Nancy’s Review of Princess of Park Avenue by Daniella Brodsky

*This review is part of Daniella Brodsky’s blog tour hosted by CLP Blog Tours.

Lorraine Machuchi is a Brooklyn girl who has settled into her life in the same surroundings she has known forever. Now in her late twenties, she is still pining after her longtime on-again off-again boyfriend, Tommy. She can’t seem to get over him, which prevents her from moving on and moving out of Brooklyn to get her own life. But when Tommy tells Lorraine that he doesn’t see a future with her because she’s a “round-the-way” girl, she decides to finally take matters into her own hands and figure out where she really belongs. Lorraine gets an opportunity that she can’t pass up to work at a hair salon in Manhattan. She even gets to live in an amazing Park Avenue sublet. As she discovers the differences between Manhattan and Brooklyn, she discovers a lot about herself. Tommy continues to send her mixed signals, especially now that her life is going in a different direction, but a new love interest has Lorraine wondering if Tommy is right and they really don’t have a future together. The questionable motives of the socialites who accept Lorraine into their group further complicate her life. Is this Brooklyn girl really meant to be a Princess of Park Avenue?

This novel is a modern version of the classic Cinderella tale. Lorraine is just a regular girl trying to find her prince charming. When she gets the chance to go to the ball, or rather to go to Manhattan, she finds much more than she ever expected there. The socialites are like the evil step sisters and there are plenty of other quirky secondary characters that fill the pages. The story runs a bit long since some of the scenes are too convoluted with flashbacks and unnecessary details. Lorraine is a likable main character who is funny and interesting. The format of the novel is unique, including eBay auction items to help tell Lorraine’s story. Overall, Princess of Park Avenue is a fun, entertaining novel that will likely please chick lit fans.

Daniella Brodsky is the author of six novels, including Diary of a Working Girl, which was adapted into the film Beauty & the Briefcase starring Hilary Duff. She was also a freelance magazine journalist and has been featured on Good Day New York, The WB Morning News, NPR, and in The New York Times, The New York Post, and The Hartford Courant. Her nonfiction work has been published in leading publications such as Time Out New York, The New York Post, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, Shape, and Self. Daniella teaches at Australian National University's Centre for Continuing Education and at her Captain Cook Studio. A native New Yorker, she currently lives in Canberra, Australia where she is writing her next novel, The Book Code, which has been awarded a 2012 Varuna fellowship. For more information, please visit www.daniellabrodsky.com and connect with Daniella on Facebook and Twitter.