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In a New York Minute
Amy is on a film set in New York, trying very hard to wrap the advertisement she's filming in time to catch the last flight home for Christmas. But the actors are squabbling, the star of the piece, a cat, won't play ball and, truthfully, Amy's heart isn't in it anyway – she'd escaped to the Big Apple to try to forget her broken heart. But as snow begins to fall on Christmas Eve, someone on set with Amy makes her realise fairytales really do happen in New York.
39 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2012
56 people are currently reading
496 people want to read
About the author
Eleanor Moran
21 books54 followersEleanor Moran is an author and BBC TV producer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
February 4, 2015
In a New York Minute is a very short (18 pages) feel-good story which follows a few hours, from 11:30 am to 07:50 pm on Christmas Eve 2011, in the life of Amy, who is in New York filming a cat food commercial, having just broken up with her boyfriend back in the UK.
Good writing but very linear.
The remainder of the book is an extract from the full length novel "The Last Time I Saw You".
Good writing but very linear.
The remainder of the book is an extract from the full length novel "The Last Time I Saw You".
February 7, 2013
I didn't want to give this book 2 stars but I will give you my reasons.
The beginning was promising, I was getting to like the storyline and the characters. The jumping back and forth from present to past was a bit confusing and didn't seem to flow. Then it just ended. Nothing really seemed to happen.
Like I said, I really wanted to like this book! Sorry I could only give it 2 stars!
The beginning was promising, I was getting to like the storyline and the characters. The jumping back and forth from present to past was a bit confusing and didn't seem to flow. Then it just ended. Nothing really seemed to happen.
Like I said, I really wanted to like this book! Sorry I could only give it 2 stars!
July 29, 2015
Author: Eleanor Moran
Published: 01/12/2012
Recommended for: readers who enjoy short chick lit
Edition: Kindle
I found this short story (39 pages) on the Kindle Store for free and so I thought I would give it a try. I thought that this was a pretty good book to read, it had everything you would expect from a 'chick lit' book however I found that it was a bit predictable. But overall a good read if you want a short story! It is one that doesnt really stick in your mind but passes spare moments when you need something to read, but i did think that it was well written and that the characters that featured were very well described and a pleasure to read about.
Published: 01/12/2012
Recommended for: readers who enjoy short chick lit
Edition: Kindle
I found this short story (39 pages) on the Kindle Store for free and so I thought I would give it a try. I thought that this was a pretty good book to read, it had everything you would expect from a 'chick lit' book however I found that it was a bit predictable. But overall a good read if you want a short story! It is one that doesnt really stick in your mind but passes spare moments when you need something to read, but i did think that it was well written and that the characters that featured were very well described and a pleasure to read about.
August 2, 2020
I knew before I read this book that it was a short story but I still thought that it was going to last a bit longer than this. No sooner had I begun to settle into the story and gotten to know the characters than it was all over and done with.
Amy is working on a film set on Christmas Eve and all that she wants to do is make it home in time for Christmas. But as you can imagine things do not go according to plan.
I love books that are set in New York and even though this was a little bit too short I really enjoyed it anyway.
Amy is working on a film set on Christmas Eve and all that she wants to do is make it home in time for Christmas. But as you can imagine things do not go according to plan.
I love books that are set in New York and even though this was a little bit too short I really enjoyed it anyway.
June 21, 2015
I found this to be a really confusing book. This was not helped by the length which was a lot shorter then expected, because of this o thought there was a lack of development in the plot and characters which made it less interesting. If it was larger I would of defiantly enjoyed it.
January 24, 2013
Really wouldn't bother reading, the storyline is so erratic you don't know what on earth is happening, there is nothing in the story which makes you want to read on, it's all just a bit non-existant. There are no strong characters, it's a very below average piece of writing.
December 23, 2012
The story seemed as if it could have gone somewhere but was too short to manage it
January 4, 2013
Was too short to really get into it. Could have been more promising if a little bit longer. Finished at 47%, the rest was a preview of her new book.
July 28, 2013
Sweet and all but the ending was abrupt and the writing hardly flowed. The copy I read had an excerpt from another story that was longer than this.
