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City Love #1
City Love
In this first book of a captivating new series by bestselling author Susane Colasanti, three girls share a Manhattan apartment the summer before college begins. City Love captures the essence of summer love, self-discovery, and sisterhood, a perfect fit for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Jennifer E. Smith.
This summer will change everything for Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna. Sadie is all about dreaming big and following her heart, hoping her soul mate is right around the corner. Darcy wants a summer of boy adventures with New York City as her playground. Rosanna is running from dark secrets of her past, desperate to reinvent herself. With no parents, no rules, and an entire city to explore, these three girls are on the verge of the best summer of their lives.
Told from alternating points of view, City Love resonates with the moments when everything is thrilling, amazing, and terrifying all at once . . . in a way it will never be again.
This summer will change everything for Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna. Sadie is all about dreaming big and following her heart, hoping her soul mate is right around the corner. Darcy wants a summer of boy adventures with New York City as her playground. Rosanna is running from dark secrets of her past, desperate to reinvent herself. With no parents, no rules, and an entire city to explore, these three girls are on the verge of the best summer of their lives.
Told from alternating points of view, City Love resonates with the moments when everything is thrilling, amazing, and terrifying all at once . . . in a way it will never be again.
352 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2015
62 people are currently reading
4254 people want to read
About the author
Susane Colasanti
20 books3,994 followersSusane Colasanti is the bestselling author of When It Happens, Take Me There, Waiting for You, Something Like Fate, So Much Closer, Keep Holding On, All I Need, Now and Forever, and the City Love trilogy. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from New York University. Before becoming a full-time author in 2007, Susane was a high school science teacher for ten years. She lives in New York City.
You can connect with Susane on her Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
You can connect with Susane on her Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 319 reviews
April 21, 2015
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
“Operation Shiny New Summer is a go.”
This was a YA contemporary story about the love lives of three girls living together in New York City.
I found it quite difficult to keep track of which girl’s story I was reading in this book, even though the girls were quite different, and kept having to go back to the start of the chapter just to check on who’s point of view I was reading!
Anyway, Sadie was a girl who couldn’t wait to go to college, and couldn’t wait to move away from home. She was doing an internship at the department of city planning, which is where she met Austin.
“I cannot freaking wait for college to start.”
Darcy had money and was determined to have a summer of fun, and to not tie herself down at all. She didn’t have a fake ID, because those were for amatures, and she was happy to hook up in random places if the boy was hot enough.
“Fake IDs are for amateurs. I’ve been crashing bars since I was fifteen.”
Rosanna was one of five kids so money was really tight. She was on a budget, unlike Darcy, or the boy that she meets called D.
“The total almost gives me a heart attack. Our dessert and coffee is basically my grocery money for the week.”
The storyline in this followed the three girls as they started their lives together in the city, and their romantic escapades. Other than a few dates, and a couple of encounters for Darcy, not a lot happened though, it was just these girls going out with these guys, and the dates weren’t even all that romantic.
“See you tomorrow,” he says. Then he hugs me goodbye.
I can wait for our first kiss.
There was one twist in the story, but to be honest I guessed that right from the start!
“He looks at me. And kind of forgets what he was saying.
Our eyes lock.”
The ending to this was okay, but other than the above twist, not a lot happened. The story just stopped, and we got told that the story would continue in the next book. Can’t say that I’m desperate to read the next one though unfortunately.
6 out of 10
“Operation Shiny New Summer is a go.”
This was a YA contemporary story about the love lives of three girls living together in New York City.
I found it quite difficult to keep track of which girl’s story I was reading in this book, even though the girls were quite different, and kept having to go back to the start of the chapter just to check on who’s point of view I was reading!
Anyway, Sadie was a girl who couldn’t wait to go to college, and couldn’t wait to move away from home. She was doing an internship at the department of city planning, which is where she met Austin.
“I cannot freaking wait for college to start.”
Darcy had money and was determined to have a summer of fun, and to not tie herself down at all. She didn’t have a fake ID, because those were for amatures, and she was happy to hook up in random places if the boy was hot enough.
“Fake IDs are for amateurs. I’ve been crashing bars since I was fifteen.”
Rosanna was one of five kids so money was really tight. She was on a budget, unlike Darcy, or the boy that she meets called D.
“The total almost gives me a heart attack. Our dessert and coffee is basically my grocery money for the week.”
The storyline in this followed the three girls as they started their lives together in the city, and their romantic escapades. Other than a few dates, and a couple of encounters for Darcy, not a lot happened though, it was just these girls going out with these guys, and the dates weren’t even all that romantic.
“See you tomorrow,” he says. Then he hugs me goodbye.
I can wait for our first kiss.
There was one twist in the story, but to be honest I guessed that right from the start!
“He looks at me. And kind of forgets what he was saying.
Our eyes lock.”
The ending to this was okay, but other than the above twist, not a lot happened. The story just stopped, and we got told that the story would continue in the next book. Can’t say that I’m desperate to read the next one though unfortunately.
6 out of 10
June 20, 2015
Quick review for a not-so-quick read. I'm not really sure how to review this because I feel like I read/listened to a 7 hour audiobook in which nothing really happened except for a bunch of really rushed romantic relationships in an overly hyped up (and very light) portrayal of New York City. The story ended right when in the midst of huge conflicts between three girls attending college and in ensuing relationships while also hiding things about their pasts they'd like to forget.
So...is this supposed to be the start of a series? Doesn't seem like it from the blurb, but if it is the start - it's a bit on the weak side. It didn't really make the most of its narrative space to round the characters and their situations. Most of it was "tell, tell, tell" with only a little bit of showcasing the actual relationships or flesh to the characters. For three teens going to college for the first time and finding their first loves, for such a fascinating time in each of the character's lives and the potential this could've had for being immersive - this was an opportunity missed.
I have no complaints on the end of the narration from the audio readers. Andi Arndt, Tavia Gilbert, and Cassandra Campbell all did a fantastic job, and they captured the feel of this novel as something of a chick-lit picture. I kept thinking of "Valentine's Day," "He's Just Not That Into You", "Love Actually" type of situations where the story cycles through different characters and relationships, and the stories intertwine with the experiences of the girls. This narrative is nowhere near as fun or dynamic as the movies, though - instead it feels a bit shallow, skimming the surface of the whole experience. If Stephanie Perkins can craft Paris as a "character" in "Anna and the French Kiss" - I would've thought this would bring a similar view to New York City. Not so much, unfortunately.
The problem is that the narration is doing too much talking "at" the reader. And while Colasanti's prose has always had a light skimming feel that would make the narrative easily digestable, it feels like each progressive narrative she writes gets less and less. More forced charm, more forced feels. There's some natural banter here that made the book fun, but it was far and few between, and even a little on the pretentious side.
The story showcases the lives of Sadie, Darcy and Rossanna as they come to college for the first time. They all share the same living space and all seem to be running away from things in their respective lives, but I felt like I could never palpate their sentiments or experiences since they all seemed to run together. There's a lot of head-hopping (and I'm thankful I listened to the audiobook, because at least that made their voices a little more easy to tell in terms of who was talking. Plus the audio narrations were great.) The insta-love relationships never appealed to me personally, and I thought the boys' personalities were bland as sandpaper. Granted, each of the girls had some difficult circumstances to consider, but I couldn't feel that. There's very little true connection to their problems versus the narrative dictating to me what their problems are and what they're relationships were like. There's some character banter which I liked in spaces, but some parts of it came across a bit too forced, especially in the vein of pop culture (I love "The Princess Bride," don't get me wrong...but that whole expansion in the book felt so forced that I honestly couldn't believe how it pushed itself along, alongside the portrayal of New York City.
And to top it off, it felt like as the girls' narratives were approaching the end, with their problems/issues coming full fledged to the surface genuinely - nothing was resolved in their respective stories. Nothing at all. This book drew out things that didn't seem significant (the materialistic references, overabundance of pop culture, which makes the narrative dated) to the overarching narrative, but when it came to stuff that was actually important to the growth and well-being of the characters, those matters were dropped faster than a hot potato. Are you kidding me? I slogged through this entire narrative just to get an incomplete story that doesn't even feel like a stand-alone?
I feel like I've fallen out of love with this author's works, to be honest. I mean, I really liked "Waiting for You," "When it Happens," "Take Me There," and even found merits to "Keep Holding On" and "Something Like Fate" - even if there were issues with those that I talked about in my respective reviews on those works. But the last several books I've read from this author felt like they didn't go anywhere or do much with the characters despite some brief moments of spark. I'm not sure what to make of it. If this does eventually become a series, I don't really have much investment to continue with it because it took me through all of that just to end up the way it did and forced its hand in the process. It's a shame, because for the premise and aim of the narrative, this could've been an awesome book - it was the way that it was written that ruined it.
I'll see how Colasanti's next narrative pans out, but this almost makes me want to move forward because I just don't see the spark I used to from her work. I don't at all. This work gets 2 stars from me for the strength of the audio performance, but 1 star for the overarching story because it just wasn't as good as it pushed itself to be.
Overall score: 2/5 stars.
So...is this supposed to be the start of a series? Doesn't seem like it from the blurb, but if it is the start - it's a bit on the weak side. It didn't really make the most of its narrative space to round the characters and their situations. Most of it was "tell, tell, tell" with only a little bit of showcasing the actual relationships or flesh to the characters. For three teens going to college for the first time and finding their first loves, for such a fascinating time in each of the character's lives and the potential this could've had for being immersive - this was an opportunity missed.
