Review: In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer
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Title: In a New York Minute
Author: Kate Spencer
Date of publication: 15 March 2022
Genre / Themes: Romcom / New York setting / side f/f romance
My rating: 5 Stars
Blurb
Franny Doyle is having the worst day. She’s been laid off from her (admittedly mediocre) job, the subway doors ripped her favorite silk dress to ruins, and now she’s flashed her unmentionables to half of lower Manhattan. On the plus side, a dashing stranger came to her rescue with his (Gucci!) suit jacket. On the not-so-plus side, he can’t get away from her fast enough.
Worse yet? Someone posted their (entirely not) meet-cute online. Suddenly Franny and her knight-in-couture, Hayes Montgomery III, are the newest social media sensation, and all of New York is shipping #SubwayQTs.
Only Franny and Hayes couldn’t be a more disastrous match. She’s fanciful, talkative, and creative. He’s serious, shy, and all about numbers. Luckily, in a city of eight million people, they never have to meet again. Yet somehow, Hayes and Franny keep running into each other—and much to their surprise, they enjoy each other’s company. A lot. But when Franny’s whole world is turned upside down (again!), can she find the courage to trust in herself and finally have the life—and love—she’s always wanted?
Review
This is such a delightful debut, a romcom that made me lough out loud from the start. This is a contemporary romance is set in New York, which I have never been to, the US in general, but it gave a very vivid sense of place which I love in romance. I absolutely loved the great female friendship we see in the book, all the messy characters, doing their best and making mistakes along the way. There is a also a lovely f/f side romance and no homophobia or any conflict along those lines.
The romance is a kind of grumpy / sunshine, my personal catnip when it comes to romance tropes. Hayes was an interesting character, not so much grumpy, rather buttoned up and closed off when it comes to expressing his feelings, somewhat bad with words. He appears cold on the surface but in fact he is quite emotional - introspective, carrying a lot of guilt over his divorce. He is not a charmer but he is also loyal and caring for his friends/family. He struggles with his attraction to heroine feeling he is not right for her, not wanting to take advantage of the circumstances of their meet-cute (Side note, their meet cute is totally ridiculous but I remember a vaguely similar story hitting the social media a year or two ago, speaking a heating debated over privacy, personal space, etc.).
There is a portion of the book where he tries dating another woman before admitting to himself it's heroine he wants. felt natural and real, there was nothing forced.
I loved Franny. She is determined but also insecure, she is fun and colourful. There are no easy choices for her both personally and professionally. She is not perfect, she makes some wrong decisions but open to changing and growing and making amends. Very much like Hayes I was drawn to her resilience, her sunshine nature, this light and kindness she carried in her.
I liked how it took Franny and Hayes a while to try a relationship, both being busy with professional stuff. She had even more on her plate with a complicated family and work situation. There was no magical getting together, everything else be damned and it felt very fitting to the story and the character.
There is a third-act break up which I was not a fan of but was OK with it in the end. It felt like an over-reaction on her part but then the time apart was good for both of them. It helped them settle some loose ends in their lives. Her apology was everything, I loved every bit of it. His love confession, on the other hand, was over-the-top and I am not sure it was exactly right for her. I think it could have been handled better.
This is a very vivid, dynamic story, with lots of love and laughter and some tears. I loved the friendship support, the families being messy and annoying but also being there, having your back always.
CW: deceased parent (missing, unknown), going viral on SM, heart attack, hospital stay
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