Review: Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid

Title: Neanderthal Seeks Human

Series: Knitting in the City Book One

Author: Penny Reid

Publication Date: March 14, 2013
Rating: 4.5 Stars

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.

 

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My Thoughts

This book was so much fun! Exactly what a romantic comedy should be. I must confess that when I first picked up this book I thought Neanderthal referenced Quinn and not Jaine, but I can definitely understand why Janie would be the neanderthal in this case. 

Janie is a social mess. Maybe that's a bit harsh. She is just really awkward in social situations and her defense mechanism is to start spouting random facts about random things. She hangs on to that subject matter and starts divulging all the facts about it as if it were her shield. It was both hilarious and cringe worthy to watch, but I totally understand Janie. I suck at social situations as well, but definitely not that bad xD

I loved watching Janie develop and find her way, both in the professional and romance area. Both were done with careful consideration and a dash of oh-hell-might-as-well thrown in. Watching her interact with Quinn when she didn't even know he was her boss was awesome. And then finally finding out? Even better. Janie may be quite smart, but when it came to simple things in regards to people she was totally clueless.

But let's be honest here the high point of this book is the 'Knitting club'. They do everything except Knitt. That's pretty much their excuse to get together and chat it up. This is specially obvious when every time something major happens to Janie, the whole club comes running to give her moral support and help her plan a murder if it came to that. I specially loved that scene towards the end where they all kick some serious ass, I was laughing so hard watching it all develop. They were that awesome. It reminds me of the 'book club' I'm in. We discus basically everything except books xD.

While this book might not be quite perfect, and Quinn's PoV at the end left something to be desired, it was still great. If you are looking for a good romance, with an excellent group of friends, McHotpants, and a nice plot, then this one is a must read.

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About the Author

Penny Reid is originally from California but now lives in the Southeast US with her very short children (girl-3, boy-5) and very tall husband (boy- 6'3"). When she is not recording voice memos on her cell phone to use for her next book or writing scenes on the back of coffee filters or knitting at traffic lights, she works full time as biomedical researcher. Penny started writing short stories in college and stopped when everyone she spoke to reminded her that it was never going to be "a real job". In July of last year (2012) she made a bet with a good friend: write a romance novel about real people who are smart; bonus if it's funny. Penny Reid won that bet. Neanderthal Seeks Human was self-published on March 13, 2013. Penny is now working on her second novel and the second book in the Knitting in the City Series, due out before the end of 2013. 

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