Read
August 2, 2015what on earth have i just read???
August 4, 2015
Where's the rest?
December 30, 2018
Although I realised this was a short story - as it says on the cover - I didn't realise it was going to be as short it was, hence the low rating.
We sort of just get thrown into a scene where the mc Amy is on an ad shoot in New York, and it's mainly about that and her mini flashbacks to her ex back home in the UK. Skip to another scene where she seems to fall in love with her current colleague in a department store immediately after they had been arguing.
Another reason for the low rating is that it seems to end rather abruptly, and the remaining half of the book is the preview of another. I usually love New York set books at Christmas but this just didn't do it for me.
We sort of just get thrown into a scene where the mc Amy is on an ad shoot in New York, and it's mainly about that and her mini flashbacks to her ex back home in the UK. Skip to another scene where she seems to fall in love with her current colleague in a department store immediately after they had been arguing.
Another reason for the low rating is that it seems to end rather abruptly, and the remaining half of the book is the preview of another. I usually love New York set books at Christmas but this just didn't do it for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2018
I don't know, but get the impression it was part of a series as I didn't understand most of the story.
July 3, 2018
A cute little story
A cute little festive story with a sample of a great book at the end. Would recommend for a nice quick read.
A cute little festive story with a sample of a great book at the end. Would recommend for a nice quick read.
November 10, 2018
It’s a bit generous calling this a short story - it reads more like an incomplete sample
November 30, 2018
Too short, short story
Could not get to grips with this. Which is sometimes a problem for me with a lot of short stories.
Could not get to grips with this. Which is sometimes a problem for me with a lot of short stories.
May 2, 2019
Good short read
It's a pleasant story that can be read in a short journey.
A tad predictable but it's not a mystery novel so perhaps to be expected.
It's a pleasant story that can be read in a short journey.
A tad predictable but it's not a mystery novel so perhaps to be expected.
June 16, 2019
Boring
Sorry to say I found this book very 👎 I did try so hard to keep on reading but flipped pages. I didn't and couldn't finish it.
Sorry to say I found this book very 👎 I did try so hard to keep on reading but flipped pages. I didn't and couldn't finish it.
January 4, 2022
Not an overly exciting short story.
December 28, 2022
Too short
Far too short to empathise with main character- most of the book was the first chapter of the writer’s novel.
Far too short to empathise with main character- most of the book was the first chapter of the writer’s novel.
January 27, 2024
What? Why?
December 17, 2013
Two things drew my attention to this book when I was searching for Christmas reads for my blog. Firstly, the title, I love anything to do with New York, I've never been and it is one place I'm desperate to go and visit. Secondly this exclusive short story was free at the time!
The story follows Amy throughout Christmas Eve as she stresses at work, trying to make sure everything is all wrapped but in time for her to get her flight back home, from buying last minute presents to tempting a pissed off cat to play nicely with some treats. Everything seems to be going against her in her bid to make it to JFK on time.
Amy's story is told in time segments, getting closer and closer to the end of the day. I thought this was quite a good way to break up the story as it is really short, and couldn't warrant chapters. You also get a glimpse of the reason Amy is in New York in the first place which is good as it gives her character a little bit of depth.
We are with her throughout the day and get a little bit of a stressed out feel from her, I think the time countdown adds to the overall story here as each time its edging closer and closer to the time she needs to catch her flight at.
This story isn't as festive as some of the stories I've read for my Christmas feature and it's super short so could probably be read in a spare Christmas Eve hour, but it does, as the blurb suggests, give the illusions that New York is a place where fairytales can happen.
The story follows Amy throughout Christmas Eve as she stresses at work, trying to make sure everything is all wrapped but in time for her to get her flight back home, from buying last minute presents to tempting a pissed off cat to play nicely with some treats. Everything seems to be going against her in her bid to make it to JFK on time.
Amy's story is told in time segments, getting closer and closer to the end of the day. I thought this was quite a good way to break up the story as it is really short, and couldn't warrant chapters. You also get a glimpse of the reason Amy is in New York in the first place which is good as it gives her character a little bit of depth.