I have no complaints on the end of the narration from the audio readers. Andi Arndt, Tavia Gilbert, and Cassandra Campbell all did a fantastic job, and they captured the feel of this novel as something of a chick-lit picture. I kept thinking of "Valentine's Day," "He's Just Not That Into You", "Love Actually" type of situations where the story cycles through different characters and relationships, and the stories intertwine with the experiences of the girls. This narrative is nowhere near as fun or dynamic as the movies, though - instead it feels a bit shallow, skimming the surface of the whole experience. If Stephanie Perkins can craft Paris as a "character" in "Anna and the French Kiss" - I would've thought this would bring a similar view to New York City. Not so much, unfortunately.
The problem is that the narration is doing too much talking "at" the reader. And while Colasanti's prose has always had a light skimming feel that would make the narrative easily digestable, it feels like each progressive narrative she writes gets less and less. More forced charm, more forced feels. There's some natural banter here that made the book fun, but it was far and few between, and even a little on the pretentious side.
The story showcases the lives of Sadie, Darcy and Rossanna as they come to college for the first time. They all share the same living space and all seem to be running away from things in their respective lives, but I felt like I could never palpate their sentiments or experiences since they all seemed to run together. There's a lot of head-hopping (and I'm thankful I listened to the audiobook, because at least that made their voices a little more easy to tell in terms of who was talking. Plus the audio narrations were great.) The insta-love relationships never appealed to me personally, and I thought the boys' personalities were bland as sandpaper. Granted, each of the girls had some difficult circumstances to consider, but I couldn't feel that. There's very little true connection to their problems versus the narrative dictating to me what their problems are and what they're relationships were like. There's some character banter which I liked in spaces, but some parts of it came across a bit too forced, especially in the vein of pop culture (I love "The Princess Bride," don't get me wrong...but that whole expansion in the book felt so forced that I honestly couldn't believe how it pushed itself along, alongside the portrayal of New York City.
And to top it off, it felt like as the girls' narratives were approaching the end, with their problems/issues coming full fledged to the surface genuinely - nothing was resolved in their respective stories. Nothing at all. This book drew out things that didn't seem significant (the materialistic references, overabundance of pop culture, which makes the narrative dated) to the overarching narrative, but when it came to stuff that was actually important to the growth and well-being of the characters, those matters were dropped faster than a hot potato. Are you kidding me? I slogged through this entire narrative just to get an incomplete story that doesn't even feel like a stand-alone?
I feel like I've fallen out of love with this author's works, to be honest. I mean, I really liked "Waiting for You," "When it Happens," "Take Me There," and even found merits to "Keep Holding On" and "Something Like Fate" - even if there were issues with those that I talked about in my respective reviews on those works. But the last several books I've read from this author felt like they didn't go anywhere or do much with the characters despite some brief moments of spark. I'm not sure what to make of it. If this does eventually become a series, I don't really have much investment to continue with it because it took me through all of that just to end up the way it did and forced its hand in the process. It's a shame, because for the premise and aim of the narrative, this could've been an awesome book - it was the way that it was written that ruined it.
I'll see how Colasanti's next narrative pans out, but this almost makes me want to move forward because I just don't see the spark I used to from her work. I don't at all. This work gets 2 stars from me for the strength of the audio performance, but 1 star for the overarching story because it just wasn't as good as it pushed itself to be.
Overall score: 2/5 stars.
August 8, 2017
Rating: 3.5 stars
Another Susane Colasanti novel to cross off my list. I've been looking forward to reading this one for a while, and it lived up to my expectations. This was Colasanti's first attempt at writing a series/trilogy, and having followed her work for a while, I was interested to see how she did. I liked the way she's setting up the series. This first book was really optimistic, with lots of hopefulness and exploration. The way it ended tells me that the next book will be darker and filled with more heartbreak and tears. I'm excited to see where Colasanti takes it.
Pacing: I've read a lot of reviews where the readers say that the book dragged a lot for them, and that they got bored. Maybe it was just because I read this one primarily in one afternoon at the beach, but I didn't feel that way at all. As I said before, I'm also excited with how Colasanti is pacing the series.
The Characters: Unfortunately, I didn't really connect with any of the main girls. I just haven't been in their situations before. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading about them and seeing their different points of view on the world.
The Romance(s): Great job, Colasanti! I liked all the leading guys in this book, and enjoyed reading about their budding relationships with Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna. However, I didn't like how quickly each girl "discovered" their respective guy. There was one point where all three POVs in a row featured the next guy for each girl. I've gotta say, Jonah was definitely my favorite, although I'm also a big fan of D.
The Real Romance: I remember reading one of Susane Colasanti's blog posts once about So Much Closer. She said it was basically a love letter to New York, specifically its architecture. I could tell reading City Love just how much Colasanti loves NY. There were so many great pages about the architecture, people, shops, enery, and atmosphere in general, and I just loved it. If So Much Closer was a love letter, then City Love is the actual relationship.
Money Makes the World Go 'Round: One of the central themes of this book was money, specifically in how people with and without money lived in New York, one of the most expensive cities in the world. I liked how Colasanti handled the situation. It was also an interesting way to see the different parts and characters of New York.
All in all, I had a great time reading this one. Susane Colasanti will forever be an auto-buy author.
Reread August 2017
I'm binging the whole trilogy together after winning Forever In Love (the final book) in a giveaway here on goodreads! This book was actually better than I'd remembered, so I've upped my rating to 4 stars :)
Another Susane Colasanti novel to cross off my list. I've been looking forward to reading this one for a while, and it lived up to my expectations. This was Colasanti's first attempt at writing a series/trilogy, and having followed her work for a while, I was interested to see how she did. I liked the way she's setting up the series. This first book was really optimistic, with lots of hopefulness and exploration. The way it ended tells me that the next book will be darker and filled with more heartbreak and tears. I'm excited to see where Colasanti takes it.
Pacing: I've read a lot of reviews where the readers say that the book dragged a lot for them, and that they got bored. Maybe it was just because I read this one primarily in one afternoon at the beach, but I didn't feel that way at all. As I said before, I'm also excited with how Colasanti is pacing the series.
The Characters: Unfortunately, I didn't really connect with any of the main girls. I just haven't been in their situations before. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading about them and seeing their different points of view on the world.
The Romance(s): Great job, Colasanti! I liked all the leading guys in this book, and enjoyed reading about their budding relationships with Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna. However, I didn't like how quickly each girl "discovered" their respective guy. There was one point where all three POVs in a row featured the next guy for each girl. I've gotta say, Jonah was definitely my favorite, although I'm also a big fan of D.
The Real Romance: I remember reading one of Susane Colasanti's blog posts once about So Much Closer. She said it was basically a love letter to New York, specifically its architecture. I could tell reading City Love just how much Colasanti loves NY. There were so many great pages about the architecture, people, shops, enery, and atmosphere in general, and I just loved it. If So Much Closer was a love letter, then City Love is the actual relationship.
Money Makes the World Go 'Round: One of the central themes of this book was money, specifically in how people with and without money lived in New York, one of the most expensive cities in the world. I liked how Colasanti handled the situation. It was also an interesting way to see the different parts and characters of New York.
All in all, I had a great time reading this one. Susane Colasanti will forever be an auto-buy author.
Reread August 2017
I'm binging the whole trilogy together after winning Forever In Love (the final book) in a giveaway here on goodreads! This book was actually better than I'd remembered, so I've upped my rating to 4 stars :)
probably-not-for-me
April 18, 2015Passing on this because I know it will annoy me.
June 10, 2015
I wasn't aware that this would be a trilogy until I saw this one Susane's website. I really think that trilogies/series should be marked on Goodreads, especially with the way this book ends. While I enjoyed this book, I do think that it would have been better for the trilogy if each girl just had their own book as opposed to having bits and pieces of each girls story in each book. I would have liked if the first book focused on Sadie, then Darcy and Rosanna. Still, this book was entertaining, even if the characters were a bit cliche.
Sadie, Darcy and Rosanna are living on their own in New York and are roommates who are meeting in person for the first time. Luckily, they all seem to hit it off and get along, after a few minor bumps along the way. Above all, this is a book about friendship, but it's mostly interlaced with their personal lives and struggles. A big part of that is their love lives. With very different backgrounds and personalities, each girls story is very different. We have Sadie who has lived in the city her whole life but is on her own now, even if her family lives a few blocks away. She dreams of meeting her soul mate and can't believe her luck when she thinks she's found the perfect guy. Darcy is a privileged girl who has an endless cash flow and men lining up to date her. She keeps people at a distance and doesn't like them getting too close, guys especially. So when one guy starts getting too close, Darcy gets scared and tries to cut ties with him. Only he doesn't make it easy for her. Then we have Rosanna who has struggled to get where she is. With only a few cents to her name, she has a bit of a chip on her shoulder against wealthy people. This causes a small rift between her and Darcy, but I loved that Darcy won her over quickly.
