This is the story of three girls falling in love in New York. The chapters rotate among the girls viewpoints, from when they move in together and meet to finding boys they care about. My favorite girl was Rosanna, because she felt the most real to me. She wasn't overconfident like Darcy or super optimistic like Sadie. She was a girl who had been through a lot and was trying to make it in New York. The stories were pretty cute, although there was some sadness too. Not a bad book overall and it went by quickly. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A contemporary romance based in NYC and told from the perspective of three roommates.

Opening Sentence: The enormity of the situation hits me at the most random time.

The Review:

The story is told from each of the three roommates perspectives, which was interesting because not only did it allow me to see what the girls thought of each other, I was able to understand why they behaved the way they did. It was apparent that each girl has a secret that was always in the back of their minds, some darker than others but to each their secret weighs deeply.

I knew almost immediately that Sadie’s love story was too good to be true. It was far too perfect, and Austin matched the soul mate description like it was made for him. Love like that is too good to be true so I was just waiting for the bomb to explode. Sadie irritated me with her cheesiness and her romanticism, her soppiness was so over the top and the ‘right around the corner’ sign that she went on and on about took the biscuit! When Austin hesitated to take Sadie to Jersey City, then started giving evasive answers, I had a gut feeling that his secret would mess everything up. And it did.

“Are you saying that anyone who’s been married for a long time is vulnerable to falling in love with someone else?” Rosanna asks.
“Anyone is vulnerable to falling in love with someone else, married or not. You can’t choose who you fall in love with.”

Rosanna’s idealistic character was adorable, it’s clear that her past haunts her and she wants so much to believe the best in others but the darkness is always there, threatening to seep in. I’m glad she met D and although their love story wasn’t as picture perfect as Sadie and Austin’s, I still can’t see it working long term. Rosanna has such strong beliefs and D pretty much goes against everything she believes in, especially since they are from two completely different worlds. D is insanely rich, whilst Rosanna survives on bagel dinners; I don’t think their attraction is strong enough to overcome their differences.

The final roommate appears to be the feistiest and the biggest cynic when it comes to love. Darcy wants to enjoy summer without any of the attachments that will inevitably break her heart. Without a doubt, Darcy was my favourite of the three, probably because I’m just as much of a cynic when it comes to love as she is. Her carefree attitude only worked for so long though because the love bug had hit their house and it wasn’t going to leave without infecting all three!

“Once you start considering a boy as BF material, all bets are off.” Darcy says. “He could be the worst possible boy for you and you don’t even see it.”
“You can’t see any red flags when you’re in it,” I say. “It doesn’t matter how many friends tell you he’s bad for you. They could point out his problems a thousand times and it wouldn’t matter. All you can see are the good parts.
“Love is blind,” Rosanna says.
“Love is crap,” Darcy declares.

I enjoy reading series, especially for paranormal fantasies but I didn’t expect there to be a part 2 of City Love, especially at such a crucial point in each of their stories. I found that rather off putting to be honest, because I wasn’t aware of it from the start, and I hate being left unprepared. Despite that, I am intrigued about their future and what happens to each of the roommates in their adventures of love, although I could do without the cheesiness!

Notable Scene:

“Do you know that soul mates are real?”

Austin laughs. “I love how you framed the question. People would usually ask something like, ‘Do you believe in soul mates?’”

“But soul mates are real. It’s not a matter of belief.”

“Like global warming.”

“Exactly. Asking someone if they believe in global warming is like asking if they’re smart. Only idiots refuse to believe in reality.”

“So if I don’t believe in soul mates…sorry, if I don’t know they’re real, then I’m an idiot?”

“No. You would just be uninformed, which is a completely different thing. Then I would school you and you’d know.”

FTC Advisory: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins provided me with a copy of City Love. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

This review is also posted on my blog

“City love is the kind of love that never dies. No matter how many boyfriends come and go, no matter how many heartbreaks I endure, this city will always be my true love.”

First, I would like to thank HarperCollins for providing me with a review copy. It has not, in any way, influenced my thoughts about this book.

Growing up, I used to be amazed by city lights and towering skyscrapers and the fast-paced life of a big city. New York City was definitely on my list of places to visit when I was younger but as I grew older, I didn’t dream of going there anymore. Instead, I wanted to go to Europe. North America sounded cliché already. But reading City Love made me fall in love with this lively city all over again and it inspired wanderlust within me.

Reading Sadie, Rosanna and Darcy’s adventure of finding love and building new friendships in New York has been a fun experience. Chapter after chapter, I was enthralled and captivated by these three young girls as they try to take on the new chapter of their life—college—in a big city. I fell in love as they did, got confused as they did and got heartbroken as they did. For this, I can say that City Love is a light read, perfect for a lazy summer day.

Sadie: oh, she was a fun character to read. Among the three, Sadie is the optimist. Upon reading her point of view in the first chapter, I immediately felt light, like I was floating in the clouds where no bad thing can reach me. Seriously, everything’s just lovely in her world. She’s the one I was most happy about when she found a guy to love. But, sadly, her optimism is blind.

Rosanna: I was not particularly feeling anything about her except pity and a little annoyance. She said she’s not a pessimist, she’s a realist. Well, Rosanna isn’t that well off, so she’s kind of bitter about people who have lots of money. But her time in New York will prove that when love finds you, it doesn’t matter if he’s dressed in an Armani suit or rocking a tee from Salvation Army.

Darcy: she’s the wild spirited one in their group. The one who carpes the freaking diem. She just wants to enjoy the summer, be with different guys and prove to herself that one boy can’t dictate how she’ll live the rest of her life. I was annoyed at her at first because she’s acting bitchy but as the story progressed, I understood where she’s coming from.

To be honest, when I saw that there were only 3 chapters left in the story, one chapter for each of the girls, I felt disappointed because nothing major has happened yet. They just all gravitated towards love without any problems that would need resolution. I was like, Oh, no. It will be a HEA but one without anything explosive before that happy ending. But boy was I wrong. The problem I was looking for? It all happened in each of their last chapters.

And it ended in a cliffhanger.

That was the thing that saved this book, for me. THERE WILL BE A 2ND BOOK! I’m so excited and I’m so happy with the way it ended I just wanna make grabby motions with my hands for the next book. Overall, though it wasn’t perfect, this was still a book I enjoyed a lot. It showcases the thrill of waiting for love to come knocking at your door, finding new friends and living in a city for dreamers just waiting for your own dreams to come true. ( )