We are with her throughout the day and get a little bit of a stressed out feel from her, I think the time countdown adds to the overall story here as each time its edging closer and closer to the time she needs to catch her flight at.
This story isn't as festive as some of the stories I've read for my Christmas feature and it's super short so could probably be read in a spare Christmas Eve hour, but it does, as the blurb suggests, give the illusions that New York is a place where fairytales can happen.
January 21, 2014
I can’t quite remember where it was that I actually saw this book but I did buy it last year after I got a tablet for Christmas. It cost 59p off of Amazon for the kindle and in all honesty it’s not really worth it. The actually story takes up 47% of the book and the other 53% is another story which I didn’t even bother to read because it wasn’t what I bought and after reading the first couple of lines it didn’t really take my fancy.
This extremely short story is about, well that’s the thing, I’m not 100% what it is actually about. From what I can gather, Amy is a British producer who is shooting an advert for cat food in New York. As is always the case with these stories, she has just split up from her boyfriend/boss, who she was in fact the mistress of, so she fled to New York to do this advert. As it’s Christmas Eve, she’s in a rush to catch her flight back to the UK and it’s a case of will she, won’t she? Without the actual suspense or actually caring whether she catches her flight or not because it’s too predictable. We all know what’s going to happen.
All in all the book is a quite and okay read if you just want something to pass the time but unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend it as it far too short. There is no real substance which is a shame because it does have the potential of being a good read because I am intrigued to know what happened with her boss and what will happen with her new man.
http://thelifeofacosmopolitan.wordpre...
This extremely short story is about, well that’s the thing, I’m not 100% what it is actually about. From what I can gather, Amy is a British producer who is shooting an advert for cat food in New York. As is always the case with these stories, she has just split up from her boyfriend/boss, who she was in fact the mistress of, so she fled to New York to do this advert. As it’s Christmas Eve, she’s in a rush to catch her flight back to the UK and it’s a case of will she, won’t she? Without the actual suspense or actually caring whether she catches her flight or not because it’s too predictable. We all know what’s going to happen.
All in all the book is a quite and okay read if you just want something to pass the time but unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend it as it far too short. There is no real substance which is a shame because it does have the potential of being a good read because I am intrigued to know what happened with her boss and what will happen with her new man.
http://thelifeofacosmopolitan.wordpre...
August 6, 2016
Yeah, I know, the girl who just said she doesn't read short stories has just read three in as many days. It's good to widen your horizons!
And yes, this is another low rating. Firstly because it's deceptive. I read it on kindle, and when I saw it only had two 'chapters' I thought maybe it was two parts. Instead the story is only about 50% and the rest is an excerpt of the author's next book. At the 39 pages it's listed as it was never going to be more than a short story (and I do realize kindle page numbers aren't necessarily accurate), but still.
Being a short story, this wasn't a long and involved love story - not a bad thing, straight-up romance isn't really my thing; the meet has already happened, and this is the part where the love starts to start.
It has a story, and it's a nice enough story with humour and even some character development, which is impressive when some longer works don't manage it.
Even as a non-fan of romance though, I would have liked more. The ending surprised me by happening both because of the 50% mark and the not-much-of-a-story-ness.
And yes, this is another low rating. Firstly because it's deceptive. I read it on kindle, and when I saw it only had two 'chapters' I thought maybe it was two parts. Instead the story is only about 50% and the rest is an excerpt of the author's next book. At the 39 pages it's listed as it was never going to be more than a short story (and I do realize kindle page numbers aren't necessarily accurate), but still.
Being a short story, this wasn't a long and involved love story - not a bad thing, straight-up romance isn't really my thing; the meet has already happened, and this is the part where the love starts to start.
It has a story, and it's a nice enough story with humour and even some character development, which is impressive when some longer works don't manage it.
Even as a non-fan of romance though, I would have liked more. The ending surprised me by happening both because of the 50% mark and the not-much-of-a-story-ness.
