Sunset In Central Park

What a beautiful story and another masterpiece from the queen of the romantic trilogy. I can't work out whether I liked Frankie and Matt's story more, or the subtle link ins to Puffin Island, that led to me being able to catch up with various characters from the Puffin Island trilogy.

But as much as its great to catch up with old characters, learning about a whole new romance is always great fun, and I have devoured reading this book. Frankie is the sort of person who thinks she is bad at love, not a fan of sex and generally quite inexperienced, but if I'd had her childhood, I would probably be the same way. She is scared to trust men, and doesn't give her heart to anyone easily, but she has secret feeling for her best friend's brother.

What was apparent in even the first book of this of this wonderful series, is that Matt clearly has feelings for Frankie, but knowing her as well as he does, he knows if anything was to happen it has to be taken slowly.

The scenes between Matt and Frankie were initially loaded with double entendre and some fantastic tension, that I could feel the unspoken attraction just jumping off the pages. And when the inevitable happens, the tenderness of the first time, and how Matt treats her is so good to see.

It was of course great to catch up with Frankie's best friends Eva and Paige, and we also get treated to a storyline involving Matt's co-worker Roxy who is brave and quite remarkable. There is a lot going on in this brilliant book, and at no point was I anything other than enchanted with the storytelling.

As a huge fan of romance books, I am always astounded when someone tells me they haven't discovered Sarah Morgan yet, and I urge you, if that is you, to rectify that as soon as possible, as once you read one, you will be hooked.

With a mix of great romantic gestures, a fitting first date, some artistic flower arrangements, roof top terrace gardens, Central Park, and even a cameo by Puffin Island, this is another truly stupendous story by this talented author.

Thank you so much to Cara Frances at MIRA & Netgalley for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.

Actually I’m a little lost for words – unusual as I’m Irish and a writer to boot!

Its not so much the story – three girls in a house with one man has been done before, ‘Man about the house’ immediately springing to mind but not like this. So if it’s not the story what is it that made me read this in one sitting? It’s the words.

I spoke at the start about another writer, who will remain nameless but her book bored me. Too much dialogue interspersed with too much monologue and not enough plotting. ‘Show not tell’ is the mantra of editors and publishing houses across the globe and Sarah has this down to a fine art. Just like with Maya Angelou’s view on music so it is with my view on reading.
Books have to entice me like an erstwhile lover, but not with chocolates and flowers with 26 letters placed in the right order and plotting that shifts and changes with each page read. I wasn’t bored, I was enthralled. This is how it should be done and Sarah deserves her label of magician.

Claws was well thought out. I had a cat once like claws, I still have the scars – and for Jaws… The writing is flawless and as for the research. I know about gardens, probably more than most as my brother is a horticulturalist and Sarah has certainly dipped more than her toes into this field – she’s tipped her whole leg!

Why do we read? There’s nothing worse than change – well actually there is – There’s nothing worse than monotony! Sarah, like any other good writing magician will help you escape by trapping you inside her pages – believe me, you won’t want to escape.

Sarah Morgan is one of my discoveries of the year and everything about her stories, couples and writing works for me. Having loved Sleepless in Manhattan and Midnight at Tiffany's I was excited to dive into Sunset in Central Park, and it doesn't disappoint.

"Sunset in Central Park, it doesn't get any more perfect."

The best-friends older brother trope is one of my absolute favourites and I always appreciate a story paced to create build-up between the couple in question. And when you have a heroine who isn't a believer in love or happy ever afters, you know the hero is going to have his work cut out.

"Romance has the same effect on me as garlic does on vampires."

I've said characters are relatable before but seriously, Frankie is frighteningly like me. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to the reader; guarded and a stubborn to the point of frustration I'm sure she'll be a character that splits reader opinion. But from her independence and love of alone time, to her no mess way with words, her honesty, awkwardness with complements, inability to flirt, horror at the thought of people hugging her, yet fierce love for her closest friends, she's remarkably similar to me; I related hugely to her and whilst I'm certainly not saying I love myself, I did love her.

"He was a man in a million."

Patient, gentle and absolutely resolute that he and Frankie are right for one another and determined to show her what she's missing out on, Matt Walker is a very sexy guy in a quietly confident and unassuming way and I was cheering him on from the start. And when he uttered almost the exact same words that my husband said to me on our first date, he completely stole my heart.

"You have beautiful eyes, and they’re beautiful with or without the glasses."

With Paige, Jake and Eva each bringing personality and life to the story with their humour, banter and lovely touching moments, plus the introduction of Roxy and James (I sense something brewing there), Sunset in Central Park was a delight to read.

"Magic happens in this city. It’s full of hope and possibilities."

I can't wait to return to Manhattan for Eva's story later this year; if it's as strong as Paige and Jake's, and Frankie and Matt's, then I'll be singing from the top of the Rockefeller Centre.

