REVIEW: New York for Beginners by Susann Remke

New York for Beginners by Susann Remke: After her boyfriend declares he’s leaving her to marry his first love, Zoe accepts a transfer to the New York office. Her first night there she meets a handsome neighbor, who she finds out is more than just a neighbor. She has to decide if she wants to try to build a relationship with him, despite her no getting in a relationship rule, all while trying to acclimate to a new country.

Zoe develops over time. When she first arrives in New York, she doesn’t seem to really know what she wants. As the story progresses, however, she discovers who she is, what makes her happy, and she does her best to get what she wants.

Tom, her “neighbor”, can’t decide between wanting to claim Zoe as his own or push her away. There’s a lot of back and forth. He hides things from her, things she should know about from him but instead she has to find out on her own. And when she takes a trip back to Germany he basically stalks her, which was a little creepy.

Having been to New York City quite often, it was nice to see it through the eyes of someone who hadn’t experienced it before. You could almost feel Zoe’s excitement as she took in the sights and sounds.

There were parts of the book that moved slowly, and others that had no closure. For example, Zoe has a disastrous lunch with Tom’s mother, yet she doesn’t confide in him about what happened. Then it’s not brought up again. It just felt incomplete. There’s also a cliffhanger ending, which I’m not a big fan of.

New York for Beginners was good but not great. I was hoping for more, for some type of closure, but was left hanging.
 

Book Info:

Publication: August 4, 2015 | AmazonCrossing |

Fashion blogger Zoe Schuhmacher adores her life in Berlin—until her longtime boyfriend unexpectedly dumps her for his “first love.”

After the messy breakup, Zoe is determined to refocus on her career and to reinvent herself, starting with rule number one: no relationships and no romance. So when she’s offered a job in glamorous New York City, Zoe accepts at once, hoping to leave heartbreak behind and build a new life in America. But as she struggles to adapt to the city that never sleeps and its particular quirks and customs, Zoe wonders if she’s bitten off more than she can chew. And after a steamy encounter with a gorgeous neighbor, Zoe has to make a decision: Will she keep her resolve and play it safe, or will she throw the rule book out the window and follow her heart?