E-galley Review: Bananapants by Penny Reid

Item: Bananapants
Rating: 5
Author: Lisa Mandina

Posted August 6, 2024 by Lisa Mandina in Review / 6 Comments

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

E-galley Review: Bananapants by Penny Reid

Bananapants by Penny Reid
Published by Cipher-Naught on August 6, 2024
Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance
Pages: 392
Source: the author
Format: E-galley
My Rating:

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Blurb:

Estranged childhood friends unexpectedly reunite under bizarre circumstances and bicker their way to love in this bonkers romantic comedy.

Ava Archer misses her best childhood friend most especially during the month of April. Ask any tax attorney, it’s a lonely, grueling time of year. Luckily, Ava has just received a surprising and delectably absurd offer from her posh doppelgänger at work. She must pretend to be the aforementioned posh co-worker for one night at an extremely fancy party; a party so fancy, there exists absolutely no chance anyone will recognize her or suspect her ruse…

Desmond (Des) Sullivan is a thief. And not the heart-of-gold kind. He’s the steal-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-also-rich-so-he-can-get-paid kind. He does, however, have one firm rule never steal what the target can’t afford to lose. After a brutal falling out with his father, Desmond hasn’t returned to Chicago in over ten years. But when a good friend is swindled and something priceless is stolen, Desmond must return home, both as himself and his thieving alter ego. Infiltrate a dangerous secret society of the world’s most elite billionaires while leveraging his estranged father’s resources and not blowing his cover? Sure. No problem. Or it wouldn’t be a problem if Ava Archer hadn’t just walked into the room, wearing a ridiculous wig, speaking with a preposterous accent, and pretending (badly) to be someone she’s not.

‘Bananapants’ is a full-length, contemporary romantic comedy filled with hijinks and shenanigans. It can be read as a standalone, but the parents of the main characters will be familiar to anyone who has read the Knitting in the City series.

My Review

Of course I will read and devour anything that Penny Reid writes. And I honestly thought that when she called this book “Bananapants” it was like a working title until she told us the real one. So imagine my surprise when it was the actual title, lol. Although it was shown in the story why this was the name once I started reading it, as well as the author talked about it in her note at the end.

This was such a great story. It had so many moments that I laughed out loud. But it also had so many moments I was tearing up and feeling all kinds of ways. In a way, it is hard to review this because I feel it is also a very important story. What I’ve always loved about Reid’s books is that her characters are just real. They are imperfect, but not all the same imperfections. For some characters I totally connected with, feeling the same about so many things, probably having similar imperfections as they did. And then there are others that are normally people in real life I might not understand exactly why they are the way they are. What is so great about her stories though, is how they give the reader a glimpse into what or how or why these people are thinking or doing or reacting the way they do. It’s important to note, that the author herself even notes that not all people with certain diagnoses behave the same as the people or characters she’s written. She does her due diligence in talking to people who are like Desmond and are bi-polar. She has her own loved ones that are able to do the sensitivity reading and help make sure she gets it right for what they experienced.

Some things that were so important in this story, and that I think I need to keep in my own mind with my own depression, is that it can’t be you’re living or doing things for other people all the time. You have to do it for yourself or it won’t continue. It also will be emotional warfare in a way to the person that you depend on, especially if they know they are the one. I also love how because Desmond and Ava were being honest with each other (a bit from my favorite Outlander between Jamie and Claire in a way), she is able to ask him all the questions that I know I would want to ask in that situation. And he doesn’t placate her, he is honest and explains it to her. Plus she knows that he isn’t being mean when he explains, he is being honest with her, and telling her what she needs to know.

Okay, let’s talk about some of the not so serious aspects of the story that I loved. First of all, going back to the Knitting in the City series, and seeing all or almost all of our favorite couples and their significant others and families, loved that! Ava being a part of the knitting night. And I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I haven’t read Desmond’s parents’ story in a bit, the very first in the series. But I loved that even though we love these characters, they might not have been perfect parents, and their kids might have had some of the same types of relationships they’d have, even if in the end, they could work it out.

And finally, I loved the banter and chemistry between Ava and Desmond. I loved Desmond’s joking around with Sue. I loved how Ava said she’d often have random movie lines pop into her head, um, hey girl, that’s me too! Once again, Penny Reid blows me away with the perfect story, with perfectly imperfect characters, perfect dialogue, no third act break-up in this one either!