{Review} Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid

Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid
Series: Knitting in the City #1
Published by Self-Published on March 14, 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 394
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This is a full-length, 110k word novel and is the first book in the Knitting in the City series.

There are three things you need to know about Janie Morris: 1) She is incapable of engaging in a conversation without volunteering TMTI (Too Much Trivial Information), especially when she is unnerved, 2) No one unnerves her more than Quinn Sullivan, and 3) She doesn't know how to knit.

After losing her boyfriend, apartment, and job in the same day, Janie Morris can't help wondering what new torment fate has in store. To her utter mortification, Quinn Sullivan- aka Sir McHotpants- witnesses it all then keeps turning up like a pair of shoes you lust after but can't afford. The last thing she expects is for Quinn- the focus of her slightly, albeit harmless, stalkerish tendencies- to make her an offer she can't refuse.

Nicki: Janie Morris is having a really, really bad day, y’all. First she finds out her live-in boyfriend is a no good, scum-sucking cheater (boo hiss boooo), and then she has a wardrobe malfunction . . . and then she gets fired from her job. I mean, that’s a pretty crappy day. But there’s a silver lining, kinda sorta maybe: the hot security guard that’s she’s been secretly lusting after—anyone have one of those in their offices, too? Because I don’t and I’m constantly bummed out at the lack of eye-candy at my job—gets to escort her out of the building.

I see your face right now. You’re asking how the hot guy witnessing humiliating things is a silver lining. But it kinda is for Janie. She’s a bit of a . . . um, well. So she’s a nervous talker. Just comes up with the most asinine topics when she’s uncomfortable and hilarity ensues. Quinn, the hot security guard, is clearly feeling the crazy-pants Janie and he’s totally decent to her on a day that’s already pretty bad. Aww.

Not to give away the plot, but things happen and Janie ends up going to work with Quinn . . . and pretty early on, the reader realizes he’s actually the boss and they’re completely hitting on each other. Janie doesn’t because, while her rambling shows that’s she’s clearly well-read and would be awesome on Jeopardy, when it comes to normal things she’s lacking people-reading and situational observation skills.

I thought this was a cute book. It’s got funny parts and some parts that make the heroine sadly relatable, and then it has some parts that . . . ehhhhh, needed some extra finesse: I liked Quinn but I always wished he had a bit more depth to him; Janie has such low self esteem that I wonder why her BFF doesn’t deliver the ass-whupping talks that great BFFs are made of, because GIRL. C’MON; the ending was a bit rushed and also a bit unbelievable. And there’s also complete fade-to-black on the hanky-panky horizon. Yeah.

But, overall I liked it. The things I didn’t love are there, yes, but there was also a bunch of things I did like that kept me reading. There’s a certain sort of charm here that was really, really nice to read and it made me see potential in the author; it’s the first book in a series of 5 and I’m willing to read another. For me that’s saying something.

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