Review: In a New York Minute by Felice Stevens

Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

No author makes me want to go to a place more than Felice Stevens. Her love for New York is evident in every book of hers that I've read, and while the state has been on my list of places to visit before I die from the very beginning, it has nudged its way to the top ten because of Stevens and her vivid imagery of New York's boroughs, cities, and notable locations. In her latest standalone, In a New York Minute, we have ourselves two men who aren't necessarily looking for love, but with well-meaning family and friends, find themselves falling in love in a New York minute. (And for anyone out there who may not quite know what the phrase "New York minute" means, it's basically a short period of time, i.e. a brief moment or in a snap.)

Garrett Steiner is a thirty-seven-year-old divorced man who teaches third grade in a public school. After the end of his marriage two years prior, his Bubbe (i.e. his grandmother) decides to take matters into her own hands by having a billboard put up lauding her grandson's finer qualities in hopes of snagging a date for him. Much to his embarrassment, it becomes the talk of the town. Much more to his surprise, he gets thousands of emails from interested men. The only one that stands out to him, though, is from a forty-one-year-old widower named Jeremiah Angelberg. They go on a date, and things go swimmingly, enough that they go on several more. What Garrett doesn't quite realize, however, is that Jeremiah is actually Remi Angel, world-famous singer-songwriter who's now more known for his destructive antics than his music. When the truth comes out, will Garrett still want to be with Remi or will he cut his losses and walk away from him?

Don't you love it when two grown-ups in a relationship communicate? It leaves little room for assumptions to be made and worst-case scenarios to start forming in one's head. Garrett and Remi are mature men who know what it's like to get their hearts broken, but they chose to take a chance at seeing where there connection would take them, and these two have one heck of an undeniable, life-changing connection. The whole communication thing nearly eliminates the angst, although there is a wee bit of drama courtesy of Garrett's ex-husband plus a principal who has no business being in control of educators and young minds who are only beginning to figure themselves out. I adored Garrett's and Remi's families and those closest confidants who only want to see them happy and thriving. With the Eagles's "New York Minute" playing in my head and a rather satisfied heart, I give Felice Stevens's In a New York Minute five stars.

Release Date: 22 May 2023

Date Read: 22 May 2023

Learn more about Felice Stevens.

Purchase In a New York Minute on Amazon.