April 16, 2016
I hate writing crappy reviews for books. Authors work hard on their novels and I seriously do appreciate it. Something personal comes out of novels and I know some authors are fiercely protective of their work but this was just...I dont know. I just didnt enjoy this very much. Granted its a short story, it just felt like the author had taken a novel and basically took a small part out of it and sold it on Amazon for £1.49. Im actually disappointed because the synopsis sounded really good. A feel good story around Christmas. Yes, I know its April but it was that kind of day, I needed a happily ever after. So getting into bed I got myself comfy and just as I was getting into the story, it stopped. Dead. The fact it kind of started in the middle of nowhere and finished there too. I still have no idea what happened or in fact what happened next. It left me thinking...Wait. What?
I dont know if Im annoyed that I want to see what happened next, that I would like to find out what happened before the story or the fact I paid money for something so short and just meh. Sorry.
I dont know if Im annoyed that I want to see what happened next, that I would like to find out what happened before the story or the fact I paid money for something so short and just meh. Sorry.
December 13, 2012
In A New York Minute is Eleanor Moran’s free e-book Christmas short story, and unlike the short story I read before it (Staying Away At Christmas by Katie Fforde), this was definitely very short. For me, it seemed to end before it had even begun, and actually, I wanted to read more from Amy and Luke! The writing style was a bit weird; third-person, seemingly present tense, which I found difficult to grasp as I actually expected it to be written in first-person.
For a free Kindle e-book, it was alright. A bit weird to get my head around and it seemed over before it began, which was disappointing, but it made me want a full-length Amy and Luke novel, and I liked the New York setting and Christmas feel. (I definitely want to spend Christmas in New York one day.) It has very much whetted my appetite for Eleanor’s next full-length novel out next month, and, well, I can’t complain, it was an alright read!
For a free Kindle e-book, it was alright. A bit weird to get my head around and it seemed over before it began, which was disappointing, but it made me want a full-length Amy and Luke novel, and I liked the New York setting and Christmas feel. (I definitely want to spend Christmas in New York one day.) It has very much whetted my appetite for Eleanor’s next full-length novel out next month, and, well, I can’t complain, it was an alright read!
April 4, 2013
Really sweet quick read, most of the book was an excerpt of another book, which I will probably never read but thought sounded quite good. I really like these short novels at the moment, simply because they are great quick reads and when you're constantly on the move and travelling like me, its nice to find these nice little characters that make the train or the car seem a little lighter, especially when you need a break from great books such as 1984, which is brilliant but the story line and message are so heavy its taking me a while. But this was my escape for a few hours from the world of Orwell. But yeah, a cute story, just a bit too short of a short read!
December 15, 2013
Well, I didn't realise this was a short story... but I'm not sure if this is actually long enough to be a short story.
So, there is a plot and there is a subplot but there is nowhere near enough page time devoted to either for them to actually be interesting. The same goes for the characters - they are incredibly basic, almost caricatures as opposed to fully formed people. I think had this been longer it could have been better - it certainly would not have come across as disjointed, which is the overwhelming feeling I have of this.
So, there is a plot and there is a subplot but there is nowhere near enough page time devoted to either for them to actually be interesting. The same goes for the characters - they are incredibly basic, almost caricatures as opposed to fully formed people. I think had this been longer it could have been better - it certainly would not have come across as disjointed, which is the overwhelming feeling I have of this.
January 3, 2013
A very short story set on Christmas Eve. Amy wants to go back home to be with family on Christmas Eve but will she make it?
Luke is filming/photographing a shoot that Amy is involved in, does the shoot finish on time or does Amy miss her plane. It won't take you long to read this and find out what happens.
I'd have given this a 1.5 star if I could so I've marked it up half a star instead.
Luke is filming/photographing a shoot that Amy is involved in, does the shoot finish on time or does Amy miss her plane. It won't take you long to read this and find out what happens.
I'd have given this a 1.5 star if I could so I've marked it up half a star instead.
December 26, 2012
This felt a wee bit disjointed, not sure I could tell you now what the point of the story was or what it was supposed to be about. I would've liked to have seen a bit more build up to the closing stages and the overall message of Christmas time. I do, however really like this writer, and enjoyed reading the first bit of her new novel which I will seriously think about reading soon! Download for the sample pages alone!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews