Bad Penny, an all-new romantic comedy standalone from Staci Hart is now LIVE!

OUR REVIEW:

Shel: Man oh man do we need more characters like Penny in our lives; she is delightfully irreverent and full of sass and hilarious and there was so much to appreciate about her. Penny does what she wants and loves what she does--whether that is her job or her men--and what's not to love about that, right? She respects herself and she respects those around her and she's always upfront about her expectations and those are all things that I can get behind. What I hated for Penny was why some of who she is was because of what someone did to her. Let me explain. I love characters like Penny--she's a woman who makes her own way, eschews societal expectations when they don't fit her narrative and makes her own narrative--and I can't wait for more and more characters to be created like her; characters who are strong and free and do what they do not because they're making a statement or rebelling but it's because it's just who they are. I feel like many of Penny's characteristics are just that--they are her because that's who she is. I think, too, that part of who she is in her romantic life is because of one douchebag in her past and that's what I hate for her and for anyone who has been hurt by someone--that those hurts form these corrective, protective shields that are needed but can also blind us to people and situations that can help us grow or can be good for us. Which is where I see Bodie fitting in--someone who can help show Penny that there can be people out there for us who won't stifle us or manipulate us, but are actually good for us.

Court: She is one of the stronger characters we've read in a while for sure. And I love that also. What I wasn't really remembering/expecting was how many of our characters that we've met before that would make appearances in this book! That had me settling in, reminiscing and excited for what was to come. Penny also has the best girlfriends in the world in Ramona and Veronica, and thank goodness she has someone that she trusts fully to talk her off the ledge. She was somewhat frustrating in her attitude sometimes, because it was her way or the highway and Bodie just has to agree to that and doesn't get a say. I liked him so much, and obviously her rules were there for a reason because not everyone out there is like him...at all! So....all of these things make up for quite the main characters for us to psychoanalyze.

Shel: As much as I want more Pennys in my fictional world, I also want more Bodies. This dude, y'all. This duuuude. This dude was so wonderfully kind and patient and understanding and insightful and funny. He also wasn't perfect, thankfully. He withheld and wasn't always honest with where he stood and that's no way for a relationship to work and I hated that he felt like he needed to do that--but I totally felt for him and why he suppressed certain feelings. I think many of us understand that delicate balance of doing what's needed to help foster a relationship along and trying to be who we are too--and as anyone knows who has actually attempted that balance, it's not easy and usually there's a tipping point where things have to change in order for the relationship to go forward or they just won't work.

Court: Bodie! He is absolutely awesome. I really liked his character and how he literally didn't want to change one thing about Penny. He liked her because of who she was, not who he wanted her to be...and that is just an absolutely awe-inspiring notion, right? Who'd have thought that? LOL! Anyways, he's smart, and funny...and sexy. He's a great character and I was just rooting for him the entire time. And then boom...things get crazy!

Shel: Is this a review of Bad Penny or all of my failures at life? I don't know. I think that's the beauty of Staci Hart's novels--they're so easy to relate to that before I know it I'm psychoanalyzing them (and me) instead of focusing on more bookish qualities. Sorry? Ahem. Anyway. Bad Penny has all sort of things to ponder if you choose (see above) or it can also be a perfectly wonderful light romantic comedy that you can escape into for a few hours; you can really read it either way and completely enjoy the funny banter, the steamy bedroom scenes, and the hearts of Penny and Bodie.

Court: It is a great way to spend the day, reading this book, y'all and I don't think you'll be disappointed. I do think you'll be curious about other characters and I cannot wait to see what is to come from Staci Hart...because she nailed it, as always!

Synopsis

Nothing good comes after the third date.

See, date three is the crucial point when things get real, which is exactly why I bounce out the door, twiddling my fingers at whatever poor boy I’ve left behind. Because if I stick around, one of three things will happen: he’ll profess his undying love, he gets weird and stalky, or I’ll go crazy. Like, Sid and Nancy crazy. Like, chase-him-through-the-streets-begging-him-to-love-me crazy.

Seriously, it’s better for everyone this way.

So when I meet Bodie, I figure it’ll be the same as it ever was. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t put a single string on me. Doesn’t matter that he’s funny and smart and jacked and can play my body like a grand piano. Because even though I’m built for love, love has only carved me up like a Christmas ham.

Resistance is something I can only hang on to for so long, and he has persistence in spades. But my heart isn’t as safe as I want to believe, and neither is his. And the second I ignore my cardinal rule is the second I stand to lose him forever.

Now 99¢ and FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2s0oLBD

Amazon UK: https://goo.gl/Qs2lvo

Add to GoodReads: https://goo.gl/pVXrzF

About the Author

Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life -- a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can't forget that. She's also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She's been a wife, though she's certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She's also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she's been drinking whiskey. From roots in Houston to a seven year stint in Southern California, Staci and her family ended up settling somewhere in between and equally north, in Denver. They are new enough that snow is still magical. When she's not writing, she's reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.