Review: I'll Take New York by Miranda Dickinson

Have you ever given up on love?

When her boyfriend lets her down for the last time, Brooklyn bookshop owner Bea James makes a decision – no more. No more men, no more heartbreak, and no more pain.

Psychiatrist Jake Steinmann is making a new start too, leaving his broken marriage behind in San Francisco. From now on there'll just be one love in his life: New York.

At a party where they seem to be the only two singletons, Bea and Jake meet, and decide there’s just one thing for it. They will make a pact: no more relationships.

But the city has other plans . . .

Review: this book was everything I hoped it would be and more. I am a massive fan of Miranda's first novel, Fairytale of New York and so when I found out there was going to be a spin off novel/sequel to that I could barely contain my excitement, then when it popped through my letterbox, even more excitement and then to know that I'm actually in a scene in the book-wow, heaven! But seriously, this is an awesome book and I read it cover to cover in one sitting because I was so caught up in the world, the characters, the storyline and the the places that it took me to! 

It was really great visiting New York with this same bunch of characters again but this time having some fabulous new characters lead the way. I love Bea and I love the fact that she works in a book shop. Like a lot of Miranda's characters she is incredibly optimistic and just someone you would want to hang out with and have a coffee with. Jake is also a lovely lovely person. He turned out to be more grown up than I initially expected him to be, having really strong family values, despite going through a marriage break-up and having to relocate his business. 

Of course the usual Kawolski's gang return which was awesome and it was lovely to catch up with all the old faces and see what was going on. You definitely don't have to have read the first novel to enjoy this one (although the 2 make for a perfect weekend of reading together) the characters stand on their own, as does the storyline. There is a fab hen party scene with some lovely characters too, just saying! 

I was very impressed that this book has a different voice to Fairytale. The same characters as were in Fairytale of New York are featured in this novel and yet they are not the stars, so it must have been very difficult not to write using Rosie's voice and stick to Bea's voice, or write as Jake and not as Ed, even harder considering the fact that they are cousins! This book is written a chapter at a time from Ed or Rosie's perspective and i think that this worked really well for telling the story, seeing things from both their points of view. It also meant that the novel flowed incredibly easily, making it a pacy read which is saying something for a book that weighs in at nearly 500 pages! Definitely don't let the size put you off, I read this in hours! 

Of course I loved the setting of the novel, back in NYC, with a bit of Brooklyn thrown in for some diversity, again I can't get my head around the fact that this author has never been to the big apple, it's as if she lives there everything is so vividly and beutifully described! Bea's bookstore is a great setting in itself, who wouldn't want to read about books and working in a bookstore and they have coffee in the bookshop too? What more could you possibly want? The coffee does come with a small warning though-coffee products and coffee shops are mentioned over 100 times in this book and so if you're as suggestible as I am, and love coffee as much as I do, you may just have the shakes when you finish drinking your coffee along with this novel! 

This book is just such a lovely read for this time of year, it's not particularly Christmasey, although there is a winter wedding and some lovely frosted scenes but it's just so heart-warming and lovely and cosy! it couldn't be better to snuggle up with at this time of year and enjoy with a gingerbread latte! It's got great characters, a compelling storyline and a gorgeous gorgeous setting. There are twists and turns along the way that will keep you turning those page and whether this is your first Miranda novel, or you're a fan, like me, I'm sure you're going to love this book. Make it your next read!