★BOOK REVIEW★ Happily Ever Ninja by Penny Reid

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My rating

As always with Penny Reid I had a good time, but with expectations too high, I ended up just liking Happily Ever Ninja when I was prepared to LOVE it. It’s never good to expect too much of anything, you feel like you’ve been disrobed of something that was never yours to begin with. So it’s entirely my fault if this Happily Ever Ninja missed the spot for me.

Book Infos

518klJ28MoL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_-2There are three things you need to know about Fiona Archer… I would tell you what they are, but then I’d have to kill you. 

But I can tell you that Fiona’s husband—the always irrepressible and often cantankerous Greg Archer—is desperately in love with his wife. He aches for her when they are apart, and is insatiable when they are together. Yet as the years pass, Greg has begun to suspect that Fiona is a ninja. A ninja mom. A ninja wife. A ninja friend. After fourteen years of marriage, Greg is trying not to panic. Because Fiona’s talent for blending in is starting to resemble fading away. 

However, when unexpected events mean Fiona must take center stage to keep her family safe, her response stuns everyone—Greg most of all. It seems like Greg’s wish has come true. 
Except… not. 
When all is said and done, can Greg handle this new version of his wife? Will his irrepressible cantankerousness push her away? Or can the couple find a way forward without either being forced to step back into the shadows?

Author : Penny Reid
Title : Happily Ever Ninja
Series : Knitting in the City

Number of pages : –
Publisher : 
Release Date :  January 19, 2016
Genre : Contemporary.

My Review

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There are some books you love, some books you hate and then there are those books in the middle.
The ones you just liked.

It is not necessary a bad thing. Although I know a lot of readers think a medium rating is not “good”.

It’s okay. I like my okay reads. I got a good time with a book but it didn’t knock my socks off. Not every books can. And it’s actually a relief.

I often said I would read anything by Penny Reid and it is true. She has a very unique voice but more than that she has a unique point of view.

She brings out romances stories where you’d think there couldn’t be one. She brings in alien elements in romances stories. Not alien from space, I mean strange / never-seen-before ideas. (Though, I’d give Alien Romance a go if Miss Reid wanted to explore this faraway side. Moving-on.)

She tells it herself, her books are weird.
Turns out I like weird and unconventional really much.

It doesn’t matter what you end up feeding the unicorn when he is found.

Because here’s the take-home message : there ‘s a man unicorn out there, right now, who cannot wait to dine on your lady closet and give you the horn in his pants.

Now where is all this coming from and where am I going with it?

I had unbelievably high expectations for this book, I’ve been waiting for it for a long time and adored the glimpses of Fiona and Greg as a couple in the prequel “Ninja At First Sight “.

We were building a foundation to last a lifetime.

Once again Penny Reid created multi dimensional characters, unique characters, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Greg. And Fiona too.

And I wasn’t disappointed at first… sight. 

Greg circling Fiona like a Shark, getting the girl and never letting her go. I loved this. Loved how bad, dark, cynical and unsocial he was but sweet, playful and so damn hot with Fiona. I fell in love with this. I fell in love with them.

…Each passing second is a moment filled with the absence of you and it suffocates me. I realize I promised I would be less morose in my correspondence, but I grip these empty sheets at night and curse them. They are cold where your body is hot and soft and so infinitely mine.
Perhaps I miss the feeling of you beneath my fingertips and belonging wholly to me. Perhaps I miss how you tense and relax in my hands, how you look at me with trust and want. If I’m honest,, it’s the want in you I miss the most. The need you have of me. Because it echoes the insatiable and feral nature of my need for you.
I miss you.
At this point you’ve no doubt already gathered I have sent neither chocolate nor flowers for Valentine’s. I do not believe in obligatory gifts any more than I subscribe to compulsory love.
As such, I send you nothing but this letter and my longing for you, neither of which I can contain. I love you.
Yours forever, Greg

I could give 5 stars to this book based solely on this letter. Alas, I’m cannot only focus on this alone.
In Happily Ever Ninja, I think I felt as disconnected to them as Fiona actually felt from Greg at this point of their lives. With Greg working long distance, her being overwhelmed by their 2 kids and her work and well, everything. Not easy being a single mom most of the year and staying…sane.

I guess a part of me wanted to reenact the feels left hanging in Ninja At first Sight, right off the bat. So a huge part of me not loving HEN is solely due on me and my expectations.
Expectations for more romance.

I resolve to listen to all your sweet sounds, be they signs or screams… each and every one.

Now, I really enjoyed a great deal of this book, it was pure Penny Reid-esque and so I couldn’t stop from grinning at the loony banter and situations, nor could I refrain from swooning at some really sweet lines between Greg and Fiona. Some parts I truly LOVED, adored even. I loved their routine as lovers, as parents, friends. I loved Penny’s way of describing this quirky dysfunctional—but nonetheless lovable—family. I did not expect it to be a Romantic Suspense novel and I did not expect it to be more action than romance.

If they don’t learn about launching rockets at home, then they’ll just learn about it on the streets.

Overall an okay read for me, but don’t let my moody-self deter you from reading the book. It was a good read, I had more than a few good chuckles out of it and even blushed a time or two. I’m very much looking forward to the next couple in this series, and will, as usual, keep an eye out for anything Penny Reid in the future.

My heart keeps discovering new ways to love you.

Author Bio

Author-Photo-Penny-Reid-300x300-170x170SEX! It all started with sex, between my parents. Personally I don’t like thinking about it, but whatever works for you is a-ok with me. No judgment. The sex happened in California and much of my life also occurred in that state until I moved from the land of nuts (almonds), wine, silicon… boobs, and heavy traffic to the southeast US. Like most writers I like to write, but let’s get back to sex. Eventually I married and gave birth to 2 small people-children (boy-6, girl-4 as of this writing).

By day I’m a biomedical researcher with focus on rare diseases. By night I’m a knitter, sewer, lino block carver, fabric printer, soap maker, and general crafter. By the wee hours of the morning or when I’m intoxicated I love to listen to the voices in my head and let them tell me stories. I hope you enjoy their stories.

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