Hi guys, we have debut author Artemis Fay stopping by today with the tour for her debut release Flight Partners, we have a great excerpt, a brilliant giveaway and Lisa’s review, so check out the post and click that giveaway link! <3 ~Pixie~
Flight Partners
Artemis Fay
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?
Excerpt
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.
About Artemis
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.
Giveaway!
$20 Amazon Giftcard!
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Review
Title: Flight Partners
Series: Lovers in Japan #1
Author: Artemis Fay
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (281)
Publisher: Badapple Press (November 15, 2016)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts
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?
ISBN: B01N0D488U
Product Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Reviewer: Lisa
Review: This author was new for me and I hate to admit that I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I have never been a fan of this kind of book and ones with international themes never really made it to my stack.
I had several issues with this book right off the bat. It did not catch my attention like it should have and I hate to admit that I skimmed over quite a bit just to finish the book. The main character Andy was a disappointment for me. The way he changed his attitude just drove me nuts. He comes off as a total ass and I cannot for the life of me see why Kenneth would even want to be with the man. Then there is the sex between these two, have they not heard of diseases. I mean who waits two heartbeats then ask, oh are you clean. That just boggled my mind.
Now I liked Kenneth more, however there are parts of him that just flabbergasted me. He was going to come out for someone else, but not for himself. Then there was the fact that he didn’t think it could happen to him, a bi-sexual man. What the hell, bi-sexual means likes both male and female so why wouldn’t it seem possible. Other than that he was the better character.
Now this book, or I should say the plot has been done so many times that you pretty much know what is going to happen. The only thing different was the location for me. There were a few questions that were never answered for me in this book. I hate to admit that I could only make it to a section before laying it down and then coming back to it later. Now I am not saying that it was enjoyable, because it was, but I really wanted a story that was going to jump out at me and this did not do it.
Andy and Kenneth meet on the plane headed for Japan. They hit it off but Andy doesn’t want anything permanent. He was hurt in his last relationship and has decided never to do it again. Whereas Kenneth is someone you would root for. He is the better partner in this book. I couldn’t stand Andy at all. Let’s face it if I was Kenneth I would have dumped his ass in the beginning. Then you guessed, well I won’t go into that, you’re just going to have to read the book.
Now the author’s knowledge of Japan was very good, the descriptions were real to me and it made me dream of visiting one day. I just didn’t really catch some of the phrases that was used, but then again that part is just on me. Overall the story just didn’t sit well with me. It came off very rushed and didn’t work the way it should have. There were parts of the story that felt like the author just threw it in and it didn’t really make any sense at all. Take that woman Barbra for instance, no sense there at all. Now the story isn’t horrible but for me I just couldn’t connect with it at all.
I loved having the chance to read this story, but I hate to admit that this book was definitely not for me.
