The Girl in Times Square

Lily is just trying to finish school in New York City, but then her roommate disappears. The missing persons detective assigned to the case seems to think Lily's brother, of all people, is involved. Her mother then slides into an alcoholic stupor, and she herself is delivered an ominous medical diagnosis.

The Bronze Horseman is one of my favorite novels, so I was at once eager to read another work by Paullina Simons and anxious that it wouldn't live up to my expectations after that monumental experience. All in all, I was not disappointed. I loved Lily, her quirks, her struggles, her demons and especially her victories. Naturally, I was rooting for her and Spencer, who is also damaged, but also had perpetual misgivings about whether show more their relationship was even possible. This is an irresistible book of strength, pain, promise, family secrets, hope and tragedy. Having said that, the conclusion seemed hastily thrown together, which was dissatisfying. The book ends with the most significant obstacle in Lily and Spencer's relationship puzzlingly unaddressed.

I received this ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. show less

This book was not at all what I thought it would be based on the blurb on the back. Yes, there is a mystery, and yes a girl and a detective are brought together because of it, but really, that is the smallest part of the story. The big part of the story is that Lily has cancer. And for a book about cancer, this was an excellent read. It really dove into the affects of the diagnosis, the reaction from her loved ones, and her internal struggle. The only real problem I had with this book is that the romance and mystery aspects were completely unnecessary. I would have found it much more enjoyable if this were a book about Lily's cancer and her family and her life in New York City. Those aspects were wonderfully well-written and left me show more thinking long after I put the book down. show less

In some ways the plot of this novel felt like a soap opera - cancer! terrible family! murdered roommate! affair with investigating police officer! winning the lottery! But days after I finished the novel, I found myself still thinking about the conflicts that Lily faced. She starts out being deliberately blind to much of the more unpleasant parts of her life. But there's something about facing death that begins Lily's growth. She has to look a lot of unpleasant things in the face, but behind those things, there is grace and redemption. I especially liked her relationship with Spencer. Despite himself, Lily changes him in fundamentally good ways.

I am so in love with Paullina Simons’s writing. She captured me with The Bronze Horseman, and I have been a fan ever since. The Girl in Times Square just solidifies my admiration of her work. It is one of the most heart wrenching stories I have read.

Lily Quinn is twenty-four and still in college since she lacks a few credits to graduate. Lily just can’t seem to get her life together. Her boyfriend has moved out of their tiny apartment she shares with her friend Amy and now she has to pay his portion of rent. She can barely afford her share. Feeling like she is drifting, she lets her grandmother talk her into visiting her mother in Hawaii.

After three weeks of doing nothing but laying in the sun, Lily gets a call from Spencer show more O’Malley, a New York detective. Amy is missing and he has questions. Lily hops on the next plane back to the states. Once the interview with Detective O’Malley is complete, she still finds herself drawn to him and him to her. Amidst the search for Amy, Lily gets the most devastating news a person her age could. Amidst all of this Amy has to struggle with a dysfunctional family. What does not kill you makes you stronger. Right?

This book has it all, family drama, mystery, romance, tragedy all put together in the beautiful, lyrical prose that the author is known for. To be honest, I struggled with the first sixty or so pages; but, the prose is so good I keep going and I was drawn into this wonder story of a young girl who somehow finds her way despite the curve balls she gets thrown. Beyond the prose, the characters are so fully represented on the pages as to make them feel more like family. Even the characters I disliked, I understand and to some degree had empathy with.

Just a few minor, and I do mean minor, things that were negatives for me. The first minor issue I have is (it is not a negative for me but maybe for others) despite the wonderful prose the book is a bit verbose for some tastes. I do not mind, I lean to the side of more is better, rather than the other way around. Yet, I realize some readers need a book to move along quickly or they lose interest. Also, I felt like there were two MAJOR story lines here, the mystery of Amy’s disappearance and the stuff going on with Lily. Each story line could have stood on its own. Therefore, it felt kind of heavy or messy, for lack of a better words.

I struggled with the rating on this one. Is it a 4 or is it 5? Will I read it again? Maybe. So, not quite a 5 but close enough that I will round up to a 5.

I especially recommend The Girl in Times Square to readers of romance and family relationships such as Nora Roberts only with better prose.

For more of my reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com show less

Lily is my first book by this author. I found it well-written and terribly interesting. Lily Quinn isn't your typical twenty-four-year-old airhead and college dropout. No. She's much more than that. She's a study in contradictions—as is this book about her life. This story (which is almost 600 pages long) of Lily's life lingers much too long on Lily's dysfunctional family and her battle with cancer when it's really about a missing roommate, Amy—who Lily loved but never really knew, her relationship with the detective, Spencer, sent to investigate the case, and her brother, Andrew's involvement. This really seemed like two stories in one book. Her editor could have been more involved and cut about a hundred pages. And yet, I read the show more entire thing and was glad I hung in there. The ending was delicious when I realized what was about to happen to the nasty sister, Anne. show less

Have you ever been at a restaurant where the waitress reads off a special, and you think to yourself, "Wow! Most of those ingredients sound really good; but they don't all go together and it's just too much." So I don't want the special, but I have to admire the creativity and ambition of the chef. That's how I felt about this book.

[Warning! Slight spoilers ahead] So let's talk about the ingredients of this book:

- A missing girl
- A girl developing a career as an artist
- A May/December romance
- Cancer
- A multi-million dollar lottery win
- Alcoholism
- A cop being investigated by Internal Affairs
- A toxic mother/daughter relationship
- A family secret involving infidelity
- Another family secret involving another infidelity
- A family secret show more involving Nazis
- Weird religious cults
- Political fanaticism
- Hallucinogenic drugs
- A weenie roast involving a dude's actual weenie (I think that scene scarred me for life)

...and, if the narrative went on for 5 minutes longer:

- The 9/11 attacks in NYC.

There are probably a bunch of other things I forgot. So there was a lot going on here. And yet, there were large stretches of time when I was kind of bored. I am on record as being anti-trilogy but there was definitely enough material here for at least a trilogy, and it still would have seemed like a ridiculous amount of drama to happen to one person.

I really don't know how to rate this crazy thing. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. I don't think it was a great success but kind of a spectacular near miss.

A note on the audio book: The woman who narrated did a really good job, giving all of the characters a unique voice etc. And her voice wasn't overtly annoying. So it feels unfair to say so, but for some reason, I found her performance to be detrimental to my enjoyment of the book - especially towards the end. show less

An author new to me, plus I usually avoid books over 500 pages, at least for the most part. Wasn't at all sure what to expect, but I won the book so I thought I may as well open it and see how I felt. Could always quit reading if it didn't appeal. I loved it. A missing person case, that turns into a whole new something else. Enticing and well rounded characters, the mixing of many different fictional elements, a medical story, a survivor story that again turns into something more. Shouldn't have worked. Should have been confusing, but it wasn't and it did. I was captivated, willing to go wherever this author lead. Immersive, surprising because one never knew what turn it would next take.

Disappointed when it was over, and at over 600 show more pages it was for me a quick read. Love when however much and whatever we read we can still be surprised when a book captures our attention like this did mine.

ARC from Librarything. show less