I absolutely loved this story.
In the 1960's being an airline stewardess was a glamorous, wonderful job that lots of young girls would want to pursue.
The rules and guidelines were tough and you had to be exactly right physically to even get a shot at an interview for this training.
It did offer friendship, hard work, travel and good times if you made it
Was it worth it?
This story is told by two young girls who are very different, yet both with secrets, challenges and a love for life as they both pursue their dreams together.
I loved the writing, the wonderful details from places toured and most especially the sisterhood that these young women shared.
"Sometimes family is who you choose, not just who you share blood with."

Thank you to @ NetGalley and to @Lake Union Publishing for yet another beautiful ARC by Camille Di Maio and allowing me to provide my own review.

It's clear the author was thorough in her research into the lives of Pan Am stewardesses in the early sixties. I just feel she could have put more work into a more enthralling plot. I also struggled with the conflicting presentation of strong independent women and having both characters tie themselves to men.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love a historical fiction book and anything about the 60s count me in- the golden age right this is the story of Judy and Beverly 2 women who want to become Pan Am flight attendants- but for entirely different reasons- its their story how they meet at what us pretty much basic training and takes us through their journey and their leves- i read this book in one night- I probably will now fall down a Pam Am rabbit hole- this one was so good!

This was a good book! I do think it was a little bit too historical for my own liking, but it was still entertaining, and I learned a lot. I like the characters, they were very entertaining throughout the whole book.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

"Come Fly With Me" by Camille Di Maio is a beautifully crafted story that intertwines love, loss, and the allure of flight in a captivating historical setting. The characters are richly developed, each navigating their dreams and heartaches with authenticity and depth. Di Maio’s vivid prose transports readers to a bygone era, filled with passion and resilience. While the plot has its predictable moments, the emotional resonance and evocative themes make it a memorable read.

This worked well as a Pan Am story and enjoyed the historical element to this. The plot worked well overall and had that element that I was hoping for and enjoyed the feel of this. The character had that feel that I was looking for and glad they worked in this story. Camille Di Maio was able to weave a strong story and had the reader invested.

જ⁀➴ 2.5/5 ❄️

[💌]

let’s preface this by saying I study tourism in college, I love aviation & get the subject in class. Decently written & well researched! I love the history route taken in the context of past aviation history. I was so excited to read this at first.

the book starts with two female protagonists, judy (who wants to escape her abusive husband) & beverly (upper east side manhattan rich girl ) who both wanna work as stewardesses (cabin crew) for prestigious airline carrier pan american in the sixties

it was so funny to see the same airport (iata) codes I have to study in class in a book, genuinely know the pain they went through to study all of them for my upcoming finals.

I tried to enjoy this read even though it could be boring at most times. About 10 chapters in i felt like the plot was barely progressing and I genuinely had no idea where the story was going? Was it a romance? I found it to be over explaining at certain points.

While the excessive research about aviation in the sixties this must’ve taken to write a book like this was impressive. It was overshadowing the plot at points and giving too much information making it hard to focus on what was really happening.

It was hard for me to connect with the characters which ended up with ultimately me giving this book a 2.5/5 stars, the research was impressive but the plot was rather boring and not really enjoyable for me after like 10 chapters. I had such high hopes for this book, unfortunately they weren’t reached and I was left rather disappointed.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc, in exchange for an honest review

5 stars out of 5.

Wow, I absolutely loved this story. It is definitely one of my favorite reads of 2024, I did not want it to end. The book does an excellent job transporting us back to the 1960's, to the Jet Age when aviation was glamourous. I was immediately drawn into this book and did not want to put it down. I loved both Beverly and Judy and thought their characters did a great job showing us the places and lives of a Pan Am stewardess. Those who love airline historical fictions will love this book. I highly recommend reading it.

In Come Fly With Me, we meet Judy, who is in an abusive relationship. She applies to Pan Am as a way out and gets the job. She meets Beverly at training who is escaping her own life of a New York socialite. She wants out of her fathers shadow and wants a life for herself. The 2 form an instant bond and become quick friends. They end up flying across the globe and fulfill their dreams. The novels takes us on their many trips/adventures and we get a front row seat to it all.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Come Fly With Me tells the story of two aspiring Pan Am stewardesses in the 1960s, who are running from their past for different reasons. Judy is trying to escape an abusive husband and Beverly is rebelling against what is expected of her to create her own future.

The book did a great job of transporting the reader back to the past and represented the different destinations Judy and Beverly visited convincingly. It was well-researched and captured the essence of air travel in the 1960s. The strong female friendships were at the heart and soul of the story and forged the way for courage, resilience and facing fears.

Beautiful book. It was like being transferred to another time and not just reading the story but being in the story. I had a lot of fun reading this. I will also say the descriptions of the clothing was amazing I give it 5 stars.

I read this book on October 24, 2024. Come Fly with Me by Camille Di Maio. Was an interesting story about stewardesses working for Pan American the friends they made, the expectations of the company. If you like air line history you will find the story fascinating. It adds glamour and love to the story.

Come Fly with Me by Camille Di Maio captures the allure and adventure of the jet age through the eyes of two women daring to break free from their pasts. Set in 1962, Judy Goodman and Beverly Caldwell find themselves at a crossroads, each escaping to join Pan American Airlines’ elite team of stewardesses. Judy, fleeing an oppressive marriage, and Beverly, seeking freedom from New York’s high society, discover new possibilities in the sky. As Judy and Beverly travel across continents, they encounter love, danger, and the thrill of independence. This is a beautifully written novel of friendship and resilience that you won’t want to miss!

Two women escaping there past.
A MAINLY gentle storyline set in the 60's full of nostalgia, what's not to like?
A really enjoyable read which i highly recommend.
I devoured this in two sittings.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

The life of a PanAm stewardess has always felt glamorous to me. It was fun seeing behind the curtain and this novel made me want to learn more. Full of adventure, love, friendship and fact this story kept me hooked The cover is beautiful

Come Fly with Me by Camille Di Maio is the story about a friendship between two women who just happen to become Pan American stewardesses. On the surface Judy and Beverly seem very different, but as their relationship develops the reader will find many similarities. The locations the characters visit add color and the depth of the bond Judy and Beverly share make this a wonderful read. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.

A gentle, romantic story about two young women in the early 1960s who become Pan Am stewardesses. For important reasons of their own, they need to escape their current lives, although those lives continue to haunt them and jeopardize their new airline careers. It is so interesting to see women's roles in the early 1960s, and fascinating to get an insider's look at what it was like to be a flight attendant during the golden age of travel.

I was pleasently surprised by how much I found myself wrapped up in this story. A story about two opposites going through the Pan Am program for different reasons. It reads back and forth between present day and the past.

I am a huge fan of the history behind air travel and Pan Am was a prime example of growth. Everything down to how things looked fascinated me and this book does a great job at capturing that magic from the 1960's. Flying was different then, a lot more glamourous than your average flight these days. This really is a walk down memory lane (that I have no memory of aside from picture).

The characters are likeable, the story is fairly predictable but again, managed to keep me hooked in. But the research was so thorough and and everything fell together so well.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc!! <3

I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It was so much fun to read about the Pan Am stewardesses and the lives they lived. If, like me, you are old enough to remember when flying was much more glamorous, you will enjoy this greatly. It's not so much the story, but rather the lifestyle of the early 1960s. The story is fairly predictable and ordinarily that might cause me to give it just three stars, but I appreciated the research and the thought behind the book. I had Frank's voice in my ears the minute I read the title.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My generation is going to love it!

Well, I started reading this book last night, and finished this morning. I was absolutely enthralled by the story of Beverly and Judy.

As someone that was enamored with the thought of being a flight attendant (and yes I’m old enough to have called them stewardesses, a girl that still has her first TWA wings), the story was one that immediately peaked my interest.

Come Fly with Me was a lovely read that left me both with a smile on my face and heartbroken. A tale of love lost and of redemption.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc!

In the glamorous early days of flying, two very different women go through the rigorous interview and training process to attain the coveted position of stewardesses on Pan Am’s airline: one, a poor woman from rural Pennsylvania escaping an abusive marriage; the other, a wealthy New York socialite whose Wall Street dad cuts off her funding when he takes the job instead of marrying his college. Judy’s first-time flying is when he gets on a plane to go to Miami for training; Beverly has jetted multiple times, including to European locations. Judy is married, while Beverly is almost-engaged, and a virgin. Both pass with flying colors.

In spite of these differences, Judy and Beverly become friends, confidantes and roommates, each pursuing a love interest while learning their routes. It’s said most stewardesses leave the job after eighteen months, snagging a husband from the first-class manifest. Judy falls for her instructor, a former steward named Joe, during training; ever the gentleman, he flies six hours round trip just to have dinner with her. Beverly meets an Olympic hopeful doing his swimming training in Hawaii, and falls hard. Neither romance has any on-the-page consummation, but someone does end up pregnant…

Filled with wonderful historical details of the subjugation of women (regulation uniforms down to the lipstick brand and shade they were permitted to wear, regular weigh-ins, and strict rules around drinking, smoking, and overnight guests), di Mayo provides a well-researched and realistic story. Significant events of the time period help to set the context: concern around the escalation in Vietnam, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the arrival of the Beatles in America. The technical details are equally fascinating, such as the challenging choreography of a jet’s approach to mountainous Hong Kong, seen through Judy’s eye from the cockpit when the kind pilot learns it’s her first time flying into the old Kai Tak airport.

Framed around Sinatra’s performance of “Come Fly With Me,” Judy and Beverly make a list of all the places from the song–and more–that they want to visit, and make a pact to visit Paris annually. The narrative opens with one of the two women (it’s not revealed until late in the novel) sitting on a beach, as promised, with the ashes of a lover. The story moves back and forth from the present day great-grandmother with cremated remains, and the alternating stories of Beverly and Judy. Neither voice is particularly distinctive from the other, in spite of their differences in class and geography, but the details of their lifestyles would help tell them apart if the chapters were not helpfully labeled. There are few in-air incidents, save a butt-groping; I had a sense from Ann Hood’s Fly Girl, a solid first-person account of working for TWA, that flight attendees are highly trained to act in an emergency, and di Mayo’s trainees are told there is at least one incident per flight, but we mostly see training and relationship drama.

I received a free advance reader’s copy of #ComeFlyWithMe via #NetGalley courtesy of #LakeUnionPublishing. The review will post to HLBB on 2/18/2025