Spread Some Indie Love Blog Hop

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Today I am celebrating Valentines'day on the blog by participating in Spread Some Indie Love Blog Hop organized by b00k r3vi3ws. I've chosen to spotlight my favourite indie author, Penny Reid, who also happens to write fabulous quirky contemporary romances. I discovered her first book, last year, shortly after it was published, completely by chance following a recommendation in GR group on Kristen Ashley. The book was suggested as romantic comedy and I love these, so I decided to try it and I ended up loving it. Even though it was recommended in the KA group, Ms Reid's book isn't anything like Kristen Ashley's work (which I also love by the way). 

So, I read Neanderthal Seeks Human, reviewed on GR and my blog (one the first reviews here), then Penny liked and commented on my review and I was over the moon. When she offered me an ARC of her next book, I jumped on board immediately. As can be expected I loved Friends Without Benefits as well. Recently I read an ARC of her third book, Love Hacked, which is due to be released on 11 March and I can honestly say it's the best one for me so far. 

Ms Reids writes contemporary romance of its own kind, with special/a bit awkward heroes and heroines, spiced  up with a quirky sense of humour. I enjoy both her unique writing style and her heart-felt romantic stories. All her books can be read as standalones, though I recommend to read them all starting from the beginning :)


Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance
(Knitting in the City #1)
Purchase at Amazon
Add on Goodreads
Read my review

There are three things you need to know about Janie Morris: 1) She is incapable of engaging in a conversation without volunteering TMTI (Too Much Trivial Information), especially when she is unnerved, 2) No one unnerves her more than Quinn Sullivan, and 3) She doesn't know how to knit.

After losing her boyfriend, apartment, and job in the same day, Janie Morris can't help wondering what new torment fate has in store. To her utter mortification, Quinn Sullivan- aka Sir McHotpants- witnesses it all then keeps turning up like a pair of shoes you lust after but can't afford. The last thing she expects is for Quinn- the focus of her slightly, albeit harmless, stalkerish tendencies- to make her an offer she can't refuse.

Friends Without Benefits: An Unrequited Romance 
(Knitting in the City #2)
Purchase at Amazon
Add on Goodreads
Read my review

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 electrocution or, worse, falling in love.


Love Hacked: A Reluctant Romance 
(Knitting in the City #3)
Expected publication: 11 March 2014
Add on Goodreads

There are three things you need to know about Sandra Fielding: 1) She makes all her first dates cry, 2) She hasn't been kissed in over two years, and 3) She knows how to knit.

Sandra has difficulty removing her psychotherapist hat. Of her last 30 dates, 29 have ended the same way: the man sobbing uncontrollably. After one such disaster, Sandra—near desperation and maybe a little tipsy—gives in to a seemingly harmless encounter with her hot waiter, Alex. Argumentative, secretive, and hostile Alex may be the opposite of everything Sandra knows is right for her. But now, the girl who has spent all her life helping others change for the better, must find a way to cope with falling for someone who refuses to change at all.

Neanderthal Marries Human
(Knitting in the City #1.5)
Expected publication: May/June 2014
Add on Goodreads









Beauty and the Mustache 
(Knitting in the City #4)
Expected publication: September 2014
Add on Goodreads








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So, who is Penny Reid, you ask. Here is what she says about herself on her blog:

I'm originally from California but now live in the Southeast US with my family after going to college in the area. I work full time at a large University in the field of biomedical research (e.g. clinical research studies conducted under the auspices of the FDA). I work a lot. I also love to knit and crochet; sew bags, blankets, and clothes; carve lino blocks for fabric printing; make homemade soap, jam, marmalade; and- most recently- I'm learning to garden.


I don't like to sit still unless I'm writing, reading, or knitting and I usually only knit in my knitting group... or at red lights while stuck in traffic. I only read on planes (where I'm trapped). Luckily, I travel a lot for work. 



The voices in my head (characters) became so loud over the summer of 2012- specifically, Janie Morris- that I was forced to write Neanderthal Seeks Human, my first attempt at a full length novel. It took me 7 months while working full time, crafting, and raising my people-children (boy-5, girl-3). 



If I could have any job in the world it would be my job because I feel like what I do makes a tangible difference in the lives of every living person. If I could have any life in the world it would be my life. Happiness is the seed of good fortune and success. Do what it takes to be happy and be a source of happiness for others.

Author's links:


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Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Ms Reid's upcoming book, Love Hacked, kindly provided by the author: 


His hands gripped my waist—not my arms, which my pickled brain thought was noteworthy—and duly steadied and unsettled me with his nearness. His proximity and touch caused a zing—yes, a zing—from the back of my neck to my fingertips and heretofore neglected womanly pelvic region. The heat of his hands bled through the thin material of my dress, settled just above my hips, and this sensation paired with the zing sobered me slightly.

