Love at First Flight

Written by Tess Woods

Narrated by Wendy Bos and David Tredinnick

What if you met the love of your life and he wasn't your husband? An AusRom Today People's Choice Award winner that will appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty, viewers of Offspring, The Good Wife and movies like Up in the Air.

Mel is living the dream. She's a successful GP, married to a charming anaesthetist and raising a beautiful family in their plush home in Perth. But when she boards a flight to Melbourne, her picture-perfect life unravels. Seated on the plane she meets Matt, and for the first time ever she falls turbulently in love. What begins as a flirty conversation quickly develops into a hot and obsessive affair, with consequences that Mel and Matt seem incapable of facing. As the fallout hits friends and family, Mel's dream romance turns into a nightmare. She learns that there are some wounds that never heal and some scars that you wouldn't do without.

LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT will take everything you believe about true love and spin it on its head.

'I thought this was terrific -- passionate, sexy and wise, with a continual ebb and flow of emotion and utterly persuasive characters. I loved it' Rosie de Courcy, UK editor of author Maeve Binchy

'Love at First Flight is no light romp in the hay. It's a mature, finely drawn effort that examines the emotions and motives behind an affair -- and, ultimately, its ramifications. I dare you to resist' Jennifer Ammoscato, author of Dear Internet: It's Me Avery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Nov 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781460792056

Tess Woods

Tess Woods lives in Perth, Australia, with one husband, two children, one dog and a cat who rules over them all. Her debut novel, Love at First Flight, received acclaim from readers worldwide and won Book of the Year in the AusRom Today Reader's Choice Award. Her second novel, Beautiful Messy Love, was a 2017 Better Reading Top 100 pick. When she isn't working or being a personal assistant to her kids, Tess enjoys reading and grannyish pleasures like knitting, baking, drinking tea and tending to the veggie patch. She's also moderately obsessed with the TV series Nashville and Buzzfeed quizzes. Tess loves connecting with her readers on Facebook: @Tesswoods.harpercollins and Instagram: @tesswoods_author 

Reviews for Love at First Flight

[juanita.kees · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"I'd built my life around this family and had lost myself in the process...He was the only person who I wasn't invisible to."

Mel has the perfect life married to the perfect man with the perfect pigeon pair, a beautiful house, and her own flourishing practice - the stuff dreams are made of. But somewhere in the fourteen years she's been a wife and a mother, she's lost her identity and sense of self-worth. That changes in an instant when she meets Matt on a flight to Melbourne.

I urge readers to look past the infidelity in the plot to see the beautiful emotions Tess Woods creates in Love at First Flight. The struggle Mel faces and the tsunami of consequences that follow the affair will keep you riveted to this read.

Life isn't always as perfect as we'd like to believe, then we think we want something different. When we make the choice it's too late to turn back, and lives are changed forever. Suddenly, you're sacrificing the most important things in your heart.

Ms Woods captures this tug of war on emotions beautifully as Mel's life spirals out of control on her journey of self-discovery. There are many lessons to be learned between these pages. The author has captured a true-to-life situation with respect and empathy for all parties in this plot. Kudos to Ms Woods for writing this controversial subject into a story and making it work in a way that will leave you emotionally drained.

A very well written debut novel.

[purpledog-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The brief synopsis of the book made me put it on TBR list. Yet, I kept putting off reading it because I was not sure I really wanted to read about an extra-marital affair. Several times I almost removed it from the list. Instead, it stayed on and I am glad it did and that I finally read it. The book takes a difficult subject and deals with it in a thoughtful and tasteful way. The book was very thought provoking. It explored, in great detail, some of the issues related to why marriages fail. The characters were very well developed and the story was moving. I found myself wanting a happy ending for all the characters. Yet, I knew it was not possible. Even after I finished reading I found myself thinking about all the torment that the characters suffered; and how people make difficult choices that will forever shape their lives and those they love. Looking forward to the next book by Woods. I can only hope it will be as good.

[kjfarnham · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love at First Flight explores the taboo topic of infidelity, but it’s far from your average clichéd story about a married woman who has a tumultuous affair. Woods digs much deeper by forcing readers to ponder all of the following questions:*What causes people to fall in love?*How long does it take to fall in love?*How important is it to have a passionate, can’t-get-enough-of you connection with your spouse?*Should you stay in an unsatisfying marriage simply because children are involved?*Is it wise to follow your heart even if it might mean hurting the people you love?This story is told from the alternating perspectives of Mel (a doctor and married mother of two) and Matt (an introspective humanitarian with a fiancé). The alternating viewpoints really helped me to understand why Mel and Matt are drawn to each other. Woods did a great job of making me like both of them and an even better job of making me want them to end up together, despite the fact that they are in relationships with other people. However, Woods threw me for a loop by making Mel’s husband Adam likeable as well. As a result, part of me wanted Mel to stay faithful to Adam. I was so confused!Not only did this book cause knots in my stomach because I was torn about what I wanted Mel to do, but it also surprised me several times. Did things end up the way I’d hoped? Yes and no. Was I satisfied with the ending? To be honest, I was a bit sad and in disbelief, but I’m okay with that because real-life situations like this rarely end with rainbows and sunshine for everyone involved. So, yes, I was 100% satisfied with the ending.Favorite Quotes:“…by losing everything I was introduced to myself for the first time.”“The verb love is what counts, not the feeling of love. When you feel love, it’s selfish, it’s just for you and it affects nobody but you. But when you act love, you are committing the act of loving somebody.”

[shelleyraec · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Told from the first person perspectives of Mel and Matt, Love at First Flight is an unconventional love story which explores the motives for an illicit affair, and the damage left in its wake.When Mel meets Matt during an interstate flight they recognise each other as soul mates. The problem is Mel is a married mother of two who lives in Perth, and Matt, who lives in Melbourne, is engaged to be married. Despite saying goodbye at the airport, they are both unable to forget their brief time together, and embark on a passionate affair that threatens to destroy them both.Relationships are complicated things and Woods intelligently and compassionately explores the evolution of Matt and Mel's affair from their first meeting, through their consuming affair, and to the messy, bitter end. It's an emotional journey that draws the reader in with complex characterisation and a compelling narrative.I was surprised to find I could relate to Mel in some ways, I found it difficult to blame her for reveling in the attention Matt gave her during the flight, but she definitely crossed the line for me when she chose to meet with him later. Her spiral into obsession was unsettling but I believed in it, as I did in her growing self awareness.I particularly admired the way Mel eventually took responsibility for her failings with her husband. Mel's shame and guilt, and Adam's hurt and anger, in the aftermath is visceral. I've witnessed a similar situation among friends and feel that Woods portrayal of their struggle towards forgiveness and redemption is very well drawn.Woods convinced me of the overwhelming chemistry between Mel and Matt, no mean feat considering I'm not sure I really believe in the idea of love at first sight. I wasn't a fan of Matt, despite his sympathetic background he struck me as a weak man, but I thought he was a well rounded character.Love at First Flight is a surprisingly thought provoking story about love, marriage, intimacy and honesty. An impressive debut from a new Australian author.