Customer Reviews

The Perfect Manhattan: A Novel

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Cassie Ellis is about to graduate from Columbia. A budding writer, Cassie really wants to work on her own screenplay, but she doesn't understand how she will be able to write it and work full-time at a job she knows she will hate. While perusing the newspaper, an opportunity presents itself: Cassie could go to bartending school. It would be perfect! She could write all day and then bartend at night. Her screenplay would be done in a snap!

Unfortunately, Cassie fails bartending school. She doesn't let that stop her, though. Cassie lands a bartending gig in a class SoHo pub. She mingles with enough of the "right" people to find out that if she truly wants to make some quick cash, she should bartend in the Hamptons for the summer weekends. In need of cash and a little excitement, Cassie finds a job at Spark, the trendiest place in the Hamptons, and soon finds herself hob-knobbing with stars and local millionnaires.

One of those local millionnaires is the object of Cassie's crush: James Edmonton III. Soon, they're having a whirlwind romance, but Cassie begins to wonder if James is truly interested in her or defying his father by seeing her. Nevermind that her screenplay is totally not being written and that Cassie is completely exhausted. Can Cassie accomplish her goals and get the guy, too?

This book was so much fun to read! The authors really captured the bartending environment and bring it to life on the page. Cassie is a great character, if a little hard to get to know. This book is a breath of fresh air to the chick lit genre. Though some of our favorite and familiar elements are there, "The Perfect Manhattan" takes a walk on the wildside, which is much needed!

I would absolutely recommend this book!

I found this book to be a really fun read. I've never been to the Hamptons, but after reading The Perfect Manhattan, I have a clear mental image of what it must be like. The novel provides a lot of insight into the life of a bartender and the class issues that exist in the Hamptons. It's funny and easy to get through. Highly reccomended!

Great book, I have been in the restuarant/bar business for a couple of years and this book definitely hit all the areas of life in the summer. There is no time to play, sleep or have fun, but the stories and gossip that is heard makes up for it. Definitely passed this book on to my friends/co workers. Great Job... Fast easy to get through and did not want to put it down.

This was fun. It was a good look at what Hamptons lifestyle is sort of like and the bartending scene at the same time. Shopping, drinking etc. It's a page turner, keeps you entertained and helps pass away a lazy afternoon. It's enjoyable and an easy read.

Grab your bikini, a cool cocktail, The Perfect Manhattan and head for the beach! This sizzling summer read is perfection. You won't be able to pull yourself away, I promise! Cassie is a character you can hold on to, she is real and lives in us all. After graduating college she finds herself swept away by glamour and glitz only to find that this path of partying, celebrity, and trust funds just reinforces who she is and what she dreams to accomplish! Toomey and Shear provide a backstage pass to New York City nightlife and the many layers of the saucy Hamptons! We also get a gritty and different glance at the bar tending profession that will have you leaving your favorite bartender better tips! Take this ride, it insightful, thought-provoking and just plain FUN!

Encaptures the summer spirit in an empowering story of the search for one's self through working hard and partying harder!! You won't be able to put it down ~ a must read, perfect while perfecting your tan!

I have been hearing about this book for a while and was excited to pick it up. When I finally got my hands on it, I couldn't put it down for a second, it is absolutely terrific and it never disappointed. The look behind the bar provides an insiders view that is both smart and intriguing. Cassie's story of life after college is one that I could really relate to: uncertain about life and a career path, poor, confused, unlucky at love, all things I experienced to the nth degree. I loved this book and recommend it to everyone.

This story is one we can all can relate to - the long journey of finding yourself in the mist of partying, broken hearts, shots, and blurry (crazy) sleepless nights, and somehow, through it all persevering and coming out having a true understanding of who we are and what we value. I couldn't put this book down! It gives you a unique 360 degree view of being a bartender and the powerful draw of the glitzy and glamorous "celebrity" life. It will immediately cause an appreciation for the service industry and a desire to taste the New York City and Hampton night life! Shear and Toomey create a brilliant fine line of loving and feeling disappointed in our heroine (and in ourselves) as she gets us to sympathize with her desire to impress, while abandoning (just for a moment) who she really is. This book whisks you away and you find yourself so caught up in the exhilarating plot, that you are knee-deep in the desire to achieve this status and are routing for things that aren't necessarily in the main character's best interest. However, by the end she shows us the power and strength of being true to yourself, and we are a bit ashamed that we get so caught up in the first place! It is a book that you don't want to end, and as the pages dwindle you can't help but get bummed out - that this was that one great summer read! It is truly a MUST READ! Perfect for a BOOK CLUB!

I read about this book in a magazine and thought it sounded fun to read, and it was. The book is very descriptive and very well written and I enjoyed it so much and hated to see it end. Ms. Shear is a gifted writer and I'm sure a gifted bartender, too. She sounds like she is living a life full of friendship and fun and I wish her all the best.

So if Manhattan is in your blood, like it is in mine then this is a book you just can't miss. It almost makes me want to run out and become a bartender, until I read about the behind the scenes stuff that goes with it. I suppose my normal job, with all it's health benefits and 401k and pension plans will just have to be my future, but it sure is boring. The next time I'm in Manhattan I am going to make sure to stop by O'neils and buy me a drink and maybe, if I'm really lucky, I can do a few shots with the authors. Maybe some of their creative genius will rub off on me, if not, at least I will have a buzz when I leave.

This book fills that catergory with utmost ease. Telling a story that most of us were well aware prolly exsisted of our wealthy elitist in american society. I believe that we will all find much truth of our own wishes and desires in this book. We all dream for the bigger and better life not realizing all that may come with it. There is happiness but maybe not the kind of happiness that can be enjoyed from every point of view. As Cassie ultimately has to find out to be happy with herself being just as she is, an average working american-she is guided by an eclectic crowd of people.

I would overall recommend this book as a great travel companion or beach read. A great first book by the girls...congrats on your future conquests, I hope all goes so well as this.