I think, out of everyone, I liked Sadie the most because she was the most normal. Or maybe the least cliched. Darcy was the typical rich girl and Rosanna was also the typical poor girl. Darcy annoyed me sometimes, but I think it was the narrator more than her actual personality. I did struggle with Rosanna's character. She's very shy and she gets offended very easily about silly things. Like, she goes on and on about this guy who didn't hold the door open for this old lady, but then she doesn't go open it for her either. She just seemed like the kind pf person who preferred to judge other people's actions instead of trying to do some good of her own. Eventually, I did warm up to her, but she wasn't my favorite. I did like that she starts falling for a rich guy though, I think that would make a good story.
Like I said, I think this would have worked better if each girl had her own book. The book ended in a very 'to-be-continued' kind of way that left me interested in keeping up with the series. With each girl sharing the story, this felt more like a setup to the rest of the books. While this wasn't a favorite of mine, I still enjoyed it and don't have many complaints about it. It was an easy and quick read and I'm definitely interested in continuing the series.
Audiobook Comments: I've heard several books by these narrators before, which is why I decided to go with the audiobook. They are great narrators and I love when important characters get their own POV's. Andi Ardnt and Cassandra Campbell were fantastic as Sadie and Rosanna, unfortunately, I'm not 100% sure who is who, which annoys the hell out of me. I want to say that Cassandra was Sadie??? Either way, both narrators were great. Tavia Gilbert is a fantastic narrator, there is no doubt about that. I've heard several books by her and she can be hit or miss for me, depending on the book. I know she's really good, but I also think she overacts too much sometimes. Most of the time, it fits the book, but in a contemporary, it just felt off. Especially for a younger girl. I prefer in Fantasy and UF books over YA contemps to be honest. This seems to be a personal pet peeve of mine though since everyone else loves her. The audio was entertaining and I think I liked this better than if I would have simply read it.
3 out of 5 stars
***
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Sadie, Darcy and Rosanna are living on their own in New York and are roommates who are meeting in person for the first time. Luckily, they all seem to hit it off and get along, after a few minor bumps along the way. Above all, this is a book about friendship, but it's mostly interlaced with their personal lives and struggles. A big part of that is their love lives. With very different backgrounds and personalities, each girls story is very different. We have Sadie who has lived in the city her whole life but is on her own now, even if her family lives a few blocks away. She dreams of meeting her soul mate and can't believe her luck when she thinks she's found the perfect guy. Darcy is a privileged girl who has an endless cash flow and men lining up to date her. She keeps people at a distance and doesn't like them getting too close, guys especially. So when one guy starts getting too close, Darcy gets scared and tries to cut ties with him. Only he doesn't make it easy for her. Then we have Rosanna who has struggled to get where she is. With only a few cents to her name, she has a bit of a chip on her shoulder against wealthy people. This causes a small rift between her and Darcy, but I loved that Darcy won her over quickly.
I think, out of everyone, I liked Sadie the most because she was the most normal. Or maybe the least cliched. Darcy was the typical rich girl and Rosanna was also the typical poor girl. Darcy annoyed me sometimes, but I think it was the narrator more than her actual personality. I did struggle with Rosanna's character. She's very shy and she gets offended very easily about silly things. Like, she goes on and on about this guy who didn't hold the door open for this old lady, but then she doesn't go open it for her either. She just seemed like the kind pf person who preferred to judge other people's actions instead of trying to do some good of her own. Eventually, I did warm up to her, but she wasn't my favorite. I did like that she starts falling for a rich guy though, I think that would make a good story.
Like I said, I think this would have worked better if each girl had her own book. The book ended in a very 'to-be-continued' kind of way that left me interested in keeping up with the series. With each girl sharing the story, this felt more like a setup to the rest of the books. While this wasn't a favorite of mine, I still enjoyed it and don't have many complaints about it. It was an easy and quick read and I'm definitely interested in continuing the series.
Audiobook Comments: I've heard several books by these narrators before, which is why I decided to go with the audiobook. They are great narrators and I love when important characters get their own POV's. Andi Ardnt and Cassandra Campbell were fantastic as Sadie and Rosanna, unfortunately, I'm not 100% sure who is who, which annoys the hell out of me. I want to say that Cassandra was Sadie??? Either way, both narrators were great. Tavia Gilbert is a fantastic narrator, there is no doubt about that. I've heard several books by her and she can be hit or miss for me, depending on the book. I know she's really good, but I also think she overacts too much sometimes. Most of the time, it fits the book, but in a contemporary, it just felt off. Especially for a younger girl. I prefer in Fantasy and UF books over YA contemps to be honest. This seems to be a personal pet peeve of mine though since everyone else loves her. The audio was entertaining and I think I liked this better than if I would have simply read it.
3 out of 5 stars
***
Read full review & more of my reviews at Mostly YA Book Obsessed
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abandoned
October 5, 2015I'm sure 14-year-old Beth would have loved this book. 35-year-old Beth, however, had no patience for it.
February 6, 2015
**A version of this review will be posted to Ashley Loves Books at a later date!**
I loved the friendship in this book. It’s a bit sudden, and sometimes it felt forced or superficial, but overall the three roommates were a fantastic bunch that paced quite well in the evolution of awkward roommates to real friends. Discovering new things about roommates is part of the fun of becoming friends, and I like that it wasn’t always awesome things they had in common – sometimes it was differences in likes or beliefs, and I loved the reality of that.
The entire book is basically a case for insta-love/insta-like/insta-everything. Everything was abrupt and just…there. It’s like a switch was flipped. Suddenly the character who’s all about wanting to hook up and be a free bird for the summer can’t stop thinking about the boy she saw streetside. Or the shy misfit girl trying to recreate herself feels an immediate kinship with a girl she thinks will be her Eternal BFF. Some of the instantaneous emotion I bought, but a lot of it I didn’t.
I started counting how many times a sentence started with “I love” in this book. And then I stopped counting once I got past 30, because obviously, the point was made. I am a snob in terms of storytelling because of my journalism background, and I pick out phrases that are so explicitly “tell” instead of “show.” Of course there are times a sentence that starts with “I love” is necessary…but this one was excessive. Sometimes it was obvious, other times it was implied, but almost every time I wanted the writing to just let it be for itself and exhibit how much one of the girls loved an element to the guy or let the appreciation for their roommates come out in action rather than statement. It was frustrating, and I started to feel like I was getting a tick based on how often I would internally cringe every time the phrase came up.
You know what love I did believe though? The City Love. I absolutely, ten thousand percent adored all the City Love each of the girls had and how it worked into their lives and thoughts. As a girl who moves and sees a lot of various cities, I understand kinships with places and atmospheres, and I totally got what each girl found to love in New York City. The ways it popped up or showed itself was inspiring and lovely, and I could feel the adoration just popping off the page.
City Love was a nice breakaway for Susane Colasanti and her normal settings/novels – it retained the sweetness and emotion she can always write, but gave a new setting with new possibilities. Sure, I had some issues with it, but in the end I will still faithfully read her novels.
I loved the friendship in this book. It’s a bit sudden, and sometimes it felt forced or superficial, but overall the three roommates were a fantastic bunch that paced quite well in the evolution of awkward roommates to real friends. Discovering new things about roommates is part of the fun of becoming friends, and I like that it wasn’t always awesome things they had in common – sometimes it was differences in likes or beliefs, and I loved the reality of that.
The entire book is basically a case for insta-love/insta-like/insta-everything. Everything was abrupt and just…there. It’s like a switch was flipped. Suddenly the character who’s all about wanting to hook up and be a free bird for the summer can’t stop thinking about the boy she saw streetside. Or the shy misfit girl trying to recreate herself feels an immediate kinship with a girl she thinks will be her Eternal BFF. Some of the instantaneous emotion I bought, but a lot of it I didn’t.
I started counting how many times a sentence started with “I love” in this book. And then I stopped counting once I got past 30, because obviously, the point was made. I am a snob in terms of storytelling because of my journalism background, and I pick out phrases that are so explicitly “tell” instead of “show.” Of course there are times a sentence that starts with “I love” is necessary…but this one was excessive. Sometimes it was obvious, other times it was implied, but almost every time I wanted the writing to just let it be for itself and exhibit how much one of the girls loved an element to the guy or let the appreciation for their roommates come out in action rather than statement. It was frustrating, and I started to feel like I was getting a tick based on how often I would internally cringe every time the phrase came up.
You know what love I did believe though? The City Love. I absolutely, ten thousand percent adored all the City Love each of the girls had and how it worked into their lives and thoughts. As a girl who moves and sees a lot of various cities, I understand kinships with places and atmospheres, and I totally got what each girl found to love in New York City. The ways it popped up or showed itself was inspiring and lovely, and I could feel the adoration just popping off the page.
City Love was a nice breakaway for Susane Colasanti and her normal settings/novels – it retained the sweetness and emotion she can always write, but gave a new setting with new possibilities. Sure, I had some issues with it, but in the end I will still faithfully read her novels.
July 11, 2013
Looks like Susane is trying her hand at a book series. I just hope it's better then the All I Need book, which I didn't care for, but since I liked all of her other books I'll give this a try. It'll be great to read a series that's not paranormal, fantasy or dystopian! It'll be good to read a realistic teen series since even the ones that weren't paranormal, fantasy or dystopian like, were always about pretty rich shallow kids with shallow problems. Hopefully the teen characters will have more problems then rather they want to be with Billy or Bobby or if their daddy is going to give them a car for their birthday or whatever!
