In a New York Minute

I’m back! Did you miss me? Did you at least miss the reviews, wondering what Mouse was going to pick this month to read? Well, look no further because I have more than a few book in the pipeline to review.
Plus pictures to share next week about my trip! So tune in for that.

New month, new set of books. I told several people that London reminded me of New York, amazing to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. However, there’s something magical about New York and that’s where our first review this month takes place. So let’s dive in!

As Don Henley sings, “In a New York Minute, everything can change”.  That New York minute is a mythical tale that can change a life for better or for worse.  There are plenty of movies made about it, songs, and books.  New York Minute by Kate Spencer is the latest one.  

Franny Doyle is an interior designer who, at the beginning of our story is having the worst day of her life.  She has just gotten fired from her hip yet mediocre to her, job has to carry a box of all of her things, on the subway, during rush hour, back to Brooklyn where she’s barely living and on top of that, her vintage silk dress gets caught in the doors and rips completely down the back on a full train.   

In comes a perfect stranger who gives her his Gucci suitcoat to cover her.  There are train hijinks, cars jerking Franny getting pushed against this stranger, her wet from tears and mascara dripping face planting right on her white shirt, him accidentally coping a feel as he tried to steady her.  And as soon as the doors to the train opens, runs off without another word.  

On the train, there’s a teen who’s snapping pictures and video doing a live story on her Instagram with the hashtag #SubwayQts, and suddenly Franny and the mystery man are viral.  

 The mystery man is Hayes Montgomery III, a sustainable investment fund and the two meet once more on a popular local New York morning show where Franny is able to return Hayes’ jacket and tell him thank you. The dominos of embarrassment continue to fall when Franny blurts out she’s opening her own design website, Hayes tell the entire city on live TV that she’s not his type and they’re made to have a “date” on live tv where Franny spills coffee.  

After that disastrous “date”, it seems that everything is finished.  But in a city of 8.3 million, Hayes and Franny keep bumping into each other. Of course, fate and the magic that is New York takes its toll and love blossoms.  

In movie form, this might make a cute run-of-the-mill, rom com with whatever attractive young twenties movies stars are popular today, but this wasn’t my cup of tea.  I wanted to like it, I’m a huge fan of Nora Ephron films and that is was what this book was supposed to be.  I got young Sex in the City vibes from it and I am not a Sex in the City fan.  It was also first-person duel POV which is a thing I dislike.  For me the story was okay, but nothing amazing.  I found Franny a bit…meh. Again, she reminded me of Carrie but if she wasn’t famously writing for a magazine. It felt like Spencer shoves every rom-com trope into this story including the walk in the evening through boroughs, running through Rockefeller Plaza looking for your other half, every trope found in You’ve Got Mail or When Harry Met Sally, or even Serendipity, is probably in this story.  Spencer wanted to write a rom com that would be made into a movie or on to Netflix and she tried too hard. 

I was more invested in Lola (one of Franny’s best friends) and Perrine’s (Hayes’ cousin) relationship than I was Franny and Hayes.  I want a story about them.  

If you’re someone who likes Sex in the City or duel first person POV’s, then you might like this book.  For me, I wasn’t engaged. 

Join me new review where I discuss Home before Dark by Riley Sager, a supernatural thriller in the vein of the Amityville Horror. Stay cool my friends! Hydrate and relax in this summer sun with a good book.