Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid

If you want people sitting next to you on the beach to stare at you like a weirdo because you keep laughing out loud with no warning, then by all means, read this book in public. I did, and I think my sister menacingly glared at me about 50 times. But I just couldn’t help it, this book is freakin’ hilarious. I also have to give a shout out to the cover art, which is just adorable.

Janie is, how should I put this…a little strange. She knows an inordinate amount of detail about the most trivial topics, and can’t help but spout useless factoids whenever she’s nervous. When I’m nervous my face gets hot, my voice shakes, and my hands sweat like a whore in church. What can I say? We’re all different.

Janie just lost her job, her boyfriend and her apartment, all in the same day. Yikes! And I think it’s a rough day when my internet connection is slow. Anyway, who should come to her rescue, but the hot security guard she’s been lusting after forever, Quinn. Let’s pause for a moment. The guy’s name is Quinn, you just know he’s gonna be sexy as hell. Okay, unpause. Despite the fact that Janie acts like a nervous wreck whenever Quinn so much as looks at her, he can’t help but be smitten with her and offer her what seems like a dream job. What ensues is a frustrating sexual chemistry which isn’t resolved until the last half of the book, but it involves some nice office desk sex, so I won’t complain.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book, but there were two things I didn’t really care for. Number 1: Janie is unbelievably naive. I understand that she doesn’t do well in social interactions (she considers herself to be the neanderthal in her relationship with Quinn), and might not understand all of the subtle nuances in human behavior, but come on! The guy offers you a job, has a driver chauffeur you around in a fancy car, and you think he’s just a security guard? Open your eyes sweetie, and see the sexy hunk of burning millionaire standing right in front of you! The dude is loaded, and owns the company you now work for. I think I figured that out in about the first 20 pages.

The second thing I really didn’t care for was the storyline surrounding Janie’s sister. Apparently, she’s a bit of a criminal, and attracts the wrong kind of attention, like from other criminals. After a few cases of mistaken identity, a bunch of thugs assume that Janie is actually her sister, and try to take her with them to meet their crime boss. Quinn eventually gets involved because he somehow knows the criminals involved. I don’t know, it was kind of confusing. Anyway, I understand that the author was trying to interject some mystery and intrigue into the plot, but it didn’t really come together all that well, and simply detracted from the humorously awkward relationship between Janie and Quinn.

Now for the absolute best part of the novel. OMG the knitting group ladies! I never would have guessed that a knitting group could exist in this day and age consisting of women who were under the age of 60, but this novel has it. Each woman in the group is a riot, and provides for the majority of the comedy throughout the novel. You need advice on love? You go to the knitting group. They might get intoxicated on a fairly regular occasion and continue to knit sweaters while you recount your story of love, but they’ve got your back. There was one scene in particular which had me cracking up. It’s actually the climax of the book where thugs break into Janie’s home during one of her knitting groups, and attempt to kidnap her. Quinn just happens to be there with a gun, and the bad guys have guns as well. Just when you think a shootout is going to ensue, the ladies of the knitting group go all bad ass with the criminals; jumping on them, stabbing them with knitting needles, etc. When you mess with one in the knitting circle you mess with all of them!

Each book in this series revolves around a different lady in the knitting group, and I honestly can’t wait to read them all. Are they the best novels ever? Nah, not really. Also, just a warning: the author loves to drag out the sexual suspense to the breaking point, but when it finally does snap you can expect some juicy details. Nothing too graphic or explicit, but it’s pretty decent.

Series: Knitting in the City, book 1

Should you read it? Sure, why not? It’s not too long, and will make you giggle.

Smut Level: There is a lot more sexual tension than sexual action in this one. If you’re in the mood for something that’s sexy right away, then this definitely isn’t it. It’s more of a slow build.

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