Book Club February 2024- I Heart New York

By: Lindsey Kelk
Published Year: 2009
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 309

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, get ready for the summer debut of the year...When you're running away from a broken heart, there's only one place to go...Adjusting tiaras at the foot of the aisle, Angela and her best friend prepare for the wedding of the year. But events don't go as planned. And when a girl is in possession of a crumpled bridesmaid dress - and can't go home - New York (for the very first time) seems like an excellent idea. Angela's new friend Jenny Lopez gives Angela a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps, and a makeover. Who hasn't dreamed of starting afresh with a sassy New York wardrobe, a new haircut and a trip to the make-up counter? Before she knows it, the new Angela is getting over her broken heart by having dinner with two different boys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her fabulous new blog. But it's one thing telling readers all about your romantic dilemmas. It's another trying to figure them out for yourself! Warm, funny and unputdownable, I Heart New York is an unforgettable debut.

What I thought

This book is probably one of the older books I’ve read in a while, so I was curious to see how it held up.

Angela finds out that her fiancé is cheating on her at her best friend’s wedding. She makes the impulsive decision to take everything that she has with her and flee to New York City from London. She has never been and has no plan except to be as far away from her ex as possible. While in New York, Angela meets Jenny who helps her with a makeover, both inside and out.

This book felt soooo 2009 in a good way. She goes on a shopping spree and she buys Mac makeup and Marc Jacobs clothing. I felt like I was watching an old YouTube video. Angela is a bit annoying at times. I think overall I liked her, but I also sometimes just wanted to slap her.

The issues I had were that she just magically falls on her feet this entire story. She hops into a cab with zero destination and ends up at a great hotel which happens to have a concierge who becomes her best friend. She then, within days of moving to New York and probably hours of a makeover, becomes the object of affection of not one but two super hot men. Nothing seems hard for her. I think the cheating issue is supposed to make us feel bad for her the entire time, but it got harder to feel bad for her when every step she took was successful.

I did like Angela and Jenny and that was probably my favorite relationship in the story. I had a little more difficulty liking either of the men she was with. I knew exactly who she was going to end up with, and felt that the way they made the decision happen felt a little cheap.

I think if I had read this book when it came out I would’ve fallen in love with it and wanted to read the rest of the 8 book series. I am intrigued enough that I read through the summaries of the rest of this series to find out what happened to Angela, but I don’t know if this is the type of book I’m currently into anymore.

What Book Club Thought

This one was not a hit. I seemed to like it the most compared to the rest of our members. It was interesting to talk about the issues that we had with the book and it did make me realize that parts of it annoyed me than I originally thought. We discussed how the writing felt immature and we couldn’t wrap our heads around how lucky Angela was in her first few days in New York City. I would say if you’re a younger reader, maybe still give this book a shot. But if you’re older than 21, maybe not.