Amber Green is back, this time taking Manhattan by
storm. Gone are the hectic days of being an assistant to troubled stylist to
the stars Mona Armstrong. Now it’s all about making it on her own. Well not exactly,
she does have her dreamboat of a boyfriend—now a documentarian for a famous lingerie
brand—on her side with whom she shares a tiny apartment in the Big Apple. Not
to mention being aided by a John Galliano-like designer who has been unjustly
blackballed for apparently supporting Hitler. When a few innocent pics taken for her
fashion blog go viral Amber ends up right back in the spotlight—but is it for
good this time?
AMBER GREEN TAKES MANHATTAN (HQ) is
enjoyable but not as much as THE STYLIST, the prequel. There I said it. It
picks up six months later and focuses (too much) on her love life with Rob,
with a few run-ins with the Beautiful People as she tries to make a name for
herself. It’s only in the second half that we do get the sense that Amber is
back in action. Truth be told, I almost gave up on it at one time. This wasn’t
THE STYLIST I came to love. It felt more like a toned down version of it—as if
the author was in a desperate need to be taken more seriously as a writer (the
narrative feels indeed stronger), instead of letting the action speaks for itself.
BUT, I persevered, and it did pick up eventually.
I truly hope a third book is on the way. I still have
high hopes for this Amber Green character. She could be the next Becky
Bloomwood if the author plays her cards right. All it needs to achieve this
plateau is a better balanced plot and lots and lots of high fashion high jinks.
The romance can even take a back seat if it has to. Isn’t it what made THE
STYLIST so much fun to begin with?
Thanks
to the publisher and NetGalley for
the chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Until next post—Martin
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