Nuits blanches à Manhattan

by Sisman Robyn

Irréductible célibataire, Suzy Wilding, 32 ans, est dessinatrice de publicité à Londres. Lloyd Rockwell, New-Yorkais de 35 ans, brillant rédacteur de publicité, s'apprête à épouser la très bourgeoise Betsy. A la suite d'un échange entre leurs sociétés jumelles, Lloyd et Betsy s'installent à Londres, chez Suzy, et cette dernière à New York, chez eux. Brutalement, Lloyd, accusé d'avoir livré des renseignements essentiels à la concurrence, se retrouve licencié. Mais à New York, Suzy découvre que Lloyd a été victime d'une machination et décide de l'aider à faire éclater la vérité. Commence alors entre eux un long échange, par coups de fil longue distance interposés. Et lorsqu'ils se rencontrent lors d'une brève soirée à Londres, c'est le coup de foudre.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Summer, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Adult

456 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Ashley Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only qualm with the book was that I wasn't ready for it to end. This book took me completely by surprise. I bought it because the back described it as being lighthearted and funny and, frankly, it has a gorgeous cover. I couldn't be more pleased with my purchase. Sisman has a great wit and I understood the characters instantly. They were dynamic - as the characters interacted with each other, they grew, changed. Even though the plot line was predictable, it was still unique and well developed. Obviously, if you are looking for the the next great American novel you're not going to find it here, but if you want well-written entertainment I highly recommend Summer in the City. I found myself unwilling to put it down; this novel was truly engaging and the perfect summer read.

[Farrah (bookstalgic) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was cute and an easy, fun read. I’m not ashamed to say that I enjoy a good chic-lit every now and again and this one was no exception. I really liked both characters and the slow burn of them getting to know each other was fun to read. I got a little bit confused with the plot and “the conspiracy”, but other than that I thought the writing was really nice, the descriptions were great, and I love that this book didn’t have a crazy love triangle, too much angst or an annoying misunderstanding. Just like a Hallmark movie, it wrapped up nicely at the end. Sometimes you just need an easy, cute read to cleanse the palate after more intense books and this was just it for me. Because I really liked the writing, I would definitely read more by this author.

[Murphy Smyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought a used copy of this book for $1. I love city rom coms, and especially London, so I figured I’d give it a try. It exceeded my expectations! It felt like an old 90s rom com movie, my favorite kind. A little cheesy in a sense but in a cute, nostalgic way - not in the way I feel many new romance books are. They don’t just suddenly fall in love. I loved the work aspect and somewhat of a mystery and the lovable characters, Jay of course, and Lloyd and Suze. Even Betsy was fun to read about and turned out ok in the end! Just an overall cute book that made me smile!

[Janel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surpassed my expectations! The cover of this book was so cute, and I figured it would be fun, so I picked it up. It's definitely chick lit, but a unique story and skillfully told. The main characters in this tale have never met before, and trade apartments through a job exchange program at the big time ad agency they work for. The guy, Lloyd is in New York switching with Suze in London. They both have their own adventures separate of each other, but also through a crisis at work involving a scheme against Lloyd, they begin to talk to each other long distance and develop a good rapport. It's enjoyable to see the characters develop through the experiences they have in their temporary new environments independent of each other, and how they eventually grow to know one another. Smart writing style, and will read more by this author. Loved it start to finish.

[Ti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fun. That's all. It is not a book about great teachings and great ideas. Is a book about love oneself and loving others in return. Is a very nice and sweet love story. I loved the character of Suze, probably because I have a lot in common with her: outgoing character, love for color and a penchant for falling in love with the utterly wrong person. And my only problem was the Betsy-Lloyd relationship: did he really loved her or she was a safe option?
Betsy was an interesting character of whom I would like to know more. Did she finished her thesis about Jane Austen? Did she fell for the italian count? What did she do with her mother? Kill her? Or just stop communicating with her?
In the end a fun book, good for summer (or spring).

