Dating-ish, an all new standalone from the USA Today bestselling Knitting in the City romantic comedy series by Penny Reid is available now!
Book Description:
Dating-ish, an all new standalone from the USA Today bestselling Knitting in the City romantic comedy series by Penny Reid is available now!
'Dating-ish' can be read as a standalone, is a full length 100k word novel, and is book #6 in the Knitting in the City Series.
There are three things you need to know about Marie Harris: 1) She's fed up with online dating, 2) She's so fed up, she's willing to forego the annoyance and consider more creative alternatives, and 3) She knows how to knit.
After the most bizarre and irritating first date in the history of humankind, Marie is looking for an alternative to men. With the help of her friends, she quickly identifies a few possibilities:
Need a cuddle? Use a professional cuddler. Need affirmation? Get yourself a life coach. Need an orgasm? Try orgasm meditation! Why does she need the hassle of a romantic partner when she can meet all her needs with paid services?
But then her irritating date resurfaces. And he's not at all the person she thought he was. And he suggests a different--and crazier--solution to her dilemma . . .
As everyone knows (or will soon come to realize), traditional relations between humans are a thing of the past. Robots are our future. And if robots are our future, then why do we need other people at all?
Buy Links:
Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***
“I’m looking for the right
person.”
I am fairly new to Penny Reid, was a late comer of sorts and
have been an addict ever since. Having read the Winston series and some of the
books in this series I can honestly say, hand on heart that this is my absolute
favourite of hers so far. Penny Reid is hilarious, with witty dialogue and
banter that had me laughing out loud and smiling from ear to ear, but what I
loved most was the articulation. Penny Reid’s style of writing is right up my
alley, there is no doubt this woman is extremely clever and I love the
knowledge that she expertly weaves throughout this book. The mathematic
references had me smiling, the robotic side of this plot was engaging,
entertaining and extremely interesting and kudos to Penny Reid, because the
research she must have done was surely extensive and that showed throughout
this book. But, and this is a huge but, the romance side…be still my beating
heart. OMG, I loved, loved, loved it.
“Marie, you are the sine to my
cosine.”
My eyelashes fluttered and so did
my heart, but I managed to tease, “Are you saying we’ll never be on the same
wavelength?”
This was the ultimate in slow burn,
ssssssslllllllllllloooooooooowwwwwwwwwwww burn, but at no point in time was
this boring at all. OMG, all the feels with this one. This book was so full of
emotion that Penny Reid finally made me cry, whether intended or not, the
character connection was so far on point that my heart bled for these
characters while the shenanigans they got up to lifted me in the next breath.
“I’ve never been any good at
biologically motivated displays of testosterone superiority, and I wouldn’t
want to waste the time of someone who requires them.”
Dating-ish brings us two characters that are super nerdy
(which I love), unlucky in love, they are quirky, extremely charming and hugely
lovable. These two were so funny, like side-splittingly funny and yet totally
endearing. The chemistry between the two was positively charged, there were
protons flying all over the place, the sexy times…super super hot, I mean,
combustible, but before we got to all the good stuff, Penny Reid made us work
for it and I loved every single page of it.
“I’m serious. Hearts are bastards
that way, always looking for a goddamn window.”
Things did not get off to a flying start with these two, oh
no, they positively hated one and other and for some there would have been no
way back. It seems though fate has other ideas and when their paths meet once again
all that hate comes back to the forefront but it seems that they could both
help each other professionally. Will “working” together wrinkle out their
differences or is there too much water under the bridge?
“You need to love yourself.
Because, if you can’t love yourself, then I can’t count on your love for me.”
Marie was a journalist who was sick and tired of the dating
game. Online dating was the bane of her existence and shy of turning off men
for life she didn’t know what to do. As the base of a new article though she
has some ideas and it is the research for these articles that leads to some
interesting and hilarious studies. Marie has a massive heart and soul, she
wears her heart on her sleeve, will do anything for anyone and is the least
unselfish person I have come across. Marie was adorable with a capital A and if
anyone deserved a shot a love and a happy ever after it was her.
“I refuse to have you question
your value. In doing so, you insult me. If you want to be with me, you’re going
to have to find a way to accept that you’re not just worthy of great love, and
you don’t just deserve great love . . .You must demand it.”
Matt, OMG this super geek certainly wormed his way into my
heart and soul. Matt was the ultimate techie who has thrown himself into the
only thing he loves…work. Matt was apathetic, showed no signs of emotion and
his propensity to love was non-existent. On the outside, he seemed cold but he
was a man who was just waiting to be melted, he just hadn’t met the one to do
it. To say my heart broke for Matt would be an understatement, the tears that
fell because of Matt were plentiful. Matt was adorable in every way, his flaws
made him the man he was and gave us the story that will rank as one of my
all-time favourites.
