Was unable to download this book but will look at buying it in the future as I do like the authors books.

I have reviewed this book on amazon uk it was a brilliant read and 5 stars from me

Another many/boss love story. This one was a miss for me. Here is why. I felt no chemistry between Ben and Sarah. To be fair, I didnt read book one in this series, so maybe that is why I wasnt too invested in this book.

This was a 3.5 star read for me - I didn't love it, and I didn't hate it. The premise of the story was a good one - our heroine is hired as an au pair for a wealthy single father of a little baby girl. Their family is quite dysfunctional and has many secrets. She doesn't feel, and is frequently told, that it is not her place to ask questions, so she makes some assumptions as to why this father is distant and absent. She is very frustrated by his lack of interaction with his daughter. However, he occasionally shows moments of kindness and tenderness. I didn't buy the sudden connection and falling for him on her part. It was lacking depth for me. The writing seemed to check all the boxes - okay, I have the brooding, seemingly broken man. I have the misunderstandings/assumptions. I have the moments where he seems to have a breakthrough and shows his softer side. Then I have the big reveal, the required angsty misunderstanding, and the coming together and their desire to be together. The relationship aspect of it just fell a little flat and I think it could have used some extra fluff around that part.

I loved this story so much and the characters within it. I felt that there was so much going on in the story that had me captivated from the start. C.J. Duggan done a wonderful job with writing this story and I love it from start to finish.

New York Nights, is the second book in the Heart of the City series, but can easily be read as a standalone.

Sarah Williams is hired as Ben Worthington's Aupair. This is a sweet romance with a plethora of secrets, betrayal, and mystery that surround the Worthington family. Ben is a rich, sexy, brooding, moody, closed off, impersonal and controlled individual, although a very confident businessman. When he finally opens up he's quite an endearing character. Ben is the father of the gorgeous infant Grace, who steals the show, and your heart.

Sarah is a hard working, caring and like-able individual. A young Australian women, she comes from a working class family, and comes from a completely different social class to the Worthington family. She has to jump through quite a few hoops, in order to gain a job.

The sexual chemistry sparks off this pair right from the very beginning, but it is a slow burn romance. Their banter has humor and sarcasm and warmth.

Overall an entertaining and engaging read and I look forward to the final title in this series.

I’m really happy that I took the plunge to read a C.J. Duggan novel. New York Nights is the second book in the Heart of the City series, but each are most certainly standalone stories. What they have in common is the theme of love in a big city with young women who are chasing their dreams. C.J. Duggan’s writing is bold, lively and really quite funny at times.
“Holy shit, did I really just say that? Did I just question his parenting skills? Someone hand me the hammer and nails for my coffin.”
I really liked the leads in this story. Finding herself in a foreign country and most certainly out of her comfort zone, Sarah exhibits real strength, persistence and dedication. The family she works for has many hidden secrets, yet she remained true to herself and confidently spoke out.

“I could just imagine the eye roll that would result from saying I was heading to Tiffany’s. Screw it. The Worthingtons’ secrecy made me want to be nothing but an open book.”
Ben exudes all that is dark and mysterious - handsome yet broody at finding himself a single father. Just like Sarah, one is not sure of the reason - but slowly the plot is revealed and the causes become devastatingly clear. There is definite chemistry between Sarah and Ben right from the start, yet they each try not to cross that professional working line.

“All that was missing were some candles and some Barry White crooning in the background. Was this crossing the line?”
Although it would have been nice to see things develop at a slower, deeper level, I have no complaints as New York Nights is light and a quick read that I demolished in a weekend. There is romance, there are secrets, scandals and there is New York!

“There was no mistaking I was in New York in this park –there was a certain vibe here. The arch, the fountains, the artists, the performers, the students, the lovers, the loners and me.”
If a quick, light and entertaining read is what you are after, then this is the book for you. Remember it is a standalone and I definitely recommend it for some light escapism.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release

I requested New York Nights because the cover and book blurb captured my attention. I love stories that take place in cities, especially New York City, since I have spent a considerable amount of time in many of the places author C.J. Dugan references in her book. This is the second novel in the Heart of the City series, and it can be read as a standalone.

Sarah Williams is an au pair from the land down under, seeking a huge change in her life. Relocating to New York City has been a dream of hers for a very long time, and now that her present assignment has ended, she has the opportunity to make her distant dream a reality. With a stellar recommendation from her former employer, Sarah becomes the nanny to three-month-old Grace Worthington.

The extremely wealthy Worthington family is replete with a snobbish matriarch, a down-to-earth and very pregnant daughter, a cad of a brother, and Ben, a widower caught in the middle of it all. The family's arrogance and secrets are beyond anything Sarah has ever experienced before. Sarah works for Ben, a successful architect that completely prefers working to caring for his adorable daughter.