[emilia borg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Emotionally Unavailable Misogynistic Man strings along Adoring Girlfriend/Housewife for years because he needs someone to take care of him. Sexy Single Girl doesn’t like relationships because of one specific experience she had. Emotionally Unavailable Misogynistic Man and Sexy Single Girl trade lives. Emotionally Unavailable Misogynistic Man loses his job. Sexy Single Girl helps him get it back. Emotionally Unavailable Misogynistic Man (basically) cheats on Adoring Girlfriend/Housewife with Sexy Single Girl because he’s emotionally unavailable. *insert break up scene here*. Emotionally Unavailable Misogynistic Man and Sexy Single Girl meet for dinner and fall in love before they’re supposed to go back to their old lives. but wait, they’re in love now. *insert dramatic airport scene here*.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was painfully slow to start, but slowly picked up and caught my interest. I found myself enjoying it quite a bit by the end.

The author's inauthentic dialogue for the American characters continuously annoyed me throughout the book. It was distracting.

I also found the main character's aversion to being called a feminist annoying. What's wrong with being a feminist, for goodness sake? If that's the author's perspective perhaps this isn't the book for someone like me.

[Sharon Jacksack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, easy. I started this one and never really got into it, but picked it up again and finished it in a day. It was rather silly in some ways, but I did like how the author made the man’s gf “not right” for him without her being a completely terrible person. (Although the cat thing made me angry).

[J Ham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book.. an easy read, and I loved the deep dive into the business and advertising world. I would definitely read more by this author. And YES the ending was a cheesy, rom com dream, but WHO CARES? It was fab.

[Tonya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was older, so the technology didn't keep up, but it was cute. Nothing particularly stand-out about it, but it was a nice beach read.

[Suzanne AA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy breezy read. Liked but didn’t love the storyline. Main characters were much more flushed out, but the storyline was very predictable.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun summer read. I enjoyed the British character's take on New York and the America's impressions of London.

[Audrey Nester · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were parts of the story that were cliche, especially how it ended, but the story had me hooked and entertained.

[Camille Hefner · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ rounded down. A bit cheesy and predictable, but cute rom-com

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet story and quick read. Loved all the poetry woven throughout.

[Jaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book took me forever to read i just couldn’t connect with the characters for some reason. Towards the end as it progressed it was easier to get through but definitely not memorable.

[Melissa (Always Behind) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Suze Wilding and Lloyd Rockwell work for the same advertising firm, but on different continents. Suze lives a carefree single life in London, not really caring about tidiness or convention. Lloyd resides in New York City, has a serious live-in girlfriend, is conventional and organized. Yet when their company provides them with an opportunity to swap jobs for the summer, they end up living in each other's apartments and living completely different lives.

Suze becomes close to Sheri, a woman who is out to climb the corporate ladder. But when Suze hears some puzzling information about an account Lloyd deals with, she starts digging a little deeper to see what she can discover. Suze contacts Lloyd and they form a tentative friendship across the miles. Could there be hope for two complete opposites--in love and in business?

Summer in the City has so much potential to be a hilarious story about clashing cultures, but it falls a bit short. The main focus is not really on the relationship development between Suze and Lloyd or their adventures living in another country. Summer in the City mostly centers on the job issues and sabotage, which detracts from the lighthearted premise. The big differences between Suze and Lloyd cause some misunderstanding and consternation which is funny at times. Each character learns something about themselves through the course of the book.

The secondary characters of Lloyd's girlfriend/fiancée Betsy and her mother, as well as Lloyd's co-workers, add a great deal of enjoyment to the plot. The dialogue is fast-paced and the book itself is not overly long, making for a light read. If Summer in the City had played up the love story and played down the work issues, this would have been fantastic chick lit. As it stands, Summer in the City is an enjoyable diversion for a warm summer day.

