Tuesday 10 November 2015

Books Read: Claudia Carroll - Meet Me in Manhattan

In a New York minute, everything can change …

You don’t mess with aspiring journalist Holly Johnson! The man she fell for is not all that he seems – because sometimes dating online doesn’t quite go to plan. She’s decided to fly to the Big Apple to surprise him and to get some answers. And if her plan works she’ll also get the scoop of her career …

But as she steps out of her yellow taxi and the first snowflakes start to fall, it’s Holly who has the surprise of her life.

What should be a dream come true is looking a little like a nightmare. But Holly is determined to get her New York happy ending!

Amazon Links: Kindle or Paperback

Having hosted a guest feature from Claudia back in March where she revealed that the premise of the story revolved around 'catfishing' - online situation where someone pretends to be someone they're not, I was intrigued to read the book to discover what does exactly happen to our heroine Holly in Meet Me in Manhattan.

Holly, like so many of our generation, has resorted to online dating to try and find her perfect partner as she hasn't exactly had much luck in the dating front in Dublin and she thinks she may have finally found the One, even if it was online and he does lives over in the US.  'Andy' seems to be too good to be true and maybe that's because he is as after a few failed attempts at meeting when his job brings him over to Ireland, Holly's flatmate Joy suspects that things are not what they seem and soon discovers a few home truths as she tries to prevent Holly getting hurt...

At this point I have to admit I was cheering Holly on as she saw the chance to make a name for herself as a researcher for her job, one where she was being taken for granted, by flying out to New York to confront her suitor and get her revenge.  But as you might expect online, where you can in effect pretend to be whoever you want to be, Andy wasn't the guy that she was expecting but as the saying goes 'when one door closes, another one opens' and that's certainly true for Holly as the whole experience introduces her to new people and new experiences that certainly wouldn't have happened if she'd stayed back home in Ireland. 

I loved the whole concept of the story, online dating and the idea that things might not be as they seem, and the setting of the storyline in Manhattan, going to New York in Winter is one of the things to do on my bucket list and the descriptions of the places Holly visited and experiences she had made me want to go there all the more. And if I could meet a hunky man, like Holly did, to be my tour guide as well I think I'd be in heaven... 

Holly was a fantastic character, you couldn't help but like her and want her to find the happiness she deserves.  I was cheering her on every step of the way, from the moment of confrontation to everything that happened afterwards.  I could also relate to her in a personal way as even though Holly's experiences were more recent, the idea of spending Christmas following the loss of your mum doesn't get any easier no matter how many years have passed, and I have spent many Christmasses the way that Holly had initially planned to. 

Written in Claudia's trademark humourous style, Meet Me in Manhattan will have you willing Holly on in her endeavours to exact revenge and find love.  It was the perfect feel-good read that I needed on a depressingly wet weekend when all I wanted to do was hibernate and read. 

I'd like to thank Avon Books for my review copy of Meet Me in Manhattan.

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