Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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Remember the world before iPhones, Ubers, and streaming on Netflix?

It’s 2004 in Manhattan, and real estate is the driving factor behind most relationship decisions. Only here can strangers go from roommates to friends to lovers in less time than it takes a co-op board to approve a purchase.
* Robin Cromwell is in desperate need of a roommate. She’s lucked into a rent-controlled classic-six on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, but her best friend is moving, and she can’t afford to live there alone.
* Jessica Barlowe is counting the days until she moves in with her boyfriend in his renovated one-bedroom co-op. That is until she walks in on him with another woman, and all her plans, including where she is going to live, disappear into thin air.
* Tory Wallace is determined to move out from under her abhorrent parents’ roof, even if that roof is covering a $50 million brownstone on the Upper East Side. Although Tory hasn’t spent much time thinking about being self-sufficient, the tension at home has reached a boiling point, and she’s got to get out.
* Zach Sullivan is a successful technology executive living in a modernized pre-war two-bedroom on West 78th Street. He’d never planned on renting out his spare bedroom, but a chance encounter results in an impulsive offer that will change his life forever.
An Upper West Side Story is an engaging and heartwarming story about love, friendship, and that time in life when friends are family and drinks at a dive bar in Manhattan can solve all your troubles.

This is a household that whenever we hear anything to do with the west side of NYC we break out into song “When You’re a Jet” …we are such geeks. Really bad singing aside, we always talk about how we miss the pre-technology days. Just last week we took a road trip holiday and got lost several times as the Google Maps would not load in rural Ontario as there was no cell service! Printed maps were sold out at the few gas stations we drove by next time we will know to take on with us. (BTW, thanks to everyone we saw on farms or at local businesses who gave us directions: we agree that the roads need larger and better signs!)

Manhattan 20 years ago, pre-covid would have been amazing: but just think what that brownstone must be worth now! (Fred Mertz would be in heaven at the value of his place!) Renting now if just as tenuous, anywhere in North America: rents have tripled in the city we live in as rent controls were abolished for many buildings during COVID (thanks Doug Ford!). We literally cannot afford to move into a non-hell-hole apartment as we have been priced out of living anywhere safe so we feel these characters' pains. (Especially the classic 6: I fell down that rabbit hole and spent a good hour ooopoooohing and awwwwwing over floor plans that we could never afford! Especially those with washers and dryers and "staff rooms" that we could use as storage!)

This book was really enjoyable: It was well crafted and will hold your attention for hours: if you take it to the beach (or backyard, fire escape, porch, etc.) don't forget to reapply your SPF as you will lose track of time. Enjoyable even if just sitting in front of the a/c or fan during what it supposed to be a record-breaking HOT summer (oh, yeah ... not) as it is a wonderful little book to pick up and add to your TBR pile. #shortbutsweetreviews

This book was super cute and light, and a quick and easy read! It hooked me and I couldn’t stop reading!