Like most things in my life, my reading journey proceeds in a convoluted and undirected fashion. The reading cut ends up being about 75% romance, 25% everything else.
Almost all of the books will have been supplied by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Showing posts with label From Manhattan with Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label From Manhattan with Love. Show all posts
Harriet Knight has always been the shy twin. She grew up with a stammer that got worse when her father would berate her. Her brother and sister always stuck up for her. It's a habit that has continued into adulthood. And it's annoying Harriet. She's ready to step out on her own and has started daily challenges to help build up her bravery. Too bad she's on the date from hell when the book opens. It ends with a badly sprained ankle. It's in the ER that she meets Doctor Ethan Black. He vaguely notices that she's more polite than most of his patients but then forgets her. He doesn't even recognize her when she comes over to help with his sister's dog; Ethan's taking care of the dog while his sister is taking care of his niece who has broken her leg. Unfortunately, he's doing a terrible job at it. Harriet can't stand to see a creature suffering so she moves in with the doctor while he is taking charge of Madi (the dog). This book was so much better than the last in this series. Ethan was fallible and even admitted it. The ending was a bit drawn out but I think that regular "From Manhattan..." readers will not be disappointed. Three and a half stars This book comes out November 28 Follows Holiday in the Hamptons
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Toward the end of New York, Actually, we learned that Felicity Knight had an ex-husband who had turned up in Manhattan. Felicity had married Seth Carlyle when they were both too young and divorced him soon after. She has tried to face the sexy vet but has been unable to do so. Instead, she grabs the chance to leave town and head to the Hamptons when her grandmother calls for help.
Unfortunately, (at least in Fliss's eyes) Seth was only in Manhattan for a short stint before he returned to the Hamptons where he immediately runs into Fliss who panics and claims to be her twin sister.
Seth still has feelings for Fliss and is delighted to have this chance to get to know her now. If only she'd cooperate...
And, ufda, was Seth a totally bland bulldozer. We know nothing about him except that he seems to be an all-forgiving saint who doesn't want to give up on their love. He's not an alpha-hole because he does give Fliss a little bit of space but other than the fact that he's missing his father, we really don't get to know him. Nor does he have any discernible flaws while Fliss is described as being just riddled with them (and not just in her own head). At the end, I'm really not sure that these two people are getting an HEA.
I am hoping for better in the next book because I know that Morgan can write in-depth characters and fun-to-read books.
We've met the Knight siblings on the periphery of the other "From Manhattan with Love" books. Harriet and Fliss are dog walkers who have worked with the Urban Genie women. Their brother Daniel, the hero of this book, is Lucas Blade's friend and neighbor. Each of the siblings was scarred in different ways by their parent's explosive marriage. For Daniel, he became a divorce lawyer; a shark specializing in helping to make sure that parents who shouldn't be together don't stay together "for the kids." This is why he gets so upset when the advice of a popular blog has one of his clients (both of whose children are having emotional problems) getting back together with his ex. It's a good thing he has is finally making headway with the gorgeous brunette he sees running in the park. Yes, it involves borrowing a foster dog from his sisters and engaging in some deception but he doesn't have long-term relationships anyway, so what does it matter? Molly fled England after her personal life imploded on national television and her friends deserted her. She's decided that, because she has never fallen in love, her mother's abandonment has left her unable to love. But as a psychologist, she knows she can help others and does so on her blog. Too bad the hot guy with the gorgeous dog keeps distracting her. There are some awkward expositional moments so I don't think you'll need to have read the other books in this series to keep up. Other drawbacks of this book are the somewhat fast resolution to the big drama and a bit of a twee ending with Yet Another Thing. I did, however, enjoy the characters, most of the story, and the light touch of adding in previous characters from the series. Four stars This book came out May 30 Follows Miracle on 5th Avenue
So, on my Goodreads review, I rounded up my review of this ARC from three and a half stars to four because it just generally gave me good feels. I was a bit disappointed that I could tell you how the whole story would play out after the first 1/4 of the book
that Luke would hire Eva back, that his wife was actually cheating on him, that Eva would get upset that Luke didn't love her EVEN THOUGH HE TOLD HER <i>A LOT</i> that he couldn't love her, that she would be upset that he created a killer based on her, that they would eventually make up at Tiffany's, probably on Christmas Day (though I didn't rule out Christmas Eve)
I just kept thinking "Oh, wouldn't it be nice if [this romance convention] were turned on its head and the characters didn't just do what all romance characters do?" And yet, as I mentioned, this was still a fast, fun, and fluffy read for me that generally made me smile at the end. Even with the not-so-subtle introduction, reintroduction, and further mention of the Bark Ranger twins and their hot-to-trot brother Daniel.
Eva Jordan works for Urban Genie, a company that can make your life easier. She's blue because it's the holidays and this is the second year that her grandmother won't be around (I think it's the second year? She says her grandmother died "last year in the fall" which should indicate a second round of holidays). However, Eva begins this book by deciding to change her attitude, starting with the decorations that she's going to put up in the home of a famous author while he's away working on his book.
Luke Blade hates the holidays for a good reason. His wife died during a storm three years ago. The woman that he had loved (sort of off-and-on) since kindergarten. Theirs was a love story to stand the test of time. At least according to his biography. But this year he's hit writer's block and hard. So when a short, cute, and stacked blonde (this comes up an awful lot) sneaks into his apartment, he is not amused. But then he finds out that his grandmother sent her and then she starts to spark his creativity. He decides to hire her as his muse (and personal chef) so that he can finish his book on schedule.
Generally, books where one of the characters (usually the hero) says they can't love and then their partner (generally a heroine) gets all upset because "he won't love me" (which he's been telling you the whole book, why wouldn't you believe him?) engender a real sense of rage within me (see Book #2 of the Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts) but at least this one got cleared up pretty fast. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the book, I can't explain why this book gave me such good feels when I have so many issues but it did and I can recommend it to others who have enjoyed the "From Manhattan with Love" series and regular contemporary romance readers.
Frankie Cole grew up on Puffin Island with her best friend Paige Morgan. And Paige's brother Matt. Matt, who has been secretly in love with Frankie for years. But Frankie's prickly. At least, that's how I described her in my review of the first book in this series. And she has reason to be. Her parents... her mother... they're... interesting. And it really screwed her up. But one night, she finally wakes up to the fact that Matt is a man. A handsome, handsome man. One who not only loves her madly, but respects and needs her wicked-mad landscaping skills .
This book was not the up-all-nighter that "Sleepless in Manhattan" was for me. It felt a little... meandering. There was a little too much going on. And I didn't love that we had to return to characters for another series. But it was a good book and I'm ready to read about Eva and her mystery-writing and mysterious hero.
Harriet Knight has always been the shy twin. She grew up with a stammer that got worse when her father would berate her. Her brother and sister always stuck up for her. It's a habit that has continued into adulthood. And it's annoying Harriet. She's ready to step out on her own and has started daily challenges to help build up her bravery. Too bad she's on the date from hell when the book opens. It ends with a badly sprained ankle. It's in the ER that she meets Doctor Ethan Black. He vaguely notices that she's more polite than most of his patients but then forgets her. He doesn't even recognize her when she comes over to help with his sister's dog; Ethan's taking care of the dog while his sister is taking care of his niece who has broken her leg. Unfortunately, he's doing a terrible job at it. Harriet can't stand to see a creature suffering so she moves in with the doctor while he is taking charge of Madi (the dog). 
