I returned to live and work there for nearly three more years.
First I was at an eikaiwa much like the one in Flight Partners. Later I worked at a daycare in another city.
So many of the background details of Flight Partners was taken either from my own experiences, or those I heard from friends. Even things that seem unlikely, like the state of oversight of visas (very lax!), are true to Japan. It's a country of contradictions, but so beautiful it keeps drawing people back.
These days, I live in the US with my husband, writing by day, teaching ESL by night. What can I say, it's a living.
Website: http://artemisfay.com/books/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtemisFay
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