Review: Love at First Flight by Tess Woods

October 23, 2015 | ebook

I blame Tess Woods for the loss of my morning. Her debut novel Love at First Flight stole it from me. Harper Collins had a special offer going and I happily snapped it up, opened the Kindle app, grabbed my coffee and read the first chapter. Well that’s what I planned to do. By the time I looked up again it was early afternoon.

Melissa and Adam are successful doctors, married for 16 years, two great kids. The whole suburban package. But Mel is restless in the marriage, numb. On a plane on her way to a girls weekend she meets Matt, a young attractive physiotherapist. They feel an instant mutual attraction and get to know each other on the flight. After some resistance, Mel embarks on an all consuming affair with Matt. One of the things I love about this story is that it is told from both Melissa and Matt’s point of view. That balance is crucial.

The relationship itself is beautifully handled. It is clearly not a fling to either of the characters; they do fall deeply and soulfully in love with each other. This makes the consequences much more real and confronting, as Mel realizes what she has to give up to be with Matt. And Adam, seen through the frame of leaving him, surprisingly, might not be someone Mel actually wants to leave.

“There is always a day of reckoning.”

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This is not a book for the faint hearted. There’s sex and swearing, grit and tragedy. Lust. Obsession. It pulls no punches with consequences. You may find your thinking challenged. You may have to put the book down and take a deep breath, calm some swirling emotion. You might get angry, even shed a tear. It’s great writing, truthful, at times dark, close to the bone.

Love at First Flight is criminally inexpensive. You should buy it right now, it is worth much more than its modest ebook price.

But have the morning free. You’ve been warned!

Tess Woods is a physiotherapist who lives in Perth, Australia with one husband, two children, one dog and one cat who rules over all of them. Her first novel, Love at First Flight, released by HarperCollins in April 2015 received worldwide critical acclaim and hit the best-seller charts in Australia. Her short story, Destiny in Day, will released in the HarperCollins anthology Hot Stuff: Surfing Love in December 2015 and Tess is currently writing her second full-length novel, Flat White with One.

You can find out more about Tess Woods at her website http://tesswoods.com.au/