Tag: Penny Reid

Joint Review: Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid

Posted May 2, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 5 Comments

Joint Review: Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny ReidReviewer: Holly & Rowena
Neanderthal Seeks Human (Knitting in the City, #1) by Penny Reid
Series: Knitting in the City #1
Also in this series: Neanderthal Seeks Human
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: March 14, 2013
Point-of-View: First Person
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 403
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: four-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.

Holly: Rowena and I have both been hearing a lot about Penny Reid, so we chose Neanderthal Seeks Human, book one in the Knitting in the City series, for our April joint review book.

I read it before Rowena did and I have to tell you, the heroine annoyed me. She was written as an extremely intelligent, but oblivious individual. Mostly she came off as lacking in common sense.

What did you think?

Rowena: I agree about the heroine. It took me a long time to read this book because I kept stepping away because I couldn’t believe how dumb the heroine came off. She was too smart to be so dumb about a lot of the things that went on. Like when Quinn kept telling her that the company was his company and she kept not understanding what he meant? There were too many instances where this happened and I wasn’t a fan of that.

Holly: I could have understood if she missed a few cues here and there, or even if she was oblivious until someone spelled things out for her, but that just wasn’t the case. Even when things were spelled out she completely missed them. She was completely lacking in common sense. It was frustrating.

Rowena: Yeah, I agree with Janie. I don’t think the way that she was written really pulled off her personality. It just didn’t work for me. I really liked the random trivia that she threw out. That was probably my favorite part with her.

I didn’t mind the random trivia facts that she threw out when she was nervous. I actually liked that stuff but the lacking of common sense for someone so smart didn’t work for me.

Holly: I thought the random trivia facts were hilarious, and I loved how she just babbled when she was nervous. But man, I couldn’t get past how dumb she could be.

Rowena: Then there was Quinn. He was great and I would have liked him more if he was more upfront about every little thing with Janie. He had too many secrets for my liking.

Holly: I really liked Quinn, but you’re right, it would have been nice if he’d been more upfront with Janie. It was obvious he knew she was oblivious to most things. He should have spelled things out.

Rowena: Yes, he knew that she didn’t understand that the company belonged to him and he kept letting her think what she wanted to think but also, he knew a lot of things about her and about those around her and he didn’t tell her and for what? He didn’t owe anyone but Janie anything so why keep her in the dark about things that affected her personally? He could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he was upfront with her about everything.

Those little things kept taking me right out of the story and I kept needing to walk away from the story for a bit because I could not deal with all of the unnecessary shenanigans.

Holly: Right, that’s what I mean. He knew she didn’t understand what was going on with him, his company, her sister, etc. Yet he chose not to tell her, to keep her in the dark. I didn’t like that. He should have let her know what was going on.

Rowena: But how great was that knitting group?

Holly: That knitting group was amazing. The scene toward the end with them? Oh man, I about died laughing. I want to read more of this series just for them.

Rowena: The way that the knitting group came together to fight the bad guys had me bent over at the waist laughing. They truly saved this book from a lower grade because even though they weren’t front and center in the story, they were still a big part of it and their part had me laughing a lot. These are the kinds of friends that a woman needs in her life.

Holly: While there were some enjoyable parts – most notably the knitting group and their shenanigans – I didn’t love this book the way I expected to. It came highly recommended from so many, I thought I’d love it. I loved the knitting group enough to try another book in the series, but Janie really killed this book for me. I’m giving it a 2.75 out of 5.

Rowena: Yep, I pretty much have the same thoughts. There was potential but overall, most of the comedy stuff missed its mark with me though I will not permanently say no to any of the other books in this series. I really do need to get to know the other ladies in the knitting group, especially Sandra. She sounds like a riot and I’m all for reading her book.

I’d give this one the same grade, 2.75 out of 5.

Final Rating

Holly: 2.75 out of 5
Rowena: 2.75 out of 5

Knitting in the City

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Guest Review: Friends Without Benefits by Penny Reid

Posted February 23, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Friends Without BenefitsTracy’s review of Friends Without Benefits (Knitting in the City #2) by Penny Reid

There are three things you need to know about Elizabeth Finney: 1) She suffers from severe sarcastic syndrome, especially when she’s unnerved, 2) No one unnerves her like Nico Manganiello, and 3) She knows how to knit.

Elizabeth Finney is almost always right about everything: the musical merits of boy bands are undervalued by society, “benefits” with human Ken dolls are better without friendship, and the sun has set on her once-in-a-lifetime chance for true love. But when Elizabeth’s plans for benefits without friendship are disarmed by the irritatingly charismatic and chauvinistic Nico Manganiello- her former nemesis- she finds herself struggling to maintain the electric fence around her heart while avoiding electrocution or, worse, falling in love.

