Fireflies by Lise Gold is a contemporary romance about a captain and senior purser who met on their first scheduled flight together.
Mia Donoghue is a senior purser for an airline, burying herself in her work to try and forget about the guilt that she’s been carrying with her for fifteen years.
Captain Ava Alfarsi had just been promoted, and many are surprised because she’s a woman and young for a captain.
When Mia and Ava first meet, there’s an instant attraction, but only become closer to one another when they find out that they struggle with alcoholism through a chance encounter during an AA meeting. Although they’ve been sober for some time, keeping it a secret from their family and friends is hard and weighs heavily on their minds.
Will they be able to be each other’s strength and support or be each other’s downfall?
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Lise Gold did a great job navigating her way of writing about sensitive topics like drug use and addiction to alcohol. I could feel the struggle that these two characters were facing. For instance, keeping a secret from their family and friends about being a recovering alcoholic has them avoiding most social gatherings.
I love that the characters are flawed rather than perfect, it makes them more relatable and real that way. It was interesting to see the behind-the-scenes of an airline during a flight, there were some fun aspects, informative and some shocking ones.
The character growth that Ava and Mia go through was well written. Yes, there are some ups and downs, twists and turns, but most importantly, they’ve learned to fight their demons and have grown stronger as individuals and as a couple as a result.
Cons And Heads Up
I do want to give a heads-up to readers that there are references to the use of drugs and alcohol addiction. There are also some light BDSM elements like being tied up.
The Conclusion
Not only does the author take you on a journey literally from place to place, like New York, Dubai, and Kuala Lumpur, but the journey that Ava and Mia take together emotionally as a couple as well as on their own. Besides the main characters, the supporting characters were a great addition to the book. Overall, Fireflies was a lovely read.
Excerpt from Fireflies by Lise Gold
“Hi Captain. It’s nice to meet you.” Mia handed Jack his tray and held out her hand to formally greet her.
The captain studied her name tag and shook her hand. “Mia, of course. You’re the senior purser. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Ava Alfarsi. Please call me Ava.”
Mia noticed that the captain looked relaxed, now that she was safely tucked away in her cockpit. She felt an unusual flutter in her belly when their eyes locked.
“Okay, Ava. I’ll be back in an hour with Frank’s lunch, and in two hours with yours. Is that okay?” Food for the tech crew was never served at the same time, to prevent a food-poisoning outbreak, so the cabin crew had a strict schedule to adhere to when it came to flight deck service.
Ava held her gaze before retracting her hand. It was an elegant hand, like the hand of a piano player, or an artist, with long fingers, short polished nails and a slender wrist.
“That’s great, thank you,” she said. “Could I have an extra water too, please? Sparkling, if possible.”
“Sure.” Mia smiled as she looked into Ava’s green eyes. They were so light, they seemed almost otherworldly. For a moment, she forgot what she was there for. Ava’s hair was shimmering under the light above her, and she looked much more approachable now, without the formal uniform cap she was wearing earlier. Her skin was unusually pale compared to her jet dark hair, with only a small natural blush on her high cheekbones. She looked like she was of Middle Eastern descent, Mia thought. Wow. She really is gorgeous.
“I’m sorry.” Mia shook her head and turned to the senior officers. “Frank? Can I get you anything else? Jack?”
“Water for me too.” Frank held up a hand. “Sparkling with lemon, a dash of elderflower cordial and two ice-cubes.”
Ava turned to him, raised an eyebrow and let out a sarcastic laugh. “Leave the damn lemon and elderflower, Frank. I’m sure Mia’s got better things to do than to prepare your girlie drinks.” She regretted the words as soon as they were out – the half joke would do her no favours with Frank, but she didn’t like his tone when he was talking to Mia. She looked up at Mia again, her eyes fixed on her face, as if she was trying to read her mind. Mia stood nailed to the ground, unable to look away. There was something about the captain’s intense stare that scared her and intrigued her at the same time.
“Yes, of course. I’m sorry. Just water is fine,” Frank said with a sour face, interrupting their moment.
“Don’t be sorry.” Mia stepped away from them and turned at the cabin door. “It’s not a problem. I’ll be back in an hour.”
“And another black coffee for me!” Jack said, as he tried to wave her back. But Mia was gone and had forgotten he was even there.
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9781727607659
Publisher: Indie Author
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