Christie's review: Scenes from the City by Penny Reid

Title:Scenes from the City

Series: Knitting in the City #4.5

Author: Penny Reid

Release Date: December 1, 2014

Rating:5 stars

Cliffhanger: no

aka... the Festivus Surprise 100% of proceeds go to Toys for Tots. This book cannot be read as a standalone. It is a collection of short scenes following the ladies from the 'Knitting in the City' series and will only be available in eBook format from December 1 - December 15, 2014.
'Neanderthal Seeks Honeymoon' - Janie and Quinn
'Friends Definitely With Benefits' - Elizabeth and Nico
'Hacking the Hacker' - Sandra and Alex
'Beauty and the Beard' - Ashley and Drew
'Ninja at First Sight' - Fiona and Greg

[ No (hide spoiler)]

Penny Reid has become one of my all time favorite authors and I don't see that ever changing. Every single book she puts out is close to my heart, I just adore her characters and her quirky storylines, they deeply resonate with me which makes me wonder....how does this woman do it??! It's highly improbable for me to enjoy every single thing an author writes but no matter how many times I read a new book, I come away feeling to happy and satisfied. I've come up with some possible explanations:

1) She is my Spirit Author (similar to spirit animal, but better.)

2)She's my twin, separated at birth and has that uncanny twin psychic power

3)She's just a kickass, humble, witty and intelligent person who writes for the true love of it and it comes across in her books effortlessly.

I'm going with choice 1 or 3....but two could be entirely possible. Please excuse me, I freely admit I am a Penny Reid fanatic and I may gush a little bit. I kind of feel like this would be me if I ever met her, this is how much I love her...



As this is just a short novella, there's not a lot of material to critique, but I'm just going to do mainly a picture review with some of my favorite quotes. There are four "scenes" with couples from all the previous books as well as a 100 page introduction to Greg and Fiona when they met in college. As expected, I just devoured every written word in this book and was so giddy over getting a few extra moments with each couple.

In the first scene, Neanderthal Seeks Honeymoon, we get some bonus time with Janey and Quinn. This is my personal favorite couple and I was so excited to get a peek into their honeymoon. In her usual geeky glory, Janey is her usual analytical self in-between all the sexing she and Quinn enjoy. She has a couple of surprises for her new groom and I have a feeling that he will forever be surprised by her no matter how many years they're together. I love his tenderness toward her and his insatiable appetite for his wife.



Scene 2, Friends Definitely with Benefits, is with Elizabeth and Nico. Elizabeth is struggling to adjust to the fact that she is now married (unexpectedly) and more importantly, she doesn't remember her wedding. When she has a really tough day at the hospital, Nico is there to lovingly support her and kiss away her tears. *sigh* Could he be any sweeter?



In scene 3, Hacking the Hacker, Sandra and Alex mark one of Sandra's lifetime to-do's off of her list. As ever, he's there to give her whatever her little heart desires, no matter how outlandish it might be. I just love Sandra and Alex together. They have a sexy camaraderie and natural, easy feel to them and I loved seeing Sandra live out one of her wishes in only a way Penny could give us.



Scene 4, Beauty and the Beard.....There isn't a word to describe how much I LOVED this glimpse into Ash and Drew's reunion after a long separation. The missing love letters from Drew?! The surprise early arrival from Drew right at the opportune time?





Perfection. Total poetic, sizzling perfection.



And finally, in Ninja at First Sight, we get to meet Greg and Fiona in a wonderful pre-introduction before their full story comes out next year.



This was the longest of the stories and it made me even more excited about their upcoming book. As usual, both characters were intelligent, funny, and well planned out and executed. I fell a little bit in love with Greg and his somewhat cynical and arrogant personality and how he was exposed and duly admonished by the shy and quiet Fiona. She's a little socially awkward, (nothing like Janey though) but she immediately clicks with Greg and they have a way of talking to each other that reaches past the surface and digs deep down. As Greg's true feelings unfold, we see how special she is to him and how he silently adored her from afar.



I can't wait to see how Penny brings us into their heads in the future. I was already planning on reading it of course, but now, the release can't come soon enough.

If you've read the Knitting in the City series, this is a wonderful addition even if you aren't partial to novellas like myself. Although the page count is short, the feels are still in abundance for anyone who adores these couples she has created and you won't be disappointed with getting to spend a little more reading time with them. Plus, you'll have the privilege of helping Penny in her generous donation to the worthy cause 'Toys for Tots'. All proceeds from this novella goes to helping needy children have a better Holiday. Thank you Penny for giving me an early Christmas present...as always you gave us a memorable and lovely trip back into our favorite characters' lives.

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