New York, Actually by Sarah Morgan

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I always look forward to Sarah Morgan’s next book and this one, the fourth in her From Manhattan with Love series, didn’t disappoint.

It’s funny, romantic and kinda hot. There are some definite sparks in this contemporary romance and I’m loving the New York setting. Perfect for a lazy day spent reading.

The Blurb (from GoodReads)

Meet Molly

New York’s most famous agony aunt, she considers herself an expert at relationships…as long as they’re other people’s. The only love of her life is her Dalmatian, Valentine.

Meet Daniel

A cynical divorce lawyer, he’s hardwired to think relationships are a bad idea. If you don’t get involved, no-one can get hurt. But then he finds himself borrowing a dog to meet the gorgeous woman he sees running in Central Park every morning…

Molly and Daniel think they know everything there is to know about relationships…until they meet each other that is…

Thoughts

It’s not the most original of stories, man pretends to be something he’s not to catch the eye of someone he fancies, but Morgan does it so well. It’s an addictive and fun read that I read from cover to cover in the space of a day. Molly is a very likeable character and, while she has a troubled past she was trying to get away from, it wasn’t at all what I thought it would be and definitely brought a unique twist. I loved how she was both vulnerable and also quite fiery. She doesn’t take any nonsense and is very able for the supremely charming and persuasive Daniel.

Daniel, well he’s determined to get what he wants and will go to any lengths to get it (even if it means borrowing a dog and pretending to be a dog person) but you can’t help but like him. He also hasn’t had the best past and despite the charm and the polish there’s a very kind and caring man underneath it all.

The relationship between the two is brilliant. Morgan knows how to create some real chemistry between her characters and there were some definite sparks. There’s a lot of banter and teasing (and one hilarious moment of revenge) but there are a lot of quite sweet moments too. They were definitely a couple I was rooting for.

The supporting characters were well developed and I loved how heavily the dogs Valentine and Brutus featured although I do now want a dog. This book did introduce a few new characters who weren’t in the original trilogy and for me they were welcome additions.

Overall a great story that I’d recommend to any one looking for a fun and romantic read with a few surprises along the way. I should also add that while it is the fourth in the series it could quite easily be read as a standalone as there isn’t too much of an overlap with previous books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC. All views are my own.