The first Penny Reid book I read was the first in this series and I loved it, so I was anticipating reading the rest of the series (in order, of course). So Elizabeth’s story came next.
Elizabeth Finney was the friend Janie stayed with at the beginning of book #1, so we got to know her a bit there. She’s finishing up her residency as an ER doctor, so she’s obviously a smart and high-achieving person, which makes her instantly likable. I definitely liked her in the first book, especially since she was so supportive of Janie.
In this book, we get to know her a lot better. Part of her backstory is very important to the book—specifically, that she was in love with her boyfriend Garrett who died when she was fifteen and he was sixteen. She still feels heartbroken over it, fifteen years later. As a result, she considers herself someone who just uses men she’s not genuinely interested in because love is out of the question for her (even though her number is very low).
The other part of her backstory is Nico Manganiello. Nico was Garrett’s best friend while they were all growing up, so Elizabeth knows him well. In fact, she lost her virginity to him a couple years after Garrett died and right before she moved to Ireland—and she hasn’t seen Nico since. Despite that ending to their relationship, most of her memories of him are negative, as he tormented her over the years. She finally finds out why after Nico and his mom and niece show up to the hospital for the little girl to join a study to help her cystic fibrosis. Elizabeth hasn’t seen him in nearly fifteen years, and Nico acts really weird at first. But when she sees him again, he proposes they become friends. She makes him clarify that that’s without benefits because she’s so surprised and confused by him. Because apparently, he’s been in love with her this whole time.
From there, the story develops with Elizabeth basically repeatedly turning Nico down while he tries in every way to convince her that she loves him, too. I have to admit that I grew a little frustrated with Elizabeth here. I didn’t fully understand her inner conflict—why she resisted so much when she was definitely attracted to him. It kind of bugged me throughout the book and I kept wishing she would just give in and go out with him, even if it would make the book shorter. However, the story continues and finally one of the subplots comes to a head in an exciting way, making her see things more clearly.
Still, I’m glad I read this, as I really do like the series and the women in Elizabeth’s knitting group. The book’s told entirely from Elizabeth’s point of view (except for the epilogue). And it’s definitely funny like the rest of Reid’s books are. Both characters are reasonably complex, even if we don’t get to see as much of Nico’s internal struggle as we might if we got his perspective, too. Nico’s mom and niece are both enjoyable, as well.
You’ll definitely want to read this if you are into the series, even if you end up a little frustrated with Elizabeth, too. Personally, I’m looking forward to Sandra’s story in book #3, which I have in a stack on my desk.