I hadn’t experienced a zing with a man—or a boy—or a man-boy—in a very, very long time.

“Well, h-hello.” I stuttered, lifted my eyes and found his, once again, singularly focused on my mouth. A new zing sailed southward, past my female equipment to my tiptoes. 

Ah, how I missed the zing!

We stood silent, inches from each other, sharing the same breath.

“Three years is a long time.” He said, his voice achingly seductive.

I frowned because I was confused, but whispered, “Yes. And fettuccini noodles are too thick.” 

He frowned, but his attention didn’t waver from my lips. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I don’t know. You said three years is a long time. I thought we were sharing random opinions.”

Alex laughed—it sounded a bit nervous, but I couldn’t be sure, and shook his head. “Sandra, what do you say? I think it’s well past time you had a kiss.” His eyes flickered to mine. I noted they were still guarded, wizened; but they were also heated and every shade of licentious lapis imaginable. 

In a word, delightful.

I licked my lips, gathered a deep breath through my nose, considered the offer. 

He was maybe twenty-three; more likely he was twenty-two. That was six years younger than my twenty-eight. The six years between twenty-two and twenty-eight was a vast minefield of life experience and a thick forest of emotional maturity. 

We were on different emotion planets. 

I was looking for the guy. I was looking for my life partner. I wasn’t looking for a dangerous yet delicious looking youngster waiter with a chip on his shoulder. 

Then again…

Alex was manlicious in a way that I rarely encountered. And he wanted to kiss me. And he wasn’t crying. Triple bonus.

Okay, I thought, psyching myself up, yes, let’s do this. Let’s go wild, just this once. Kiss the boy. Kiss the boy and round the bases. Look for your life partner tomorrow.

Before I lost my nerve, I kissed him.

Zing.

It was brief, sudden; a drive by kiss and I savored his stunned soft mouth. Then I leaned just my head away and glanced at him. He had such a great mouth and he’d parted it slightly in surprise. 

I nodded. “Okay, just one more.” I kissed him again, fast but with more pressure this time, planted my lips to his and breathed in through my nose

Zing! 

Then, reluctantly, I leaned away again and immediately said, “Just one more kiss after this-”

He interrupted my assertion by mouthlesting me; meaning, he affixed his lips to mine and kissed me good and thorough. 

ZING! 

Thick, urgent tongue invasion; biting; sucking and stroking. As he assaulted me in the best way possible, I was vaguely aware that he’d backed me into and against the corner of the small alcove, just under the stairs. His feet braced apart and his body towered over mine, filled every inch of available space; his fingers dug into my side and back in a way that felt aggressive. 

I approved.

Then, abruptly, he pulled just a centimeter away. Breathing hard he said, “One more meaning that kiss?” 

I hazily blinked my eyes and opened my abused lips to respond; however, before I could, he pressed me against the wall with his imposing frame, rocked against me—center to center—and growled, “Or, this kiss?”

ZING ZING ZING!

His every day voice was a thing of beauty; but his growly voice made me want to lick his face. 

The mouthlesting moved from misdemeanor to a felony crime against all women other than me. He employed tongue, teeth, lips in a way that drove all thought beyond this kiss from my mind. We existed, just the two of us, in our kiss cocoon. In that moment, strangers though we were, I allowed him to take in a way I hadn’t known I was capable of giving. 

I’d lit the fuse and, God bless him, he’d provided the fireworks. Life was good.

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Enter the blog hop giveaway for a chance to win some awesome prizes and HAPPY VALENTINE"S DAY to you!!!


Books Up For Grabs!

Knowing Vera
Under Different Stars
Bubba the Bulldog Tries to Smile
Dangled Carat: one girl's attempt to convert the ultimate commitment-phobic man into a doting husband with a lot of help from his family and friends
Venice in the Moonlight
Starlet's Web
Starlet's Run
Starlet's Light
Pierced
Escaped
No Alligators in Sight
The Silken Edge
Illusions Begin: The Mysticseeker Series
The Hideaway
Meeting Destiny
Blood Debt
Destiny's Revenge
Centaur Legacy
Destiny's Wrath
Centaur Redemption
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4 comments

  1. Thanks for introducing me to another great author. I look forward to reading Neanderthal Seeks Human!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome :) Penny Reid's books are great fun to read and I hope you'll like them.

      Delete
  2. How have I not read Neanderthal Seeks Human yet?! It's definitely going to be my next purchase for my Kindle! Thank you!

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