Griff is tall, attractive, smart, and a little odd. Kinsey is smart and driven to work in the skin care industry and she's a little odd. Are they odd in all the right ways to fit together? Can they survive the bad guy putting Kinsey in his sights?

On the surface, Griff and Kinsey should be perfect because they are both scientists but it becomes apparent pretty quickly that their jobs and education are the least important aspects of their relationship. It turns out that they are both interested in unusual things (like Griff loved Legos and Kinsey journals). Griff doesn't say a lot of words so when he does speak, it's usually worth listening (he is more about the grunts than the words). I love that Griff fell for Kinsey after just hearing her voice for the first time. It fits his personality. Both of them are very honest people except when it comes to their feelings for each other. Darn you fake dating for not allowing them to tell each other how they really feel! I enjoyed the interplay between Griff and Kinsey and the cast of side characters.

I wanted Griff to work through some of his daddy issues since he deserves to not be verbally abused constantly. I needed a BLOW UP because I wanted Griff to rip off that bandaid! I am pretty confused by how much Kinsey is earning as a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences. She has to live with Morgan because she can't afford anything in the city. I find that difficult to believe.

This is a fun, contemporary romance. It is set in the world of Harbor City. This is a romance between two educated, full-grown adults.

After meeting Griff in a previous book, we get to have him finally in his own story. Griff is the kind of guy who doesn’t do feelings or emotions. Until he meets Kinsey at the gym and falls for her instantly. This book had instant love with some spicy scenes. Kinsey gave Griff as good as he gave her. He was fun and possessive at the same time. This is part of a series, but can be read as a standalone.

I received this ARC through #netgalley and I am voluntarily reviewing this book

I love Avery Flynn! Her reads are so enjoyable. I had not read the first book in this series but that was fine. Adored Griff and Kinsey was a joy. Just a fun beachy read, even if it's not beach season!

I have loved Avery Flynn's books ever since I read Butterface. Neanderthal for me started out slow and the insta love was unbelievable at times of course. I enjoyed reading it but I feel as if it were missing something.

Avery Flynn is well known for this type of from com and it did not disappoint. Although some of the plot points are a bit out there, this is typical swoony, funny Avery Flynn which is always a satisfying read. There is not a lot of innovation story-wise, which is why it wasn't a perfect read.

I am a big fan of Romance books and I found this one to be a very enjoyable read. I will be looking for more books from this author.

4.25/5 stars
Tropes:
- Best friend's brother
- Grumpy/silent hero
- Sunshine heroine
- Age difference
- Fake dating

I truly loved this book so much! It was fun and steamy and the dynamics between the hero and heroine were awesome. Just let me tell you Griff is my new book boyfriend, he was so wholesome!!!
The story is quick pace and entertaining. Another part I loved was that the author acknowledge the struggles of women in science and industry!!


Thank you NetGalley and Entangled: Amara Publishing for giving me an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Avery Flynn’s colorful description and unique way with words, characterization, and fiery, smoking hot chemistry between well-drawn, quirky, likable, fallible, and relatable characters make Neanderthal, Last Man Standing #2, a brilliant, captivating read from beginning to end. I loved every moment of this breathtaking novel. I could not put it, feeling all the emotions – I laughed, yelled at the characters, and clutched my heart, fighting back my tears!

Griff Beckett is competing with his cousins to win an inheritance/gift from their late grandma. He appears to be the last man standing until he meets Kinsey Dalton, his sister’s best friend, who works for his competitor. Although she isn’t dating for interesting reasons we discover, she offers to go on six fake dates with Griff to help him win.

I love how much depth and emotion Flynn penned into this story about a competition/bet between cousins and a strong, silent, intense hero having to learn to use his words to win the heart of the girl of his dreams. When Kinsey finds the key to unlocking Griff’s voice, and he starts talking, readers are in for a delightful surprise, that is for sure! Both characters are intriguing and have more in common than they expect. Both are highly intelligent, socially awkward nerds who are not super comfortable around people they don’t know. However, Kinsey's learned to adapt better. Blond, beautiful, and a genius used to being younger than most of her colleagues, Kinsey’s used to people not taking her seriously or treating her like she’s stupid. The sparks and chemistry between them sizzle, but Flynn layers it with an emotional and mental connection that is just as deep. The result is an intensely sexual and emotional connection that continues to develop and play out in their love scenes, which are sensual and contribute to further developing Kinsey’s and Griff’s characters and relationship. Romances between characters that connect on all these layers have that extra something.

