Bananapants

A Bonkers Romantic Comedy

By: Penny Reid

Narrated by: Colin Brown, Fiona Fischer

Estranged childhood friends unexpectedly reunite under bizarre circumstances and bicker their way to love in this bonkers romantic comedy.

Ava Archer misses her best childhood friend most especially during the month of April. Ask any tax attorney, it's a lonely, grueling time of year. Luckily, Ava has just received a surprising and delectably absurd offer from her posh doppelgänger at work. She must pretend to be the aforementioned posh co-worker for one night at an extremely fancy party; a party so fancy, there exists absolutely no chance anyone will recognize her or suspect her ruse. . .

Desmond (Des) Sullivan is a thief. And not the heart-of-gold kind. He’s the steal-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-also-rich-so-he-can-get-paid kind. He does, however, have one firm rule: never steal what the target can’t afford to lose. After a brutal falling out with his father, Desmond hasn’t returned to Chicago in over ten years. But when a good friend is swindled and something priceless is stolen, Desmond must return home, both as himself and his thieving alter ego.

Infiltrate a dangerous secret society of the world's most elite billionaires while leveraging his estranged father’s resources and not blowing his cover? Sure. No problem. Or it wouldn’t be a problem if Ava Archer hadn’t just walked into the room, wearing a ridiculous wig, speaking with a preposterous accent, and pretending (badly) to be someone she’s not.

Bananapants is a full-length, contemporary romantic comedy filled with hijinks and shenanigans. It can be listened to as a standalone, but the parents of the main characters will be familiar to anyone who has explored the Knitting in the City series.

©2024 Cipher-Naught (P)2024 Cipher-Naught

Penny Reid is amazing!

Love her books! The humor, the realism, the non-perfect characters who continue to bring joy to her stories. I laugh, I cry, I learn, I reread and immerse myself!
Can’t get enough of the KITC and glimpses of the originals from the various different stories.

Loved the characters

What a fantastic book. It was wonderful to see old characters while immersing in the lives of the next generation. And the way bipolar disorder was explained and shown was fantastic. Another great book by Penny Reid.

KitC Next Gen

I’ve never had a bad opinion of Penny Reid’s work, and Banana Pants keeps that going strong! Plus, in true Penny fashion, she wove a story with so much meaning that you don’t realize that the stigma of a mental health condition has been torn down to the smallest parts, so that you see what someone with that condition may go through (some and may being very key words!!). This book was as amazing as any of Penny’s books and I’d say you’re Banana Pants if you don’t get it!!

The only complaint I have about the audiobook is that the gentleman did a Boston accent for Quinn but the lady did not. I’m usually not bothered by the differences in the woman’s voice being different from the man’s on any specific character, but the accent threw me for a loop. Still an amazing job though, once you get used to that!!

Never Disappoints!

So much fun spending time with new characters from the KITC world and catching up with old favorites.

Excellent Book! 5 out of 5

This is a great story about the 2nd Generation in the knitting series characters. I love all things Penny Reid but she has gone above and beyond on this one. It is the best explanation for an apathetic reader of manic depressive I have ever read and I read a lot. Not depressing. Witty, sexy and wonderful as always! 5 out of 5! I hope there are more 2nd generation books to come!

Penny Reid does it again!

First I have read all the knitting and bearded series so I was familiar with the periferal characters. I really loved this book. I have long wanted to know more about the lives of the Knitting in the City crew and this was a nice glimpse into their children's lives. Thank you Penny for your careful and simple overview of this young man's bipolar. Thank you for not making broad generations or overly dramatic events a character of it's on, instead making Bipolar 1 a facet of a character's life, much as his good looks or witty personality.
Thank you, as always, for not dumbing down men to present strong women. Thank you for human characters.

More please

Great to hear about the kids from the Knitting in the City series and how all the parents were doing

Amazing RESOURCE with love

Penny did a remarkable job at weaving in the storyline through a neurodivergent journey while embedding DSM information that made ADHD, Anxiety, and BiPolar accessible to those who are unfamiliar and affirming for those who are familiar. I hope the theme keeps coming up while addressing differences and support with mental health.
Her ability to address the stigma, acknowledge truths and provide dignity to addressing needs made this a remarkable experience to read. Couple that with carrying on the story of loved characters makes it a book to read repeatedly.
Colin Brown and Fiona Fischer each carried on bring the novel to life in a wonderful way. Thank you all for taking the challenge and knocking it out of the park!

Loooooved it

I love all of Penny Reid's books. This one did not dissapoint. The relationship between Des and Quinn... just hit me in the heart. Loved the KITC gang all mature now, being parents and all. But of course the main characters... just fell in love with their relationship. Just finished it and I need to listen to it again!!!

Loved Des and Ava but female narrator is rough

First, I am a Penny Reid and Smartypants fan. I have loved the cypher series and the Winstons, but this book, which I wS so excited about, was not my favorite. Des I enjoyed and thought the narrator was solid. Ava was tough to listen to, especially for the first half of the book. I would also say the book is a slower than necessary build. I would start and take pauses because the story wasn’t that interesting, even when some of my favorite former characters popped in.

About half way through it started to draw me in more. When you see the way Des is portrayed it is beautiful and helped to overall make the book enjoyable. Wish I could read the non audible narrators (Joy Nash would have been so much better as the voice of Ava).