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temporarei's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU ALL I LOVE YOU LILLY I LOVE YOU SPENCER MWUAH MWUAH MWUAH
themaritimereader14's review against another edition
4.0
This book was on my TBR for AGES because a good friend of mine had rated it 5 stars almost 10 years ago. haha. I was super intrigued by her rating and figured this book would be really good. It was really good and it certainly held my interest throughout. My only complaint was that it was INSANELY long and it felt like I just wanted to figure out what was going on. It didn't feel long while I was reading it, but I just wanted to get to the end. So I guess it was a bit of a practice in delayed gratification? haha. I guess I want my thrillery-what's-going-on-here books to be more around 300 pages, but that's my problem. :)
Really enjoyed a few of the characters in this book, despised others, but overall it was a good enough read!
Really enjoyed a few of the characters in this book, despised others, but overall it was a good enough read!
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
Weighing in at hefty 608 pages, The Girl in Times Square by Paullina Simons is a lengthy, occasionally meandering novel, that begins as a mystery then turns into a family drama and toward the end, a romance. A solid read, but some readers might lose patience with the time it takes to resolve the multiple story arcs.
At twenty-four, Lily Quinn is broke and struggling to complete her degree when her roommate, Amy McFadden, goes missing. Lily is bit aimless and drifting, easy to manipulate and a somewhat fanciful young woman who is often her own worst enemy as she ignores problems instead of dealing with them. She is also amazingly unhelpful when missing persons Detective Spencer O'Malley questions her about Amy after she is reported missing by her mother. Lily is not an easy character to like or empathize with as she faces some very daunting issues that extend behind her missing roommate.
Spencer O'Malley is a crack detective whose personal life is full of tragedy. He is closemouthed about his private life but very dedicated to his career. Despite spending his days immersed in the darker side of life, Spencer is kind, caring and compassionate. He has a pretty good idea what happened to Amy and he also has a viable suspect to investigate. But he is in for an uphill battle to find out the truth as he quickly discovers that Lily's answers are vague and without much substance and his prime suspect uses his position to try to ruin O'Malley's career.
Lily's family is dysfunctional and every member is somewhat self-absorbed. Her mother is a raging alcoholic and her father is the worst type of enabler who is miserable in his marriage yet he cannot bring himself to walk away. Her sisters are selfish and completely disinterested in Lily's life until they stand to gain something from her. Lily is close to her much older brother Andrew, but as she comes to discover, he is not the man she thinks he is. Lily's grandma is the best of the lot but even she has a few idiosyncrasies and quirks.
Although it takes a while to hit its stride, The Girl in Times Square is an interesting novel but is does suffer a bit of an identity crisis due to the numerous story arcs and multiple genres. The mystery surrounding Amy's disappearance is the most compelling part of the novel, but for a good portion of the story, it takes a backseat to the unfolding drama with Lily and her broken family. Despite his flaws (and maybe because of them?) Spencer is the most likable and realistic character in the book. With unexpected twists, shocking turns and a bit of melodrama, Paullina Simons wraps up the novel's various storylines and brings the novel to a decent conclusion. However, there are a few threads left dangling since the fate of one of the characters remains unknown.
At twenty-four, Lily Quinn is broke and struggling to complete her degree when her roommate, Amy McFadden, goes missing. Lily is bit aimless and drifting, easy to manipulate and a somewhat fanciful young woman who is often her own worst enemy as she ignores problems instead of dealing with them. She is also amazingly unhelpful when missing persons Detective Spencer O'Malley questions her about Amy after she is reported missing by her mother. Lily is not an easy character to like or empathize with as she faces some very daunting issues that extend behind her missing roommate.
Spencer O'Malley is a crack detective whose personal life is full of tragedy. He is closemouthed about his private life but very dedicated to his career. Despite spending his days immersed in the darker side of life, Spencer is kind, caring and compassionate. He has a pretty good idea what happened to Amy and he also has a viable suspect to investigate. But he is in for an uphill battle to find out the truth as he quickly discovers that Lily's answers are vague and without much substance and his prime suspect uses his position to try to ruin O'Malley's career.
Lily's family is dysfunctional and every member is somewhat self-absorbed. Her mother is a raging alcoholic and her father is the worst type of enabler who is miserable in his marriage yet he cannot bring himself to walk away. Her sisters are selfish and completely disinterested in Lily's life until they stand to gain something from her. Lily is close to her much older brother Andrew, but as she comes to discover, he is not the man she thinks he is. Lily's grandma is the best of the lot but even she has a few idiosyncrasies and quirks.
