10 Great Books Set in New York City
Today I’m participating in Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly book blogging prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. The goal is to write about your 10 favorite books in relation to a certain topic. This week’s prompt is to write about your top 10 books in a certain setting.
I thought long and hard about this prompt and decided to choose New York City. As a woman who grew up in the suburbs of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I’ve always been fascinated by the city.
I don’t know why. I’m an introvert, so the idea of crowds and public transportation and having to walk everywhere isn’t exactly my cup of tea. But I think that’s the point. The best part about fiction is that you can start reading a book and be transported into that world. I don’t have to live in New York City, because I can read about it in my favorite books.
So without further adieu, here are 10 books that I’ve enjoyed that take place in New York City. I have read or re-read all of these books within the past 10 years and enjoyed their depictions of the hustle and bustle of city living in New York.
10 Great Books Set in New York City
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
In Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries, Mia Thermopolis starts out as just your average ninth grader who’s failing algebra. But she soon finds out that her father is the Prince of Genovia, which makes her a princess.
And that means her entire life is about to change.
Although Mia’s father is based in Genovia, she grew up in New York City with her mother, who is an artist. I love the vibe of these books because of the city aspect. Mia always strikes me as so cool because she goes to bodegas and goes out to dim sum and stuff. Haha.
Love Lettering by Kate Claybourn
I read my first Kate Claybourn this past fall, which was Love Lettering. The main character Meg is a hand letterer and artist based in NYC. She’s well known for designing wedding invitations and save the date cards for engaged couples.
A big part of the book is her finding her inspiration again, and she does a lot of exploring around New York City. Because of her interest in lettering, she spends a lot of time taking in different signs around the different boroughs of the city.
A Magical New York Christmas by Anita Hughes
A Magical New York Christmas is perfect for readers who enjoy New York City and Christmas. It’s about a writer named Sabrina who gets a job ghostwriting a memoir for a famous art dealer. He is staying at The Plaza Hotel and puts Sabrina up in a room, so that she can interview him during the day and work on her writing at night.
While staying at The Plaza for her writing project, Sabrina meets and befriends a handsome guest staying at the hotel. They jaunt around the city together and visit some New York staples. And it’s fun listening to Grayson’s stories because not only is he an art dealer, but when he was growing up he worked as a butler at The Plaza Hotel, and so he has lots of stories.
It’s a fun Christmas romance that is perfect to read any time of year.
The First Date Prophecy by Kate & Danny Tamberelli
Lucy is an aspiring writer. Rudy is a musician (as well as a former child star). They meet on a dating app and immediately hit it off. They seem to share the same sense of humor and so Rudy suggests an intriguing first date – going out to dinner and visiting a fortune teller.
What’s the worst that could happen?
This book was really funny, but it was also really cute. I loved that the characters seemed to be loosely based off the authors themselves. I loved the descriptions of the new york restaurants and bars, and of Lucy’s basement apartment (which is fondly referred to as the spinster cave).
You by Caroline Kepnes
You is a thriller by Caroline Kepnes, that was also turned into a TV show. It’s about a troubled man name Joe Goldberg who gets a bit obsessive when he finds a love interest. In You, it’s Guinevere Beck. They meet at the bookstore he works at and he immediately takes a liking to her.
I liked this book a lot because of the descriptions of the book store, and other aspects of city life. Beck is a writer and in school so I also liked hearing about her classes.
Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess
Brooklyn Girls is the story of 5 young twenty something women who share an apartment in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Girls is a series but this first book is about Pia. She’s unemployed and broke and trying to figure out how to live a semi-adult life after college.
The City Wants You Alone by Blake Nelson
This is the third book in the Girl series by Blake Nelson. In the first two books in the series Andrea Marr is in high school and college. In this third installment, she moves to New York City in an attempt to become a published writer.
Blake Nelson is one of my favorite authors. I just love the way he writes. So even though this book was published many years after the first too, I was so excited to read it. And it did not disappoint.
The Good People of New York by Thisbe Nissen
Weirdly, I read this book randomly. I liked the title and so I checked it out from the library without knowing what it was about.
It’s a coming of age story. It first focuses on Roz, and her marriage to Edwin. But then they start their family and have a daughter named Miranda. And the story begins to refocus on Roz and her relationships with the people around her. I always like a good family drama and so I really enjoyed this one.
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
The Devil Wears Prada is what I consider to be a classic New York City story because not only does it take place in the city, but it also takes place in one of the most glamorous jobs imaginable… a fashion magazine office!
Some of you may know this story already because it was made into a movie starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep. Its about Andrea Sachs who gets a job as an assistant to Miranda Priestly, the editor of Runway Magazine.
Miranda Priestly is extremely difficult to work with and makes Andy’s life a living hell.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
I don’t read science fiction very often so when I listened to this audiobook back in 2019, I had not idea what I was getting myself into.
April May is walking home one night in New York City when she stumbles upon a sculpture that she never noticed before. She and her friend make a video about it and post it online, and overnight they go viral.
People start noticing similar sculptures that have appeared all over the world, and the people turn to April. As one of the first discoverers, she must be able to help them figure out what’s going on. Right?
This book is confusing, but it will also keep you turning the pages. Or in my case, continuing listening to the audiobook. You’ll be dying to find out what the sculptures are actually all about.
That’s all for Today!
I hope you enjoyed my list of 10 Great Books Set in New York City. Let me know if you’ve read any of them, or have any other recommendations. As I mentioned earlier, I love to read about the city because I don’t get to visit all that often. Reading about places you’d like to visit is one of the many perks of being a reader.
Xo Marian
But Wait, There’s More!
If you enjoyed today’s book list, you may enjoy reading these other book reviews on my blog.