June 10, 2015
THE STORY:
Becca: City Love is a book that I have really been looking forward to, it was even a WOW pick of mine! The story is about three girls and their journey over the Summer before their Freshmen year in NYC. Going in I thought this was going to be a coming of age/friendship story and although it was that, that was only a small part. It focused more on each girl and their love interest over the Summer. This story was told in three points of view, the chapters would alternate POV’s from each girl. I liked the multiple POV’s and they were very easy to follow. One of my favorite parts of this book was the city! Susan Colasanti made me feel as though I was there! I could hear the sounds and see the sights in my imagination, she described actual places, restaurants and sights of NYC and I absolutely loved it!
Lisa: This is my very first Susane Colasanti book. I’ve heard she writes fun contemporary beach reads, so I was very excited to read this book. Especially now, when the warmer weather is just coming upon us and we’re all about summer here in CT. Like Becca, I thought this was going to be more about these girls and their friendship and roommate fun and drama, so I was surprised to see what a small part of the story that was. The majority of this story was each girl’s separate journey for love over the summer before starting college. Yes, we got to see them together in their apartment a few times, but most of the story was told through the girl’s separately.
Listening to the audio of this was fantastic because we were lucky enough to have three separate narrators! YAYYYY!! We don’t see this nearly enough, in my opinion, and I’m always overly excited when I see this in an audio. Having the three separate voices to show their individual personalities and uniqueness was such a great addition to this story.
THE CHARACTERS:
Lisa: Our three MCs are Sadie, Darcy and Rosanna. Sadie, born and raised in NY, is at home and comfortable in the big city. She’s a hopeless romantic and dreams of a relationship like you see in the movies. Darcy is a California girl who’s very much a free spirit with a love of life. The last thing she’s looking for is a relationship. She’s all about the fun and adventure, not about settling down. Lastly, there’s Rosanna, who’s a bit of a mess. She’s utterly broke and moves to NY with pennies in her pocket and a hope of a better life in her future. These three go so well together and really show off each other’s positive attributes. I just wish we got to see a little bit more of the friendship among the three, instead of only their relationships separately.
Becca: Lisa is 100% accurate in her descriptions of these three characters, Sadie the romantic, Darcy the free spirit and Rosanna the too serious pessimist. They each begin to form relationships with different guys, the book mainly focuses on the girls and their love interests. Each guy was just as different as the girls and I liked how Colasanti really created such different dynamics in these characters and the couples as well. For a shorter novel, she really developed each girl and their love interest very well. Although I enjoyed most of it, I really was looking forward to a book more about friendships with some romance, rather than the other way around. More like…
OVERALL:
Becca: I was shocked by the ending of this book! I had no idea this was going to be a series and was expecting a stand alone novel. With that ending there is no doubt there will be a sequel! Although I cannot wait to see what happens in these relationships, I am hoping for a larger focus on the friendships in the sequel. Which I will definitely be reading!
Overall I will say that I really enjoyed this book, it was cute and fun. The descriptions of the City were so perfect and made me nostalgic to visit again. Despite living so close to NYC, I have only visited a few times in my life. This was my first Colasanti book and I really enjoyed her writing style, it was charming and fun! I look forward to reading more by her in the future, including this sequel!
Lisa: A sequel? That would DEFINITELY be awesome! I have to agree, this book just kind of… ends. I was listening, and all of a sudden it just stopped. I thought I may have missed something… but nope. That’s where it ends. I would love to see more of this group in another book.
Audiobook Impressions:
Lisa: A great narrator can definitely bring a book to life… and this one had THREE fantastic narrators! (Yayyyyyy!!!) This coming from a HUGE audiobook fan, there’s nothing better than having multiple narrators when a book has multiple POVs. So I was SOOOO excited to see we would have a different narrator for each girl. And let me tell you, it was golden! I’m not sure I would have liked this book quite as much if I had read it versus listening. These three narrators did such a fantastic job of bringing these girls to life. The three roommates were all so completely different, and having the three individual narrators made it always easy to tell who was speaking, and also to really give a voice to each girl. I would definitely recommend the audiobook for City Love.
Becca: I agree with Lisa the audiobook was pretty awesome! Each narrator was spot on and gave a perfect voice for their character, and they were able to individualize the other characters as well. I think that these narrators totally made this book even better. Like Lisa, I highly recommend the audiobook!
(Thanks to Katherine Tegen for the review copy!)
Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!
Becca: City Love is a book that I have really been looking forward to, it was even a WOW pick of mine! The story is about three girls and their journey over the Summer before their Freshmen year in NYC. Going in I thought this was going to be a coming of age/friendship story and although it was that, that was only a small part. It focused more on each girl and their love interest over the Summer. This story was told in three points of view, the chapters would alternate POV’s from each girl. I liked the multiple POV’s and they were very easy to follow. One of my favorite parts of this book was the city! Susan Colasanti made me feel as though I was there! I could hear the sounds and see the sights in my imagination, she described actual places, restaurants and sights of NYC and I absolutely loved it!
Lisa: This is my very first Susane Colasanti book. I’ve heard she writes fun contemporary beach reads, so I was very excited to read this book. Especially now, when the warmer weather is just coming upon us and we’re all about summer here in CT. Like Becca, I thought this was going to be more about these girls and their friendship and roommate fun and drama, so I was surprised to see what a small part of the story that was. The majority of this story was each girl’s separate journey for love over the summer before starting college. Yes, we got to see them together in their apartment a few times, but most of the story was told through the girl’s separately.
Listening to the audio of this was fantastic because we were lucky enough to have three separate narrators! YAYYYY!! We don’t see this nearly enough, in my opinion, and I’m always overly excited when I see this in an audio. Having the three separate voices to show their individual personalities and uniqueness was such a great addition to this story.
THE CHARACTERS:
Lisa: Our three MCs are Sadie, Darcy and Rosanna. Sadie, born and raised in NY, is at home and comfortable in the big city. She’s a hopeless romantic and dreams of a relationship like you see in the movies. Darcy is a California girl who’s very much a free spirit with a love of life. The last thing she’s looking for is a relationship. She’s all about the fun and adventure, not about settling down. Lastly, there’s Rosanna, who’s a bit of a mess. She’s utterly broke and moves to NY with pennies in her pocket and a hope of a better life in her future. These three go so well together and really show off each other’s positive attributes. I just wish we got to see a little bit more of the friendship among the three, instead of only their relationships separately.
Becca: Lisa is 100% accurate in her descriptions of these three characters, Sadie the romantic, Darcy the free spirit and Rosanna the too serious pessimist. They each begin to form relationships with different guys, the book mainly focuses on the girls and their love interests. Each guy was just as different as the girls and I liked how Colasanti really created such different dynamics in these characters and the couples as well. For a shorter novel, she really developed each girl and their love interest very well. Although I enjoyed most of it, I really was looking forward to a book more about friendships with some romance, rather than the other way around. More like…
OVERALL:
Becca: I was shocked by the ending of this book! I had no idea this was going to be a series and was expecting a stand alone novel. With that ending there is no doubt there will be a sequel! Although I cannot wait to see what happens in these relationships, I am hoping for a larger focus on the friendships in the sequel. Which I will definitely be reading!
Overall I will say that I really enjoyed this book, it was cute and fun. The descriptions of the City were so perfect and made me nostalgic to visit again. Despite living so close to NYC, I have only visited a few times in my life. This was my first Colasanti book and I really enjoyed her writing style, it was charming and fun! I look forward to reading more by her in the future, including this sequel!
Lisa: A sequel? That would DEFINITELY be awesome! I have to agree, this book just kind of… ends. I was listening, and all of a sudden it just stopped. I thought I may have missed something… but nope. That’s where it ends. I would love to see more of this group in another book.
Audiobook Impressions:
Lisa: A great narrator can definitely bring a book to life… and this one had THREE fantastic narrators! (Yayyyyyy!!!) This coming from a HUGE audiobook fan, there’s nothing better than having multiple narrators when a book has multiple POVs. So I was SOOOO excited to see we would have a different narrator for each girl. And let me tell you, it was golden! I’m not sure I would have liked this book quite as much if I had read it versus listening. These three narrators did such a fantastic job of bringing these girls to life. The three roommates were all so completely different, and having the three individual narrators made it always easy to tell who was speaking, and also to really give a voice to each girl. I would definitely recommend the audiobook for City Love.
Becca: I agree with Lisa the audiobook was pretty awesome! Each narrator was spot on and gave a perfect voice for their character, and they were able to individualize the other characters as well. I think that these narrators totally made this book even better. Like Lisa, I highly recommend the audiobook!
(Thanks to Katherine Tegen for the review copy!)
Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!
July 8, 2017
City Love by Susane Colasanti is the start of a cute, contemporary trilogy set in New York City about three college bound girls on the cusp of love. Read my full review here Link goes live 9/15/2017
February 28, 2019
This is the story of three girls falling in love in New York. The chapters rotate among the girls viewpoints, from when they move in together and meet to finding boys they care about. My favorite girl was Rosanna, because she felt the most real to me. She wasn't overconfident like Darcy or super optimistic like Sadie. She was a girl who had been through a lot and was trying to make it in New York. The stories were pretty cute, although there was some sadness too. Not a bad book overall and it went by quickly.