I liked this book, however the plot lacked some emotion and complexity. The characters are well-defined and the author does a terrific job of contrasting their unique personalities. Sarah's spunk and determination wins Ben over, and as a result, they forge a future together. Overall, a solid read.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

This was my first foray into Duggan’s Heart of the City Series, which features Australian protagonists heading out into the big, wide world. I’ve always loved the way that Duggan can capture an atmosphere, and she does that so well with New York, just as she does with her Australian settings.

The synopsis sums this book up really well, so I’m going to jump straight into my review.

What Fed My Addiction:

Sarah’s fascination with New York City.
I really loved discovering New York City through Sarah’s eyes. She had a wonderful outsider’s perspective, and Duggan captured both the hustle and bustle and the beauty of the city well. Sarah visited several iconic spots, and it was fun to see her explore the city—and then document it via her art.

Baby Grace.
I enjoyed all of the aspects of the book that had to do with Sarah’s job as an au pair (which was a lot of the book!). She had to learn all of little Grace’s idiosyncrasies and get to know her—which is tough enough for a new mom and harder still for someone trying to adapt to a whole new life in a somewhat awkward situation (which the au pair situation definitely was!). Grace herself was pretty adorable, and I loved how she brought so many of the characters together out of their love for her.

Secrets and lies.
There were lots of mysteries surrounding the Worthington family. Some of them I had pretty much figured out, but there were definitely a few surprises!

What Left Me Hungry for More:

Wasn’t feeling the connection.
Unfortunately, I had a hard time warming up to Ben—who was standoffish for very good reasons—and I never really felt a solid connection between Ben and Sarah. I wished that I could have seen a bit more development between them so that I could understand why they fell for each other. I don’t know, for some reason I just wasn’t feeling it. I didn’t dislike them together, but I was sort of meh about them as a couple.

Not sure how I felt about the climax.
When everything was finally revealed in the end and we discovered what all the secrecy was about, I was a bit underwhelmed, and I couldn’t get 100% behind everyone’s actions. I guess I just wasn’t as shocked at the big reveal as I was expecting to be, and I thought maybe everyone was overreacting a bit? Check out the post on my blog if you want to read a spoiler about this.

In the end, this book was an enjoyable read, but it didn’t capture my heart like Duggan’s books have in the past. I’ll definitely still be reading the rest of the series and I hope I’m more swept away by the next one. I give this book 3/5 stars!

enjoyed this book

Does anyone dream of becoming an au pair? For Sarah Williams – it was a way to explore a new town and all of the joys that come with city life. Those dreams fizzled a bit when she took a job with a family in her homeland of Australia. The dream of living in New York a memory until fate stepped in.

After a glowing recommendation from her former employer, Sarah was swiftly sought after as an au pair in New York. Without a clear understanding of how many children she would take care of or just whom she would be working with, Sarah threw caution to the wind and jumped at the chance to explore the bright lights of New York. Then she meets the Worthingtons……

Hurdle after hurdle is thrown Sarah’s way. It begins to leave her wondering what kind of job was she accepting. Then she meets the ‘Ice Man’ himself – Ben. Apparently there are secrets the Worthington’s are keeping, and no one is bothering to enlighten Sarah. All Sarah can be certain of is she is in charge of caring for Ben’s daughter Grace. Nothing about this job is as it seems. Causing Sarah to wonder what she has walked into by accepting this job.

As Sarah spends her days caring for Grace, she begins to question where the love is from Ben. Secrets lurk beyond the surface, and their unraveling will shock Sarah to her very core.

New York Nights is the second book in the Heart of the City series by CJ Duggan. It’s a journey that Sarah leads us on during her trip to the city that never sleeps. I can’t imagine that being an au pair is ever easy. For Sarah – it is a bit more complicated and exhausting being thrown in the middle of a saga that she never understood the dynamics of. Working for Ben was exhausting and time consuming all while laced with a sprinkle of lust.

What are the secrets that the Worthingtons are trying so hard to keep hidden? (To think I had them figured out…ha) Will Ben ever act like the father to Grace that he should? So far Sarah has had the determination of a bull, but will it hold out? As the realization of those secrets leak out, Sarah questions just how deep her feelings for Ben really are.

As always, CJ has written a fun quick romance that engages you from beginning to end. While this book is part of a series, it can definitely be read as a standalone. I recommend it to any reader looking for a hard fought romance that is tinged with some really unexpected secrets that will leave you rooting for this unique pair.

I love this new series from C.J.Duggan!She's a really great Aussie writer and I first fell in love with her writing in the Summer series.The Heart of the City series consists of standalone novels, each set in a different city, with different protagonists.
New York Nights focuses on Sarah an au-pair, who has just come into NYC for an interview.The family of Worthingtons who hire her are a weird and secretive bunch, quite snobbish at times.
And when she finds out she is to be the au-pair for Grace, the daughter of Ben Worthington, who is quite the broody and distant guy, her curiosity increases.In addition to that, he is handsome and sexy, causing the tension between them to evolve into attraction.
She can't understand why Ben spends most of his time working and avoiding home even though he seems to love his daughter.His family also keeps butting in and there are a hoard of secrets that they seem to be keeping.
Will Sarah manage to keep her job and heart safe?

