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alohabooksandbujos's review
3.0
Ana Takes Manhattan offered an insider look at the behind the scenes of reality tv and the life and love of the producer herself set to capture extravagant engagements.
While the premise was intriguing and a good bit of the character cast was fun to keep up with, I really struggled with connecting to Ana. The quirkiness of the lists was a fun element but got to the too repetitive mark for me and the appeal was lost. I also struggled with Ana’s relationship with her best friend, it felt one dimensional and forced in ways. This still offered some laughs and was an easy and quick read. If you enjoy books about the reality television life, give it a go!
While the premise was intriguing and a good bit of the character cast was fun to keep up with, I really struggled with connecting to Ana. The quirkiness of the lists was a fun element but got to the too repetitive mark for me and the appeal was lost. I also struggled with Ana’s relationship with her best friend, it felt one dimensional and forced in ways. This still offered some laughs and was an easy and quick read. If you enjoy books about the reality television life, give it a go!
emily_loves_2_read's review
3.0
Ana Takes Manhattan
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 2/28/23
Author: Lissette Decos
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 368
GR: 3.26
I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.
Synopsis: Ana Karina loves her job—though she isn't quite where she thought she'd be by now. As reality tv producer, she orchestrates extravagant marriage proposals that always (read: mostly) go as planned. If they don't, she’s not afraid to cut and paste scenes to perfection afterward. Even if her arrogant film editor isn't a fan. But what does he know about romance anyway? If only Ana's love life was as simple as fixing botched engagements. She's sick and tired of guys who give her the ick. Ana's got a mile‑long list of all the cringey things to steer clear of. And Ana loves lists. Her to‑dos for her best friend's wedding, show ideas to pitch, and even her list of what she does want in Mr. Right. With only four requirements, why is it taking so long to find him? She’ll just date four men who each embody one quality. Never mind them lacking in other departments. Yet as she finds the Prince Charming in every frog, she also gets closer to facing who she’s avoided for years. Herself.
My Thoughts: I think I might of enjoyed this story more if I had the audio vs the book. The main character, Ana, has growth throughout the story, I would loved to have seen more growth. She was witty and a bit sarcastic. Gia, her best friend, I did not care for as much and I struggled with their relationship. This did have a romance element to it but felt more like women’s literature than a romance. The author did a great job with details of New York and behind the scenes at a reality TV show. There were some laugh out loud moments in the story. The ending of the story was abrupt and left me for wanting more. This was not a terrible read, I did enjoy it, I think I would have enjoyed it more on audio. I would recommend picking up the audiobook on this one.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 2/28/23
Author: Lissette Decos
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 368
GR: 3.26
I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.
Synopsis: Ana Karina loves her job—though she isn't quite where she thought she'd be by now. As reality tv producer, she orchestrates extravagant marriage proposals that always (read: mostly) go as planned. If they don't, she’s not afraid to cut and paste scenes to perfection afterward. Even if her arrogant film editor isn't a fan. But what does he know about romance anyway? If only Ana's love life was as simple as fixing botched engagements. She's sick and tired of guys who give her the ick. Ana's got a mile‑long list of all the cringey things to steer clear of. And Ana loves lists. Her to‑dos for her best friend's wedding, show ideas to pitch, and even her list of what she does want in Mr. Right. With only four requirements, why is it taking so long to find him? She’ll just date four men who each embody one quality. Never mind them lacking in other departments. Yet as she finds the Prince Charming in every frog, she also gets closer to facing who she’s avoided for years. Herself.
My Thoughts: I think I might of enjoyed this story more if I had the audio vs the book. The main character, Ana, has growth throughout the story, I would loved to have seen more growth. She was witty and a bit sarcastic. Gia, her best friend, I did not care for as much and I struggled with their relationship. This did have a romance element to it but felt more like women’s literature than a romance. The author did a great job with details of New York and behind the scenes at a reality TV show. There were some laugh out loud moments in the story. The ending of the story was abrupt and left me for wanting more. This was not a terrible read, I did enjoy it, I think I would have enjoyed it more on audio. I would recommend picking up the audiobook on this one.
amyka's review
3.0
The jacket cover seems much more "exciting" than the book itself. It was a cute fast read, but I read it a week ago and don't remember much about it other than I really liked learning about Ana's job as a reality TV producer. Worth a weekend read to escape it all.
danidsfavereads's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, i simultaneously enjoyed this one but was also annoyed.
Ana was a lot. She felt a little all over the place romantically. She was dating multiple people to find someone that fit her list of non-negotiables. I also didn’t quite understand what prompted the list or why she was so rigid to keeping to it.
I did like seeing how passionate she was for her job.
I don’t feel like Ana had enough character development. And what did happen all occurred right at the end of the book so it felt a bit rushed.
