Thomcat
9/29/2024
Read this in a couple of days; was a lot of fun. Don't read this to get a travelogue of New York, but there are other bits very based on history.
In addition to romance, this book has time weirdness and history (some from New York, more from New Orleans). It also has late night food, drag queens, lots of love, and a psychic roommate. I especially liked August the investigator, trying to solve the mystery and also dealing with her feelings. The culmination of the mystery leads to a heist (another trope I adore - no wonder I read the book so quickly). All the characters use a lot of humor and make references to books / songs / shows that I connect with. I smiled a lot.
The most negative reviews are from New Yorkers, unhappy with the author's misuse of the Q line. I didn't mind so much - August's favorite film is Say Anything, which plays havoc with Seattle geography, but is still a great film. New Yorkers, sometimes you have to just let it go :)
The other negative reviews connect with subway misbehavior, public displays of affection and... more. I mean, one of the main characters is trapped on the subway. Perhaps a very late night run on a clean (and empty) car would have been better? The shenanigans didn't bother me.
Overall rating, somewhere between 4 and 5 for me. I really liked it, and probably overlooked any flaws. This is the first book I've read by this author, the second one written - an excellent sophomore effort, in my opinion.