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!
