Alba in bookland: New York

First of all, today is World Book Day, so I hope you all are having a really nice day and reading a lot!

So in this special day I would like to talk about one of my favourite authors: Ali McNamara. I discovered her some months ago and since I read her debut novel "From Notting Hill with Love... Actually" I fell in love with her writting and her books. Here is my review of her first book:

http://addictivechicklit.blogspot.com.es/2014/02/from-notting-hill-with-love-actually.html

And given that this fantastic book has a sequel and I promised that I would talk about it soon. What a better day than today! Here is the cover:

So do you remember Scarlett? The movie obsessed girl who managed to live her own romantic movie thanks to gorgeous Sean? Yes? Ok, so she was sure life with him wouldn't be boring... but as reality hits her, she realises that real life couldn't be more different from the movies: Sean is constantly away and she feels quite alone. So when the opportunity arises to go to New York with Oscar, her new best friend, she doesn't hesisate for a minute and grabs it, ready for the holiday of a life time.

In New York, Scarlett and Oscar start living some fascinating and hilarious adventures and they meet some really interesting people. Scarlett, with her charisma, manages to meet some celebrities (yes, really hot guys) and a cute reporter called Jamie who kind of gets her better than anyone else... How can she feel this way with him when she is in love with Sean?

But during their trip, Scarlett not only goes to parties, meets cool people and enjoys the city, she also starts to feel the need to help others. She has a brilliant idea that is going to change her future and probably her whole life (love life included) but is she ready to make it real? It does have a lot of potencial! Are you eager to learn more? Go and read this book (and if you haven't read the first one, then read both!) because it is an amazing book!

My opinion

This book has everything you could want from a story. Ali's writting is fresh and addictive and in this book she talks about some serious topics delicately and reach you with her message. Moreover, she hasn't forgotten about the big romantic comedies. In this book you can find scenes very connected to Breakfast at Tiffany, You've got Mail, When Harry met Sally... and more! And if the end of the first book was perfect, the end of the second one is so special! It certainly leaves you with a warm feeling and a big smile in your face. Moreover there is a cameo from a certain gorgeous actor (who just made the most famous selfie ever).

In conclusion, Ali writes a delightful and humourous story about a girl who is trying to find her spot in the world in one of the most magic cities... New York, so to finish this post some more pictures of this amazing city:

Scarlett lives a very special moment in the Brooklyn Bridge!

And here is my favourite view of New York: a sunset in Manhattan!

Enjoy this World Book Day with a great book and live some special adventures from wherever you are!

Alba F.

I received this copy from Jill Knapp-Zitron in exchange for my honest review. So here it goes!

Amalia appears to have everything she ever wanted: a great appartment in the Greenwich Village, good friends, a perfect boyfriend and even a wonderful trip to Brazil all lined up. But when her boyfriend decides to dump her for no apparent reason she realises life wasn't so perfect as she had thought. Her roommates are kind of annoying, her best friend is going out with a douchebag and doesn't want to see it, her other friends seem to have their own problems and secrets, uni is not as interesting as she expected and she finds herself drawn to her gourgeous and intelligent friend Michael (who happens to have a girlfriend and no clear intentions about their relationship).

So what is the young Amalia going to do? Be a grown-up, make her own decisions and face life or sleep, cry and let Michael use her for sex?

We all feel kind of lost at this age (early twenties): after graduating, what do you do, a master's degree or look for a (probably unpaid) job? What if you start something and then hate it? After being in a relationship for a long time, who are you by yourself? At this age you need to discover who you really are and what you want to do for your life. For some people is quite easy but for others, like Amalia, it takes a while.

What I liked about this book is that it expresses really well how difficult this process of discovering oneself can be, specially when you are used to be part of a couple and your self-steem is not where it should be. Moreover, it is fun to read and it happens in New York (what's there not to love?).

What I didn't like about this book is that it is not always clear why some things happen. For example, why Nick dumps Amalia or why her family feels so detached to her. It would have been nice to have more background and insight in Amalia's life and family to understand her better.

And remember, this is the first book of a series so don't expect a happy-ever-after kind of ending. There's more to come! I want to conclude saying that, in my opionion, it is a good book but not a great book. So don't expect to be blown away!

Finally, my favourite bit of the book was the ride on the tramway to Roosvelt Island because first, I can imagine perfectly Cassandra freaking out because of the heights and second, it's one of my favourite spots to admire Manhattan. Here two of my own pictures: