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Closet Geeks and Slow Mo

Found your person a while back? ... Read this!

Happily Ever Ninja (Knitting in the City Book 5) - Penny Reid
"Marriage is an ultimate sport in emotional multitasking. I'm never ony mad at Greg. I'm mad and madly in love; angry and concerned for his wellbeing; he frustrated and delights me in the same second"



Happily Ever Ninja gave me exactly what I was expecting and it totally didn't.
Let me explain this statement.
What do you expect when reading Reid? Well, that's easy enough to answer: A whole lot of fun, some cute & fluffy, awesome geekness, lots of smolder and most importantly real life romance. And Happily Ever Ninja ticked all those boxes... and then some.
So basically if you love Reid and haven't read this: Why are you sitting here reading my review? Just go read the book. You will like it. I promise.

Now why did is say it totally didn't fulfill my expectations? Look basically this is a good thing, but it also holds the a wee bit of my only tiny issue with the book.
I mean what do you expect when there is a romance novel about a couple that is married for more than a decade? When Reid has written a super cute and heart melting novella about how they got together? (oh yeah, if you haven't, do read it! It's awesome!)
I was worried that maybe we get a break up and this is their makeup novel? --Rest assured this isn't.
Honestly would you have asked me how Reid is going to make this into a romance, that would have been my only possible option. Buuuuuut thankfully as I said, she didn't chose that route.
Instead, she, in my opinion, did something way way better. She went real. And I mean really real.
If you have been like me married a while, your spouse and you live hectic life, spending quite a bit of time apart. This will ring so true! I cannot describe how often I could relate to Fioan's worries and reactions. Those issues, are totally real life.
But most importantly the romance. The love. All the bits that make Fiona and Greg's romance, were so familiar and rang so true, it was eerie actually. I felt like Reid might have stalked my life... Then I wondered if this is maybe, at least to a part autobiographical? Because, though I have never met Reid (sadly) I imagine her to be quite a bit like Fiona, which mean she definitely has a Greg in her life, doesn't it. Add to that Fiona's situation at the end of the book... (well minus the ninja parts obvs.. at least I think so) then well, it seem to kinda fit right?
I am getting carried away here...

Basically what I am trying to say: Reid managed to write a romance about a fairly happily married couple... by highlighting the beauty and depth of their relationship. She took a marriage and boiled it all down to the core of why we are married or in relationships with people and what the beauty of it actually is. Simply put: genius. I absolute adore it!

To get us to those meaningful moments, Reid chose a rather action filled plot. To be honest I am not quite sure how I feel about the plot. I love it and I don't like it that much.
Look the stuff that happens in Nigeria- I love that Reid decided to point something out, that is a reality. But while I read it, I kept on feeling frustrated by the lack of romance. Don't get me wrong, the action bits are good. They are fun. They are sadly not that far fetched.
The oil industry and the situation she points out in West Africa sadly are absolutely true.
But as I said I had expectations- and it wasn't THAT.
When I finally got over that tidbit however, I really enjoyed the ride.

While this could work as a standalone- I think it would be a crime to not read the other books first. You would miss out on so so much. (So basically don't do THAT.) Having read every single thing Reid has published so far, I loved revisiting the City Knitters.  And honestly I think Greg has become my favorite male hero in the Knitting in the City Series...(sorry Alex.. ok, maybe they kinda equal...)
Greg is infuriating, sweet, hot, .. ah just pure awesome. I could totally relate to his POV and I absolutely loved Fiona's POV. I was hoping there would be a novel about them, right from the first book. And Happily Ever Ninja, did not disappoint. I loved getting to know those two better, loved how they got together and absolutely adore how they make their romance work, day after day.
I am not sure how I felt about the 180 turnaround in the end... I guess I expected a compromise rather than a total turnaround... but I still felt all gooey happy about it.


Look again, this is not your usual run of the mill kinda romance, it is actually the daily grid kinda romance. And if you look at it that way, then this is way more profound and way deeper than anything Reid has published so far.
Oh and I loved how each chapter was started.. Just loved it!

In my opinion a must read for everyone out there that is with their person for a while...



"My heart keeps discovering new ways to love you,"he whispered, like it was a secret. My smile was immediate. A rush fo emotion stung my eyes. Because sometimes marriage to this man was wonderful.