Happy Thursday! Penn by Jennifer Millikin is out today, I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

The Princess Bride is my favorite movie, so when I saw the author was coming out with a series loosely based on it I just had to read it! This would be Westley and Buttercup’s story, though we are also getting stories based on Inigo, Fezzik, and Humperdinck (???) too! 

Even if you haven’t seen or read The Princess Bride, this was still a cute small town romance, between two childhood friends who were separated in their teens but are brought back into each other’s lives as adults and just can’t stay away from each other.

Penn is in town to sell his late mother’s house, only he’s doing so under an assumed name so he doesn’t have to face his past. He’s a former SEAL who’s time in the Navy (like a pirate hehe) ended after an injury, and the physical therapist he finds in town just so happens to be his former best friend Daisy (like Buttercup!)  who he has always loved. The only problem? Daisy is engaged to the town prince, only she’s not in love with him. 

The relationship between Penn and Daisy was heartwarming, the connection just jumped off the pages and I loved the added angst of her being engaged to someone else. It’s definitely a slowwwww burn but it pays off by the end. It feels a bit like a fairytale, which makes sense given its inspiration. 

There are quite a few references and parallels to The Princess Bride and I thought it was so fun to find them!  But truly they are more like easter eggs so again if you haven’t seen it you’ll be fine.