The narration and production of this audiobook was excellent. It did feel like Ana was a friend telling her story versus just listening to a book (if that makes sense).
Overall, an enjoyable book but if wasn’t a favorite.
Ana was a lot. She felt a little all over the place romantically. She was dating multiple people to find someone that fit her list of non-negotiables. I also didn’t quite understand what prompted the list or why she was so rigid to keeping to it.
I did like seeing how passionate she was for her job.
I don’t feel like Ana had enough character development. And what did happen all occurred right at the end of the book so it felt a bit rushed.
The narration and production of this audiobook was excellent. It did feel like Ana was a friend telling her story versus just listening to a book (if that makes sense).
Overall, an enjoyable book but if wasn’t a favorite.
deniseneutel's review
3.0
There was a lot that worked in this book and a lot that didn't. The best friend Gia. I can't say I loved her character, in fact I would say her 'flirty' texts were cheating and they made me cringe. The whole relationship between Ana and Gia had me cringing. I really hate lying and lying by omission is still lying. I liked Richard, but at the same time we barely got to know him, the feelings between Ana and Richard are developed entirely off page, they're just alluded to. As a matter of fact, much of the book is us being told of something that's happened rather than getting to experience it with the characters as it's happening.
There were also a lot of technical terms about filming and producing that I didn't follow. Seeing that the author is a producer herself explained that, but I still don't know what those terms mean.
There were also a lot of technical terms about filming and producing that I didn't follow. Seeing that the author is a producer herself explained that, but I still don't know what those terms mean.
byalexisrae's review
3.0
Ana Karina is a reality tv producer who orchestrates over-the-top proposals everyday. However, her own love life is lacking and she's looking for her own romance. She finds an old list she made in college with the four things she wanted in a man - a romantic talented artist who gave her butterflies and made her laugh. She decides to go out with four different guys who all embody one of the criteria on her list, hoping she'll feel fulfilled by each of the guys who have aspects of her dream man.
This was a pretty fun debut! It was a bit slow at times and more character than plot driven, but it was laugh-out-loud funny at times as well. I enjoyed Ana's growth throughout the book, though I wondered at times why she was dating some of the men when she didn't seem to like them all that much. Ana tells us at the beginning of the book that she thinks her REAL dream man is Landon, the best man in her best friend Gia's wedding, after only seeing a photo of him. She obsesses over him for most of the book, though she's never really spoken to him and doesn't make any effort to. Her fawning over Landon sort of threw me off because she seemed to want him so much, without knowing him at all or trying to form a relationship, even when she had the opportunity to attempt to do so.
Speaking of Gia, she was the worst! She was not an enjoyable character at all, flirting with other men when she was engaged and sending them photos of her in her wedding dress. She just did not seem like a good person, or even a very supportive friend to Ana. I wish we got to see more of Ana interacting with her family, especially her stepmother, as I felt that was an underutilized part of the narrative. There were a lot of scenes that felt unfinished, especially the date scenes with the various men Ana was seeing. I did enjoy the ending and who Ana ended up with, though it did feel a bit rushed and I wished we got more time with them.
Overall, this was a fun story! I would definitely put it in the contemporary/women's ficiton genre rather than romance; at the end of the day, the book was about Ana's growth rather than her relationships, and I did enjoy how she progressed as the book went on.
Thanks to Netgalley and Forever for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
This was a pretty fun debut! It was a bit slow at times and more character than plot driven, but it was laugh-out-loud funny at times as well. I enjoyed Ana's growth throughout the book, though I wondered at times why she was dating some of the men when she didn't seem to like them all that much. Ana tells us at the beginning of the book that she thinks her REAL dream man is Landon, the best man in her best friend Gia's wedding, after only seeing a photo of him. She obsesses over him for most of the book, though she's never really spoken to him and doesn't make any effort to. Her fawning over Landon sort of threw me off because she seemed to want him so much, without knowing him at all or trying to form a relationship, even when she had the opportunity to attempt to do so.
Speaking of Gia, she was the worst! She was not an enjoyable character at all, flirting with other men when she was engaged and sending them photos of her in her wedding dress. She just did not seem like a good person, or even a very supportive friend to Ana. I wish we got to see more of Ana interacting with her family, especially her stepmother, as I felt that was an underutilized part of the narrative. There were a lot of scenes that felt unfinished, especially the date scenes with the various men Ana was seeing. I did enjoy the ending and who Ana ended up with, though it did feel a bit rushed and I wished we got more time with them.
Overall, this was a fun story! I would definitely put it in the contemporary/women's ficiton genre rather than romance; at the end of the day, the book was about Ana's growth rather than her relationships, and I did enjoy how she progressed as the book went on.
Thanks to Netgalley and Forever for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
emilyisoverbooked's review
DNF - wasn’t connecting and couldn’t handle a numbered list on every third page.