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My Review:Title: Neanderthal Seeks Human
Author: Penny Reid
Series: Knitting in the City #1
Published by: Indie
Release Date: June 25, 2014
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Jennifer Grace
Length: 14 hours and 19 minutes
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 AtoZ Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 Audiobook Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ iTunes
My rating:
Blurb:14 hours and 24 minutes
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.
ON REREAD:
3.5 stars — So I think listening to the audiobook helped me put Janie’s quirks and thoughts into a better context. The narrator just had a way of making me understand how flustered Janie was in some points, so the parts that I previously thought were clinical were more just endearing or sexy…if that makes any sense. So on one hand, I definitely enjoyed this book more on reread, which I think is 100% thanks to the narration by Ms. Grace.
On the other hand, I’m a different reader than I was previously, and there was something that bothered me more this second time around. I’ve become more sensitive about noticing slut-shaming in books, and I’m really not a fan. And I’m not sure if it was because I was listening to it, but the number of times Janie says slamps just started to grate on me. I totally, 100% get that Janie is mostly using it just as a way to group people and give them a label…and she wasn’t only calling women slamps. But am I wrong in interpreting that slamp is a merging of slut and tramp?? If it’s something else, I really feel like she should have explained the meaning (I even tried googling it, but came up empty). It’s just…those words have very different connotations for women than manwhore does for men for example. Unfortunately. Now, again, I can honestly say that I don’t think Janie was making judgements about the slamps, so that was kind of the saving grace.
One other note about the narration — there seemed to be some technical issues in the chapter where they’re in Las Vegas. There were really long pauses where I worried it had stopped, or I was missing words. But it honestly only happened in one tiny section, so no idea what happened there. Otherwise Ms. Grace’s performance was fantastic, and obviously just enhanced the book for me! Great pacing, great emotion, great different voices.
So yeah, enjoyed it more than the first time around. Round up.
Now I’m curious about listening to this book. I read and liked it, but I think it would be fun to have Janie’s quirks put into perspective. Those weird moments in Las Vegas would bug me. I wonder what happened with the recording?
Great review!
This is totally one of my favorite books and I reread it whenever I’m in a slump so I’m so happy you like it too.
I’ve got this book on my Kindle and it looks fantastic 🙂 A few bloggers I know really enjoy Penny Reid’s writing but I have yet to pick one of hers up. Great review.
I absolutely love some of her books! I hope you enjoy it if you decide to try it!