I loved Sarah in this novel.She is normal and isn't anything special, but has her own set of strengths.Her caring nature, dedication to her job and persistence had to be admired.Ben was quite the tortured hero.It took a lot of time for him to let Sarah in.Even though their relationship was beautiful, I just felt as if something was missing.Maybe we could have spent more time developing it.
I also loved how the book took us around NYC.The secondary characters were mainly Ben's family and they added a lot to the story, but I think I wanted more page time with Ben and to know about Sarah's family.
Grace was a really sweet child and Ben's love for her could be felt through the pages.I also loved the ending!It was just perfect!
Though I think I loved Paris Lights more( Claire & Louis <3 ), New York Nights was just as great!
Can't wait to read Kate's story in London Bound!!

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Ok, this book had twists that I didn't see coming. Turns that were unexpected and a brooding alpha that was entrancing Ben's life looks perfect from the outside but the inside is a tornado of emotions.

Sarah is a young vibrant woman that has been an au pair for years. Trading dreams for children's happiness. Yet years of being an au pair in Australia, had put her dream of going to NYC on hold. Given the opportunity to be an au pair in NYC leads to an assignment with a veil of secrecy surrounding it. When the clients say "ASK NO QUESTIONS" you know that whatever they are hiding is huge.

Gracie is a beautiful infant that instantly grabs at the heart strings of Sarah. But will her overwhelming need to protect her be tested by the secrets being hidden?

Well written story that will take you on an adventure thru NYC. Vivid imagery jumping from the pages. Passion, angst, betrayal, and curtain reveal that all things are not what they seem.

I am really enjoying this series although they definitely can be read as stand alones, in this story we meet Aussie girl Sarah Williams whose dream has always been to go to New York but she ends working as an au pair in her small country town but things look up when she makes it to Manhattan New York to take on a position of au pair there and boy is her life about to change.

Ben Worthington might be rich, handsome and have a beautiful daughter as well as a couple of homes but he also has secrets that cause anguish and heartache and pain and a family that help keep these secrets. But when he meets this Aussie girl Sarah something grabs and he hires her on the spot to look after his baby daughter Grace. Is Ben about to meet his match someone who will stand up to him?

Sarah is gobsmacked at the hurdles she has to go through for this job but you know here she is in the place she has always wanted to be surely life is going to be good to her but Ben is a hard man to talk to and she is not overly impressed with his parenting skills or his mother for that matter but she is determined to get things done and done properly but she needs to keep control of that spark that is lighting up her life.

This is a story that will have you laughing smiling and jumping up and down I loved both Sarah and Ben but there were times I could have yelled at them their journey to a HEA is a rocky one but so worth it in the end. MS Duggan made me feel like I was there in New York with Sarah the setting and descriptions bought a lot of TV shows to life for me also. I did very much enjoy this story it let me feeling very good and look forward to the next one.

ARC received for an honest review

This is the second book in the Heart of The City series but completely standalone

New York Nights is a light, sweet romance with a lot of heart.

I love that Sarah has taken the leap to leave Australia to live and work in New York. I adore her gumption in going for it, talking life by the short and curlies and actually living.

Ben - oh Ben. He is quite a prickly one, but then when you meet the rest of his family, it is not hard to understand why he is like he is. And as the story progressed he did thaw out a bit.

I LOVED that Sarah had the balls to stand up to Ben and his -mostly- horrible family. She wasn't afraid to ask the questions, tell them how it is, throw some punches, call them on their BS - and there is plenty of it!

I adored the relationship Sarah has with Ben's daughter Grace, and loved seeing Ben with her. This little bub really is quite the scene stealer.

The fact that Ben and Sarah didn't become the clich`ed "dad boning the babysitter" story was a plus too!

New York Nights is sweet and charming, and has given me a whole new list of places to visit when I hit New York later in the year!

Now I am impatiently waiting for London Bound.

*will go on blog, amazon etc when live

This light heartfelt romance follows au pair Sarah Williams as she leaves her family and friends behind in Australia to go and work in The Big Apple for moody (but sexy) architect Ben Worthington. Dealing with the Worthingtons is not easy, Sarah is told not to ask questions. That's easier said than done! She has to deal with Ben's stuck up mum, Penny, and sister, Emily, along with all the Worthington secrets. So many secrets, hence she seems to be jumping to a lot of conclusions, not necessarily correct ones either. All is not always as it seems. Told from Sarah's POV we watch her fall in love with a beautiful baby girl Grace, and her complex, yet loving father. Her only friends are Ben's estranged brother Alistair and his pregnant sister Nikki. Can she navigate the minefield that is Ben Wothington and still keep her heart intact? Another winner from CJ Duggan.
I was provided with an advanced copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.