A solid four star read - I had the pleasure of reading A Gentleman in Moscow first, and while reading this was very good, it was nowhere near the love affair I had with AGiM. All credit where credit is due - this is definitely on my short list of "best historical fiction settings". The 1930's New York in this book was as real to me as the room I'm sitting in right now. I could see myself reading this again just for the chance to revisit it. 
 I didn't feel quite so strongly about the characters, especially Katey. I think the author's real strength is in description, so telling a story from the third-person narrative of the Count in AGiM was a much better use of the author's talent than the first-person narrative of Katey in this book. Despite the story being told from her point of view, I never really engaged with her. Her actions often caught me by surprise just as much as the person she was slapping/kissing/asking for a job. She never felt "real" to me, especially when set against the "seems so real I can almost touch it" setting.