I have never read anything by Delancey Stewart before but I am DEFINITELY a fan now. I could not put down Only a Fling! I enjoyed it so much I want to go back and read the prequel – Only a Summer and the follow-up to this one, Only a Crush.

What I liked (scratch that – what I LOVED) about this book: I absolutely loved that Lucy wasn’t some love sick girl who dreamt of fairy tales and Prince Charming coming to rescue her. I loved that Delancey threw out the traditional formula of boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. In a male dominated world, Lucy was her own person. She was fierce, she was strong, she was a “firecracker”. She knew what she wanted and didn’t want in her life and she wasn’t settling for anything else. She was in charge and challenged anyone or anything that threatened to take that control.

I LOVED how Stewart wrote Will. Tearing down the walls of overly masculine men, he was vulnerable, he had heart, and he had no problems being an equal partner on the job (and in the bedroom). It wasn’t “only one needing the other”, she nearly reversed the gender roles, throwing out expectations, and making these two characters fit together like a perfect puzzle piece.

I love the camaraderie of the squadron and how, even in civilian life, they watched out for their own. The portrayal of how junior officers still see the COs after serving was perfection!

The steamy parts were on FIRE! I mean pull you collar away from you neck, dab your forehead kinda hot! Even the buildups had my pulse racing.

The internal struggles that Lucy and Will faced were so real, so relatable, and so well written that you could only want the best for these characters. You felt them, you cared for them, you knew them. There were times where I wanted to shake Lucy and yell “Stop filling in the blanks for him, stop shutting him out!”

What I didn’t like about the book – WHAT HAPPENED TO ARCHIE!! Stewart teases the demise of his career throughout the book, so much so that is is distracting. Well that and whatever happened with the treasure hunt? Knowing (now) that this is part of a series, I am sure the prequel answers my first question and hopefully the next book answers my second.

There are so many supporting characters that I would love to follow. Getting inside of Brainiac’s head alone would be a treat. That and I hope this becomes a movie some day because I would love to see Will’s hair! It was pretty much it’s own character and I will admit, I am intrigued!