Book Review: Sunset in Central Park by Sarah Morgan
Sunset in Central Park is the second installment of Ms. Morgan’s trilogy, From Manhattan with Love. The trilogy follows the loves, laughs and fears of three life-long friends as they invade NYC and plan to take the Big Apple by storm. Of course, there is some thunder and lightning before the story ends, but it is to be expected!
This light-hearted and humorous book focuses on Frankie Cole. Frankie is a beautiful redhead with an aptitude for flowers and all things green. Traumatized in her teens when her father left her mother for a woman half his age, leaving her mother destroyed and in tears, Frankie mistrusts anything having to do with relationships – including weddings and bridal showers. This proves to be a stumbling block for the start-up event planning and concierge business she and her best friends are trying to get off the ground. Unfortunately for Frankie, her prowess as a floral designer is all the rage for a summer filled with weddings. She’s not quite sure she’ll survive.
Frankie and her two best friends, Eva and Paige, share space in a brownstone in Brooklyn that is owned by Paige’s brother Matt Walker. Matt is a landscape designer who specializes in rooftop gardens and has been in love with Frankie for more years than he can count. He’s sure that once he can get past her barrier wall of thorns he can teach her to trust her instincts and in turn, trust him to not run away and leave her weeping. His plan is further complicated by the reappearance of Frankie’s mother who has recovered from her divorce by taking up with any man young enough to capture her interest.
This book is well-written and packed with funny quips, quirky characters and steamy sex – just like any good romance novel. It departs from your run of the mill romance by providing the reader with characters who are well fleshed out, they have problems, they have bad habits and they make mistakes. All of this serves to cement your relationship with them and make you want to cheer for them when they succeed and weep for them when they don’t.
The descriptions of both New York City, Central Park, the brownstone and Puffin Island are so rich and so on point that you can close your eyes and imagine that you are in any of the places where the action in this novel takes place. This book is the perfect companion for late summer lazy days by the pool or a lunchtime escape for those who work. It is easy to read and it can be read in segments without losing its cohesiveness – that’s provided you can actually put it down!
I’m looking forward to the third installment and I hope that you will take the plunge into the series and keep me company as I work toward the conclusion. Happy reading!
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