5 - "It doesn't get any more perfect." Stars!

There is just something about Sarah Morgan’s writing and characterizations that draws me in as a reader. I think we all connect more with certain authors, and this is an author that works for me in every way.

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Being the second full book in the author’s From Manhattan With Love series, if you have read the predecessor, as a reader you are already well introduced to Matt Walker and Frankie Cole, this series is based around three women making it in the Big Apple, and as such their lives as well as their careers are very much intertwined. I think this is one of the main things that the author excels at with her books, although they can all be read as standalones if you put them together and read any of her series in sequence, you are given a story that is just perfectly balanced in relation to character growth, emotional connection and plot development.

"One day when you least expect it, you’re going to fall in love."

Urban Genie was born in the last book after the girls were unceremoniously made redundant from their old event planners company, and now a few months down the line Paige, Eva and Frankie are making quite the name for themselves as the company to go-to for any and all of your needs. Be it dog walking, cake baking or flower arranging, to the big corporate events and weddings they were used to handling at their old employers. But for Frankie it’s all about the plants, and roof garden design in particular. Something she hasn’t had a lot of chance to do since starting up the new business, but Matt, being a close friend, and Paige’s brother is short a designer on his latest project and Frankie is the woman he wants for the job.

"I’ve never been afraid of complicated… I’ve never been the kind of guy who thinks something worth having has to be easy to get."

Oh my WOW, Sarah literally blew the ball out of Battery Park and into the hemisphere with this book, I love a romance where it isn’t rushed, this is a couple that have known each other for years and years, Matt thinks he knows all there is to know about Frankie, but as he delves deeper and tries to get to know her more as a woman he is and has always been attracted to, he starts to realize just how much there is that he doesn’t know, mainly because this is a woman who over the years has managed to throw up barriers and road-blocks to keep herself distanced and emotionally unavailable to anybody but her two closest girl-friends. The reasons for that become apparent as the book progresses, and if like me you are a girl/woman who has struggled with confidence for any reason in the past/present or the future you are going to feel a little kinship with this character.

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We get to go back to Puffin Island through the progress of this couple’s story, and catch up with all the characters from that series as well, which was a major plus, but for me it just added to the building of the deeper connection between Matt and Frankie on a romantic level, as he literally stands beside her, faces her fears with her. The Island doesn’t hold a lot of good memories for her, and he makes it his mission to give her a whole new set of good ones to take the bad away.

"I’m terrified of loving you… But I’m even more terrified of losing you."

This is one of those books that sucks you in, in all honesty I think every book I have read by the author has done that, but there is something just a little bit special with this story, I don’t know whether its due to the fact I kind of related to Frankie, or it’s just because the author has a way of bringing you into every aspect of the story as its being told.

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I have never been to New York, but I could just see everything that is described in the book as if I had, and the same happens wherever she takes you.

"This is New York City. The most romantic destination on the planet."

It most certainly is when Sarah Morgan is writing about it anyway! Miracle on 5th Avenue is due in October, Eva finally gets her HEA, and around Christmas as well, the author excels at her Christmas romance offerings so I cannot wait to read it.

ARC generously provided via Netgalley, and it was an absolute pleasure to provide the above honest review.

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading all about Frankie and Matt, Frankie is a wonderful character that I instantly liked. She is strong but with hidden depths and feelings. Matt is pretty perfect and I loved how patient he was in every situation. The friendship between all of the characters is one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much. Sarah Morgan manages to bring her characters to life. By the end of her books I almost feel like I know them all personally. I liked the addition of Roxy it added an extra depth to the story, it would be lovely to read more about her and her daughter. Most of all I loved the chemistry between Frankie and Matt it was fun, intense and had lots of sizzling tension.

The story flowed really well and there were no slow or stilted parts to this book. The plot moved at a good pace and kept my interest throughout. I definitely had to keep reading to see how things would turn out. It was also lovely to read and catch up with the characters from the book series which was set on Puffin Island.

Even though Sunset in Central Park is part of a series you could easily read this as a standalone book. However it really is that good that I am sure once you read this book you will want to start at the beginning and read all about Paige and Jake.

The From Manhattan with Love series just gets better and better and I can't wait for the last in the series to see if Eva gets her happy ever after!

Overall:

This book is a perfect summer read, the setting is lovely with characters that will stay with you.

Sunset in Central Park is charming, delightful and very romantic!

Five stars from me!

Thank you to Mira Books & Netgalley for my copy to read and review. This is my honest opinion.

Sunset in Central Park by Sarah Morgan is the 2nd book in her From Manhattan with Love Series, it doesn't matter if you've not read the 1st book you are introduced to all the characters from the start so you can fall straight into reading the book. This book focuses on the ups and downs of Frankie and Matt and their relationship and you are swept along on their journey with all the ups and downs.
It was beautifully written and a real page turner, It kept me hooked from the first few pages. Read this book you won't be disappointed.

