In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer (Review)

Title: In a New York Minute
Author: Kate Spencer
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Forever
Date published: March 15, 2022

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A clever, tender, and romantic novel for readers of Christina Lauren, Jasmine Guillory, and Sophie Cousens, this laugh-out-loud debut is a perceptive reminder that fate can have a sense of humor, and that love can happen…In a New York Minute.

Franny Doyle is having the worst day. She’s been laid off from her (admittedly mediocre) job, the subway doors ripped her favorite silk dress to ruins, and now she’s flashed her unmentionables to half of lower Manhattan. On the plus side, a dashing stranger came to her rescue with his (Gucci!) suit jacket. On the not-so-plus side, he can’t get away from her fast enough.

Worse yet? Someone posted their (entirely not) meet-cute online. Suddenly Franny and her knight-in-couture, Hayes Montgomery III, are the newest social media sensation, and all of New York is shipping #SubwayQTs.

Only Franny and Hayes couldn’t be a more disastrous match. She’s fanciful, talkative, and creative. He’s serious, shy, and all about numbers. Luckily, in a city of eight million people, they never have to meet again. Yet somehow, Hayes and Franny keep running into each other—and much to their surprise, they enjoy each other’s company. A lot. But when Franny’s whole world is turned upside down (again!), can she find the courage to trust in herself and finally have the life—and love—she’s always wanted?

⤖ My Review ⬻

Kate Spencer’s In a New York Minute was one of my more highly-anticipated romance releases of 2022! I was excited to be taken to NYC in the summer and to follow along as Franny and Hayes’ love story developed. As it turns out I might have hyped this one up for myself a bit too much, and I do want to make that clear and take responsibility for that before going into my review.

In a New York Minute took place, as you could have guessed from the book title and the paragraph above, in New York City. Beyond the subway dress scene mentioned in the synopsis, I didn’t really get as much of a New York vibe as I was expecting from this book. Maybe the focus was meant to be more on the characters and their relationships though, and this might be purely a personal observation since other readers might not put as much emphasis on the setting as I do.

I was very excited to get to know the characters of In a New York Minute and also to read about their interactions. Looking back, I found that I really clicked with Franny at the very beginning, but then started to question some of the things she said and did. As for Hayes, beyond the meeting scene and maybe two other scenes—that I won’t go into detail about because I might accidentally spoil things—I don’t really remember much about him.

I actually don’t remember much of what happened in In a New York Minute, which could very well be either due to how the book was written or the mental state I was in while reading, my expectations, etc. It’s not often that I don’t recall a lot of what happened in a book, especially a romance novel, but it is what it is. I think that there are definitely readers out there who loved this book, and I the scenes I do remember, I did find entertaining. This review, as always, just outlines my personal experience with the book.

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Kate Spencer is the author of the upcoming romantic comedy, In a New York Minute (Forever, 2022), and the memoir The Dead Moms Club (Seal Press, 2017). She’s also the co-host of the podcast Forever35, which tackles all things self-care with humor and honesty. Her written work has appeared on numerous platforms and publications, including Buzzfeed, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, and Esquire. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two kids.