3.75 stars

I loved this book. It was not heavy on romance which I am a-ok with. I loved the modern take on A Christmas Carol.
I loved that this was more about self growth than ending up with the man.

Well done and what a fun read!

First off... I want to book a flight to New York. I want to go to Manhattan and search for a phone booth!

This book was a bit of Scrooged and A Christmas Carol wrapped in one for me.

The main character has a bomb blow up in her face and her entire world gets turned upside down.

I will say that this is did not give off Romance vibes to me... BUT I am ok with that!

This book screams Self Love to me and I am here for it. Sometimes we have to love ourselves first!

Promoted as a Christmas a romance, yet it isn’t Christmassy and it isn’t a romance.

I didn’t find the main character at all likeable, for someone in their 30s, she sure makes an awful lot of bad, immature choices. Most of the book is her whining about how awful her life is, despite all of these amazing things happening to her constantly.

I forced myself to finish this book, in the hopes it would pick up. Overall, disappointing.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in return for my honest review.

"The Last Phone Booth In Manhattan" is a novel by Beth Merlin and Danielle Modafferi. It tells the story of Avery,a former actress whose life is turned upside down when her fiancé's secrets are exposed during an FBI raid on Christmas day. Avery must start over and rebuild her life from scratch, considering a return to Mimi's Restaurant & Piano Bar and possibly even the Broadway scene. During this chaos, she unexpectedly reconnects with her college boyfriend, who has matured over the past six years.

I found this book delightful; I enjoyed the Broadway references woven throughout the story. Although it is not explicitly a Christmas story, the nods to "A Christmas Carol" added a fun layer to the tale. Despite hints of a "Hallmark" romance, the heart of the narrative lies in Avery's journey of self-discovery. Overall, it's a quick and enjoyable read that blends light-hearted moments with themes of reinvention and personal growth.

I absolutely adored this book! I really enjoyed that it was a modern take on A Christmas Carol. It focused on the main character’s personal growth, not just having her end up with a man. She was able to figure out exactly what she wanted in life for HERSELF, not just marriage. I also loved how so much Broadway was incorporated since I am a HUGE fan of Broadway!

I love Broadway musicals, so I absolutely loved that Avery is an actress! Her self doubt on her road to pursuing her future dreams was something I could relate to. I was a bit nervous when I saw it was inspired by A Christmas Carol but it was so cool how everything tied together at the end! Once I sat down and started the book I couldn’t put it down! Great read to start your year!

Avery is living her best life until her fiance is taken away in handcuffs for fraud and she finds herself stranded in front of a federal prison, on Christmas day. She is led to the last phone booth in Manhattan where a mysterious voice on the phone directs her unwittingly to her old college boyfriend's house. A second encounter with the phone booth leads her to a life-changing audition of Marley is Dead, a musical based on Dickens's A Christmas Carol. The play eerily reminds her of her own life as she deals with her own 'ghosts'.

The book just jumps into instantly likeable Avery's life but we feel like we've always been there. I love how we are immediately whisked off into an enchanting taste of New York City during the holidays, a great antithesis to what follows for the protagonist. Avery's POV is like a chatty but always entertaining 'you want to seed what they'll do next' best friend. the authors have a wonderful way of describing things, matter-of-fact and quirky at the same time, putting colorful and somewhat unexpected images in our head.

The odd, small details ake all the difference as the what the... factor settles in. The protagonist works out things in a grounded manner, maybe being a little naive, though always being honest with herself. She is basically a good person getting caught in bad or unlucky situations, and then inexplicable ones. Visiting things like musical diners, a reiki voice therapy and so much more I don't want to spoil, fills the heart.

Sometimes her thoughts are repetitive like mentioning things that just happened, or the self-doubt which can be a little whiny. Also the trips down memory lane, not often but still, are a tad longer than necessary.

This story is about second chances, finding and being true to yourself. Choosing yourself. Fun, smile-worthy and adorable, with splashes of Dickens, this is an unexpected journey of self-discovery.