Friends Without Benefits (Knitting in the City, #2)
Penny Reid
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 a Nico charisma-electrocution or, worse, falling in love. 'Friends Without Benefits' is book #2 in the Knitting in the City series. Each book is a standalone, full length (110k words), contemporary romantic comedy novel, and follows the misadventures and exploits of seven friends in Chicago, all members of the same knitting group.
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Thought the open/closed door love scene alternate chapter 22 was a cool idea and I was pleased to finally see a sex scene where the author didn't "pull her punches" like I've felt for most of Reid's books.
Somehow the scene where Elizabeth goes onto Nico's show to get his attention felt very familiar to me? Not sure why. Also, I just did NOT understand Elizabeth's feelings of inadequacy and her huge desire to "protect Nico from herself". And their argument that he was pushing her and therefore was going to give her space, while that was nice and well meaning, it was far too over the top. He should have heard her say (many multiple times) that she was ready.
0I went into this book expecting so much more, but it ended up feeling like it was just filling in gaps from Book 1.5. It was... okay. Elizabeth, to be honest, exhausted me—she came off as immature at every turn. But Nico? He stole the show. He was genuine, caring, and the kind of character you can’t help but root for. I listened to the audiobook while working, which might explain why I didn’t feel as connected to this couple as I’d hoped. But one thing that really threw me was the heavy Italian accent they suddenly gave Nico. In all the other books in the series, he never sounded like that! It felt out of place and pulled me out of the story. Overall, I enjoyed some moments, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations.
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