Book Summary: 

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—a.k.a. 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.

My Review:

As the first book I have read by Penny Reid, I really wanted to love it! While I did enjoy the humor (she had me laughing before I finished the first page), I just couldn’t go all in with this book. The the storyline of Janie and Quinn was solid; however, it was the subplots that consistently pulled my attention away, causing my interest to dip until we were finally able to get back to the heart of the story. Understanding Neanderthal Seeks Human was Penny’s debut novel, I believe her writing was still finding its footing and the rest of the series may be more formulated and awe-inspiring. 

To say Janie has had a bad day would be a gross understatement. First, she finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her. Next, she spectacularly destroys her work outfit and has to borrow a variety of items to resemble a partially functioning/half decent human being. But it doesn’t stop there! Of course she is also fired once she gets to work, conveniently being part of a downsizing of one. You would think mercy would be taken on her at some point but the icing on the cake, the extremely hot security guard – Sir McHotPants, the man she can’t even look in the face, has been assigned to escort her off the premises. What has she possibly done to deserve all of this?! Out of the three sisters, she was the good one, the calm one, the one who always did the right thing. Taking a deep breath (after hiding in the bathroom post firing and pre McHotPants), Quinn leaves with her head held high and resolves to get her life back on track. After sulking around the apartment and embracing her new reclusive way of life, her roommate and best friend Elizabeth suggests a girls night out. Not knowing what she signed up for, she definitely wasn’t expecting to run into McHotPants – i.e. Quinn! She also didn’t expect to wake up hungover, in her underwear, and in a strange bed the next morning! Quickly to reassure her nothing happened, Quinn offers to help Janie snag a job where he works. Going full circle and back where it all started, Janie finally feels like things are working out. Now if she can just figure out her love life. Lucky for her, Quinn has an answer for that too!

Janie was unlike any character I have read in book! Her trivia knowledge alone below me away. She was gorgeous but didn’t see it. Deserved the world and yet felt so undeserving of the love and attention from anyone, including her friends and Quinn. Everything that made her special was viewed as a hindrance or made her a “freak”. I did love her scathing sense of humor and moments where she showed that she could hold her own. I also liked that Quinn challenged her on every level. His counter arguments made her think, his interest in her mind made them absolutely perfect for each other because he saw her beauty inside and out. I didn’t like that she viewed the world as black and white but understood it was more of a means of survival because of her mother and sisters.

As mentioned initially, I had waxing and waning attention with this book. There were times where it was so good that I couldn’t put it down but other times that anything but reading it was appealing. When the story stuck with Janie and Quinn, it had my full attention. When it started to focus on the family dynamics, dark history, and the sub story of her sister Jem, it pulled focus. I understand that it tied together Quinn’s past to his present and his quest to become the good guy Janie knew he could be (as well as redemption for what happened to his brother), but it made a lighthearted story a little too dark.

The book walked the line of a heated closed door romance. The lead ups were sizzling and the post recaps where clean but didn’t leave the reader in the dark of what happened “off camera”. If you prefer spice, it is slight frustrating. If you prefer steam but keeping it clean, it does an excellent job!

I would say more in an indirect way, the book focuses on stereotyping, perspective, and the ways of viewing the world. For Janie, everything had labels, categories, and a place. There were no shades of grey or bleed of color. You lived in this quadrant, this behavior plus that intention equal this type of person, that was it. Quinn honored that perspective but pointing out the level of judgement of that way of thinking and that a person’s psych, personality, viewpoint, and intentions can be fluid and ever changing not only in situation but amongst people. Just because one person is one way doesn’t mean that everyone else who exhibits the same characteristics should be labeled and treated the same way. We are all uniquely different and each situation should be taken into consideration for what it is. Should past experiences influence our perspective? Sure, but we should still be open minded about the elements that are different and impactful.

The brief moment when we learn about Quinn’s past and the burden he has been carrying was a heart tugger. There are so many deep conversations and vulnerable moments between Quinn and Janie as they build their relationship that you truly feel like you know these characters inside and out.

While I don’t see myself reading any more books in this series, I do highly recommend it for those who love a steamy romance with humor, suspense, drama, and a quirky group of characters that keep you smiling, guessing, laughing, and loving from beginning to end.