Marriage of Inconvenience: Knitting in the City, Book 7

5 “Dan the Security Man” “Kit-Kat” “cheese” “smolder” “bossy” KissesI don’t even know where to begin with this book. I knew that Kat and Dan’s book was going to be a doozy – I thought I was mentally prepared for it…but there is no way to mentally prepare yourself for a book that has been building over the course of 7 novels and two unforgettable chapters from their night in Vegas. They were everything I was hoping for and then some…they squeezed my heart with endless precision and I couldn’t get enough of their story and how it unfolded. So…million dollar question – do you have to read the other books in the Knitting Series to understand Marriage of Inconvenience? Technically…no – each book can be read as a standalone (with the exception of Neanderthal Marries Human ) and everything is explained perfectly, albeit with spoilers. That being said…I would absolutely recommend reading this series in order…there is an appreciation for the characters that cannot be truly understood or enjoyed if you don’t read them in order…and trust me, the relationships between all of these characters is so worth it.Kathleen Caravel-Tyson…oh Kit-Kat...is a very complex character. VERY complex. She makes complex look easy. But I knew that ages ago - it never detracted from her loveableness. I still thought she was just as amazing as the other girls...she’s just a different type of odd duck - I mean all the knitting girls are their own brand of unique, it’s one of the main reasons why I love them so. But really getting to know Kat…understanding her issues…understanding her, it was an interesting and eye opening experience. I’ll be honest, Kat isn’t a heroine you can easily fall in love with if you haven’t read the other books in the series…she is closed off, her past has made her that way, and I got that. But she's absolutely worth the effort...‘His eyes dropped to my mouth, darkened, and smoldered. That’s right, they freaking smoldered. I’d never had someone smolder in my general direction, or if I had, I hadn’t realized it. But a Dan smolder was impossible to miss and it made my insides feel hot and heavy. It also made me want to climb on his lap and kiss his face off. Based on his smolder, I doubted he’d stop me.’Daniel O’Malley…Dan the freaking Security Man was more amazing then I could have even imagined. He’s been like a magnet through the entire series, I’ve always been drawn to him – it’s the magic of Penny’s men, they’re all blindingly fantastic and I can’t help but fall hopelessly in love with him. In my defense, I’ve pretty much been in love with Dan since Janie’s bachelorette party…so technically not my fault. Dan is everything that is good and right with the world packaged in a sexy, tatto’d package that likes to curse…oh and with a Boston accent. Like I said – perfect!“I can’t control this,” I said, my eyes and nose stinging—not sure if I was referring to what had happened moments ago, or how I was falling in love with him, how I was probably already in love with him—and I pressed myself more firmly into his embrace. “It’s overwhelming.”“It’s supposed to be.” His hold shifted to my shoulders and he held me away, just a few inches so our eyes could meet. “Trust me,” he said, and it sounded like a plea.“I do.”He shook his head, telling me he disagreed. “Trust me that I want every part of you.”I stared at him, panic ballooning within me. “What if parts of me are messy? Or ugly?”He smirked. “Parts of you are ugly and messy. I still want you. I want the ugly and the beautiful and everything in between. You don’t pick and choose the parts of a person you want. S---, I’m the ugliest f---er I know, and I want to give it all to you.”Kat and Dan are…fated, meant to be, perfect in every way and all that I need in life. I love how equally obsessed with each other they are…how they notice all the little miniscule things that anyone else would never care about…how even when they were apart it did nothing to weaken the bond that they had. Like I said – fated! Ugh…the angst between them was palpable! Yes, it’s based on miscommunication and assumptions but I didn’t even care because it worked – I felt all the angsty feels and it tore me up in amazing ways. Everything Kat and Dan did tore me up because as much as they tried to fight or deny what was completely obvious, it only served to pull them together more and finally being able to enjoy Kit-Kat and Dan the Security Man in any context was more than worth it in my book. They made me work for each and every blissful moment but I would have done it a million times to be able to finally see them at peace with each other.“What?” Now I was glaring.“Nothing.” He shook his head, the smile he was fighting morphing into something else as his eyes traveled down the length of me and then back up, his gaze coming to rest on the button I’d undone. “You’re just really sexy when you’re bossy.”Now I was fighting a smile, and also the heat sliding up my cheeks. “I wasn’t bossy.”“You were bossy.”“I was communicating my expectations.”“Bossy.” His gaze slowly rose to my lips.