Mum's Monday: Meet Me in Manhattan by Claudia Carroll

Warning Spoilers

It is not the best of starts to a book, as in the storyline, not how well it is written or described and you do want to find out what happens next.

I like how chapter three is set out as, online dating messaging. This is a realistic and modern book. If there is one of many things that gets a book/storyline or radio show phone in going, you could say dating, or as in this case, long distance online dating is near the very top of the list. The description of all the dating logistics is well written and shows that this book has been researched.

I am so glad that Holly didn’t pass up a fantastic leap forward in her career to go for a date with Andy. This book certainly shows the pitfalls of online dating.

The intrigue as to why Holly hates Christmas is long and drawn out, we get just a snippet of an idea of why but so far up to chapter eleven we are yet to find out the exact reason. This part of the storyline keeps me as the reader, reading.

In chapter thirteen, now what I have always said about New York city is ‘What you see is what you get’ I have been to New York and having seen it in movies and on poster/pictures amongst other things the Manhattan skyline is very familiar. Now in this chapter the almost exact same thing is said using different wording of course. I like the fact that the familiarity has been picked up and enhanced in this story. Showing and making a connection with me as the reader.

The reason Holly is in New York is a good one and I want to read on to see how Holly’s mission works out. We still don’t know why Holly doesn’t like Christmas but I hope we find out in good timing because to draw it out too much would be boring but too mention it too quick would be a silly blurt out and disastrous. There are still snippets of information being fed and interweaved into the nature of this book, but only just enough relevant to the story. An interesting book.

Well I didn’t see that coming, a life lesson be careful who you are talking to/meet online. I am glad that it was mentioned about the lawfulness side of things, people need to know, but in Holly’s case it is ok as it was just conversation and didn’t escalate further. Harry is not going to be let off the hook though by his family.

An amusing part, well not to begin with, Holly and Mike are at Grand Central Station. There is sadly a reference to it basically, there was talk of it being demolished and as Holly puts it about the amazing architecture being ‘Skipped’. This made me think sadly, laughingly ‘How many skips would it take to carry away the Grand Central Station rubble away? A lot. Thankfully the building was saved and still amazes people to this day.

It is nice to see Holly, being in another busy place, realising that the Christmas 24 hours doesn’t have to be, what could only be described as a ‘Duvet day’.

It is still Christmas day, Holly has had a few too many cocktails. The reading of drunk Holly flows realistically well, short of telling Mike she loves him a load of confessions are revealed. We almost get to the reason Holly hates Christmas, but alas chapter twenty-three comes around all too quickly.

Over the next few chapters there are ups and downs. It is sad, that yes Holly has to get back to home to work. This book/storyline is good at keeping the reader in suspense, whether it is Holly’s past or what has Harry been up to and what are now the consequences? It turns out that ‘Captain Andy McCoy’ has been busy.

I wandered what the term ‘Catfish’ meant, now I know for sure. Now this story has really taken off, there is a life lesson in this part, from tracking where computers are being used to a full blown media storm, this is what modern times allow us to do now. I do wander is Holly had of gone with the story it may not have gotten so far out of control and she could have controlled it herself, but I can see as yes, for the sake of Harry’s family and decency, although it comes at a price.

We do find out why Holly hated Christmas, the timing and how it could have been written/included in the storyline could have been a little better. To include it in a dream seems a waste of a chapter, only to have it mentioned that she tells Mike on the plane anyway, that would have been a better time to write it and a little less clichéd.

Ultimately we see family come above all else in the end.