Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Review: Friends Without Benefits By Penny Reid

Friends Without Benefits
By: Penny Reid
Release Date: September 29, 2013
Series: Knitting in the City #2

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.
 

Review:
Oh Penny Reid, I think I’m slightly addicted to this knitting group and I can’t wait to read all about them.  But oh how stubborn our little Elizabeth is, but what a fun adventure I had with her.  It’s also fun that in a series we get to visit past and future characters, that’s just like the cherry on top of the ice cream.  The writing is done beautifully as always, and is quite addicting.

We are now focused on Elizabeth who is about to reunite herself with her past, sure she’s more looking for the showing off at the high school reunion, like hey look at me I’m a doctor and what are you, probably nothing!  But things escalate where she is way more visible to the public than anticipated.  Sure it didn’t help that “The Face” Nico Moretti was at her reunion and just so happens to be her first.  Oh the two of them with the bickering back and forth and the intense stares are well intense!   

It’s hard when you have a tragedy happen to you at a young age, it tends to leave an impression on you and defines who you are and how you react to certain situations.  I believe that’s what happened to Elizabeth when she was younger and Nico just happens to be tied into the whole ordeal.  But watching them together, interacting, was pure pleasure.  The two of them couldn’t be more ying and yang but they complement each other perfectly.  I was rooting for them the whole time and it was not some childish insta love it was something that grow and progressed.

There are some great things that were touched upon in this book such as Angelica’s disease, which you will have to read to find out who she is and what she has, but she was adorable and I can clearly picture her as well.  That’s what I love about this book it gives me clear and concise imagery of the people and the surroundings that I can literally visualize it.  Henceforth bringing me into their world in Chicago and that is quite a gift to have as a writer.  So I will definitely read about the remainder of this knitting group.  These girls are all quite different but when they come together they are a force to be reckon with.

I am such a sucker for books that contain other languages, and being that I’ve been to Italy before I know how sexy and amazing it may sound, even if they are saying something so meager.  This book had a lot of Italian in it and it got me all interested and bothered like Elizabeth.  Hmmm, Nico.  Yup, I’m all for him! The cover is adorable and that is actually how I pictured Nico, very Italian very manly darker features, completely sexy and I can imagine a deep voice speaking Italian.  Super Yum!

Overall I really liked this book, I loved seeing Quinn and Janie again, and I’m off to read the next book which is about Sandra, who is a psychologist/psychiatrist either way I know it’s going to be really interesting as she’s always over analyzing everyone.  

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