Bianca is drowning her sorrows after not getting a pitch that she was really needing to survive both personally and professionally. A guy next to her at the bar - Eric - strikes up a conversation and that begins their twelve hours together in Manhattan. Bianca eventually recognizes the man as a famous South Korean actor. They both feel the connection but the night ends with Bianca telling him why she can't be with him. Besides, she feels that he could have anyone, why would he choose her? What follows next takes Bianca on journey and we meet up with her a couple of years later. Eric is back in NY and he crosses paths again with Bianca. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and am definitely going to be checking out the author's first book.

What are the chances that may might have happened in 12 hours when the only person they decided to talk to that night in all of NYC is a celebrity and a fan? Can a celebrity fall in love with a fan?

The first part of the book had whisk me away on a very interesting premise of a story. Personally, this is one of the fantasies I always indulge myself in my daydreaming – to randomly meet a complete stranger whom you’ll feel an instant connection with. That someone who will not judge. What only matters to us is the story we share to one another. Then, we’ll never expect to see each other again, even in our wildest dreams.
On the second part, the relationship between Bianca and Eric progressed nicely as Bianca explored her feelings and the difficulties that would follow. It focused on the build-up of their love and it felt very slow and at the same time very fast.

Lastly, the ending was pretty satisfying and neatly wrapped.

In conclusion, this book was a hit or miss. Although what I did find very interesting was the motivational texts throughout the read. Here were some to name a few:

• “A stranger as an anchor is what I need tonight. Someone who doesn’t know me or my sorrows..”
• Even if the story starts out dark, finding that light somewhere in the story matters to me

Thank you so much for allowing me an early read of this book. Looking at it, the cover is so cute, it’s v classic romance, so I’m like yes, this is gonna be a good one. However, I think I hyped it up too much and it just didn’t give me the romance I needed.

The developing love story was seemingly good and I was rooting for the two main characters to end up together and I really enjoyed the setting. There were also a couple plot twists that made story much more readable but it felt a bit hard to put all together.

It’s a bit like marmite this romance - you’ll either love it or hate it.

This book unfortunately was just not for me. I had to skim through a lot of the book - it fell flat for me.

This was one of those books that you don't expect to be so heavy, especially when you look at the cover (yes i am one of those people) but other than that it was definitely an interesting read.

2 stars for effort, but DNF at 50 pages. Going into this book, I had expectations of a light-hearted, funny, K-drama, type of story. While the story does get started fairly quickly, it's filled with, at times, uncomfortable objectification of the male lead, the dialogue felt choppy, and rather than a humour-filled adventure while being starstruck, it does an abrupt 180-degree shift in the space of a few pages with these 2 strangers sharing their most vulnerable secrets. We still don't know what the heroine's actual struggles are, despite her alluding to them several times. All in all, I had hoped for more heart and humour and the kind of fun chaos that comes from k-dramas.

I really liked this book. Very melodramatic, it read like a soap opera!

Can you fall in love in twelve hours? This books seems to think so.

Sometimes you need a little cute pick me up, and this book does it. I'm afraid to write too much as it would spoil the book as the surprises, and twists and turns.

The only thing that I did not like was the storyline with Bianca's parents. It seemed a bit out of place with all the other goings on in the book. Perhaps in a tv show, these extra scenes would make sense, but not so much in a novel.

Overall, I could not put this book down, and was hooked from the get go. I really liked how the first part of the book was done minute by minute, in real time.

Ahhhh, this was quite hard to rate because I didn't love it nor hate the book, so I have settled for 3 stars!! The whole concept was interesting but however, it felt a bit flat for me and I couldn't get into the characters. Part 1 and the second half felt like they were completely different stories.

I really like the cover of the book!

Thank you to Netgalley and She writes press for this ARC, Twelve Hours in Manhattan comes out on the 18th of April!!

I found this so so so hard to get into and had no clue what was going on. I was left confused for the whole thing.

Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

I really enjoyed the minute by minute writing in the book, however it wasn’t really giving me the expected Rom-con vibes. I feel like a lot of the chemistry lacked and the characters felt a bit flat. It was a nice easy read but definitely not as romantic as it could be.

This book has two aspects to it. The first, obvious one is a meet cute than changes the course of the two people over a several year period. The other, and I felt most important part, overcoming self criticism over choices that we allow to define us as people. I enjoyed the book but wished the characters had been just a little more relatable and that there had been a little more development in the chemistry between them. At times, they were a little one dimensional. It is a sweet story and I am pleased that the author wrote it. Finding the freedom to be ourselves is often a struggle and definitely a process, no matter who you are.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in return for a candid review.

2.5 stars
Bianca is at the brink of losing it all when she meets Eric at a bar in Manhattan. Eric who turns out to be a famous Korean celebrity and is in town for a night wanting to escape the pressures of fame. Walking along Fifth Avenue to eating ice cream, sharing moments on top of the empire state, sparks fly as Bianca and Eric spend 12 hours far far away from their respective lives. During their time together, they talk about the big stuff: love, life, and happiness, and the freedom they both seek to fully exist and not merely survive.
As the clock strikes the twelfth hour, Bianca returns to the life she detests to face a tragedy that will test her strength and resolve, and the only thing she has to keep going is the memory of a man she loves in secret from a world away.