[Chin]

A conflict occurs when you want to decide what to do when you are stuck between choosing to enjoy the summer weather or get a job. Therefore, conflict starts to arise as the story unfolds. I love the way Sisman opened up the novel with a mood, “The rain had started during dinner. Some time between the removal of the red snapper wit herb polenta and the triumphant arrival of Bridget’s homemade tiramisu” (Sisman 1). Not only is the mood given to the reader, but also the reader can picture the imagery described in the text. One of my favorite lines from the text is, “Nobody knew her here. He had no past, no connection, no responsibilities. She could do absolutely anything she liked. It wouldn’t be the same without a perfect stranger” (Sisman 34). This line can connect to the readers because at times, there is a point of realization. Similar to our college essay, there is a turning point at which we change either positively or negatively. We can see the change within ourselves.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this story; it seemed fresh and fun. Both the main characters, while wildly different, were captured perfectly and I came to enjoy each chapter as they arrived. I never got over the cat though, and if you read this book then you'll know what I mean. There is a minor resolution to this, but not one I fully appreciated. I couldn't fully believe the romance, but it was as believable as two strangers who had never met in person could have been.

A nice quick read, my brain didn't have to work too hard to finish this one. Recommended for the romantic at heart, chick flick lovers like me (when I'm in the mood for them, that is!)

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an interesting storyline, rather realistic and one can see how the characters get to know each other without getting to know each other. And these are well crafted characters that could live in the minds of the readers. One thing fall short for me: The overly described settings in almost every chapter. Turned me off the story for a while that I almost gave up in the first quarter of the book. But it paid off to read through anyway. Because the most well-written is at the last few chapters, where description stripped away, one as the reader can indulge in the drama of the characters' life.

[Chrisiant · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a totally predictable fluff book - at halfway through I could already see clearly to its obvious ending. Yawn.

It felt as if it was written with the intention of immediately becoming a simpering romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Bo-ring.

I got it to read on a bus trip to New York, and then read something else, so I made this my bus book. It's a nice quick diversion, and it's not obnoxiously cute, although it borders on that region sometimes. But it's not really worth the time if there's something more substantive to read.

[Malina Sapawi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have this book to thank for as why I am in Advertising studies now. My passion in advertising was vague, but after I read this book, I knew what I wanted in life is to be in advertising industry. And here I am pursuing my dream.

The lovely story between two characters that had never seen each other, let alone know each other can fall in love because they are connected through their work, and the scandal that happened in the office.

I have read this book many times, probably more than three times, because it's really good. Simply said, I love it.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lloyd, an ad-exec from New York, trades places with his counterpart in London, Suze. While each explore the others' city and workplace, a nefarious plot to cause one of them to be fired ensues. Truth be told, I ended up skipping about the middle third of the book, which ended in predictable chick-lit fashion. I guess this would make a good beach read but otherwise, it seemed like a been-there-done-that kind of plot.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man and woman switch jobs and apartments in London and NYC for a month and discover a plot to get him fired. They, of couse, triumph and the ending is happy and loving all. Not as good as other Sisman books but a nice light story. And fun to hear it from many points of view, not just the main 2.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

My main problem with this book that it was just dragged on. It took forever to actually get to the main part of the plot, and then the plot took forever to actually work itself out. Not only that but the plot was so predictable and I could never really feel a connection to the characters, so I just couldn't care about what happened to them.

[Cjandres · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty predictable but I couldn't help but cheer for Suze and Lloyd. My heart goes out to Betsy, such a nice girl hoping for every girl's dream. Too bad Betsy's mom was kind of a downer but at least the book left at promising note for Betsy.

I liked it. It was heart warming. Loved the teamwork and hard work always pays of message.

[Bel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I find Sisman's writing style to be overly burdened with irrelevant details, which makes it seem like forever to get to the point. Often one can skip pages and still know what is going on, but the story is cute and I ended up liking it in the end. It's kind of like Sophie Kinsella's Undomestic Goddess and the movie The Holiday.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts rather slowly--and the description on the book jacket is deceptive. Suze and Lloyd's attempt to save Lloyd's job doesn't start until about page 200, after he is already fired. Still though, the ending made me want to cry and it was cute. I was glad everyone in the story vanquished the negative influences in their lives.

[Ruth Soz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVED Robyn Sisman's Just Friends, so every time I see she has a new book I want to pick it up in the hopes that it will be another good read. This was a fun one with a cute storyline, but not my favorite.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than expected chick lit! There was actually a good plot line with corporate intrigue along with the much more predictable, guy and girl eventually realize they are perfect for each other and live happily ever after.