“If I were a man, you would call me assertive.”“If you were a man, I would have called you a bossy motherf---er.”Penny Reid creates majesticness that leave me in a puddle of happiness and suffering with insane book hangover syndrome. I’m in no way complaining, just stating a fact. I could not love Penny’s style more and the entire Knitting Series has been a lovely fall into perfection that has totally blown my mind. This group of women she has created is so amazing...their friendship is the literal best. Not even exaggerating in the slightest. I’ve said it almost since the beginning, and I’ll keep saying it, being able to enjoy the friendship between Janie, Elizabeth, Sandra, Ashley, Fiona, Marie and Kat is almost better than the relationship they have with their men. Trust me – that’s saying something because all of their men are fan-freakin-tastic and I love them all to bits. But there is something beyond magical about this group – and yes, it does get more majestic when you add the men – but it seriously brings a sense of peace and warmth to my heart that you can only get from a soul-enriching friendship. To have the kind of friendship they have is one in a million and I love being able to experience that connection through them. Penny has completely blown my mind with this series – I knew I would love it but this is like a whole other level of love. I loved every single second of reading these books.I trusted him. I trusted him implicitly and explicitly and I couldn’t image a situation where he’d ever break that trust. I loved him and I trusted him and I was happy.“Thank you for believing in me,” I said before I realized I was speaking.His smile was small as he lifted an eyebrow, glancing at me again. “Thanks for making it so easy.”I always rave about Penny’s endings…they’re some of my all-time faves, I love the way she wraps everything up…it’s never rushed and the detail and attention she puts into making them feel so complete is amazing. Marriage of Inconvenience was no different…with the exception of the ah-mazing epilogue at the end. Amazing isn’t a big enough word - it was beyond words…my heart wanted to explode into rainbows and unicorns and heart eyed emoji’s. I had to hold back the tears, multiple times, and I was basically ear to ear smiles the entire time. I hate that the series had to end at all, but if it had to end…that’s the way to end it. My heart is torn in two directions right now…happy because of everything I just read, yet sad that it’s over. It’s like my brain isn’t ready/willing to accept that I just finished the last book in the Knitting Series. *sobs uncontrollably* I will say, with some of the stuff that is revealed in the epilogue, I will hold my breath, cross my fingers and pray to any gods that want to listen that there might be a spin-off in the distant future (a book girl can dream!) but either way…I couldn’t be happier. #KnittersRule

*taps the mic* is this thing on? *clears throat* ladies and gentlemen, gather around... because this... this is how a conclusion to a series should be done :) and no, I am not saying that only because Penny Reid is currently my all time favourite author and I love blindly everything she writes... it's actually the opposite... when I love someone's work as much as I love hers, the expectations are always higher than usual... beacuse in Penny's case, she got me used to a very high quality stories... so naturally, I want that trend to continue... I'm used to the awesomeness ;) so when I got my hands on this book... the last one in her Knitting in the city series... I was a bit afraid... I hyped this book, for myself, for a very long time... I waited for that couple to get their story, for a very long time... and somewhere at the back of my brain was a little thought... that maybe I will be disappointed by the actual story, cause I built it up so much in my brain... yeah... I shuldn't have worried :) because this book was perfection... and I'm gonna tell you all about it in this review :)Usually I start with the main couple, but this time, I am gonna change things a bit... since this is the seventh and last book in a series, I want to take a moment to talk about the secondary characters first... I'm not gonna get into all of the details about them, because we would be here all day... and a bigger part of tomorrow ;) it's really hard actually to write about them, cause I'm sure that some of you are completely new to this series... to all of you guys, I have to say this: go and read the previous stories before you dive into this one... yes, technically you can read it as a standalone, but you will miss out if you haven't read at least a few previous stories... because this book is full of those little scenes... beautiful interactions, that just won't mean what they should if you don't know the backstories... :) and after all, you can read a book for the first time just once, so you want to make it the best reading experience ;) so I highly encourage you to catch up on all of the books, and to make your lives a bit easier, here are the couples, in order of their stories: Janie and Quinn, Elizabeth