Elizabeth Finney is a girl who had three things during her childhood. Her father, who raised her alone after her mother died when she was nine, always told stories of her mother and how much he loved her. He constantly said that she was his one and only love. Nico, whose mother was best friends with her mother, was a year older than her and was the bane of her existence. They played together for a while but then he started teasing and bullying her and she did not have fond thoughts of him. Then there was Garrett who she met when she was just nine, right after her mother died, and they were attached at the hip. As they got older they fell in love and planned to get married. Unfortunately Garrett was diagnosed with a horrible disease and died when Elizabeth was just shy of 16.

It’s been 10 years since Elizabeth graduated from high school and she’s now a doctor. She’s shocked when Nico, his mother and his niece walk in to her hospital. Elizabeth is ashamed of how she acted after Garrett’s funeral but she really doesn’t know what to say to Nico. The niece, Angelica, begins a study at the hospital and this means that Elizabeth sees Nico constantly. He likes it that was as he’s really been in love with Elizabeth since before he could really remember. Yes, he was upset as he felt that she picked Garrett over him all those years ago but at the time Elizabeth didn’t even know that Nico liked her, much less loved her. Now that he’s back in her life he’s determined to get her to love him and stay with him forever.

Elizabeth is confused. She has never opened herself up to love as both of the people she’s loved have died – her mother and Garrett. She feels that if she loved someone and then lost them she wouldn’t know how to go on. This causes her to have stunted emotions and, well, great confusion. The more she talks to Nico the more she likes him and the more she likes him the more she realizes what a great person he is. She soon falls in love. But even that has her on an emotional roller coaster that causes problems in the relationship. Then her father tells her that he’s getting remarried and everything that she thought she knew about love is all topsy turvy.  Throw in a stalker who is psycho and wants Nico for herself, bodyguards, freaky fellow doctors and you’ve got yourself a good story.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Neanderthal Seeks Human, so I was excited to read Friends Without Benefits. I really enjoyed getting to know Elizabeth after meeting her in book 1 and of course Nico was wonderful, if a little too hard on himself at times.

Elizabeth, I have to be honest, did get on my nerves a couple of times. She was just so confused – which I didn’t blame her for, but the way she acted at times really had me wanting to get into the pages of the book and shake her a time or two. lol I thought that she fought against her feelings for too long towards the end, of course Nico played a role in that as well.

Nico was a temperamental Italian and he was awesome. He was kind, funny, smart and uber-sexy. Was he a dick around Elizabeth when they were kids? Oh, absolutely, but he was at the age that he didn’t know how to express his feelings so they came out as teasing just to get her attention – it was just the wrong kind of attention. He did have his flaws but I still loved him.

The knitting club that Elizabeth belongs to is fantastic. I can’t tell you how much I love all of those women. They are the type of women who would do anything for a friend and I loved that about them. The support their friends but they also don’t beat around the bush – they tell it like they feel it – and that brought a whole other amazing element into the story that worked so well. The knitting club was woven seamlessly into the romance and I admired Reid for the effortless way she accomplished that.

FWB is a fun, funny, sexy book and is a book that I recommend.  I can’t wait for the next book.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Series:
Book Cover Book Cover

This title is available from Caped Publishing. You can buy it here in e-format. This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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What I Read Last Week

Posted January 29, 2014 by Tracy in Features | 0 Comments

Howdo neighbors!

Sorry, I’m so behind this week!

We had my daughter’s sweet 16 b-day party this past Saturday and while I thought the kids weren’t having that much fun it turns out that they all said it was the best party ever. I’m pretty sure I didn’t understand teenagers before, now I’m positive. lol

Since then that same daughter has done something to her leg – possibly a pulled muscle? – and the doctor has her on crutches for a week, poor thing.

Other than that there’s not much happening in Tracyland. 🙂

So, what did I read last week? Let me tell ya:

I started off the week with The Billionaire Banker by Georgia le Carre. This is the story of a woman desperate for money so that she can pay for her mother’s cancer treatment. She starts to sell her body to one man but ends up with a different man by the end of the night. Lana and Blake have an incredible attraction but after 3 months is up, what will happen to her and Blake – especially when she figures out she’s in love with him. This was a decent read but ended on a cliffhanger. Good thing the 2nd book was almost out by the time I read it! 3.5 out of 5

The next book in the series is Forty 2 Days. Lana took off and broke her agreement with Blake. She’s now back in London and Blake is pissed that she left in the first place. He insists that she complete the 42 days that were left on her contract. Unfortunately his family wants her to have nothing to do with Blake and they’ll stop at nothing to get what they want. This was again, a decent read but I had issues with the end of the book. You can read a single post with reviews of both book 1 & 2 at The Book Binge by clicking here. (There’s also a giveaway going on as well until 2/24/14). 3 out of 5