Ahhhh, this was quite hard to rate because I didn't love it nor hate the book, so I have settled for 2.5 stars!! The whole concept was interesting but however, it felt a bit flat for me and I couldn't get into the characters. Part 1 and the second half felt like they were completely different stories.

Thank you to Netgalley and She writes press for this ARC, Twelve Hours in Manhattan comes out on the 18th of April!!

Twelve Hours in Manhatten follows Bianca, who is at a desperate place in her life, when she meets K-drama star Eric. They spend 12 wonderful, magical hours together exploring New York and getting to know each other, away from the constraints of everyday life.

Well, that's Part 1 and it's sweet and endearing.

Part 2...is a huge emotional shift and honestly, I got whiplash from the change in tone and storyline.

I wanted to love this book - the movie Serendipity is one of my all-time favorites and this had so many similar themes, but unfortunately it just felt a little flat.

The main character is not just having a bad phase - she's also a little weak and so down on herself all the time, I'm not sure why I should be rooting for her. She makes it clear on numerous occasions that she is a nonody, and is ordinary and not well put together.

Well then, Bianca girl, if you don't love yourself why should I expect Eric to love you?

I honestly think that a character with more self-esteem and who was more empowered would have been a much better fit here. Not all female characters need to be "bombshells", but self-confidence should be a basic requirement.

Would I read it again? Maybe Part 1.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. All reviews are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author of this novel for this ARC for an honest review.

The premise of the book sounds like something I would be insanely interested. An at-wits-end elder millenial/young genx finds herself in a situation that may render her homeless. However, she meets a handsome k-drama star in Times Square. They spend 12 hours together in NYC and go their separate ways, will they find their way back to each other? Read to find out!

This book may have been a bit lost on me, to be honest. As a romance reader, this book at times read super childish, but also kind of like a k-drama/hallmark movie? I think a younger me may have enjoyed this a bit more.

Some tropes in this book that may be something another reader may be interested in, but not really my cup of tea:
- Instalove
- Meet Cute
- Second Chance Romance

I didn't love this book, I didn't hate it, it was just kind of unremarkable in my opinion. I didn't feel a real connection to the writing or the characters. At times it moved too fast/felt rushed, and then towards the end it drug on just a bit. The idea was great, the execution just wasn't there for me.

So, I wanted to like this book. I really did. I felt that it had so much potential. It just honestly didn’t get there for me.

The developing love story was cute and I was rooting for the two main characters to end up together and I really enjoyed the setting. There were also a couple plot twists that made the story very interesting and made my jaw drop, which I really enjoyed. However, I just could not get into the storyline.

Besides the small political and religious references/comparisons in the beginning that upset me, there were other parts in the plot that I just didn’t care for.

The first half of the book and the second half of the book seemed like two completely different stories. The author did tie it all together nicely at the end, but I just did not find myself immersed in the story like I was hoping. So much so, that towards the end I started skimming the pages.

In conclusion, I didn’t hate the story but I also didn’t love it. It was a cute read but just missed the mark to give me that “wow” factor.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read and review this story!

Another hallmark type of read. Basic cute romance type of read.
A angry woman is angry as she is becoming homeless. It did have an interesting plot when Eric and Bianca meet. However it didn’t seem to be going anywhere in my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and She Writes Press for the copy of this ebook.

I've struggled the first part of the book because of the minute-by-minute writing (I discovered I don't like it ;-) but as soon as I've started the 2nd part of the book, it all made sense. I loved how cute the 2 main characters are and I enjoyed discovering their journey through their pains and struggles.

This book is more about their personal journey than specifically their love story but it makes it... more real.

When I'm about to start reading Twelve Hours in Manhattan, I thought it would be a romcom book. But after the first chapter I know it's actually not.

I thought reading Twelve Hours in Manhattan will make me bored, but I'm glad the more I read the more I got attached to the story. There's several angst and sad moments that makes my heart clench. But what dissappoints me is that I don't really find the sparks between the main characters and it makes the story a bit flat.

Thank you NetGalley and She Writes Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review Twelve Hours in Manhattan.

Within the first few pages of this book, I wanted to make it a DNF. I wanted to give this book a chance and I'm glad I did. Once I got to Part 2 and Part 3, the story was much more enjoyable and I finished the book.

Part 1 felt like fanfiction or a fantasy of what I would do if I had twelve hours in NYC with my crush. I felt like that Part could have been shortened a great deal.

Parts 2 and 3 is where the story really started. Characters were further developed and supporting characters were added. I'm glad I kept reading and gave those story a chance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lot heavier than I expected. I really liked Part 1 of the book and then it was just a downer for the remainder of the book. The characters had potential to be more, Bianca was all over the place and her friends did not feel very supportive (consistently).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.