April 7, 2015
This review is also posted on my blog
First, I would like to thank HarperCollins for providing me with a review copy. It has not, in any way, influenced my thoughts about this book.
Growing up, I used to be amazed by city lights and towering skyscrapers and the fast-paced life of a big city. New York City was definitely on my list of places to visit when I was younger but as I grew older, I didn’t dream of going there anymore. Instead, I wanted to go to Europe. North America sounded cliché already. But reading City Love made me fall in love with this lively city all over again and it inspired wanderlust within me.
Reading Sadie, Rosanna and Darcy’s adventure of finding love and building new friendships in New York has been a fun experience. Chapter after chapter, I was enthralled and captivated by these three young girls as they try to take on the new chapter of their life—college—in a big city. I fell in love as they did, got confused as they did and got heartbroken as they did. For this, I can say that City Love is a light read, perfect for a lazy summer day.
Sadie: oh, she was a fun character to read. Among the three, Sadie is the optimist. Upon reading her point of view in the first chapter, I immediately felt light, like I was floating in the clouds where no bad thing can reach me. Seriously, everything’s just lovely in her world. She’s the one I was most happy about when she found a guy to love. But, sadly, her optimism is blind.
Rosanna: I was not particularly feeling anything about her except pity and a little annoyance. She said she’s not a pessimist, she’s a realist. Well, Rosanna isn’t that well off, so she’s kind of bitter about people who have lots of money. But her time in New York will prove that when love finds you, it doesn’t matter if he’s dressed in an Armani suit or rocking a tee from Salvation Army.
Darcy: she’s the wild spirited one in their group. The one who carpes the freaking diem. She just wants to enjoy the summer, be with different guys and prove to herself that one boy can’t dictate how she’ll live the rest of her life. I was annoyed at her at first because she’s acting bitchy but as the story progressed, I understood where she’s coming from.
To be honest, when I saw that there were only 3 chapters left in the story, one chapter for each of the girls, I felt disappointed because nothing major has happened yet. They just all gravitated towards love without any problems that would need resolution. I was like, Oh, no. It will be a HEA but one without anything explosive before that happy ending. But boy was I wrong. The problem I was looking for? It all happened in each of their last chapters.
And it ended in a cliffhanger.
That was the thing that saved this book, for me. THERE WILL BE A 2ND BOOK! I’m so excited and I’m so happy with the way it ended I just wanna make grabby motions with my hands for the next book. Overall, though it wasn’t perfect, this was still a book I enjoyed a lot. It showcases the thrill of waiting for love to come knocking at your door, finding new friends and living in a city for dreamers just waiting for your own dreams to come true.
“City love is the kind of love that never dies. No matter how many boyfriends come and go, no matter how many heartbreaks I endure, this city will always be my true love.”
First, I would like to thank HarperCollins for providing me with a review copy. It has not, in any way, influenced my thoughts about this book.
Growing up, I used to be amazed by city lights and towering skyscrapers and the fast-paced life of a big city. New York City was definitely on my list of places to visit when I was younger but as I grew older, I didn’t dream of going there anymore. Instead, I wanted to go to Europe. North America sounded cliché already. But reading City Love made me fall in love with this lively city all over again and it inspired wanderlust within me.
Reading Sadie, Rosanna and Darcy’s adventure of finding love and building new friendships in New York has been a fun experience. Chapter after chapter, I was enthralled and captivated by these three young girls as they try to take on the new chapter of their life—college—in a big city. I fell in love as they did, got confused as they did and got heartbroken as they did. For this, I can say that City Love is a light read, perfect for a lazy summer day.
Sadie: oh, she was a fun character to read. Among the three, Sadie is the optimist. Upon reading her point of view in the first chapter, I immediately felt light, like I was floating in the clouds where no bad thing can reach me. Seriously, everything’s just lovely in her world. She’s the one I was most happy about when she found a guy to love. But, sadly, her optimism is blind.
Rosanna: I was not particularly feeling anything about her except pity and a little annoyance. She said she’s not a pessimist, she’s a realist. Well, Rosanna isn’t that well off, so she’s kind of bitter about people who have lots of money. But her time in New York will prove that when love finds you, it doesn’t matter if he’s dressed in an Armani suit or rocking a tee from Salvation Army.
Darcy: she’s the wild spirited one in their group. The one who carpes the freaking diem. She just wants to enjoy the summer, be with different guys and prove to herself that one boy can’t dictate how she’ll live the rest of her life. I was annoyed at her at first because she’s acting bitchy but as the story progressed, I understood where she’s coming from.
To be honest, when I saw that there were only 3 chapters left in the story, one chapter for each of the girls, I felt disappointed because nothing major has happened yet. They just all gravitated towards love without any problems that would need resolution. I was like, Oh, no. It will be a HEA but one without anything explosive before that happy ending. But boy was I wrong. The problem I was looking for? It all happened in each of their last chapters.
And it ended in a cliffhanger.
That was the thing that saved this book, for me. THERE WILL BE A 2ND BOOK! I’m so excited and I’m so happy with the way it ended I just wanna make grabby motions with my hands for the next book. Overall, though it wasn’t perfect, this was still a book I enjoyed a lot. It showcases the thrill of waiting for love to come knocking at your door, finding new friends and living in a city for dreamers just waiting for your own dreams to come true.
April 22, 2015
2.5 stars
I’ve read my fill of Susane Colasanti’s books before, but they’re simply those contemporaries that are quick and easy to read, but eventually blur together in my head after a while. I’m not quite sure why I picked up City Love. Reading the synopsis, I was automatically entranced by the idea of love in New York City. If you all didn’t know, I’ve never been to NYC and it seems like a distant dream to me. Of course, I will grasp at anything that can bring me closer to NYC. City Love seemed like it would do just that.
City Love is told from the perspectives of three girls who move in together at the beginning of the summer to prepare for college in the fall. We get Sadie, Rosanna, and Darcy. You’d think that out of these three girls, I would enjoy reading from at least one of their perspectives. Unfortunately, I found that all three girls were either too naive or just plain annoying in some way.
To start off, we have Sadie. Sadie is the highly optimistic girl who is miss goody-two-shoes. There are those type of people who are extremely positive in the world, and truly brighten others’ day. However, Sadie was annoyingly happy all the time. Not only this, but she has a main focus on finding THE ONE. I get that this book is called “City Love” and that it’s primarily a romance, but seriously? Romance and finding the right soul mate is ALL Sadie thinks about. It’s like she needs to be with a boy in order to be happy. I feel like her need to be with someone blinds her.
Next, we have Rosanna. She considers herself as the “poor” girl of the group, always saving up and receiving generous, expensive clothing donations from Darcy. Rosanna felt really awkward to me and had little to no self-confidence. And the thing this, she doesn’t really progress as a character throughout the book. We learn later on in the story that something in her past affected her deeply. However, she was extremely hypocritical in giving advice to Sadie. Rosanna says something like, “If you’re going to be in a relationship, you have to be honest with each other.” When in fact, she’s hiding everything from her love interest! Major character turn-off.
Lastly, we have Darcy. She’s older than Sadie and Rosanna, and she’s a one-night stand kind of gal. She’s probably my favorite of the girls since she’s got a bit of spunk, but she was also downright insensitive and rude to her roommates. Sure she’s dealing with a lot of crap, but it doesn’t mean that she can put that on her roommates. All three girls in City Love were a no-go for me.
Finally, the aspect with all three girls finding a romance not even a week into moving into NYC was kind of astounding and coincidental. I understand that that’s the main premise of the story, but it was too convenient and unrealistic that it broke the flow of the story as a whole.
City Love wasn’t disappointing since I wasn’t expecting much out of it, but I wasn’t surprised in a good way, either. Even though it was told from the perspective of three girls, I wasn’t able to connect or sympathize with any of them. I think it’s safe to say that this will be my last Colasanti book for a long time.
Check out this review and more at Books and Other Happy Ever Afters
I’ve read my fill of Susane Colasanti’s books before, but they’re simply those contemporaries that are quick and easy to read, but eventually blur together in my head after a while. I’m not quite sure why I picked up City Love. Reading the synopsis, I was automatically entranced by the idea of love in New York City. If you all didn’t know, I’ve never been to NYC and it seems like a distant dream to me. Of course, I will grasp at anything that can bring me closer to NYC. City Love seemed like it would do just that.
City Love is told from the perspectives of three girls who move in together at the beginning of the summer to prepare for college in the fall. We get Sadie, Rosanna, and Darcy. You’d think that out of these three girls, I would enjoy reading from at least one of their perspectives. Unfortunately, I found that all three girls were either too naive or just plain annoying in some way.
To start off, we have Sadie. Sadie is the highly optimistic girl who is miss goody-two-shoes. There are those type of people who are extremely positive in the world, and truly brighten others’ day. However, Sadie was annoyingly happy all the time. Not only this, but she has a main focus on finding THE ONE. I get that this book is called “City Love” and that it’s primarily a romance, but seriously? Romance and finding the right soul mate is ALL Sadie thinks about. It’s like she needs to be with a boy in order to be happy. I feel like her need to be with someone blinds her.
