Sloth Goes Places - New York

 

Sloth Goes Places is a feature where I share books I have tracked from previous Literary Escapes reading challenge hosted by Escape With Dollycas Into a Good Book.

Today we are looking at books set in ....

New York

I am originally from Brooklyn and still live close to the city, so Sloth has spent quite a bit of time in NY. He lived in Central New York when Kiersten was an undergrad, but has visited since then. New York is a very popular book setting. I have already read 33 books set in NY, most in or near the city, but some in other parts as well. 

The first two pictures are throwbacks to before the pandemic when we saw Mean Girls. The other two are from my birthday last year where Sloth enjoyed Molly's cupcakes and saw The Music Man. 

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The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
Published by Berkley on June 27, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Enchanted Realism, Romance

Goodreads

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.

So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: stay busy, work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.

And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.

Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.

Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.

After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.

An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

I cannot properly express my affection for this book, but I will try. I have tears in my eyes as I type this because I was so touched by this story. The magical Manhattan apartment was such a wonderful element. It seemed to know exactly when Clementine needed it to help her work through her issues at the time. I loved the story, the magic, the romance - simply a perfect read for me.

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Change of Plans by Dylan Newton
Published by Forever on August 1, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

In this charming romantic comedy, a hometown hero comes to the rescue of a chef unexpectedly left to care for three little girls—who may end up saving him too.

When disaster strikes and chef Bryce Weatherford is given guardianship of her three young nieces, her life goes from cooking with fire…to controlling a dumpster fire. Five‑year‑old Addison refuses to remove her fairy wings, eight‑year‑old Cecily won't bathe, and tween June is majoring in belligerence. With all this chaos, Bryce jettisons hope for a life outside of managing her family and her new job.

It's been years since Ryker Matthews had his below‑the‑knee amputation, yet the phantom pain for his lost limb and Marine career haunts him. To cope, he focuses on his vehicle restoration business. He knows he's lucky to be alive. Yet, “lucky” feels more like “cursed” to his lonely heart.

When Ryker literally sweeps Bryce off her feet in the grocery store's baby aisle, they both feel sparks. But falling in love would be one more curveball neither is ready to deal with… or is it exactly the change of plans they need?

Sometimes the universe brings a special person into your life right when you need them. That's how I felt about the chance encounter between Ryker and Bryce which led to their friendship and more. A trio of adorable kids added an element of fun and warmth to this story that resulted in endless smiles. For this book, we got out of the city and were somewhere upstate in a quaint small town which I had grown to love over the course of these three books. 

[review]

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Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
Published by Flatiron Books on February 25, 2020
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction, Time Travel

Goodreads

A remarkably inventive novel that explores what it means to live a life fully in the moment, even if those moments are out of order.

It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn nineteen, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? As the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints and awakens thirty-two years in the future in her fifty-one-year-old body. Greeted by a friendly stranger in a beautiful house she’s told is her own, Oona learns that with each passing year she will leap to another age at random. And so begins Oona Out of Order...

Hopping through decades, pop culture fads, and much-needed stock tips, Oona is still a young woman on the inside but ever changing on the outside. Who will she be next year? Philanthropist? Club Kid? World traveler? Wife to a man she’s never met? Surprising, magical, and heart-wrenching, Margarita Montimore has crafted an unforgettable story about the burdens of time, the endurance of love, and the power of family.

We return to the city for this amazing book, but the cool part is seeing the city during multiple time periods. Oona lived her life out of order. She time jumped and never knew where she would end up. It which this random jumping and the way it affected Oona's way of life that made this one special for me. It was interesting seeing the NYC of the past when things were really dicey in the city and comparing them to how things are now. 

[review]

Have you read any books set in New York?
Let us know in the comments!