Winter Reading Challenge 2018: Match Made in Manhattan by Amanda Stauffer (Chrissy’s review)

 

Match Made in Manhattan
written by Amanda Stauffer
published by Skyhorse Publishing, 2018

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Walmart, Book Depository, Goodreads

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Did I enjoy this book? I did enjoy this book. It was a quick read that kept me interested.

Match Made in Manhattan follows Alison for a year after she breaks up with her long-term boyfriend. She joins Match.com and jumps into the dating pool. The book takes the readers on her dates, to her job, and out with her friends. Some of the guys she dated seemed like a lot of fun. While some of her dates didn’t go anywhere, I liked that she remained friends with a few of the guys. I also liked that Alison didn’t jump into bed with every guy she dated. She had her boundaries, and she wasn’t afraid to let the guys know. She was very strong about it.

The book includes a number of emails and text messages. This was a fun way to see how she met her potential dates and communicated with them. She had some great text conversations with Greg, which made me chuckle. But the formatting of the text messages made it very hard to read them. I don’t know if it was my copy of the book or what, but most of the words ran together. I didn’t mind that the words were in all capitals, but the lack of spaces between the words made it difficult to read the messages. It took a bit of effort, which took away from the experience.

Also, sometimes I felt that the story jumped a bit too much. I was very interested in her job. She is an architectural conservator. This job is fascinating. She had issues with her boss at work, issues where her supervisor was taking credit for her ideas and Alison was getting reprimanded for not thinking outside the box. I really wanted to follow this story line. There was a point where she saved another boss from a different office. Why didn’t this guy stand up for her? Why didn’t she work out of his office? I know this is a book about her dating life, but I really wanted to know more about her work life.

Overall, this is a fun read that will give you a few laughs.

Would I recommend it? If you are looking for an easy, chick lit read, sure! Check this one out.

 

About the book – from Goodreads: After two intense, dead-end relationships, serial monogamist Alison finds herself confused, lonely, and drastically out of touch with the world of modern dating. Refusing to wallow, she signs up for a popular dating app and resolves to remain open-minded and optimistic as she explores the New York City singles’ scene. With the click of a button, her adventures begin: On one date, she’s dumped before the first kiss; on another, she dons full HAZMAT gear; she meets a tattooed folk singer turned investment banker, an undercover agent who tracks illegal exotic animals, and dozens of other colorful, captivating personalities.

Giving them each her signature “pants speech”–her pants aren’t coming off unless she has a real connection with someone–she desperately wants to push past the awkward small-talk phase to find true love, but finding “the one” is starting to feel impossible. That is, until she meets Luke, who is sophisticated, funny, and not to mention, hot. Alison finds herself falling for Luke harder than any guy she’s dated and finally letting her walls down, but will he stick around or move on to his next match?

Match Made in Manhattan is a fast-paced, contemporary story about the struggles of dating in the digital age. Replete with online profiles, witty dialogue, and a super-supportive group of female friends, this all-too-real and relatable debut novel will have readers laughing, crying, and rooting for Alison all the way to the end.

 

 

* This post contains affiliate links.

** This post first appeared on Every Free Chance Books (everyfreechance.com) on January 27, 2018.