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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Book Review: Friends Without Benefits

Friends Without Benefits (Knitting in the City #2)
Penny Reid

Release Date: September 29, 2013

Penny Reid

Book Description:
Friends Without Benefits can be read as a standalone, is a full length 120k word novel, and is book#2 in the Knitting in the City Series.

There are three things you need to know about Elizabeth Finney: 1) She suffers from severe sarcastic syndrome, especially when she's unnerved, 2) No one unnerves her like Nico Manganiello, and 3) She knows how to knit.

Elizabeth Finney is almost always right about everything: the musical merits of boy bands are undervalued by society, “benefits” with human Ken dolls are better without friendship, and the sun has set on her once-in-a-lifetime chance for true love. But when Elizabeth’s plans for benefits without friendship are disarmed by the irritatingly charismatic and chauvinistic Nico Manganiello- her former nemesis- she finds herself struggling to maintain the electric fence around her heart while avoiding electrocution or, worse, falling in love.


Amazon US | Goodreads

Review:
You guys! This was such a sweet romance, full of antics and sincerity, insecurities, imperfections, smart and witty dialogue, and some very lovable characters. I have to admit I didn’t read the first in Penny Reid’s Knitting in the City series but fortunately Friends Without Benefits can be enjoyed as a standalone [I love it when authors do that!] nonetheless you can be sure I’ll be reading other books by the author very soon. 

Penny Reid delivers a sexy, laugh-out-loud funny romcom that will cheer you up and make you wish that you were part of this knitting group. Heck, even being absolutely incapable of the simplest mending job let alone knitting I still would want to be part of this group and friends with these fabulous ladies. They were smart, honest, supportive, pushy at all the right moments, and absolutely hilarious. I laughed, I almost cried, and I definitely awed, because humor and love are always a winning combination in my opinion and they are perfectly in balance here.



Nico and Elizabeth made for a perfect pair and their “two-steps-back, five-steps-forward” approach to their developing or rather reignited relationship was a delight to read about. Elizabeth’s hesitance and wary approach to her feelings and opinions of Nico and love in general were endearing. She struggled to make the right choices, stumbling into many mistakes along the way, but at the end her imperfections and insecurities, along with her compassion and sincerity made her character. Nico, on the hand, was undeniably alluring, charming, charismatic, and of course super sexy, but his vulnerability and persistence in chasing after the girl… I mean, c’mon! I wouldn’t be able to resist either! *swoon*

So, I don’t want to give any more details away or tell you the plot, but be assured that there are plenty of shenanigans, comical and bordering on unbelievable situations that make these 400 plus pages fly by. It is a delightful, light-hearted romance that I would happily recommend. 

Happy Reading!

Knitting in the City Series:
Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance (Knitting in the City #1)
Neanderthal Marries Human (Knitting in the City #1.5)
Expected Publication: May 2014
Friends Without Benefits (Knitting in the City #2)
Love Hacked: A Reluctant Romance (Knitting in the City #3)
Expected Publication: March 2014
Beauty and the Mustache (Knitting in the City #4)
Expected Publication: September 2014

6 comments:

  1. I still think I'd read book 1 first :)

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    1. Yes, yes! It just happened this way and I just finished reading the 3rd book too lol. Sacrilege - I know! But... I'm going to fix it - the first is already on my Kindle and I'm determined to read it. Soon. :)

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  2. Sweet, I love this type of romance and can tell already I will enjoy it! I cannot knit, but I have read several series/romances with knitting in them and enjoyed them,.

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    1. Yes! I think you would really like this series Kim! I was actually gonna send you this as book rec on Goodreads. Anyway, I gotta read the first book ASAP myself... :D

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  3. I love how quirky, funny and romantic Penny's books are! Great review, V.!

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    1. Well thank you for recommending them darling! :) I'm loving them too.

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