Author: Jill Knapp
Published: 2014 (Originally 2013)
Publisher: Harper Impulse/Harper Collins
Number of Pages: 236
My Rating: 4
Summary from GoodReads.com:
The question that 23-year old
Amalia Hastings wants the answer to is: What happens to men when they move to
Manhattan? Life in the big city gives Amalia a ride she is not expecting. As
she tries to find her way on the little island that never sleeps, she discovers
she has a harder time navigating through life then she does the streets of
Greenwich Village and finds herself truly lost in the complex world of men,
graduate school, money, family, and friendship.
She thought she had everything she
wanted – a new apartment in Manhattan, a first-rate education at NYU, a group
of trusted friends and Nicholas, a boyfriend who she once believed was her
soul-mate. But somehow, it isn’t enough. Stumbling through her relationships, Amalia encounters
Michael. An attractive classmate who quickly moves from being one of her close
friends, to an inconsistent friend-with-benefits. After all, the only thing
consistent about New York is its beauty.
After getting terribly lost
searching for love in all the wrong places, Amalia finds herself torn between
the possibility of a relationship, and an adventure she's been planning all
along. She eventually realizes that solely chasing love closes her off to all
of the other good things life has to offer. Now she must decide – what is worth
the chase?
Considering
Chick-Lit isn’t normally my favorite genre, I was a little apprehensive at
first when Jill Knapp asked me to review her new book, What Happens to Men When They Move to Manhattan. I read the summary
on GoodReads and was intrigued enough to try it out, so I began reading. And
let me tell you, I am so happy that I did.
This
was an enjoyable book that I (no shame in my game) read in a day, as I
couldn’t put it down, wanting to see what the main character, Amalia Hastings,
was going to decide. Amalia was very personable and down-to-Earth, oftentimes
saying things or doing things that I could relate to or that would make me
laugh out loud. She was flawed, yes, and sometimes made me want to pull my hair
out because she wouldn’t say something I would desperately want her to, but
this made her all the more honest and a true character.
The
other characters in the book are unique and diverse enough that it adds some
variety to the storyline, from her interesting roommates, her awesome BFF
Cassie, to the, ugh, complicated men in her life, Nicholas and Michael. They
all seem like people you at one time have encountered in your life and could
definitely share the same emotions that Amalia had towards them.
As
I stated earlier, there were times Amalia seemed like a pushover as she let the
men in her life somewhat treat her like a doormat, but at the same time it
reminded me all of the of mistakes a lot of young people make and how we have
to go through trials and learn our lessons before we can come out smarter when
all is said and done. She finally does learn some things about herself and what
she wants and I was so proud of her in the end! I promise, you will be, too.
Jill
Knapp did a great job creating a fun, modern, fast-paced read that will have
you flipping through the pages to find out what Amalia decides to do with those
difficult men and if she figures it all out in the end. I can’t wait to see
what happens to her next!
What do you think? Will you be checking it out?
-Busy Brunette
Labels: Fiction, Rating 4