and Nico, Sandra and Alex, Ashley and Drew, Fiona and Greg, Marie and Matt :) I'm sure each and every one of you will find someone who will struck a cord within your heart, because all of those couples... all of those stories are wonderfully different from one another :) and that is because all those characters are so diverse... when it comes to their personalities and how they handle situations... ;) again, I am not gonna get into details, cause all of those books deserve a review of their own, but I highly recommend all of them :) and if you know them... even if you don't remember every little detail... those group scenes... all those interactions between different people... will mean sooooo much more :) you will be able to see how certain people changed... how important they are to one another... how different the dynamics between them are... *sighs happily* just, trust me on that... :) and read the previous stories :)Ok, now I can tell you a bit more about our main couple... Kat and Dan... Dan the security man... *sighs dreamily* he might be my favourite hero in this series... so far it was Alex, but Dan definitely made a very lasting impression... ;) and I am not saying that just because I don't remember Alex very well... I am actually currently listening to the audiobook of the story with him and Sandra, so he's very fresh in my mind... :) but Dan... *sighs dreamily yet again* ok, get yourself together woman, and try to articulate your feelings ;) Dan works with Quinn, they have... a company that provides security :) we met him... I wanna say in the very first book, but I am not entirely sure... anyway... :) he was a constant fixture in the previous stories... and I've waited for this particular book for a very long time... mainly because Dan and Kat... we knew something will happen between them at some point... those little teasers... glimpses... in the previous books, just made me that much more excited about this story... and it did not disappoint :) but let me finally tell you more about Dan... he cusses... a lot... :) I feel like you might need the warning, although I absolutely loved it and it didn't bother me at all :) maybe cause I also cuss a lot... although in my case, most of it is internal ;) he's a very charming guy, who made me swoon multiple times within the pages of this novel... :) seems to be easy going most of the time, but can get very intense when it's needed... :) I'm not gonna get into his past and what happened there, cause it's better if you hear it from him when you read the book :) oh he's not perfect, but like with all of Penny's heroes, flawed in the most real and human way... learning from his mistakes and accepting consequences of certain actions, at the same time not giving up and fighting for what's important :) but as much as I love the men, it's the women in Penny's books who always take the first place in my heart... her heroines are... I have troubles finding good enough adjactives to describe them... they are complex, smart, brave, kind, resourceful, generous, thoughtful... the list could go on and on... and yes, of course, they also make mistakes and sometimes act without thinking, which may result in misunderstandings and arguments and such... but they always own up to their mistakes and try to resolve any conflict like adults... actually talking about it :) every time I read one of her stories I feel inspired and empowered and just all around awesome :) and Kat is no exception... although she definitely surprised me :) up until now I saw her as the most timid and shy of the knitting group, usually in the background, mostly listening to others... or maybe that's just how I remember her from the first few books... :) because she changed... or maybe now that I saw things from her perspective, I realized how much more there is to her that I initially thought... she has a very troubled past that now have a very huge impact on her and her behaviour... but she works very hard to get better... I don't want to get into too many details, because yet again, I think it's much better if you discover all of them while you are reading this story :) now when it comes to the romance part... *sighs happily* oh, how hard I swooned over Dan... the way he treats Kat... how he interacts with her... how much he cares from the very beginning... I was a goner ;) their is a bit peculiar situation, since Kat needs to marry someone ASAP because of a certain situation connected to her safety, he agrees to help immediately... :) and once they explain to one another certain misunderstandings, things start to move in the right direction... :) I am in a bit of a bind right now, cause on the one hand, I have so many things about their relationship to tell you, but on the other hand... I don't want to say anything at all :) so that you can read it for yourselves and discover all those lovely subtelties... but what I will say is that I loved most of all, how Dan was Kat's partner... yes, protective and caring, but standing next to her, not in front of her, so she can fight her own battles knowing she has him by her side at all