Review of Twelve Hours in Manhattan by Maan Gabriel

*Twelve Hours in Manhattan* by Maan Gabriel (2023). Published by She Writes Press.

There are some books in life one has never heard of until they’re wandering the halls of their local library. One of my favorite activities as of late is going to the library and wandering around, just looking for something absolutely delicious to read that I would have never heard of before.

And on this particular Tuesday, I was in the new section with a huge stack of books when I saw Twelve Hours in Manhattan. This is a book I never would have picked up under normal circumstances, as the premise was enough to turn me away, and I simply don’t read romance books.

So you’re probably wondering: what sucked me into this one? I originally picked it up because I saw the Manhattan bit in the title, and I am an absolute sucker for books set in New York City. I would never live there myself, but I would read a good book set in the eighties or nineties there in a heartbeat.

The second bit that finally convinced me was the fact I ended up spotting that the male lead was a Korean drama star. I’m known to read things because a certain fact intrigues me, and I thought this sounded like a fangirl’s wildest dream that got published. It’s very much in the vein of fanfictions I would read as a teenager. And guess what? This book did unfold both like a fanfiction and a Korean drama.

Onwards with the review!

When Bianca accidentally runs into a Korean drama star while in a Midtown bar, her life changes.

Our protagonist in Twelve Hours in Manhattan is Bianca, a Filipina living in New Jersey. She’s married and in desperate need of a job, so one day, she decides to hit up a Midtown bar to wallow away in her sadness.

When there, she ends up meeting a handsome stranger named Eric, but when she’s in the middle of an expensive dinner he insists on paying for, she realizes he’s actually a famous Korean drama star her friend and she would gush about whenever they would binge watch the shows together. That doesn’t change the dynamic when she blurts out, “Are you Park Hyun-min?” and the two end up spending the entire night together.

But at around early morning, Bianca realizes this isn’t going to work and heads back home to her husband, Tommy. As she arrives, she realizes he actually overdosed when she was gone, and he’s dead. That completely changes the trajectory of her life, too, as she is now free from the limits her marriage was putting on her. She’s in her thirties, now single, and has just landed a dream job after Tommy’s death at a broadcasting company. Together with her best friend and childhood friend, she is free to do whatever she wants.

So she moves to New York City. Two years later, Park Hyun Min is getting married / is engaged to the woman he told Bianca he didn’t actually want to marry, and Bianca tells herself she’s over it. Until one day he’s in her work and spots her there. Suddenly the two are caught up in the same dance they had all those years ago, and even though he’s got a fiance. Things are picking up right where they left off.

Her best friend also finds out about them, which freaks her out because she’s a huge Park Hyun-min fan. But as the two grow closer, he’s suddenly told to come back to South Korea for a movie premiere with his fiance.

She’s threatening to sue him if he doesn’t come back and act like a couple with her, and in the end, Bianca is roped into going too. She is dressed up for the premiere and living her best life in Korea, her dream, but when she sees Eric getting cozy with the other girl, it breaks her heart. She ends up booking a flight back home to the United States immediately.

He ends up chasing after her in the end, and in the epilogue, they end up starting their own company. He quits acting for her and himself, as throughout the book he articulates how much he hates fame and the way it gets to him.

That’s why he likes New York, I guess. There’s many subplots behind this main one I mentioned, as Bianca’s father comes back into her life and she has to reconcile with that. She also randomly ends up forgetting about Tommy until she has to bring it up to Eric, which is a different story in itself.

Overall Thoughts

It’s a cute novel, but not something I would take super seriously in the long run. I thought some of the moments were very cringey throughout and that it simply was like fanfiction, except it got published. The writing is easy to understand as well, which makes it pretty accessible for the average reader.

Like I’m giving myself a pat on the back for reading this and going outside of my comfort zone, but it wouldn’t be something I would go out of my way for in the future. But I’m sure other people would enjoy it! Likability is subjective at the end of the day, which is why reviews have to be taken and weighed in a holistic manner.

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