“I love you, Matthew Simmons. And
I don’t want anyone but you to power on my CPU.”
Seriously though, this book was perfection. The banter,
dialogue and character connection was on point, the laughs were plentiful, the
tears were too. The love/hate in the beginning…the friendship and the more was
one the best love stories I have read in a long time. The slow-burn, enticing, mesmerising
and entertaining. Engaging from first to last word, Penny Reid held me hostage
for hours not wanting to leave these characters alone. I will definitely be
re-reading this one…a lot!! Totally and utterly loved it.
Excerpt:
He was quiet for bit, we both were, and I felt myself
relax more and more. His palm took a detour every so often, dutifully skipping
my hip and sliding along my side, and then back to my leg. Soon, I was so
relaxed I felt drowsy.
I felt fingers in my hair, moving the mass away from my
neck with treasuring strokes just before Matt nuzzled the back of my neck,
causing goosebumps to scatter over my skin.
“Mmm.” I smiled. “Hey. Jared said no tickling.” My voice
sounded sleepy.
“Does this tickle?” Matt asked softly, nuzzling me again.
I felt the brush of his lips—not a kiss, a brush—paired with hot breath against
the bare skin of my neck and a zing shot straight down my spine, making my toes
curl and a sudden hot ache twist in my lower belly.
Oh
no.
I knew that ache. I hadn’t felt it because of another
person’s touch in quite a long time.
Nevertheless, no one ever forgets that
ache.
My back arched instinctively, my bottom pressing back
against his crotch, and I stiffened. I felt my nipples harden, strain beneath
the cotton of my bra. I was now fully awake. No longer drowsy.
Nope.
Not even a little.
Matt stiffened, too. His movements abruptly ceasing.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” he asked, alarm coating his
words, and in the next moment his hand was suspended in the air above me. “Did
I touch something I shouldn’t?”
I exhaled a short, nervous laugh, gripped by the urge to
sit up.
“No. No. You didn’t.” I moved to the edge of the bed,
righting myself, away from Matt, needing distance. “I’m good.” I gathered a
silent breath and released it slowly because my pulse was racing.
Crap,
Marie. Get a grip. It’s Matt Simmons. Professor Matt. The big kid. Why are you
reacting this way?
“Did I . . .” These initial words were hesitant, and a
moment of silence stretched before he continued, his tone comically teasing as
he finished his thought. “Did I arouse you?”
I snorted, shaking my head, laughing at his silly tone.
Turning at the waist to peer at him over my shoulder, Matt was grinning at me,
twisting a make-believe mustache between his thumb and forefinger.
But then he stopped.
“I did, didn’t I?” he pushed, his hand dropping. He
looked pleased, if not a little amazed.
I sighed, feeling a smidge embarrassed, and nodded.
“Actually, yes. That’s a sensitive spot for most women.”
“The back of your neck?” He lifted himself to one elbow,
his eyes darting to my neck with keen interest.
“My neck in general, actually.”
“Huh.” Matt frowned thoughtfully. “Where else?”
I pressed my lips together and gave him an incredulous
look. “I’m not telling you that.”
“Why not?”
“Matt.”
“What if I needed it for research reasons?”
“Matt.”
“What if I told you it was part of our questionnaire?” He
tossed his legs over the side of the bed and stood, walking around to my side
and offering me his hand. “You should give me a schematic of your body with the
erogenous zones circled and rated.”
“Let me guess, you want them rated on a ten-point scale,”
I deadpanned as I accepted his hand, stood, and stepped away to gain some
distance and straighten my shirt.
He shrugged, crossing his arms, stalking after me. “Or
exponential. I was going to say a Likert scale, but a logarithmic scale works,
too.”
Chuckling, appreciative of his attempt to diffuse my
embarrassment and awkwardness with the joke, I realized Matt Simmons wasn’t a
bad guy. He might even be a good guy, just a little . . . peculiar.
And
wants to replace romantic relationships with robots. Best not forget that
detail.
Yeah, he’d make an interesting friend.
“Thanks.” I gave him a small smile.
“For what?” His eyes moved between mine.
“For the cuddle. Thanks for the cuddle, Matt.”
“Anytime, Marie.” He
grinned down at me, his eyes dancing as he leaned forward and whispered,
“Anytime.”
About the Author:
Penny Reid is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the Winston Brothers and Knitting in the City series. When she’s not immersed in penning smart romances, Penny works in the biotech industry as a researcher. She’s also a full time mom to three diminutive adults, wife, daughter, knitter, crocheter, sewer, general crafter, and thought ninja.
Connect with Penny:
Twitter: @ReidRomance
