After two intense, dead-end relationships, serial monogamist Alison finds herself confused, lonely, and drastically out of touch with the world of modern dating. Refusing to wallow, she signs up for a popular dating app and resolves to remain open-minded and optimistic as she explores the New York City singles’ scene. With the click of a button, her adventures begin: On one date, she’s dumped … before the first kiss; on another, she dons full HAZMAT gear; she meets a tattooed folk singer turned investment banker, an undercover agent who tracks illegal exotic animals, and dozens of other colorful, captivating personalities.
Giving them each her signature “pants speech”her pants aren’t coming off unless she has a real connection with someoneshe desperately wants to push past the awkward small-talk phase to find true love, but finding “the one” is starting to feel impossible. That is, until she meets Luke, who is sophisticated, funny, and not to mention, hot. Alison finds herself falling for Luke harder than any guy she’s dated and finally letting her walls down, but will he stick around or move on to his next match?
Match Made in Manhattan is a fast-paced, contemporary story about the struggles of dating in the digital age. Replete with online profiles, witty dialogue, and a super-supportive group of female friends, this all-too-real and relatable debut novel will have readers laughing, crying, and rooting for Alison all the way to the end.
more
In Amanda Stauffer’s Match Made in Manhattan, newly single Alison invites the reader on a journey through the NYC dating scene, not in a voyeuristic way, but in a best friend way. Alison is smart, witty, and optimistic. She, and her dates, are so relatable you may find yourself wanting to shoot her a text just to catch up on how she’s doing now.
While on the surface the book is an adventure in dating, with Alison as your guide, it becomes so much more. It’s a story of relationships, choices, discovery, and life. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I always admire well-written characters, and Amanda Stauffer tackled the challenging task of writing about dating life in Manhattan and making all of the characters distinct and believable. I spent much of my reading time with the question “Is he the one?” in my head, but the ending of the book challenges the reader to rethink what that might even mean.
In Amanda Stauffer’s Match Made in Manhattan, Alison’s long-term relationship with Dave ends over a plate of nachos. A twenty-seven-year-old serial monogamist who’s engaged in few relationships, Allison has a tendency to get involved with “easy” men–friends. She embarks on a binge of dating powered by Match.com and carries the reader through the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of the New York dating scene. An intelligent working woman with somewhat old-fashioned ideas (in comparison with her friends) regarding whether a man can “slide into home” by the third date, Allison . Every woman who has dated can relate to her choices. Dave, of the afore-mentioned nachos, backs out of moving in with her three-and-a-half years into their relationship, changing plans made a year prior. Matt, the oncologist, has been on Match nine years and interviews her á la Twenty Questions. Brendan breaks up with her after two coffee dates. The list continues with men Alison is attracted to, those she’s not attracted to, those who are more attracted to her than she to them, and vice versa.
Though superficially, this is a book on dating, it has a wonderful supporting cast encompassing Alison’s family and friends, including ex-boyfriends she’s remained close to, and those relationships are frequently more engaging than the men Alison encounters. My one criticism of this book is that the ending seemed rather abrupt with Alison’s year of dating wrapped up in roughly 10 pages.
I liked this book. I found it very original and well written. Great information about the ups and downs of online dating and the profesional life of an art conservationist. It is almost as watching a movie. The dialogues are rich with emotions and I got a great exposure to inner dialogues and motivations. Very well developed characters. I did not give it a 5 because I found a scene that was very offensive. The main character was going to a costume party which theme was “Havana Nights”. She selected a Lycra dress and referred to it as looking like a slut. Really Alyson, you are described as an educated woman and with above average cultural (at least art and cuisine) exposure. It would have been nice if you have chosen to represent music, or other aspects of Havana nights. Cuban women are great defender of human rights and education in Havana as well as Miami. We are not sluts. Well maybe you and your friends are such heavy drinkers of alcohol that your minds were not clear when deciding on your custom. For the most part I liked Alyson and admired her perseverance and assertiveness. She has a great group of friends. I recommend it.
Liked the realistic ending.
After reading some quite serious books I wanted to read something a little on the lighter side, sort of an easy read. The leading lady decided to try out on-line dating. And yes, it is not all just fun. One dating experience turns out to be kind of scary. I am glad I passed that hurdle a long time ago, before on-line dating. I do think on-line dating is often kind of a necessity though because your work may not be conducive to finding a suitable partner.
Very Boring. No story.
Don’t buy…a waste of money
Never a dull moment , entertaining for sure
Poorly edited/proofread. Major holes in life/actions of lead – disappointed!!
Not a fan of the ending.
Disappointed in the ending.
An unexpectedly thoughtful story of a young woman’s year on Match.com, Match Made In Manhattan is a delightfully unique spin on the genre that left me thinking about the how’s and why’s of romantic chemistry and what makes for a love match.
I found this book to be a light, easy read, though the beginning was a bit of a challenge. The paragraphs jumped around a bit and left me wondering, “Wait, what just happened?” But once I got through the first chapter, it became easier to read and follow what was going on.
Alison’s online dating adventures were amusing, and frankly, I’m grateful that I never had to go through that. I don’t think I could put myself out there like she did. There were times when the story and dialogue felt repetitive, but then I had to remind myself that this whole book is about Alison repeatedly going on first dates and meeting new guys so some repetition is understandable. It just became difficult for me after a while to distinguish one guy from another. But that’s probably what the online dating world feels like sometimes – meeting the same person over and over until you find that one who stands out, the one you remember because he is really unique.
I enjoyed the strong female friendships in this book. It’s always a plus when I can read about women being supportive of one another. I also enjoyed the ending. I won’t give away any spoilers. I’ll just say it took me by surprise, and I love it when a book can do that.
Overall, I think this book would be a great beach read or ideal for a long car or plane ride. When you find yourself wanting to escape into a light, amusing read, pick up Match Made in Manhattan.
Read full review at: KaitsBookshelf.com
Match Made in Manhattan