 I love Penny Reid and all her characters in every single book I've ever read of hers. I found comfort in the many rereads of KITC series and Winston Brothers series. I have become so familiar with all of their stories and happily ever afters that of course, OF COURSE, I would absolutely want to read the next generation; the babies of the women whom I adored and whose friendships I loved and envied (seriously, where can I find these women, asking as an introvert)? So *thank you, Penny for the ARC!!!** Bananapants is a lovely, funny, childhood (and then estranged) friends-to-lovers trope. Slow burn, lots of hijinks. A couple of my favorite people show up (Dan and Alex). The reason I comfort read Penny are her characters. Ava and Des stand alone in their own "quirks" (and I say that mostly about Ava) and through their own growth, find comfort and strength in each other. Yes, you can have XYZ diagnosis (or not), but you are more than XYZ. I cried a few times and even though I typically devour through romcoms in hours, have found myself stopping a few times; rereading lines/passages....and thinking about my own neurodivergent family - and in our home, how we see the world, how the world sees or don't see us....and how we've had on more than one occasion have had to intervene panic attacks. There was one scene, I couldn't read through and had to honestly, for my own mental health, walked away for a reset. But this is why I love Penny! The way she writes people - real people with their struggles are so powerful and profound and REAL, I was moved to tears and anger...and then back to tears and sighs. I have so many things to say but I don't think I can articulate how imperfectly perfect this book was. As a Mental Health Advocate, I am proud that there are books that are centered around starting conversations about our own struggles with mental health and mental health disorders. I loved Ava's curiosity, naiveté, and willingness to learn about how Des was coping and what it meant to Des. Sidenote: I truly appreciate and am grateful about the house analogy! So simple and yet, creatively crafts that foundation for those "not in the know." And oh my heart, Quinn? That guy? Definitely in the feels. Loved all the call backs to KITC series and may have to comfort read those again. And all the Easter eggs (??!!) setups for the others. **5 stars because you know I'll be rereading this one again.** Rating: **5 stars because you know I'll be rereading this one again.** Blurb + where to findEstranged childhood friends unexpectedly reunite under bizarre circumstances and bicker their way to love in this bonkers romantic comedy. Ava Archer misses her best childhood friend most especially during the month of April. Ask any tax attorney, it's a lonely, grueling time of year. Luckily, Ava has just received a surprising and delectably absurd offer from her posh doppelgänger at work. She must pretend to be the aforementioned posh co-worker for one night at an extremely fancy party; a party so fancy, there exists absolutely no chance anyone will recognize her or suspect her ruse... Desmond (Des) Sullivan is a thief. And not the heart-of-gold kind. He’s the steal-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-also-rich-so-he-can-get-paid kind. He does, however, have one firm rule never steal what the target can’t afford to lose. After a brutal falling out with his father, Desmond hasn’t returned to Chicago in over ten years. But when a good friend is swindled and something priceless is stolen, Desmond must return home, both as himself and his thieving alter ego. Infiltrate a dangerous secret society of the world's most elite billionaires while leveraging his estranged father’s resources and not blowing his cover? Sure. No problem. Or it wouldn’t be a problem if Ava Archer hadn’t just walked into the room, wearing a ridiculous wig, speaking with a preposterous accent, and pretending (badly) to be someone she’s not. Bananapants is a full-length, contemporary romantic comedy filled with hijinks and shenanigans. It can be read as a standalone, but the parents of the main characters will be familiar to anyone who has read the Knitting in the City series. About the AuthorSign up for the newsletter of awesome: www.pennyreid.ninja/newsletter
Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of the Winston Brothers and Knitting in the City series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she writes kissing books. Penny is an obsessive knitter and manages the #OwnVoices-focused mentorship incubator / publishing imprint, Smartypants Romance. She lives in Seattle Washington with her husband, three kids, and dog named Hazel. FOLLOW PENNY: Facebook: www.facebook.com/pennyreidwriter Twitter: www.twitter.com/reidromance Instagram: www.instagram.com/reidromance
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In an effort to get myself back on track with writing.....I remembered something the other day. I used to write reviews and love them! I have a bookshelf full of books from indie poets and writers. I discovered Penny Reid from getting an ARC and 15 of her books later, I am still a fan and follow her journey. I found Shelby Leigh from when it was Twitter and she was asking for reviews on her 2nd self-published book. She has since found a publisher and is on her 4th! I found pieces of them in their work and found something that moved me enough to write about it.
Sometimes a phrase would open up new possibilities and new stories and I'd write those down. I wasn't motivated to think that I can write something better....if anything, I was writing a version of a fanfic of their work. Sometimes it would be half a page, sometimes a poem, other times, it was a response to a question one of their characters asked the Universe about...and not finding THE answer. The answer that I would want to hear, if I were this character. And even though, logistically, my ADHD brain will go all in and later, most likely get distracted about something else....I'm giving myself 2 books to read and review/month. One of those books will have to be from my bookclub picks and I would love to share my thoughts on them with you. The other one will be from either Netgalley or an indie author who asked for a review. If I find my writing spark, that's great and I do hope I find it. But if I don't, at least, I would have found new to me authors and their stories to love. It is summer, and I want something light, so I've been reading a LOT of beach reads (Emily Henry, Christina Lauren). But I love beach reads where there is science, and sexy nerds are involved (Penny Reid, Ali Hazelwood). I love historical fiction (Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn). I discovered from bookclub that I like thrillers (Alex Michaelides, Harlan Coben). I keep memoirs in my TBR reading rotation at all times (Matthew Mcconaughey, Stephen King, Dave Gohl, Prince Harry, Mindy Kaling). If you have a book, you'd like me to consider, kindly reach out! I read just about anything except horror. |
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