Reckless by Skye Jordan was a freebie I got off of ARe at one time. The story is about a dress designer who is flying to NY from LA. She sees a guy she thinks is hot and with the help of an app from her friend is able to text him anonymously. They strike up a conversation and end up planning a tryst once they get to NY. They have a great time – in a completely darkened room – and he still has no idea who she is. He’s a stunt man and she designs for big stars. Both of them are leery, from being previously burned by ex’s, of getting into a relationship and trusting. Unfortunately this aspect of the story brought it all down for me. They were both so suspicious of each other constantly and the trust wasn’t there. I can’t see the kind of relationship the author was trying to give us happening with no trust. Yes it all ended with an HEA that was pretty satisfying but I just wasn’t sold enough to believe it would work in the long run. 3 out of 5

Next up was Friends Without Benefits by Penny Reid. This is the second story in the Knitting in the City series and was Elizabeth’s story. Elizabeth is a doctor in Chicago and meets Nico after not seeing him for 10 years. Nico was a friend when they were kids but then used to bully her somewhat. There was history with him and her now deceased boyfriend that cased a bond…and a rift. Nico wants to be friends but he’s been in love with her for years so his friends without benefits offer is a little strange but Elizabeth goes with it. This was a very good book that I really enjoyed. I loved the characters – both main and secondary and it was fun and funny. 4 out of 5

No If, Ands or Bears About It by Celia Kyle is the story of a woman who moves to a Bear shifter town to live her in now deceased grandfathers home. On the first day she finds a bear cub shifter in her pantry and when she meets his belligerent and violent uncle she decides she’s not giving him back. The Sheriff, and Itan of the Bear clan has something to say about that but he’s almost more interested in the woman as she’s his. The story is about Mia’s resistance to Ty as she thinks it’s just chemical and not love, and the fight with the Uncle and therefore another Itan over the keeping of the bear cub, Parker. It was a fun, cute book and I really liked it. 3.75 out of 5

Last for the week was Lord of the Rakes by Darcie Wilde. Sheltered and practically imprisoned all her life, Lady Caroline finds out that her deceased mother left her money that is all hers – money her brother can’t touch – which means she’s now free. She heads to London with the plan to be in her best friends wedding then move to the Continent but she soon meets Phillip and her plans go awry. I’ll give you my thoughts on this one later this week when I post my review. 4 out of 5 

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Hope Flames by Jaci Burton
Torn by Kim Karr
The Billionaire Banker and Forty 2 Days by Georgia Le Carre
Guilty as Sin by Jami Alden

Happy Reading!

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Guest Review: Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid

Posted August 5, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny ReidReviewer: Tracy
Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid
Series: Knitting in the City #1
Also in this series: Neanderthal Seeks Human (Knitting in the City, #1)
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: March 14, 2013
Format: eARC
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-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

Janie is having a bad day. She found out her boyfriend was cheating on her and then goes into work and gets “downsized.” She’s pretty upset but wraps up her feelings and puts them away in the closet in her head, like she does everything else. She’s more flustered by the security guard who escorts her down to sign her final employment papers. She’s been watching him for weeks because he’s so darned good looking but had never gotten the nerve up to talk to him.

Since she has no official home she contacts her old college friend Elizabeth (who she still sees once a week) and ends up crashing on her couch temporarily. The arrangement works and Janie stays. Elizabeth gets tickets to an exclusive club one night and who do they run into there? The security guard – whose real name is Quinn Sullivan. The next morning she wakes up in a strange apartment that Quinn brought her to after she got drugged at the club and he saved her. They head to breakfast after Janie finds out that nothing happened between the two of them and Quinn ends up telling her about a job that she may be perfect for.

This begins the relationship between Quinn and Janie. Quinn has never dated before – he’s just kind of had women that were available (which is a point of contention in the relationship) so he’s not sure how to act and he’s a very stoic guy anyway. Janie is so many different things. She’s never felt passionate about too much of anything so when Quinn comes around and she starts feeling things that she never has before it feels awkward. She doesn’t know what to say and ends up spouting her endless supply of trivial information. Normally this would make people look at her funny but with Quinn he just wants to know more.

The story is sweet, fun, funny, awkward, lovely. It really isn’t like another romance I’ve ever read because of the awkwardness of both characters. Quinn’s no geek but he’s just lost with how to act. It made me love him even more. Janie misunderstands Quinn and his motivations at first and I found that part a bit frustrating but her self esteem really wasn’t at its highest point.

