3/5 STARS
Originally, I had this book at 2 stars but then I thought about it and bumped it up to 3 because I had to be honest with myself that I did like this book. The only thing that kept me from giving it that one extra star was the rushed ending and some flaws of the main character herself. But, let's start at the beginning.
We start off with Hailey Lane, a stewardess flight attendant. As a person who's never finished anything in her life, she feels she's finally on track, although not as fulfilling as she'd dreamed. She's been working for Atlas Airlines for six years and has been in a longterm relationship with her boyfriend for four years. She admits though that her relationship with Michael, a pilot, is one where if they counted all the days they actually spent together, it would probably equal no more than six months. Upon finding a box from Tiffany's, she thinks Michael's going to propose, launching her into a dizzying turmoil of should or shouldn't she marry him. She returns from her flight early, on her birthday, to surprise him only to find that he's cheated on her and... plot twist.. it turns out he wasn't going to propose. Instead, the Tiffany's box had an engraved key chain, not a ring. A key chain... after six years??? I get it Hailey.
After her disastrous breakup, Hailey finds herself wondering if she'll ever find love or even happiness. Flying keeps her constantly busy as she travels around the world while also enduring the stress of cutoffs at work, all the while having to serve everyone with a smile. After going through a couple of other disastrous relationships after her breakup, she reevaluates her life, coming to the realization that she's been settling for less when it comes to relationships. Her dream is to be a writer and after years of working on her manuscript, she finally sends it off to some publishers, only to face rejection after rejection.
In the end though, Hailey finds a breakthrough when a publisher accepts her book. She's able to turn around the seemingly downhill trajectory of her life and find both love and happiness with the last person she ever expected... Dane.
The book was a light read and refreshingly honest. Hailey's job is not only entertaining but filled with the exotic as her life leads us to places like Paris and Mykonos to her home in New York City. Her situation, being in a job she doesn't love, and a temptation of relationship of settling for security or searching for more is one that many have seen before. Overall, her story is a relatable one. Her job isn't glamorous and her relationships are far from perfect but it's real and it's got all the ups and downs life brings but it also shows that in the end, Hailey gets to write her own happy ending.
One of the main things that kept this from being a four star review for me, was Hailey's attitude at times. After her relationships plummet, she falls into this pit of self-pity and wallows in it for a good few chapters. I'm glad she has such great friends in Clay and Kat, because I'm not sure I would've been able to listen to her complaining and moaning for as long as she did.
Now, the end of the book was satisfying and I liked the slow development between her and Dane but after spending nearly the whole book hinting at it, the final chapter with them just felt rushed.
Still, as a light read it proved to have more depth than I originally gave it credit. It's got laughter and heartache, proving that its a story that's both raw and real.