Book Review: What Happens to Men When They Move to Manhattan?



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




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