There was kind of a subplot with Janie’s sister, Jem, that involved both Janie’s ex-boyfriend and Quinn that I thought was a bit on the odd side. I can’t say that I saw the whole point of it being in the book but maybe that was just me. Janie’s knitting club was the best. They were all such very different women but they were all warm, caring, loyal and they could kick some butt when they needed to.

In the end seeing both Janie and Quinn grow and learn about both themselves and each other made for a really good read. I’m pretty interested to see where things in the series next and hope we get to hear more about this couple.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars

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What I Read Last Week

Posted June 25, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 1 Comment

Howdy !

Whatcha all up to? Anything fun?

My week was pretty normal – work, home, kids, hubby – you know…normal.

So what did I read this past week? 

First for the week was a book that I’ve had for more than a while and finally picked up called A Rural Affair by Catherine Alliott. The story was based on Poppy who’s husband dies in a freak accident and though it wasn’t a close marriage at all she’s still shocked to find out he’d been having an affair for the past 4 years. The story follows Poppy as she tries to go on with her life – bumbling along – and then shoves a romance at us in the last few pages. Not a great book imho but at times entertaining. 3 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Next up was Tangled by Emma Chase. I know a lot of people didn’t like this book because they thought the first person POV from the “hero” (I use the term loosely) sucked. I personally loved it. I didn’t love him but I thought he had a great sense of humor though he could be an ass at times. You can read my quickie review here on Goodreads. 4 out of 5 

Next was Temptation by Lee Brazil. The story is about Lake, a male model who has a bit of a hook-up with a guy named Solomon at a party. When Solomon doesn’t call, and they always call, Lake decides to seek him out at his office. He is introduced to Sol’s partner – in all things – and they end up having a threesome. Sol and Adonis want more but Lake has severe anxiety and insecurities about being a third wheel in an already established relationship. It was a good read though Lake got to be a bit annoying at times. 🙂 3.5 out of 5 (read for Book Binge) 

Next up was Awakening by Serena Grey. This was a very short story about an 18 year old girl who is basically swept off her feet by an older guy. They share a night together and then get married. There’s more to it than that but that was the gist. I’m curious to see what’s next because you could tell the guy wasn’t in love with Sophie by any means so why get married on the spur of the moment? The series is called A Dangerous Man so there’s definitely more. I have to say was saying WTF a couple of times during the story and was kind of stunned at the end when it was done. 2.5 out of 5 

Rift by Andrea Cremer is a prequel to the Nightshade series. The story takes place in the 1400’s but involves demons and wraiths and all the paranormal stuff. It was a good read but it had honestly been so long since I’d read the first two Nightshade books that I was kind of confused about the relationship. I have to go back and read those first two books again before I pick up the last in the trilogy. 3.75 out of 5 

Anybody But Him by Claire Baxter is about Nicola who house swaps with her sister and ends up back in her hometown to help take care of her aging and eccentric parents. She runs into Blair who she had a crush on in school but was also the bane of her existence. She wants nothing to do with him until she sees that they’ve both changed over the years. I really enjoyed this one. The humor took a little getting used to at first but the story was easy to read and quite enjoyable. 4 out of 5 (read for Book Binge) 

How to Marry a Highlander by Katharine Ashe doesn’t come out til the end of July but I sat down to read it early. This was a great novella. It has Teresa approaching a destitute Scottish Earl and asking him to marry her. She saw him a year and a half earlier and hadn’t stopped thinking of him. When her parents want her to marry a stick in the mud vicar she gets desperate. She makes a deal with the Earl even though he has no plans to marry her. The relationship grows and only happens within a months time but this was oh, so good. I really liked just about everything about it and definitely recommend it. 4.5 out of 5 

Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid is the story of Janie who finds out her boyfriend cheated on her and then goes to work and gets “downsized.” She then meets Quinn Sullivan who she kind of starts dating, but kind of not and he helps her get a job at his security company. The story is odd and humorous at the same time as it’s awkward and sometimes frustrating. I really enjoyed the writing though and definitely want to read more from this author. 4 out of 5 (read for Book Binge) 

Wicked as She Wants by Delilah S. Dawson is a steampunk fantasy novel that mixes the contemporary with the historical and I really, really liked this one. The story focuses on Casper who is trying to help a princess get back to her homeland after she’s abducted. The world they live in is wonderful and it was just really good. You can read my full review here at Book Binge. 4 out of 5 

Last for the week was Werecat: The Rearing by Andrew J. Peters. This is a short story about a guy meeting a man who he thinks might be “the one” and having it go all wrong when the guy transforms him into a werecat. I’ll post my review of this one later this week. 

My Book Binge reviews that posted since last Monday:
The Secret of Mia Danvers by Robyn DeHart
Wicked as She Wants by Delilah S. Dawson 

Happy Reading!

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