ARC Review: Happily Ever Ninja by Penny Reid

Recommended Read!

” …having a Penny Reid book promising extra kookiness is a treat, and Happily Ever Ninja was no doubt a very big treat.”
~ Under the Covers

WARNING: This review contains more ramblings than actual review….

This book came with repeated warnings of its oddness and many reassurances from Penny Reid that she wouldn’t be offended if such oddness was off putting, thus resulting in a low rating and bags full of hate mail (I may have added that last bit). Now, I am not sure if this was just a cunning plan of Penny Reid’s to entice me so with her promises of weirdness, but I found her warnings intriguing and it made me pick up the book immediately; I was promised oddness and by golly if I didn’t find any I wouldn’t be happy.

You will be pleased to know that Reid fully delivered on her promises of strangeness, but then, I think all her books have that twist of quirkiness that elevate them above other contemporary romances. In fact, that very quirkiness is what keeps me coming back for more. Everyday life tends to be very conventional; all the security guards at work are over 50 with Wiltshire accents and are in no way sexy secret millionaires, as Janie was fortunate to find; nor do I make first dates cry and intrigue man-boy hackers with no sense of social niceties and a criminal record, such as Sandra has a wont to do; and unlike Ashley I definitely don’t have a gaggle of charming hillbilly bearded siblings to drive me crazy, I just have regular siblings… although they do drive me crazy, so maybe I half way their. So, having a Penny Reid book promising extra kookiness is a treat, and Happily Ever Ninja was no doubt a very big treat.

So, I have rambled enough, I guess you now want me to give you my thoughts on the book itself. In a nutshell, I really enjoyed it, I have to give you a disclaimer at this point: I am not married, nor do I have children so, when I say that Happily Ever Ninja gives a humourous and real depiction of a marriage, I say this with absolutely zero experience. What I mean when I say real, is that often once a HEA has been brought about, that’s the last we see of a couple and we assume they life in marital bliss till the day they knock off. But, with this we see life after the fairy tale HEA, where everyday life, the joy and inconvenience of having children and the general bad habits of your spouse have been added to the story.

And, I think that this is what makes this book the most romantic of this series, the blush of first love is over, Fiona and Greg know each other inside and out, everyday life, including filling the dishwasher, picking up dirty socks and taking the care of the children are now just as important. And yet still, they love one another and choose to continue their life together, because despite all the things they do that drive each other mad, life without the other person doesn’t seem like it would be worth it. And, I believe that’s what people look for, as fun and exciting as love can be at first, what you really want is someone who after 10 years you still care enough about that you fight to keep them with you – in Fiona’s case quite literally, the woman is a ninja!

I highly recommend you give this book a try, like Penny said it’s odd, but as far as I can tell that only makes the whole thing that much better.

 

“What are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing?” He unbuttoned his pants and unzipped them.

Perhaps it didn’t make any sense, but I didn’t want Greg to see me naked. Not when I was still furious with him. Not when he was angry with me. Even though we’d been together for eighteen years, married for fourteen, and made two children together, when we were arguing I didn’t like the vulnerability of bare skin.

“Oh, no. No, no, no.” I sat forward in the tub, hiding my nakedness. “We haven’t talked through everything yet. I’m angry with you, and I know you’re still upset with me.”

He shrugged. “Then we’ll have angry intercourse.”

“We’re not having intercourse.”

“Then I’ll give you angry cunnilingus.”

Damn him, but that made me laugh.

Greg’s eyebrows bounced once on his forehead and he grinned, his pants falling to the ground.

“I don’t want any of your angry oral sex, thank you very much.” I crossed my arms over my chest, endeavoring to keep my expression stern . . . and failing.

“Of course you do. Angry oral sex is the best kind of oral sex. And we are so rarely angry with each other. We should take advantage of this opportunity.” His thumbs hooked into his boxers with the intent of pulling them down.

“Do not take off your boxers.”

Greg didn’t remove his boxers, but he didn’t withdraw the threat of his thumbs either. “You know, I’ve heard it’s a good idea to fight while naked. I think I read that in a very important medical text book written by Albert Einstein’s cousin, Dr. Olga Einstein.”

[about-author author=”Penny Reid”]

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