I Heart New York
Author: Lindsey Kelk
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Writer Angela Clark is having a rough night. In the middle of her best friend’s wedding, she catches her fiancee and his tennis partner together in his car. Devastated, Angela has a choice to make. She can either stick around England, moping over the loss of her jerk fiancee, or she can take control of her life, and live a little for once.

Angela chooses the latter and hops on a plane to NYC with her bridesmaid dress, pumps and not much else. She tells the cab driver to drop her off at the first hotel he sees, which just so happens to be a very nice hotel with a friendly concierge named Jenny who automatically recognizes Angela’s heartbreak and takes her under her wing transforming her into a complete New Yorker.

Jenny takes Angela for a  New York City makeover; hair, makeup, clothes, the whole shebang. And from there, Angela is a new person; more confident and certainly ready to mingle. And mingle she does! Before a week’s time, Angela is already dating two men. And then Jenny’s friend hooks Angela up with a gig blogging for a popular women’s magazine. Could things be more perfect for Angela? Things seem perfect on the outside, but on the inside Angela is still grappling with lots of emotions and a decision to stay in New York or head home to England.

One of the things I struggled with throughout the book was how easy everything came to Angela. For goodness sake, the girl hadn’t dated in years, and all of a sudden she’s juggling (and sleeping with) two pretty sexy Americans. And then she needs money, and the perfect job falls from the sky. I would be remiss not to mention how Angela and Jenny became BFF in literally .2 seconds, and then moved into an apartment together. This just wasn’t realistic to me (though I wished more than once that I could have Angela’s luck when it came to life in NYC).

Once I got past how unrealistic the book felt, I was able to really dive into the story and enjoy it. As a main character, Angela was completely charming. I’m a sucker for books with main characters from England; the accents and silly sayings are adorable to me. Plus, I found Angela relatable. What girl hasn’t been through a heart-wrenching breakup? I know when I went through my big breakup, I wished I could get as far away from home as possible, and Angela did just that. I admired her for having the courage to get on the plane with no plan in place. It was a gutsy move, and one that earned Angela respect, in my book. As I got to know Angela more throughout the book, I  liked her, especially as she became more confident, and realized she was capable of such a better life than the one she was living in England.

And then there are the two men Angela dates throughout the story. Two extremely different, but both equally sexy men. For some reason, I was quite partial to Tyler, the businessman, but I definitely liked Alex, the rocker, as well. I enjoyed reading the scenes with both of these men, as it was interesting to see Angela experience New York for the first time, through the lens of both Tyler and Alex’s personalities. Oh, and get ready for some steamy scenes! After years in an unhappy relationship with her ex, Angela is ready for a little fun.

One other thing I struggled a bit with was Angela’s blog. She has this blog where she writes about both men she’s dating and both of them know about it, but neither of them seem to have a problem with it? This part of the book just confused me. I kept waiting for the inevitable blow-up when one of the guys realized what was going on, but it never came. Plus, Angela is apparently a writer, but her columns that were included in the book weren’t exactly as amazing as I’d expect them to be considering her blog apparently became a hit overnight. Again, here’s another place where parts of the book felt unrealistic to me.

For those who have never been to New York City (and even those who have!) I HEART NEW YORK provides a glorious introduction to the big apple. Seeing New York through the eyes of a complete newcomer like Angela was fresh and fun. Some of my favorite parts of the book were Angela’s many shopping sprees at designer stores in the city, her date at the MoMA and of course, the Empire State Building scene. I’ve been to NYC several times, but this book made me want to head there immediately.

Despite a few minor setbacks, I loved this book. I was able to look past the unrealistic bits, because the book was pure fun and the perfect summer read. I’d recommend taking it on vacation! This book has two sequels I HEART HOLLYWOOD and I HEART PARIS. I can’t wait to read both of them!

4.5/5