I am just starting this book from Penny Reid. I have read so many AMAZEBALLS things about it, I had to read it! Plus…Penny has kind of a thing for me. Seriously. She luuuurves me! (And I’m a little scared of her.)
So she has this series…Knitting in the City. And it’s really funny, but not in the 12 year old boy humor way, but in a biochemist smart way. In fact, Penny is a biochemist or some shit like that that smart people do. But it is such a refreshing change! I have only had a chance to read the first in the series, but I have been hearing so much about Beauty and the Mustache that I had to read it! Penny says it stands alone, so I am starting right when I finish this post.
This is a full-length novel, can be read as a standalone, and is the fourth book in the ‘Knitting in the City’ series.
There are three things you need to know about Ashley Winston: 1) She has six brothers and they all have beards, 2) She is a reader, and 3) She knows how to knit.
Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston’s preferred coping strategy is escapism. She escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. Now she escapes life daily via her Amazon kindle one-click addiction. However, when a family tragedy forces her to return home, Ashley can’t escape the notice of Drew Runous— local Game Warden, bear wrestler, philosopher, and everyone’s favorite guy. Drew’s irksome philosophizing in particular makes Ashley want to run for the skyscrapers, especially since he can’t seem to keep his exasperating opinions— or his soulful poetry, steadfast support, and delightful hands— to himself. Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she’s lost her heart in small town Tennessee.
This is a DELETED scene!
I wrote this scene early, early, early on. It was one of the first scenes I wrote for the book. However, as the rest of the writing progressed I realized it didn’t really fit. The original plan was to have everyone force Ashley out of the house by taking her to a bar. Drew would be there, he’d get weirdly jealous about her dancing with another guy, and they would argue; this scene would ensue at the bar. Instead, I decided to wake her up from her funk by having the bear/raccoon scene and this exchange had to go.
DELETED SCENE
“Why do I need a guy? I get everything I need from my friend that plugs into a wall.”
This statement appeared to stun him. Good. He was an ass.
“You mean a vibrator.”
“Yes, captain obvious. I mean a vi-brate-tor.”
“That’s not a replacement for a man.”
“You’re right. It’s better.”
Drew gritted his teeth, tapped them together, slid them side to side as his eyes narrowed. I imagined he felt his glare was menacing, challenging. I was not impressed.
“Prove it.” He said.
“Prove what.”
“Prove it’s better.”
I snorted. Rolled my eyes. This was a dumb conversation. I felt a flare of aggravation and, once again, my neck itched. He was incredibly irritating.
“I don’t need to prove anything. I’ve been with a man before. In comparison to my vibrator, he was underwhelming to say the least.”
“Oh my god, can we stop talking about this?”
“Shut up, Billy” Drew and I said in unison, our eyes locked. Neither of us glanced at my older brother.
“Maybe you need to try a different guy.” Drew crossed his arms over his chest, stepped forward, inserting himself within my sphere. Less than a foot separated our bodies. I’m sure he thought he was seductive. Much to my aggravation, he was seductive. But he was also a Nietzsche loving redneck.
I shook my head. “See, that’s the problem. Men are inconsistent and I’m not willing to hold orgasm auditions. I’d rather just go with what I know gets the job done.”
He shook his head, slowly at first, then more adamantly. “That’s bull.”
“Why do you even care?”
He ignored my question, his expression turning intent. “I want you to prove it.”
Exasperated, I let my hands fall against my thighs with a loud smack. “Well, how am I supposed to prove it? Do you want to watch me? Will that satisfy your scientific curiosity?”
“Yes.”
I frowned, squinted my left eye, peered at him. “You’re joking.”
“Nope.”
“Well, you can forget about it.”
“Then I’m right.”
“No, you’re not right.”
“Then prove it.”
“Shut up.”
“Coward.”
“Why? Because I don’t want you to watch me flicking through my furry purse? You’re a weirdo freak. I’m not doing that. This is why I don’t date.”
“I’ll play you for it.”
“Play what? For what?”
“I’ll play a game of darts for it. Whoever wins gets to watch the other person.”
I swallowed, then lied. “I don’t want to watch you.”
“Then pick something else, anything else.”
“Fine. Okay. If you win—which you will not—then you can watch me do my business with my magic wand. If I win, then you have to clean the area up around the house, haul away all that garbage.”
He didn’t hesitate. “Deal.”
Before I knew quite what was happening, we shook on it.
DON’T MISS THE FUN!!! Penny takes over my Facebook page tonight!
Abby McCarthy says
So Awesome very exciting!!
Teresa Trav says
OMG I LOVE THAT..
Mayme says
“Flicking through my furry purse”. Lines like this are why I love your books so much.
