Now, I'm not going to lie to you, there are just two reasons I bought this book:
a) It has one of the prettiest covers I've seen in a long long time, and
b) I want to live in New York. Okay, I'll settle for visiting... but in a dream scenario, that's where I'd live. Forever and ever. Sigh...
I Heart New York is about 26 year old Angela Clark, who discovers that her fiance is cheating on her. Worse still, she found out that her best friends knew, and she ends up making a tit of herself at their wedding as she is so angry. As a child-free freelance writer, she has no commitments, and with no-one left to turn to she decides to jump on the first plane to New York, a city she has always wanted to visit. This book follows her as she 'finds' herself, gets over the only man she has ever been with, and discovers what she wants to do with her life.
An author's writing style is important to me when I'm choosing a book. I didn't enjoy Audrey Niffenegger's writing style, and it kind of spoiled what should have been a beautiful book when I read The Time Travellers Wife. Lindsey's style of writing is fab though - very easy to read, the sentences aren't too long, and the dialogue is believable - no hard-to-understand jargon. Every page flowed easily, and I finished the book in half a day.
The plot was fast paced. I didn't feel like there were any chapters that were just 'fillers' - you know the ones... they drag out something or create a new subplot that leaves you wondering what's the point? Well this book had none. Every chapter had something thrilling happening, even something as simple as buying some new make up was written with enthusiasm and passion. A lot happens in this book, and it's hard to believe that you're near the end of the book and it's only been two weeks since Angela landed in New York. She cuts out the mundane things and concentrates on the exciting things, so there is always something happening that makes you not want to put the book down.
Now, as cliched or ridiculous as this story may sound, I loved it! I thought it was quite a believable storyline actually. It's just a woman dealing with betrayal, and I'd behave in exactly the same way as Angela does - she spends, spends and spends some more on designer clothes and handbags, and buys new make up for the new Angela. How many scorned women would do that? I'm pretty certain we all would. Maybe not in another country, but I can assure you, if I had no job commitments, no children to look after, a wedding fund that's never going to be used because my scumbag fiance is shagging a tart he's fallen in love with, I'd be on the first plane to the Big Apple too!!
I loved all of the characters. Angela was just a completely normal girl, and you can tell that these new experiences were strange for her. Her new BFF Jenny was bonkers, but I loved her. I want a BFF like her! The relationship between the two was great, and I enjoyed the little subplot of Jenny and Jeff too. Quite amusing but heartwarming. It didn't detract from the main storyline, it just added to it in my opnion. The two leading men (yep, two!) were swoonsome too - total opposites but both with charming qualities (though I think Angela made the right decision in the end!). I even liked Angela's boss - think Miranda from the Devil Wears Prada with the odd smile here and there and you've got Mary. Just a fun mix of characters, and nobody was just 'there'. They all served a purpose and there was no-one I disliked (except scumbag fiance but luckily, you don't see much of him).
This is the perfect book. There's enough drama, enough shopping, enough designer name dropping, enough love and enough kooky friends to keep me going until the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it and didn't want to put it down. The only downside is that it makes me incredibly jealous of Angela's new life! I want to buy designer clothes and shoes in New York, and have picnics in the park, and be at the top of the Empire State Building at sunset... Okay, maybe things work out a little too well at the end, but who doesn't love a happily ever after?!
I absolutely adore this book. As soon as I closed it after the last chapter, I started reading it all over again. It's such a cute, girly novel, and my desire to visit the Big Apple has increased by a million percent. I'm looking at flights as we speak...
Rating: 10/10 - read it NOW!
xoxo
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