Next, we have Rosanna. She considers herself as the “poor” girl of the group, always saving up and receiving generous, expensive clothing donations from Darcy. Rosanna felt really awkward to me and had little to no self-confidence. And the thing this, she doesn’t really progress as a character throughout the book. We learn later on in the story that something in her past affected her deeply. However, she was extremely hypocritical in giving advice to Sadie. Rosanna says something like, “If you’re going to be in a relationship, you have to be honest with each other.” When in fact, she’s hiding everything from her love interest! Major character turn-off.
Lastly, we have Darcy. She’s older than Sadie and Rosanna, and she’s a one-night stand kind of gal. She’s probably my favorite of the girls since she’s got a bit of spunk, but she was also downright insensitive and rude to her roommates. Sure she’s dealing with a lot of crap, but it doesn’t mean that she can put that on her roommates. All three girls in City Love were a no-go for me.
Finally, the aspect with all three girls finding a romance not even a week into moving into NYC was kind of astounding and coincidental. I understand that that’s the main premise of the story, but it was too convenient and unrealistic that it broke the flow of the story as a whole.
City Love wasn’t disappointing since I wasn’t expecting much out of it, but I wasn’t surprised in a good way, either. Even though it was told from the perspective of three girls, I wasn’t able to connect or sympathize with any of them. I think it’s safe to say that this will be my last Colasanti book for a long time.
Check out this review and more at Books and Other Happy Ever Afters
April 14, 2015
Alternating point of views can either go very badly, or very well, in the case of City Love I would say they went beautifully. It takes a very skilled writer to be able to pull off alternating point of views to the extent that Susane pulled off as we follow Sadie, Darcy & Rosanna throughout the story.
The story itself is beautifully crafted. When you have three main focus characters, it’s really hard to make a story feel fluid. I have seen so many authors fall short of being able to execute stories like this in a great way, but this definitely isn’t one of those times. I am really impressed with how fluid City Love feels. It is a very easy read, and I really never found myself feeling as though I was lost with everything going on, which was great.
The characters themselves also help to add to the overall appeal of the book. You have a fluid story, but if you didn’t have amazing characters backing up the story you aren’t going to get very far. The story by itself is great, but it’s the amazing personalities of the characters that really help drive this particular story. This is one of those cases where the book needed both a solid story and characters to be a success, and it had both in a spectacular way.
The connections readers will be able to make with the characters throughout the story is what will be one of the main driving points behind being able to enjoy the book. I can’t see any reader having a problem connecting with these characters, considering how well crafted they are and how they blend together perfectly with the overall story to allow for an amazing reading experience.
I am not incredibly familiar with Susane’s past work, but I know I have heard a lot of praise for her previous titles. The only other that I have reviewed is When It Happens, which much like City Love was beautifully written. When you pick up this book, you will quickly see that you are reading a book by an incredibly skilled writer. I hope you all will give this book a chance. Perfect book for the upcoming summer break.
The story itself is beautifully crafted. When you have three main focus characters, it’s really hard to make a story feel fluid. I have seen so many authors fall short of being able to execute stories like this in a great way, but this definitely isn’t one of those times. I am really impressed with how fluid City Love feels. It is a very easy read, and I really never found myself feeling as though I was lost with everything going on, which was great.
The characters themselves also help to add to the overall appeal of the book. You have a fluid story, but if you didn’t have amazing characters backing up the story you aren’t going to get very far. The story by itself is great, but it’s the amazing personalities of the characters that really help drive this particular story. This is one of those cases where the book needed both a solid story and characters to be a success, and it had both in a spectacular way.
The connections readers will be able to make with the characters throughout the story is what will be one of the main driving points behind being able to enjoy the book. I can’t see any reader having a problem connecting with these characters, considering how well crafted they are and how they blend together perfectly with the overall story to allow for an amazing reading experience.
I am not incredibly familiar with Susane’s past work, but I know I have heard a lot of praise for her previous titles. The only other that I have reviewed is When It Happens, which much like City Love was beautifully written. When you pick up this book, you will quickly see that you are reading a book by an incredibly skilled writer. I hope you all will give this book a chance. Perfect book for the upcoming summer break.
July 8, 2016
Who are we kidding, NYC is magical. There are hundreds of things to do and beautiful strangers at every corner (I blame Sex and the City for the brainwash). It's no wonder that Colansanti chose this location to set her latest romance series.
As we follow the dating life of three roommates, Sadie (the hopeful one), Darcy (the heartbroken one), and Rosanna (poor, very poor) in a lapse of ten days, we discover how goose-bumpy and dreamlike love can be. Since it is a novel that takes place in ten days, and regardless of the fun use of location, I found the story not very credible. Sadie wants to take things slow yet manages to seduce Austin in staying at her place for a whole weekend, but no SEX. Hence why she unzips his pants?!?
Then we have Darcy who doesn't want to get attached to any guy, yet she falls for someone in ten days?!?
The more I tried following the story as a possible reality, the more lost I was. It's best to just read it for fun and enjoy the scenery.
As we follow the dating life of three roommates, Sadie (the hopeful one), Darcy (the heartbroken one), and Rosanna (poor, very poor) in a lapse of ten days, we discover how goose-bumpy and dreamlike love can be. Since it is a novel that takes place in ten days, and regardless of the fun use of location, I found the story not very credible. Sadie wants to take things slow yet manages to seduce Austin in staying at her place for a whole weekend, but no SEX. Hence why she unzips his pants?!?
Then we have Darcy who doesn't want to get attached to any guy, yet she falls for someone in ten days?!?
The more I tried following the story as a possible reality, the more lost I was. It's best to just read it for fun and enjoy the scenery.
June 30, 2015
I got bored :(
February 8, 2018
Review to come!
February 26, 2017
This book feels like it was written by some boy-crazy fifteen-year-old.
Love at first sight, really? *Soulmates*? Look, girl, get your head out of the clouds ... your life so does not revolve around a guy you just met. Besides, it has only been two weeks... and already, you're in love? Please. Give me a break. This book had a ton of unnecessary cliches.
Austin totally felt too good to be true. Judas was just mysterious. "D" was simply irritating in the sense all he wants for himself is money and a good home. Like? Hello? I felt absolutely nothing for anybody in this series. It wasn't even true love; it was just a pretty face they were all after. "Gorgeous blue eyes" huh? Are you sure you're not falling for his looks rather than his personality? Because, hello?
Please, girls aren't based on guys. And where's the diversity here? None of them felt really distinguished, TBH.
The personalities, also, were totally flat. I realized when the big spoiler came that I didn't actually care anymore: he seemed too good to be true, anyway. And besides, I never really fell for them. There was zero chemistry. Nothing that made me think they were anything but lifeless characters in a book. Efforts to put some ~deep~ background into the characters just failed horrifically. Could you be more creative, I ask? And besides, I know virtually nothing about the way the characters grew up? Do they have siblings? Do they even have parents? Who are their friends?
Blank. They just feel like an empty canvas. Oh, poor Darcy, she was dumped... Get over it. It's not really that special. And besides, is it really unreasonable that he doesn't want to do long-distance?
I do not recommend this for anybody. Less like "City Love", and more like "Cliche love"
Love at first sight, really? *Soulmates*? Look, girl, get your head out of the clouds ... your life so does not revolve around a guy you just met. Besides, it has only been two weeks... and already, you're in love? Please. Give me a break. This book had a ton of unnecessary cliches.
Austin totally felt too good to be true. Judas was just mysterious. "D" was simply irritating in the sense all he wants for himself is money and a good home. Like? Hello? I felt absolutely nothing for anybody in this series. It wasn't even true love; it was just a pretty face they were all after. "Gorgeous blue eyes" huh? Are you sure you're not falling for his looks rather than his personality? Because, hello?
Please, girls aren't based on guys. And where's the diversity here? None of them felt really distinguished, TBH.
The personalities, also, were totally flat. I realized when the big spoiler came that I didn't actually care anymore: he seemed too good to be true, anyway. And besides, I never really fell for them. There was zero chemistry. Nothing that made me think they were anything but lifeless characters in a book. Efforts to put some ~deep~ background into the characters just failed horrifically. Could you be more creative, I ask? And besides, I know virtually nothing about the way the characters grew up? Do they have siblings? Do they even have parents? Who are their friends?
Blank. They just feel like an empty canvas. Oh, poor Darcy, she was dumped... Get over it. It's not really that special. And besides, is it really unreasonable that he doesn't want to do long-distance?
I do not recommend this for anybody. Less like "City Love", and more like "Cliche love"
April 11, 2015
Review also found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is April 21st 2015.
Right from the start of the story you can tell that it is written by someone who has either a lot of love for New York City or a lot of knowledge about it. Since Colasanti lives in New Youk I would say that it is a bit of both.
This story is definitely written for the YA audience as the main characters are all 18 or 19. I would go a step further and say that it is written for a younger YA audience (think tween) for a couple of reasons.
1. The book is very clean. There is minimal cursing and/or sexual content.
2. The characters are very "rainbows & unicorns" in their outlook on life.
3. Minimal conflict (for now)
I am going to spend some time focusing on my second point. I remember being an 18 year old girl and moving out to my first apartment for school. Most eighteen year old girls are not as naïve as the characters in this story. They are a little more jaded and less idealistic. Be it life experience or just access to information I found the girls to be emotionally "immature" for their age, Sadie and Rosanna in particular. While it is great to be idealistic or a romantic I truly think that the maturity level of the average eighteen year old is a little more than these characters displayed and kind of sold them short.
