Review: Bad Penny by Staci Hart

Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review.

The truth of the matter dawned on me like a ray of sunshine, illuminating what I’d known all along.

I didn’t want to trust just anyone with my heart. I wanted to give my heart to Bodie.

It was already his.

Staci Hart never fails to give her readers that quintessential brand of quirk, whether her stories are comedic or dramatic in nature, that she's becoming known for. Her latest release, Bad Penny, is a romantic comedy with a highly appealing couple of main characters in the form of twenty-six-year-olds Penny and Bodie. If you're familiar with Hart's books, Penny should be familiar to you, since she was originally introduced in Last Call, the third novel in the Bad Habits series, and was more prominently featured in the spin-off, Tonic. She's a woman who's been burned badly by love and a manipulative ex. Now, she lives by one rule when it comes to dating: Nothing good comes after the third date, a conclusion she's come to based on personal experience. But then she meets Bodie and the guy is bucking the trend. He's nothing like the other guys she's dated over the years, and he's certainly nothing like her ex. He fits in a way that goes beyond the physical, but Penny's got a firm hold on her heart. It's already been broken once, and risking it on the inkling of true love scares her. But maybe Bodie'll be worth the risk.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the one who read this book and wondered why there weren't more Bodies in the world. The man was book boyfriend material, which made it perfectly understandable why many would wish that he were real boyfriend material as well. The man's patience and genuine love and affection for Penny was part of the reason this was such a great read, but then let's not discount our precious Penny. The woman may be jaded, but she's also feisty and someone who no longer allows herself to be taken advantage of. It was fun getting to know her so much better in this standalone, especially since she was a standout supporting character in the two previous she was a part of. This was a love story that had humor, heart, and heat--the trifecta that all rom-coms should strive to achieve! What isn't there to adore about this book? I loved that this wasn't merely about Bodie chasing after Penny, but about Penny recognizing that she was someone worth the effort and that when she finally recognized what she had, she'd fight for it. Staci Hart is good, but with five-plus-starred favorite Bad Penny, she's even better. ♥

Date Read: 15 June 2017

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