Earlier on this year I read Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan. It was the first book of Sarah’s that I’d ever read and I absolutely loved everything about it. I, therefore, couldn’t wait to read the second book in the series, Sunset in Central Park. Given how much I enjoyed the first installment it had a lot to live up to but it turned out to be just as perfect as the first one. It really helped to cheer me up and put a massive smile on my face.

In Sunset in Central Park we are once again reunited with Paige, Frankie and Eva, three best friends who run their own events company, Urban Genie. This time round, the story’s told from the perspective of Frankie, a young woman who having witnessed the unpleasant aftermath of her parent’s divorce at a young age does not believe in love, weddings or happy ever afters. However, in addition to Paige and Eva, another one of Frankie’s very good friends is Matt. Matt is Paige’s brother and has always had feelings for Frankie which as time goes on become harder to control. The question is, can he convince Frankie to change her mind and convince her that love does exist?

It was so good to be back with Paige, Frankie and Eva who I grew to love so much whilst reading Sleepless in Manhattan. It very much felt like I was reconnecting with old friends and it was great to see how the dynamic between them all hadn’t changed - they still connected with eachother really well and were all still incredibly supportive of eachother. Even though I highly recommend reading Sleepless in Manhattan because it is an incredible book, each of the characters backgrounds is described in enough detail throughout the novel to mean that Sunset in Central Park could very easily be read as a standalone novel.

Sarah Morgan’s beautiful writing style that made Sleepless in Manhattan so good for me really shone through during the whole of Sunset in Central Park. It didn’t falter once and was so easy to become wrapped up in to the point that I lost all track of time and temporarily forgot that real life existed. Throughout the novel there are some really memorable moments and all in all I strongly believe that this will make the perfect summer read.

“A book can give you most things a relationship can. It can make you laugh, it can make you cry, it can transport you to different worlds and teach you things. You can even take it out to dinner. And if it bores you, you can move on”. I’m not one to quote books in reviews, but when I read this in Sunset in Central Park I couldn’t help but think how true that statement is and knew I had to share it. With the exception of boring me, Sunset in Central Park ticked pretty much all of those boxes - it made me laugh, it made me cry, it transported me to a city I’m now even more desperate to visit and taught me a lot about life in general.

In case you haven’t already been able to tell I loved Sunset in Central Park so much, and it has confirmed exactly why I will not hesitate to pick up any of Sarah’s future books. I’m already looking forward to reading, Miracle on 5th Avenue, when it’s out later this year but for now award Sunset in Central Park with five shimmering gold stars!

Following Sleepless in Manhatton we are back with Paige, Eva and Frankie living in their brownstone building owned by Paige's brother Matt and separated into apartments for them.

This time it's Frankie's story, she had never been interested in men being the product of a very bitter divorce as a child and hating anything to do with romance and definitely not believing in weddings or happy ever afters which can be a bit of a problem when a majority of the business for their events company is to do with weddings!

So when Matt asks for help with designing a roof terrace she agrees to help him out, even though she is starting to have very funny feelings about him - she definitely needs to get rid of them!

Matt however is head over heels in love with her and is not going to be put off however slowly he has to take it and so he decides to woo her as gently as he can and get get over all the issues that she has putting her off men and romance

A lovely warm lighthearted read again and great to be back with all the characters definitely looking forward to the next one in the series

If you have read the first book in this series then you have already been introduced to Frankie and Matt. These two characters have chemistry that both of them try to ignore because they have been friends for years and neither want to risk losing this until the chemistry combusts and Matt has to try and convince Frankie that they have a chance.

Frankie does not think she is relationship material has she as not had a good role models while growing up because her mother has had a string of failed relationships after her dad left them after having affairs, so Frankie is disheartened to love and feels it never works. Frankie is the garden and flower expert in Urban Genie

Matt is Paige's brother and has his own business - design and landscaping and has had feelings for Frankie for years but knows that he would have to wait for the right timing to bring up how he feels because of Frankie's past. The timing arrives when Matt needs Frankie's help with a project he is doing and along with his sisters help, persuades Frankie to help him as she loves to work on roof gardens and she feels comfortable being with Matt while working. However she does not know how to react when he starts to flirt with her and she realises that Matt may have feelings for her too.

I loved this story of how Matt works his way around all Frankie's issues. We even get back to Puffin Island, I don't want to add spoilers so I am not going to say anymore but Sarah Morgan - you know how to write a page turner, I can not wait for Eva's book and I hope some of the other new characters we are learning to love in this series get their happy ending too.

This is what I call a MUST READ if you are a romantic and I give it a well earned 5 stars.