times, because she's more than capable of being pretty kick-ass all on her own :) there were a few scenes where I was seriously impressed with the way she handled things ;) and that's all I'm gonna say about them :)The best praise and compliment I can give this story, is that I didn't want it to end... in fact... I don't think I ever read a book as slowly as I did this one... I wanted to prolong it as much as I could, beause it was absolutely wonderful... usually I am a pretty fast reader... it all depends if it's a contemporary or a fantasy setting, do I already know the world, its rules and characters or if it's completely new... but I definitely read pretty fast... but once in a while a book comes along that I am reading sooooo slowly... almost like I would read to myself out loud, so it's basicaly like listening to an audiobook :) and this was one of those books... ;) it was an absolute perfection... a beautiful balance between the romance and relationship between the main couple of this particular story, at the same time it gave us as readers so many heartwarming little scenes with the characters from previous installments... again, I have to say that I highly recommend you to catch up on the series to truly enjoy those little gems ;) but not only that, we got to know a few new characters as well... and from all of them I adore Dan's mom the most ;) she's such an amazing person... :) what was a truly fantastic surprise, is that this particular story, opposite to the previous ones when we had all of the book written from the woman's perspective and only epilogue from man's point of view, had chapters written in dual POVs :) and that is my absolutely favourite writing style ever... I love being able to get inside the heads of both our main characters... and with every Dan's chapter... I swooned and sighed and melted all over the floor :) the more I read, the more I got excited for the audiobook version... I discovered my love for that type of books a few months ago and now I am beyond excited to listen to Dan whisper into my ears all the words... *sighs dreamily* trust me, as soon as that audiobook is live, I'm there :) I have so many feelings and emotions running around in my mind after finishing this beautiful story... I laughed, I teared up, I sighed and gasped in surprise... even now, while writing this review I'm feeling bittersweet, because it's... it's the last book in this series... and what a beautiul goodbye it was... although I'm not gonna lie, that epilogue at the very end definitely gave me hope that maybe... someday... we will go back to this world and those characters... *coughs* Knitting in the city the second generation *coughs* just putting this thought out there... maybe it will happen, maybe not... maybe way, way in the future, but I am willing to wait :) just... give me hope it might be true, that's all I'm asking ;) be sure to mark the day of the release of this wonderful gem in your calendars, pre-order it, just... get it as soon as possible, and then be sure to save it for a day off or weekend... cause this heartwarming and breathtaking book deserves to be read, when you are curled in your favourite reading spot, with your favourite reading accesories, whether it be snacks, beverages, blankets, pillows whatever... trust me on that... you want to feel warm and cozy, because this book is exactly like that feeling... it hugs you and gives you the most wonderful warm and fuzzy feelings... *sighs happily* and now I want to re-read the whole series again... to discover all the little things I missed out on my first read... to fall in love with the characters and their stories once more... and to just forget myself for a while in the most uniqly charming writing style of Penny Reid... I swear, this woman hits me in all the feels... the more books by her I read, the more I am falling in love... and the more I am inspired to be better and do better... no one makes me think about different and dificult subjects like her... that's just one of many, many reasons why you should give her, and her books, a try... she will change your lives for the better :)

Once again, Ms Reid has written an enthralling and complex book which whilst amusing and captivating is also much more: just for starters, touches on problems and situations involving mental health, the wrong doings of big pharma, social class, romantic misunderstandings, and a whole set of relationships both family and friends as well as unusual professions and skills. I won't do the plot but suffice it to say that an heiress Kat in partial hiding is having both her life and her company threatened by a vindictive greedy cousin Caleb, and her relationship with her friends, her marriage of inconvenience to Dan the Security Man and perhaps above all her relationship to herself are at the core of the book. Absolutely wonderful, and please please even though this is supposed to be the last in this series, More........more, more and more Bearded and Chemistry series too. This author's prose is elegant, absorbing, and all together terrific as are her beguiling and complex characters.

