How can a woman who is stern and powerful in her job be so immature when it comes to love? I didn't see the chemistry at all, but glad Ana learned a lesson from each guy because character development. Duh

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Title: Ana Takes Manhattan

Author: Lisette Decos

My Review:

I have to say up front that romance novels are not my first genre of choice but once in a while a get in the mood for a light, fun romance bordering on women's fiction. Anna Take's Manhattan did the trick. I love humor mixed in with a love story. There was a good number of characters in this story and with a couple of notable exceptions, they are all well developed. Ana is relatable as she often knows the right path to take but make dicey split decisions any way. Without getting into spoiler territory, I will just say that there was a character or two that could be removed from the story and it would have made it better.

I will read from this author again.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Official Blurb:

As a reality TV producer, Ana Karina orchestrates extravagant marriage proposals that always (well, mostly) go as planned. When they don’t, she’s not afraid to cut and paste scenes to make the moment picture-perfect. If only Ana’s own life was as simple to direct. Her colleagues are getting promotions. Her best friend and her younger sister are both getting married. Everyone is moving forward—except Ana.

Sick of feeling stuck, she decides to start living with no regrets. She’s going to pitch all her ideas at work, no matter how unlikely. She’ll take a chance on a guy even if he doesn’t check all her boxes for Mr. Right. Soon, she’s swept up in a roller coaster of exhilarating dates—a comedy show, a Jane Austen reenactment, a rave pool party, and a whirlwind trip to Vienna. With all this excitement, Ana should be on her way to her own happily-ever-after, but instead her life is getting messier by the second.

Yet throwing caution to the wind may still bring Ana more than she hoped for as she begins to listen to her heart and realizes the life—and man—truly meant for her might be the one she never saw coming.

Ana Takes Manhattan is fresh and fun romantic comedy telling the classic tale of a strong-willed, single woman trying to date in the big city.

Ana doesn't like to take risks but her life needs a change so she decides to take some big chances.

1. Find love by dating four very different men all at once.
2. Be more bold at work as a reality show producer and go after the career you want.
3. Figure out how to get along with her father and step family.

The dates brought many fun and exciting moments to this entertaining book. I enjoyed hearing Ana's voice in the telling of her story and how the city was a character in itself.

Her journey was eventful and had a quick, unexpected but perfect ending.

Overall, this was a cute book and I recommend it to fans of women's fiction.

This was a fun read that took me back a little bit to the chick lit stories I grew up on. It’s a coming of age story about a girl who is feeling a little left behind in life and makes a decision to start taking chances. Ana’s dating spree brings lots of humor to the story—if you’ve ever been in the dating trenches, you can relate. The NYC setting was done very well and as I was reading, I felt like I had an inside look at the world of reality T.V. so I wasn’t surprised to learn that the author had worked in the field. Overall, it was a light read with some laugh out loud moments. Just what I needed right now.

3/5. This was a little hit or miss for me.

The premise was good. I like the idea of a story about a woman who goes through the journey of discovering what she likes in a partner, and through trial and error (and a lot of facing her own fears) finds the right guy. I thought the ending tied everything together nicely. Seeing Ana’s growth also impact how she carried herself at work and her producing was a nice bonus. The one thing I didn’t love was Ana herself. She was moody, snotty, selfish and just not my favorite narrator.

A cute women's fiction story that was entertaining enough. I am not sure I would recommend it to others as I don't think it has staying power. I enjoyed the take on the TV producing side of things

Ana is a Reality TV producer who spends her days making marriage proposals look perfect. Feeling stuck in her life, she starts living her life with no regrets - she pitches ideas at work, goes out with men that are wrong for her, etc. Will she find her happily ever after or has it been there all along?

This was fine, but it was missing a little something. I just really didn’t connect with or like Ana. I enjoyed the parts about reality tv, but those pieces couldn’t carry the whole book.

DNF at 23%.

Unfortunately I just couldn't connect with the main character and her actions. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot at the decisions she made and those decisions often pulled me out of the story.