Addressing my third point there was very little conflict in this story. I did not realise that it was going to be a series until the conflict did materialize and the story was over! I feel that with the second story we are going to see the true personalities appear and some true conflict.
That aside it is evident that the true romance in this story is New York. Having been there on a couple of occasions I could identify with some of what was written about the city. I laughed when it described how you could tell the difference between a local and a tourist by the way they walked. I made the exact same statement the last time I was there, of course I was easily identified as the tourist.
I am curious to see where the next instalment of this story goes. While I felt that this story glossed over the actual plot in exchange for highlighting the great city of New York I think the rest of the series will balance better the plot with the city. I think this story is a nice introduction to New York for a younger audience
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is April 21st 2015.
Right from the start of the story you can tell that it is written by someone who has either a lot of love for New York City or a lot of knowledge about it. Since Colasanti lives in New Youk I would say that it is a bit of both.
This story is definitely written for the YA audience as the main characters are all 18 or 19. I would go a step further and say that it is written for a younger YA audience (think tween) for a couple of reasons.
1. The book is very clean. There is minimal cursing and/or sexual content.
2. The characters are very "rainbows & unicorns" in their outlook on life.
3. Minimal conflict (for now)
I am going to spend some time focusing on my second point. I remember being an 18 year old girl and moving out to my first apartment for school. Most eighteen year old girls are not as naïve as the characters in this story. They are a little more jaded and less idealistic. Be it life experience or just access to information I found the girls to be emotionally "immature" for their age, Sadie and Rosanna in particular. While it is great to be idealistic or a romantic I truly think that the maturity level of the average eighteen year old is a little more than these characters displayed and kind of sold them short.
Addressing my third point there was very little conflict in this story. I did not realise that it was going to be a series until the conflict did materialize and the story was over! I feel that with the second story we are going to see the true personalities appear and some true conflict.
That aside it is evident that the true romance in this story is New York. Having been there on a couple of occasions I could identify with some of what was written about the city. I laughed when it described how you could tell the difference between a local and a tourist by the way they walked. I made the exact same statement the last time I was there, of course I was easily identified as the tourist.
I am curious to see where the next instalment of this story goes. While I felt that this story glossed over the actual plot in exchange for highlighting the great city of New York I think the rest of the series will balance better the plot with the city. I think this story is a nice introduction to New York for a younger audience
June 8, 2015
I have only read one book from Susane and I wasn't very impressed. I believe I gave that book a 4 stars but now that I think of it, I should have given it a 2. City Love was kind of disappointing. I loved the characters and how they were each different but the plot didn't work out too well for me. Let's just say it was predictable and I wasn't able to pinpoint the climax in this book.
There are three main characters in this book: Darcy, Sadie, and Rosanna. I loved reading from each of their perspective because they were each very different people. Sadie is a believer in love at first sight and comes off to be someone who would love to travel. Darcy is a free-spirited read to have fun kind of gal. Rosanna is a very shy and private person due to her difficult past. Each of these girls has their own personality and it was so great to see how they each handled certain situations in their own way. I don't relate to any girl as much as I hoped and that is what brought some of the character rating down. I don't believe in "love at first sight" (Sadie), flings are not something I ever plan on doing (Darcy), and I just don't have that much of a horrible childhood (Rosanna). Do I wish I was able to connect with the characters more? Yes, I do but I found these characters very realistic and that is good enough for me.
Now for the tricky part of this book, the plot. As you can tell from above, I found City Love predictable. By page 100 I made a pretty clear prediction on what was going to happen to each girl. 2/3 of those predictions were correct. It is really sad because I think one of my predictions was actually the climax of this book and because I was able to make the prediction, the climax was just ruined for me. I can't tell you how I was able to predict the climax but to me, GAH it was just so obvious. The book did stay realistic though! No one busted out wings and started flying across the state so that was good.
Since this book is the beginning of a trilogy, do I plan to read the next book? Yes, I do. The ending was actually really good. I want to find out to all three girls and her boy troubles, especially Darcy.
I'm kind of sad I didn't enjoy the book as much as I hoped. I gave this book three stars because the book was kind of predicting and I could not find the climax within the book.
Full review: http://next-page-please.blogspot.com/...
There are three main characters in this book: Darcy, Sadie, and Rosanna. I loved reading from each of their perspective because they were each very different people. Sadie is a believer in love at first sight and comes off to be someone who would love to travel. Darcy is a free-spirited read to have fun kind of gal. Rosanna is a very shy and private person due to her difficult past. Each of these girls has their own personality and it was so great to see how they each handled certain situations in their own way. I don't relate to any girl as much as I hoped and that is what brought some of the character rating down. I don't believe in "love at first sight" (Sadie), flings are not something I ever plan on doing (Darcy), and I just don't have that much of a horrible childhood (Rosanna). Do I wish I was able to connect with the characters more? Yes, I do but I found these characters very realistic and that is good enough for me.
Now for the tricky part of this book, the plot. As you can tell from above, I found City Love predictable. By page 100 I made a pretty clear prediction on what was going to happen to each girl. 2/3 of those predictions were correct. It is really sad because I think one of my predictions was actually the climax of this book and because I was able to make the prediction, the climax was just ruined for me. I can't tell you how I was able to predict the climax but to me, GAH it was just so obvious. The book did stay realistic though! No one busted out wings and started flying across the state so that was good.
Since this book is the beginning of a trilogy, do I plan to read the next book? Yes, I do. The ending was actually really good. I want to find out to all three girls and her boy troubles, especially Darcy.
I'm kind of sad I didn't enjoy the book as much as I hoped. I gave this book three stars because the book was kind of predicting and I could not find the climax within the book.
Full review: http://next-page-please.blogspot.com/...
April 20, 2015
Unfortunately, this book did nothing for me. I didn't care for the characters, and the story really lacked substance. I don't know if it was because I expected so much more, but City Love was really disappointing to me.
Told in alternating chapters, I found it was pretty easy to keep track of which girl’s story I was reading. For the most part I thought the girls were different enough, but at times they seemed like some weird combination of each other because they had the same thoughts and feelings. All 3 girls were likable, but they were also immature and quite naïve. I thought they had too much of a romantic outlook on life, and they needed a huge dose of reality. I also didn't like how boy crazy they were.
I really didn't feel anything for the boys. I thought they were stereotypes, and most of what happened with them was quite predictable.
I read her blog, so I can fully understand the love that Susane Colasanti has for New York, and it really comes through in this story. I just had a problem with how the city love took over the story and was bigger than the girls and their friendship.
I expected so much more than 3 silly girls who talk a big show, but end up being defined by their relationships with boys. I hope things change in the next book, because I really would like to see the girls grow as characters, learn how to stand on their own, and figure out what they truly want for themselves. I've read other Colasanti books that I enjoyed more, but I'm still willing to continue reading this series to find out what happens next.
If you have read any of Susane Colasanti's books before, then you may enjoy reading City Love (if you can get past the insta-friendship, insta-love, and soul mate references.)
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Told in alternating chapters, I found it was pretty easy to keep track of which girl’s story I was reading. For the most part I thought the girls were different enough, but at times they seemed like some weird combination of each other because they had the same thoughts and feelings. All 3 girls were likable, but they were also immature and quite naïve. I thought they had too much of a romantic outlook on life, and they needed a huge dose of reality. I also didn't like how boy crazy they were.
I really didn't feel anything for the boys. I thought they were stereotypes, and most of what happened with them was quite predictable.
I read her blog, so I can fully understand the love that Susane Colasanti has for New York, and it really comes through in this story. I just had a problem with how the city love took over the story and was bigger than the girls and their friendship.
I expected so much more than 3 silly girls who talk a big show, but end up being defined by their relationships with boys. I hope things change in the next book, because I really would like to see the girls grow as characters, learn how to stand on their own, and figure out what they truly want for themselves. I've read other Colasanti books that I enjoyed more, but I'm still willing to continue reading this series to find out what happens next.
If you have read any of Susane Colasanti's books before, then you may enjoy reading City Love (if you can get past the insta-friendship, insta-love, and soul mate references.)
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
April 21, 2015
Find more reviews and lettering at my blog, The Art of Escapism.
The best way to describe City Love would be to compare it to shows like Gossip Girl or 90210. I haven't watched either of those shows, but from the commercials, these are shows that have an air of glamorous, city-based drama. The problem is, City Love is only the first book, and it's just laying things down for a potentially engaging series.
The three girls are all different from each other, but it still had me confused. I constantly kept checking the chapter headings to figure out who was who. Sadie is so full of positive energy, while Darcy has absolutely no inhibitions, and Rosanna has to budget everything because she comes from a poor family. Despite the big differences in their personality, it doesn't carry off in the writing.
It's also pretty irksome how most of their bonding was done over their relationships. All the relationships were built on instalove, and while there were some really cute scenes, it's all so flimsy when you take a step back and look at it as a whole.
But I absolutely love New York City, and the book is just full of the city. There's so many descriptions and mentions of all these great landmarks, and that's what made me enjoy the book so much. Susane infused so much of the city's vibe and energy into the book that some passages had me wishing I could just hop on a plane and see it all for myself.
I was mildly entertained, but that can only last for so long. It ends on a cliffhanger, and there's so many possibilities for the characters to grow in the next book. If the characters don't get better, though, the setting can't save it this time.