Ashley says
Exactly! The Penny Phrases are sprinkled throughout all her books and are among my Top 5 reasons for reading!!
Jaime Collins says
“Why? Because I don’t want you to watch me flicking through my furry purse? You’re a weirdo freak. I’m not doing that. This is why I don’t date.”
Bahahahaha!
Amy Pope says
Oh, words cannot tell how much I loved this book! The story of Ashley and Drew is one of the most beautiful romances I’ve read in a long…EVER! I hate to overuse superlatives and shouty caps, but, dang it, I really did love this book. Isn’t it always just so much more with Penny Reid? So much more and so just right.
Not to be the butt in rebuttal, buttttttt… if this author had added any more elements or any further descriptions of characters or events, the magic would have waned. There is intention to write stories for each of our fantastically smart and funny knitters. I do not want to re-read all about each of them with each installment! This statement has sort of become my mantra when reviewing Penny’s novels: There are no extra words. I have to read every wonderful word (many times, several times). I never find myself skipping through passages of the book because they only slow down the story. That is highly appreciated and not so very common in current fiction.
This deleted scene…good God! I’m going to have to re-read this a few times.
Shannon Brown says
Stop deleting stuff from your books. WE. WANT. IT. ALL. 🙂
Amy Pope says
* Aforementioned rebuttal was in response to another reviewer…NOT Anna’s Attic. *
April says
LOVED IT AND LOVE ME SOMR PENNY REID! 🙂
Kim Stock says
*laughs* Brava Penny! I wish you’d left it in, this is hilarious!
meibao says
I agree. Penny, stop deleting! We want them all in the book!
Irene says
Holy crap! That was a hot scene! Basically anything more with Drew is a win in my book! I wish there was another twice as long version that was more Drew nuggets! Although, to be fair I wish that all of Penny Reid’s books were twice as long! 🙂 Thanks for deleted scene!
Quinn Fforde says
Whoa, buddy! Great but I like the raccoon better!
Amanda Sumner says
I love this–it’s like the movie Sliding Doors, or Jude Deveraux’s book The Summerhouse–we get to see an alternate reality! I do prefer the raccoon scene–I don’t see how you could have gone from here to the ending of the book as it stands, and I love *that*–but I love seeing this as well!
Elisabeth says
Holy smokes! Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me? If I were Ashley I would never turn that offer down..!
Angie H says
Love deleted scenes and this one was fantastic!!
Lotte says
This series is good. Sooo good. I just hope Penny never stops writing…
laura says
Gah! I love me some Penny Reid, this scene is awesome!
Sharon Cortez says
OMG…great scene! Penny should seriously consider an outtake book for all her extras. She can make you howl with laughter while you’re sobbing. Can’t find a better writer than that in my opinion. Thanks for sharing!
RR says
Love it! But love the raccoon scene better.
Stacy Sanders says
Loved this! I love to be able to see the deleted scenes of my favorite books! This is definitely one of my go to books. The whole series is!
Darci says
This is just classic between Ashley and Drew! I loved their banter! I’m glad I got to read this scene….it only adds more to the book 🙂
Rosemary says
Loved this! So fun getting to read deleted scenes. I see why it was removed, but I have enjoyed this book so much I’m happy to get as much as I can. 🙂
Lisa Martin says
Oh oh oh I need to know how this scene played out!!! The bear and raccoon were fun but this is awesome!!
Sarah says
I loooove outtakes of all kinds so it’s exciting to see some for BatM! I do like the bear/raccoon scene better since I think it fits with the book better, but I never turn down an outtake!
Sian says
Sooo….. who won? 😀
Deanna says
So good Penny! Give us more! 🙂
Dina says
I seriously schedule a day off from work when Penny is releasing a new book. Once I start reading, the only things I come up for air for are bathroom breaks and ice cream. This one blew me away. Not only is it smart, funny and romantic, it brought back memories of my Mom when she was dying. The conversations between Ash and her Mom took me back 20 years to when I was having the same feelings…nailed it!
Jenny V says
Nicely awkward and funny. Wonder who would have won?
Glad we got the raccoon scene, though 🙂
Des says
While I can see why this didn’t fit, I still loved it! Lol, at the end of all this you should release a deleted scenes book.
Lee Tobar says
Penny’s deletes are more memorable than many scenes in bestsellers. The bear and the raccoon are more memorable than vibrators.
Tammy says
LOL…awesome..I just got a crazy look from my husband and had to read it to him…”flicking through my furry purse” hilarious!
Katherine says
Amazing…!!!! Like everything that penny writes
Julia says
Thanks for posting! Very cute 🙂
Susie says
Penny has such a gift – ” my furry purse” soooo funny
Viviana Varona says
Loved it!