Fun and lighthearted. Not my most adored read, but I did enjoy it. I mean, who doesn’t love a romance set in NYC?
Overall a solid read, I am unsure though if I would read it again.

'Ana Takes Manhattan' did not deliver in my honest opinion. My apologies to the author whose hard work went into this novel, likewise to the editor and lastly, the publisher for all their hard-working hours placed into this book.. Having said that, I was just not impressed by the main character and/or the plot, but the setting as always won my heart into the 3 stars I am giving this novel.

I so loved the premise of this. I'm such a sucker for reality tv romances. Unfortunately this did not work for me.

I thought this was a good romance, that I would recommend to those who think it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of Ana Takes Manhattan by Lisette Decos. I feel like this book fell apart in the last 50% and was ultimately forgetable.

This story turned out much different to what I thought it would be when I first started reading this book. The main character also seemed to change drastically as the story progressed (and I'm not talking about character development). A main character doesn't have to be likeable for me to enjoy or appreciate a story but my dislike of this main character and her actions truly impeded on my enjoyment of this novel. It's disappointing because I originally like the main character but through her dating 'journey' and how she treated her friendship, I ended up severely disliking this character.

Luckily, I did enjoy the love interest but I don't feel like the ending did their relationship justice and the ending of the book was quite abrupt.

This was an okay read but not one that will leave a positive or lasting impression.

***Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

This is a fun and light read with lots of funny moments. Ana is a reality TV producer who orchestrates extravagant marriage proposals. She is tired of feeling stuck in her life while seeing colleagues get promotions and friends and family getting married. So she decides she will start living with no regrets. Which is great in theory, but will come with lots of messy moments for Ana.

She begins saying yes to dates even when on paper he doesn't check all of her boxes (she has many). As she's navigating this new motto to living life, she realizes sometimes the life and person for you might be the one you never planned for.

I really enjoy second coming of age stories where women get to find themselves and the lives they want to live.

Ana Takes Manhattan reads like a movie— I felt the wonderful early-2000s-rom-com inspiration. I really loved the additional context of reality tv (Ana’s a producer). It felt a bit immature for a 30 year old cast of characters (and women are a bit catty towards each other). Overall, I tore through the book— a great beach read for quick fun.

This was a fun and oddly educational read! It was fun and romantic. and felt like I was watching a movie that I really love. At some points, I felt it fell a little flat and lacked detail, but overall, I really enjoyed this.

Ana is a is a reality tv producer on a show hilariously named, Marry Me, You Fool! She helps in love couples plan over the top romantic proposals and she really enjoys it. But after her bff and her sister are both getting married, she feels a little lonely.

Ana has a “perfect man” list that’s lengthy, but it hasn’t gotten her anywhere. She decides to let it go and go full force with everything, work, dating, taking chances, etc. She has a lot of wacky dates and has a lot of new experiences which she definitely needs. She hits it off with a few and it’s fun to see her explore her options.

I love reality dating shows and I would definitely watch this one. Ana was a little shallow, but I understand that feeling of being left behind when everyone else moves forward.

Thank you so much @readforeverpub for my gifted ebook. It’s out now!

3.5 stars

Ana is a reality TV producer who makes the perfect proposals happen, but her own love life is a disaster. She has a list of 4 things she is looking for in a man, and decides to date four men - one who has each quality - rather than waiting for the unicorn man who has them all.

I love a chaotic, snarky heroine (probably because I myself am snarky and chaotic) and Ana’s dating escapades reminded me a lot of myself in my early 20s. There were cringe-worthy moments as well as laugh out loud moments, both of which really resonated with my and my previous experiences dating. And seeing Ana really confront herself and her fears in the process was very heartwarming. I also loved the reality TV behind the scenes moments, especially after learning the author has some experience in that area. However, the ending was a bit abrupt for me and left me wanting a bit more.

Thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

This was a fun read! It did require me to put aside some "realistic expectations" about what people in the age group of the protagonist would actually do, but that aside, this was fun and romantic.