The best way to describe City Love would be to compare it to shows like Gossip Girl or 90210. I haven't watched either of those shows, but from the commercials, these are shows that have an air of glamorous, city-based drama. The problem is, City Love is only the first book, and it's just laying things down for a potentially engaging series.
The three girls are all different from each other, but it still had me confused. I constantly kept checking the chapter headings to figure out who was who. Sadie is so full of positive energy, while Darcy has absolutely no inhibitions, and Rosanna has to budget everything because she comes from a poor family. Despite the big differences in their personality, it doesn't carry off in the writing.
It's also pretty irksome how most of their bonding was done over their relationships. All the relationships were built on instalove, and while there were some really cute scenes, it's all so flimsy when you take a step back and look at it as a whole.
But I absolutely love New York City, and the book is just full of the city. There's so many descriptions and mentions of all these great landmarks, and that's what made me enjoy the book so much. Susane infused so much of the city's vibe and energy into the book that some passages had me wishing I could just hop on a plane and see it all for myself.
I was mildly entertained, but that can only last for so long. It ends on a cliffhanger, and there's so many possibilities for the characters to grow in the next book. If the characters don't get better, though, the setting can't save it this time.
May 24, 2015
Sometimes there's nothing worse than a book that can't make up its mind.
City Love is about three girls who rent an apartment in New York City for the summer prior to their freshman year of college. It follows their individual adventures in the city and their searches for love and dealing with the baggage they bring along with them.
On one hand, this story does feel like a traditional teen romance with the added addition of adjusting to adulthood and throwing people into the big city. That the girls are basically boy-obsessed and seem to struggle to define themselves past that (with key exceptions) was a real problem for me. If this were a wish fulfillment book of sorts, sure, okay, you go to the city to find love. That there's seemingly so little interest in the city itself outside of boys was a big problem for me.
The exceptions are the Big Defining Things about the girls. I don't want to give things away here, but those Big Defining Things are basically what they have to overcome along the way, and the romance angles are, at least in part, a vehicle to do so. The problem is that it feels so trite at times to almost diminish what could have been a great story about shedding one's teenage/juvenile burdens and entering adulthood anew. It's a strange choice.
This isn't a bad read. It's quite readable, in fact, and there's a lot to like about the girls in the story. I just wish it had chosen either angle and had been superlative at one of them as opposed to trying to run with two and kind of stumbling at both.
City Love is about three girls who rent an apartment in New York City for the summer prior to their freshman year of college. It follows their individual adventures in the city and their searches for love and dealing with the baggage they bring along with them.
On one hand, this story does feel like a traditional teen romance with the added addition of adjusting to adulthood and throwing people into the big city. That the girls are basically boy-obsessed and seem to struggle to define themselves past that (with key exceptions) was a real problem for me. If this were a wish fulfillment book of sorts, sure, okay, you go to the city to find love. That there's seemingly so little interest in the city itself outside of boys was a big problem for me.
The exceptions are the Big Defining Things about the girls. I don't want to give things away here, but those Big Defining Things are basically what they have to overcome along the way, and the romance angles are, at least in part, a vehicle to do so. The problem is that it feels so trite at times to almost diminish what could have been a great story about shedding one's teenage/juvenile burdens and entering adulthood anew. It's a strange choice.
This isn't a bad read. It's quite readable, in fact, and there's a lot to like about the girls in the story. I just wish it had chosen either angle and had been superlative at one of them as opposed to trying to run with two and kind of stumbling at both.
May 16, 2015
Oh man I did not like this. I don't usually write bad reviews and I'm relatively easy to please but if you have similar tastes in books sadly I have to recommend skipping this.
I listened to the audiobook and I'm not sure if that added to my dislike because some of the voices made the characters sounds super shallow or pseudo-intellectual.
Maybe I'm just old but it felt like I was listening to a bunch of dumb immature college girls who thought they knew all about life and love and the world spout off nonsense. I found the characters to be very unbelievable and one dimensional.
I feel like a horrible person writing such awful things but I guess not every book can click with every person right?!
Besides the unlikeable characters at the very end there are a few abrupt story twists and then the book ends mid plot. Or rather mid multiple plots since the story is really made up of 3 girls stories. So much is left hanging and untold. Is this a series? I can't tell from the way it's listed on goodreads but even if it is the way it ends is not ok. I seriously scrolled back to relisten in case some how I accidentally skipped ahead, nope. It felt like what you might get from eavesdropping on a really immature group of teen girls having a slumber party but then you don't follow up with any of them so you don't really know what happened with each.
Sorry again I feel like I'm just bashing this book but it really bugged me.
I listened to the audiobook and I'm not sure if that added to my dislike because some of the voices made the characters sounds super shallow or pseudo-intellectual.
Maybe I'm just old but it felt like I was listening to a bunch of dumb immature college girls who thought they knew all about life and love and the world spout off nonsense. I found the characters to be very unbelievable and one dimensional.
I feel like a horrible person writing such awful things but I guess not every book can click with every person right?!
Besides the unlikeable characters at the very end there are a few abrupt story twists and then the book ends mid plot. Or rather mid multiple plots since the story is really made up of 3 girls stories. So much is left hanging and untold. Is this a series? I can't tell from the way it's listed on goodreads but even if it is the way it ends is not ok. I seriously scrolled back to relisten in case some how I accidentally skipped ahead, nope. It felt like what you might get from eavesdropping on a really immature group of teen girls having a slumber party but then you don't follow up with any of them so you don't really know what happened with each.
Sorry again I feel like I'm just bashing this book but it really bugged me.
January 4, 2016
I told myself I would never read another Susane Colasanti book again. As a person, Colasanti deserves all the high fives (really, have you ever met her in person or watched her videos on youtube? She's AMAZING!). As a writer, Colasanti is a flop. I didn't want to insult my comprehension and entertainment level by reading this book, but it's about New York. And I *love* New York.
This is my favorite Colasanti book I've ever read. Yes, I could barely tell the characters apart, I was frustrated by their actions, and the bulk of the story is nonsense. But each page is a tribute to the greatest city in the world. This book is for New York City lovers and dreamers. Reading this book is like reading a tourist guide disguised as a teen novel. I Yelped so many Manhattan restaurants, clubs, and coffee shops by the end. For that, it wasn't a total waste of time.
I recommend this to readers who are in (city) love with New York, believe in fate, and/or like stories about teens who have "the summer of their lives."
Other things:
-The cover is GORGEOUS
-Understanding this story is probably pointless w/o reading the rest of the series
-There were no hot makeout scenes. Like, hellooooo this is YA. If you're going to frequently reference hookups, at least throw us a freaking bone too.
-The secret revealed about Austin was the biggest shocker. I F-REAKED.
-D was a total creep who made me uncomfortable. Just, ew.
This is my favorite Colasanti book I've ever read. Yes, I could barely tell the characters apart, I was frustrated by their actions, and the bulk of the story is nonsense. But each page is a tribute to the greatest city in the world. This book is for New York City lovers and dreamers. Reading this book is like reading a tourist guide disguised as a teen novel. I Yelped so many Manhattan restaurants, clubs, and coffee shops by the end. For that, it wasn't a total waste of time.
I recommend this to readers who are in (city) love with New York, believe in fate, and/or like stories about teens who have "the summer of their lives."
Other things:
-The cover is GORGEOUS
-Understanding this story is probably pointless w/o reading the rest of the series
-There were no hot makeout scenes. Like, hellooooo this is YA. If you're going to frequently reference hookups, at least throw us a freaking bone too.
-The secret revealed about Austin was the biggest shocker. I F-REAKED.
-D was a total creep who made me uncomfortable. Just, ew.
April 22, 2015
This was so disappointing. I loved the idea of 3 girls experiencing the city in different POVs, but it was absolutely not what I expected.
All three ladies have unbelievably young sounding voices. I would have never expected them to be in college if I wasn't given that information. I struggled with the dialogue and the overuse of several phrases. Everything was just so juvenile.
There were a few twists and revelations at the end, but it wasn't enough to keep me interested. I will not be reading any of the other books.
Huge thanks to Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf for letting me borrow her arc.
All three ladies have unbelievably young sounding voices. I would have never expected them to be in college if I wasn't given that information. I struggled with the dialogue and the overuse of several phrases. Everything was just so juvenile.
There were a few twists and revelations at the end, but it wasn't enough to keep me interested. I will not be reading any of the other books.
Huge thanks to Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf for letting me borrow her arc.
January 5, 2017
I feel very neutral on this book. It's not my favorite, and it's not my least favorite. It was a cute short romance. Then the end had a huge twist and then it just left me hanging on a cliff. It just ended abruptly and didn't really give any closure to anything. It hit its high point with the twist then it just dropped you without a parachute. Not sure how to think of this book. I want to read the next one, but I also don't. I'm so confused right now about what to feel.
June 3, 2015
I started out liking this book, but this was plagued with so many YA cliches. I reckon if I hadn't listened to it on audio, I probably wouldn't have liked it.
I had mixed feelings about the narrators, but overall it was a good listen.
Review to come!
October 3, 2015
Super cute with lots of great NYC date ideas! Set up nicely for a second book. Very Nora Robertsy, but for a younger generation.
January 14, 2016
Tbh I relate to Sadie WAY TOO MUCH. Non-coincidence? I think yes.
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