E-galley Review: Neanderthal (Last Man Standing #2) by Avery Flynn

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Neanderthal by Avery Flynn
Series: Last Man Standing #2
Published by Entangled: Amara on October 25, 2021
Genres: Adult Romantic Comedy
Pages: 288
Source: the publisher
Format: E-galley
My Rating:
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Synopsis:

So I may be in the Last Single Man Standing competition with my cousins, but five minutes around Kinsey was all it took to take myself out. Who cares about bragging rights when you’ve just found the woman you’re going to marry? Sure, she may work for my biggest competitor. Sure, she’s not dating right now. Sure, she’s my sister’s best friend and I’ve been sworn off her. But somehow she agrees to go on six fake dates to help me save face in this competition.

What does the guy who never uses his words have to say to convince the girl of his dreams that they’re perfect for each other?

My Review:

I was so glad to get to read this one. I loved the first book in the series, Mama’s Boy, and was excited to see which of the cousins would fall to love next. Griff was the perfect neanderthal example with his grunts and general overall grumpiness. But it was perfect when love actually zoomed in and caught him, right away. And in a way, you could say it actually knocked him off his feet, lol. I loved how Kinsey was a mile a minute chatterer. I definitely could relate to that, when I’m nervous my talking speeds up, although mine might not be quite as coherent and intelligent as her actual words were. Oh, and I love that she had a Meemaw. Before The Big Bang Theory I’d never heard that term, but I loved it! There was also one moment in the book when I was a little appalled that Griff would take perfect bbq that was Kansas City style and add other lesser flavors to it, but I’m all for experimenting I guess, so maybe it was good? Sorry, that was my native Kansas Citian loyalty there.

These two were perfect for each other. While there were still some of the same types of misunderstandings in this one as annoyed me a bit in the first one, and that I get bugged by in so many romance books, they flowed well enough and the the way the author had the characters overcome them made up for it in my mind. Even the final big misunderstanding was fixed pretty quickly and in a perfect way to make up for that being the final conflict.

I loved the family members, Dixon and Nash, and even Griff’s sister Morgan. I kind of hope that the author will give Morgan her own story at some point. I’m also so ready for Nash’s story now! Like Griff, I’m pretty sure Nash is up to something. Of course I’m still so curious about what is in that final gift from their grandmother, and I wonder what they’ll do if Nash falls in love too. I mean, is the bet just who is the last? Because if so, it doesn’t seem fair that they let him wait to be last with getting set up on dates. Anyway, I’m guessing those questions I have as well as any others will be answered in the next book, Mansplainer.