Friends Without Benefits: An Unrequited Romance by Penny Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4.5 quirky stars!!
If you've read Neanderthal Seeks Human then you'll know that Penny Reid has the pulse on the quirky and humorous. Friends Without Benefits, like its predecessor, is a funny, sweet and yes, quirky read.
Our heroine, Elizabeth is Janie's (from NSH) best friend. She and Nicolo "If Sex were Italian and Stick had an Unfair Amount of Charisma" Manganiello grew up together. They have a complicated history together which involved Elizabeth giving Nico the V-card. When they met again, Elizabeth is 26 and Nico is 27. She's now an MD working through her residency while he's known as the Face. A former underwear model turned stand-up comedian with his own comedy show. This book is basically them working through untangling their complicated history and dealing with their hang-ups.
Elizabeth Finney...
Nicknamed as Skinney Finney by Nico, is still an insecure little girl despite being a successful doctor. Her complicated history with Nico and the death of her mother made her wary of relationships. She never thought of herself as someone who deserves to be happy so she sabotage her own relationships or shall I say her own hapiness.
Gah! She frustrated me to no end. She was funny and annoying at the same time. I wanted to hate her but I can't. For someone so smart, she can be a little dense when it comes to love. Thank God, she surrounded herself with great friends, who really made her see how wrong she was. And when she finally admitted to herself and Nico about her feelings and her fears, I was like...
Now Nico...
Yes, he is hot. He's also funny and very sweet. He's been in love with Elizabeth since they were kids and he dealt with his feelings like any boy at his age would...he teased her mercilessly. The teasing took a turn for the worst when Elizabeth, thinking that Nico dislikes her, fell in love with Nico's best friend Garrett. See? I told you their history was complicated.
Back to Nico.
He made the story for me. He's not as alpha as Quinn. He's more beta actually than alpha but he still made me swoon. I mean, who wouldn't swoon at a guy who gives the girl a mix tape (well, it's actually a CD but whatever), filled with songs that tells her how he feels for her. Swooon! I mean, the songs he chose for her were just so sweet and so heartbreaking. The best part was when Elizabeth realized that there was more to the CD than just random songs and that he was trying to tell her something was beautiful.
The writing is as quirky as the characters themselves. I was chuckling the entire time I was reading it. I mentally "aww-ing" through all the sweet scenes and that epilogue. And of course, I learned some very important new words that should be added to dictionaries anywhere and some great words of wisdom from Elizabeth's friends.
- complisult = (compliment + insult)
- machismo asshattery = self-explanatory.
- Nicabeth or Elizaco = Hollywood couple names for Elizabeth and Nico.
Boy Bands are sent by God to aid women of all ages in their quest to avoid reality, but specifically to trick young women into believing that males think about topics other than sex.
“Elizabeth Finney, you are extraordinary. And for heaven’s sake, no one ever works through all their issues. Perfection is the definition of boring.”
“When did the boy with a premature ejaculation problem arrive to the party? I’ll give you a hint, he came too early.”
“Greg and I fall in and out of love constantly, depending on what time of the month it is, how much sleep I’ve gotten, how the kids are behaving, and whether he’s done the dishes within the last three days.”
So if you're in the mood for some quirky romance this book might just be for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymn-mR...
ARC is kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