Here I am being super emotional for reaching the end of such a beautiful book series! I started reading Penny from KiTC series and as this series comes to an end with this book it was very special to me.I have seen Kat and Dan since book 1 of the series, and where Kat was so painfully shy and invisible, Dan was a flirt and such a sweetheart with gang background which gave him a dangerous edge. But in my opinion he is still less dangerous that Quinn! I've seen the growing attraction between Kat and Dan and how they both struggle with it during all the six books of the series till at last they had their own story told.This book is perfection! We get to see the crack in armour of Dan the Security Man, how he wishes for Kat to love him but is unable to accept it to be easy and trusting in her. However the gem of this book is Kat coming out of her shell and her backbone of steel when she was handling the snobs of her company. The growth of Kat's character from Book 1 of the KiTC series to this book has been drastic! Kat's battles with her fears and self-confidence was so realistic that I saw some aspects of myself in her!I love how the people of KiTC world just drop everything and gather to help each other in times of need!!! That is the best feature of these books and I feel not many authors can write the human relations in essence as Penny Reid can, and that's one of the reasons why I love her <3!This is perfect ending to the series!!! The epilogue is a cherry on the cake...

OMG!Where to start. Well firstly if I could give it 10 stars I would! The anticipation was well worth it. I love Kat and I love, love, love Dan even with his colourful language! Somehow he would seem smaller without it, together with his crooked nose and less than perfect teeth (normal outside the US!) makes him more real, after all, who needs perfection? Having said that, he is, perfect. All of Penny’s characters (in the books I’ve read so far) all have challenges of some sort, but that’s what makes it easier to connect with them. They are real and although I know it’s ‘only’ a story I feel sad that I haven’t been able to find a love like that, warts and all. I can’t say that it’s the best one of Penny’s I’ve read as they are all amazing books but as far as I’m concerned it certainly is the best love story. I love that the epilogue updates everyone but I for one could have easily read about all the years in between. I’m almost sad that I’ve already read it, if that makes sense. As for those who complain about Dan’s language, get a life! As a bad trait it’s nothing compared to Seamus and Caleb, reality check people. Anyway, I also realised that I now have 2 least favourite words in the English language – the End!

I have been waiting so long to read Dan and Kat's book. I wasn't dissapointed.I managed to get an early release copy last weekend (though Amazon wouldn't let me review early) and only settled to read it once I knew I had a snow day and work wouldn't interrupt.There were lots of warnings about Dan's use if language. I only really noticed it once though and it was a time I'd probably have sworn too and I don't swear at all. He did swear at other times but nothing like I expected.Anyway I'm not giving out spoilers suffice it to say I loved this book like I did the others in the series. It keeps you enthralled all the way through.I was so happy it was finnally here but so sad it's the end of the series, thank goodness for the Winston's....Oh and a ps. I'd forgotten how heavy, thick real books are, I've not read one in years.

This is the most perfect ending to the Knitting in the City series I could have hoped for.To say this book is just a romance would be to sell it short. MoI is an ode to love, friendship and family (not necessarily the one where born into but the one we build around us). Throughout the years we’ve seen the characters grow, build their friendships, find love, support, challenge and encourage each other. We’ve seen them become a family and MoI is the perfect culmination of this wonderful journey.As always with Penny, this book is beautifully written, well informed, smart, witty, funny, sweet and swoony.In this book we finally get to know the much anticipated characters of Dan and Kat. Dan is this sexy, tattooed ex-felon with the biggest heart and the filthiest mouth (don’t buy this book if you don’t like swear words) and Kat is this self-deprecating, sweet, loyal and smart girl that turns out to be a total badass. She’s my favourite of all the knitting ladies. And the love these two share... sigh... absolutely beautiful.Finally, I can’t finish this review without praising Penny for once again raising awareness of mental health and working towards the destigmatisation of schizophrenia.The world needs more books like this one and more authors s like Penny.