Narrated by Jorgeana Maria
The Layover was an unexpectedly delightful surprise, with both author and narrator being new to me (author début). As the book started, I was concerned about the plotline – Ava is a flight attendant, recently engaged to a lawyer, Alexander. Alexander asks her to quit her job as a flight attendant, so – with Ava imagining the ability to set down roots and stop wandering was what she has longed for her whole life – she is planning to give notice as soon as she finishes this one last, quick trip to Belize. She’s so in love with Alexander – even if he is a little bit overbearing, constantly talks over her and rarely takes her wishes and opinions into account.
What Ava isn’t expecting is a male flight attendant she knows only by reputation and through one unfortunate encounter several years ago, when he was seen with her cheating ex-boyfriend, being assigned to the flight. Jack Stone – just the thought of him riles her up so much, she can’t believe her bad luck to have to work with him on this last flight!
Jack is a former Air Force pilot who became a flight attendant after leaving the military. He got the job through his ex-girlfriend, and scuttlebutt is Jack is also a cheater, and, if the rumors his ex is spreading around are true, he’s currently working his way into the beds of every female flight attendant in their airline. Ava has held a grudge against him for his allegedly philandering ways as well as his part in covering for her own cheating ex a few years earlier (not Alexander, in case that wasn’t clear!).
Of course, all is not as it seems through Ava’s point of view at the opening – the cracks in her relationship with Alexander widen enormously long before Ava starts to see Jack in another light altogether. The author does a great job of showing the reader how quickly Ava opens her eyes to the situation she is in with Alexander, a thin veneer which immediately shatters when she connects the dots. (Mmm, I think I’m mixing metaphors here…!) At that point, during a forced layover in Belize, she starts to realize what she really wants for herself.
The story goes into a lot of authentic detail of the work of flight attendants, since the author is one, which makes it that much more fun to read (or hear). The third flight attendant on the trip is Jen, whose irreverence is a constant joke throughout – when she announces over the PA system, “There’s a spinner” referring to a passenger who can’t decide where to sit, I laughed out loud. Along the way, a number of other fun secondary characters are introduced – Eddie and Celeste, Jack’s father, and Pilot Paul – and the wacky plot twists made the adventure that much more enjoyable. It’s also Ava’s journey in other ways, though, as she realizes that all who wander are not lost – and she doesn’t need anyone to take care of her. Not even Jack.
Narrator Jorgeana Marie did a terrific job of telling the story. It’s written entirely in first person from Ava’s point of view, so that the narrative and heroine voices are one and the same. She gives Ava a slightly airy speech pattern that works well for someone who is allowing other people to influence her – until she doesn’t, and the narration reflects her change of heart and stiffening of the spine. Ms Marie differentiated all the various characters well, varying pitches, timbres and even attitudes, depending on the speaker. Her rendition of the car ride at the end was a complete hoot, although I admit I was disappointed we didn’t get to hear Ava and the driver singing. This was both excellent and funny writing as well as perfect comic delivery, another laugh-out-loud moment.
I definitely recommend it as the beach read for the Southern Hemisphere as summer approaches. If you’re north of the equator, maybe reading about Belize beaches will warm you up this chilly November!
Melinda
Buy The Layover by Lacie Waldon on Amazon
