Friends Without Benefits

Story was good, but the narrator ruined it!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. This sounded like having Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson read the script from When Harry Met Sally.

Any additional comments?

A few hours into the book, I had to stop listening and I bought the kindle version to finish it. Once I did that, it was pretty enjoyable. As suggested by other readers, there were also some problems with the story. But there were also many laugh out loud moments. This is the third book that I have read/listened to by Penny Ried and I think her books need more editing. They are probably too long and could do with fewer internal dialogues of the characters. However, Friends Without Benefits definitely has many Rom-Com moments that will leave you smiling and liking the characters despite their flaws.

Problems:
1a) This biggest issue was the narrator. It makes NO sense that she uses an Italian accent for the main love interest, Nico, who grew up in Iowa! I know Italians living in Italy who have less of an accent than she gives him. Also, the accent she does use is terrible. I really could not keep listening.
1b) This novel should read in a much more light-hearted tone for big chunks of the book. The main character, Elizabeth, is supposed to be known for her sarcasm and Nico is supposed to be a comedian. Both end up sounding like tragic moody characters in some broody new adult vampire romance. When Amanda Ronconi narrates a book, you hear all the sarcasm and laugh at all the jokes. This sounded like having Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson read the script from When Harry Met Sally.
2) Aside from the narration, it was really hard to buy Nico as a shock comic with the heart of a feminist. I'm not saying that it's not possible, but the writing does not do a good job of convincing you that the underwear model turned raunchy feminist comedian is a thing that could exist in the universe. I think that Ried just used this device as a set up for the big finale of the book, which just ends up feeling kind of false and staged as a result. We get a Nico POV in the epilogue and he does sound more like how his character is described, but I found him to be way less likable in it.
3) There are other issues with the writing. As other reviewers pointed out, toward the end of the book, the characters do dumb things (no spoilers, but trust me). Also, an alert for people who care about authenticity. As someone in healthcare, a lot of the medical stuff sounds weird, it's just not the way people in the medical field talk about things - the patient is getting mysterious infusions that only Elizabeth is can administer. The way her residency rotations work is not right. Most people in the medical field will tell you that no doctor (besides an anesthesiologist) ever administered IV therapy. She also gives the impression that the side character who is an Advance Practice Nurse is doing bedside nursing, which is not how things work. If you are willing to suspend your disbelief about Nico's profession and the stilted medical discussions, the book has some good qualities.

On the plus side:
1) The book has many genuinely funny moments that truly caused me to laugh out loud.
2) If you ignore the fact that Nico makes a living as a raunchy comedian, his devotion to Elizabeth and the way he took care of her after a trauma they experienced in their teens will have you all swoony.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Doesn't measure up

I LOVED Neanderthal seeks human. The story captivated me and I couldn't get enough. I tried to pike this story and it started off promising. But between the weird Italian accents (one person had Italian heritage but wasn't from there had a bad Italian accent) and the story that took FOREVER to go anywhere after hour three, I stopped listening. I have almost four hours left and I just can't bring myself to finish. Glad I got it on sale.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Silly Protagonist. Subpar Narration.

This book has potential. The idea behind it was a good one, and I was initially really interested. But the combination of mediocre narration and an idiotic protagonist makes this book difficult to like. Elizabeth is supposed to be a smart, successful doctor. But she's pretty darn stupid when it comes to love....not naive, but stupid...exceptionally so. It's pretty much impossible to have any sympathy for her.

The narration really leaves something to be desired. She kind of sounds like a depressed robot.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

One Person's Cup of Tea is My Cup of Bitter Coffee

Another disappointing book from Audible's Romance Package. I chose this from there Sweet level collection and got not romance but a tale lust and spineless immature adults. There was more real sweet romance in The Hunger Games series and admirable characters than in this book. This book should not have been listed as Sweet. Audible fail.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

I was looking forward to this book, since I enjoyed the first book in the series "Neanderthal Seeks Human." However, as much as I liked the characters in the first book, I disliked them in the second. The hero is supposed to be a standup comic, but you wouldn't know without constantly being told how funny he is (he never says anything remotely funny). I wanted to ring the necks of both main characters! As far as the narration, why does a man who grew up in the US have an Italian accent?

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Wasn't feeling it.

I have LOVE all of Penny Reid's stories so far... but this one... The story itself was a okay for the most part however Elizabeth was extremely hard to tolerate. She was all over the place and not in a good way. Nico could have done so much better than Elizabeth, the relationship never came together for me.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Shocking narration

This is one of those 'buyer beware' reviews. Everything is wrong with this narration. From the embarrassingly offensive Italian accents to Elizabeth's constantly defeated voice. The medical professionals are ENTIRELY unbelievable, and Elizabeth's workplace decisions and relations are painfully unprofessional and often very stupid. I just couldn't buy her as an intelligent person at all, and she is supposed to be a doctor at 27. It is hard to understand how this book and recording came to be published.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Why the accent

This was a good story with too much back and forth. I wasn't completely immersed in to the story as I was with book 1 with Janey and Quinn. I don't really understand why the narrator gave Nico an Italian accent when he was raised and I think born in Iowa. Seriously IOWA!!! it was a surprise to the heroine that he even knew how to speak Italian he even admitted to taking lessons as an adult to speak it fluently. Elizabeth was annoying but lovable and I just wanted to smack Nico. Toward the end it was a struggle to continue to listen not completely because of the story but mostly due to the narrator. Nico was mean to Elizabeth in the end. I didn't like how she accepted it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ouch!

Ok so the first of the book was promising... then it drug on and on and on......! Come on really there is only so much filler someone can before you just put the book down. I really just let it play and came back and knew I hadn’t missed a thing!
The main character Elizabeth I thought was going to be a good smart because of the previous book, but nope! She’s as as dumb as a box of rocks! And whatever the boyfriend not boyfriends name is really? He is not someone I would I want to even write- if I could write- ok so if you “claim your in love with someone and all of a sudden there thrown into the spot light of the media, you would think the first course of action would be is to contact them no he doesn’t! So he kinda fails the whole book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I'm with everyone else...

How could the performance have been better?

I listen to books while I'm locked up in an office pushing paper all day. I thought perhaps I missed something when the narrator had some weak Italian accent for the male character, Nico. This is someone who grew up in Iowa. He's also meant to be a famous comedian yet with this performance he's made to sound like he's some slow Goodfella. It doesn't add up. Whoever gave this direction to the narrator was WAY off. Makes me wonder how much input the author has.While it's annoying, I've kept listening because I have the rest of the series in the cue to listen too.

Any additional comments?

This series is a little juvenile but hey, I'm listening to it at work. If I were reading it I'd probably have stopped after the first book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful