Everything can change in a New York minute according to Don Henley and that is certainly the case for Franny and Hayes after a chance encounter goes viral on social media. I’m delighted to be sharing my review of In A New York Minute today.
Here’s what the book is about
Their love story has gone viral. But it hasn’t even begun . . .
Franny Doyle is having the worst day. She’s been sacked, the subway doors ripped her favourite 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 down side, he can’t get away from her fast enough.
Worse yet? Someone posted their (entirely not) meet-cute online. Suddenly Franny and her rescuer, Hayes Montgomery, 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 talkative, and creative. He’s serious, shy, and all about numbers. Yet somehow, Hayes and Franny keep running into each other. It seems fate isn’t done with the subway sweethearts just yet . . .
Kate Spencer’s In a New York Minute is a fresh, modern take on romantic comedy for fans of The Flatshare, Our Stop and One Day in December.
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed this book from that very first meeting between Franny and Hayes. Their unorthodox meeting on the subway is filmed by a bystander and we see straight away that what you see on social media, in this case Instagram, isn’t always what you think. Everyone thinks that Franny and Hayes have fallen in love instantly but in fact, they didn’t really click straightaway. I can understand that people would want to think this chance meeting led to a great love story but I can also imagine how uncomfortable I would feel if photos of me went viral like this!
On the face of it, Franny and Hayes are two very different personality types and yet there is something between them, some spark that draws them together again and again. Hayes says that New York City, despite being huge, is really just like a small town with lots of people in it. The alternate chapters told from each of their points of view mean that you really get to know what they are both thinking, not just one side of this story. We see all the misunderstandings between them and their fear of saying something that would be wrong in their situation.
The book is surprising in some ways, especially one element of it regarding Franny and her father. When she does a DNA test, it threw up some unexpected results. It made her think about who she was and what made her who she was.
This book is crying out to be made into a romcom film and it would be brilliant. What we need is for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan to do some kind of time travelling because their younger selves would be perfect as Hayes and Franny. It’s definitely got that kind of vibe. Franny says of New York that ‘sometimes this city is magic’ and it certainly worked its magic for Hayes and Franny. A really engaging read with lots of great characters and a real feel-good ending, worthy of any rom-com film!
I’m very grateful to Chloe at Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book for review.
It’s out now in ebook. audiobook and paperback.
About the Author
Kate Spencer is the co-host of the award-winning podcast Forever35 and author of the memoir The Dead Moms Club. In a New York Minute is her first novel. She writes a bi-monthly column for InStyle and her work has been published by the Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Buzzfeed, and numerous other places. Previously she worked as a senior editor and producer at VH1. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.
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