Although it takes a while to hit its stride, The Girl in Times Square is an interesting novel but is does suffer a bit of an identity crisis due to the numerous story arcs and multiple genres. The mystery surrounding Amy's disappearance is the most compelling part of the novel, but for a good portion of the story, it takes a backseat to the unfolding drama with Lily and her broken family. Despite his flaws (and maybe because of them?) Spencer is the most likable and realistic character in the book. With unexpected twists, shocking turns and a bit of melodrama, Paullina Simons wraps up the novel's various storylines and brings the novel to a decent conclusion. However, there are a few threads left dangling since the fate of one of the characters remains unknown.
slowpoke_fiona's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
mirandarin's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alienlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Light spoilers - There are too many elements in this for me. The last one pushed me over the edge. Looking back, I understand that the setting in the late 90’s was deliberate, and I suppose the point is to say that every person has a lifetime of struggle, and that behind every event there are so many lives lived. But the feel of the book changed too many times, and I was pulled out of ‘suspension of disbelief’ in the last pages, which was disconcerting.
graff_fuller's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was NOTHING like I thought it would be. I thought that this book would be a light romance with a mystery involved. Well, i was wrong. Really, really, really wrong.
This book was DEEP. The concepts of addiction, mortality, enabling, suffering, love, respect, determination, hopelessness, hopefulness, hatred, narcissism, philanthropy...I could go on.
I was chasing the murderer, the how, the why, the when and still did not get it right. Oh, I think we pretty well knew who did it, but knowing is not proving.
The struggles that these people went through were hard to take at moments, but then when I look at my life...I know people who are struggling with more.
I really didn't like Lily at first. BUT, it took Spencer for me to start to see who she was. I think it took Spencer for Lily to find out who she was, too.
That is why I think the readers could follow their "romance", because we were struggling with it...just like they were. How to define it, how to encourage it. There were moments where this was PURE Romance book...Harlequin Romance book, but I could forgive it...for there was suffering before and a LOT of suffering after. They deserved their passionate love that they had for each other...without reservation.
Lily's mother was a tough character to read about, but so was her father.
Lily's siblings were the "hangers oners" that come out of the woodwork...when people win/earn money.
The steadfastness of Spenceer through Lily's outrages against him, the Internal Affairs intrusions into EVERY aspect of his life was brutal, the cavity that he sunk into with his own demons, but the resoursefulness of a functioning alcoholic was apparent.
This is a complicated story...and I liked the way it ended. It could have ended differently, and I would have been sad, but also resigned to that end, too.
I cannot say that I enjoyed this book, for it was tough to read at times...for when people hate each other and spew forth vindictiveness, it isn't easy to read...even though you know "it is just a story", it still weadles its way into your soul.
The human spirit was celebrated in this story, in all its complexities. Life found a way...even through death...which we all knew was what happened. Sometimes knowing the truth, doesn't make it easier, but it does make the rest of the fantasy, stop.
Okay. I'm done. Phew.
This book was DEEP. The concepts of addiction, mortality, enabling, suffering, love, respect, determination, hopelessness, hopefulness, hatred, narcissism, philanthropy...I could go on.
I was chasing the murderer, the how, the why, the when and still did not get it right. Oh, I think we pretty well knew who did it, but knowing is not proving.
The struggles that these people went through were hard to take at moments, but then when I look at my life...I know people who are struggling with more.
I really didn't like Lily at first. BUT, it took Spencer for me to start to see who she was. I think it took Spencer for Lily to find out who she was, too.
That is why I think the readers could follow their "romance", because we were struggling with it...just like they were. How to define it, how to encourage it. There were moments where this was PURE Romance book...Harlequin Romance book, but I could forgive it...for there was suffering before and a LOT of suffering after. They deserved their passionate love that they had for each other...without reservation.
Lily's mother was a tough character to read about, but so was her father.
Lily's siblings were the "hangers oners" that come out of the woodwork...when people win/earn money.
The steadfastness of Spenceer through Lily's outrages against him, the Internal Affairs intrusions into EVERY aspect of his life was brutal, the cavity that he sunk into with his own demons, but the resoursefulness of a functioning alcoholic was apparent.
This is a complicated story...and I liked the way it ended. It could have ended differently, and I would have been sad, but also resigned to that end, too.
I cannot say that I enjoyed this book, for it was tough to read at times...for when people hate each other and spew forth vindictiveness, it isn't easy to read...even though you know "it is just a story", it still weadles its way into your soul.
The human spirit was celebrated in this story, in all its complexities. Life found a way...even through death...which we all knew was what happened. Sometimes knowing the truth, doesn't make it easier, but it does make the rest of the fantasy, stop.
Okay. I'm done. Phew.
ambamberam's review against another edition
3.0
This book is definitely not on trend with what I have been reading so maybe that's why I didn't enjoy it as much as I possibly could.
I felt like the ending definitely ramped up a bit which was good, but was so left-wing from the rest of the book and came out of nowhere that it felt a bit out of place
I felt like the ending definitely ramped up a bit which was good, but was so left-wing from the rest of the book and came out of nowhere that it felt a bit out of place
tashachowdory's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't know what to expect with this book, but I was amazed. I know a lot of people prefer 'The Bronze Horseman' but this was excellent. It had a lot of the things I like, a likable(ish) main character, familial relationships that strike a chord, and an honestly gripping mystery that only gets resolved (albeit hurriedly) towards the end of the story and romance! Also the protagonist was the same age as me, so it was even more apt. I couldn't put it down, can't recommend the book enough!!!
annekpancakes's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0