A Hilarious, sweet, emotional, sexy romcom exploring themes of family, friendship, trust, self-esteem, self-confidence, parental baggage/issues, and workplace/corporate competition, Neanderthal satisfies on every level. Neanderthal is my first read by Flynn, but it won’t be my last.

Overall I enjoyed the story. However, there are a few glitches to my enjoyment. One was the bet that was placed in book 1. I had not read book 1 but I think I caught up. The bet itself was silly and not for grown men. Two, not a fan of the entire lying about being engaged bit, Having said that, the writing was great, the dialogue, both internal and external (the woman he had not even realized he"d been waiting for) s a very AHHHH moment. The dates were a lot of fun, lots of LOL moments, and 2 very engaging main characters.

Avery Flynn’s second book, Neanderthal, in the Last Man Standing series is a roller coaster ride of intrigue, espionage, tension, familial truths and awakenings, hilarious repartee…and of course romance. All these are threaded expertly throughout to keep the story moving, changing, and glued to your seat riveting. Though there seems to be a multitude of moving parts…which could be confusing, at best…they are crafted perfectly to keep the reader engaged. By the end, the story is sure to leave you with a smile as it did me.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Ok yes it’s seriously cheesy and I don’t generally like love at first sight. But it was a really cute read.

What a cute Rom-Com with lots of out loud laughter and fun. I have never read a book by author Avery Flynn and did not realize how much I would enjoy her writing. Kinsey is a southern belle who is a genius but struggles at people taking her seriously. Griff is a gruff, lego loving nerd with tattoos and loves fighting in the ring. Griff has an instant attraction to Kinsey but she is not wanting to date at this time. What follows is sweet, fun and wonderful read about two people falling in love. I love the cousins and Griff's sister. I can not wait for Nash's story. Highly recommend. I love this book so much I went and read the other book in the series.

I received this book for my honest review from Netgallery.

I loved this book even more than the first! But that's no surprise, because Griff is definitely my type. Strong and silent, but when you get in his head, he blows you away with the intelligence and caring he shows to everyone he loves. This was the perfect amount of steamy - hotter than the first I think! I'm really anxious to see what Nash is up to though! Love the Becketts!

4.6⭐️

“Hello, daddy issues, it’s Griff calling.”

I’ll be the first to tell you that my ratings are not well defined, rather random, and definitely arbitrary. I went back to see what I rated Mammas Boy because, as expected, I liked Griff even more.

I loved his brain, and his attraction to hers. I of course love him growing as person in the time frame of the book. Idk, this book felt sort of roll reversed in ways I can’t quite put words to, but I loved.

Also my my spicy spicy.

From the moment Griff Beckett laid eyes (or rather ears) on his sister Morgan's best friend, Kinsey Dalton, he knew that she was the woman he'd been waiting for all his life. It didn't even matter that being with her would mean losing the Last Man Standing bet with his cousins Nash and Dixon and forfeiting his chance at the mysterious final gift left behind by their late Grandma Betty. What did matter was the fact that Kinsey was basically engaged, and Griff knew that it would be an uphill battle to win her away from her almost-fiance, Todd. Not only could Griff barely string a full sentence together when he was around Kinsey, he'd accidentally insulted her within the first five minutes of meeting her. Despite that bad first impression, when Kinsey learned about the bet, she was inexplicably moved to help Griff. She volunteered to accompany him on six dates planned by his cousins, giving Griff exactly the opportunity he needed to show Kinsey that he could be the man for her.

Griff didn't always say much, but there were usually 100 different things going on inside his head at any given time, and I found him to be both fascinating and endearing. He was hiding so much hurt because of the way his father had treated him all his life, but he continued to put up with it just to protect his sister from becoming their father's target. I loved seeing him stand up to their father in the end and cut ties with him once and for all! Griff found exactly the perfect match in Kinsey; they were both so smart that their brains seemed to work on a completely different level from everyone else's. They seemed to understand each other in a very unique and special way, and as a bonus, the chemistry between them was white hot. It was very easy for me to cheer them on to their HEA.

Overall, I adored "Neanderthal" and highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I can't wait for Griff's cousin Nash's book, which should be releasing in about a month. (I hope Griff's sister Morgan will get a story of her own, too!)

*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Neanderthal was such a fun read!

Griff is mostly quiet and struggles to make good conversation. Kinsey is a talker and a sweet southern bell. A true opposites attract romance here! Kinsey works for a cosmetics company, Griff's family owns the competition. A lot of stuff happened with this and I loved how it played out.

Griff and Kinsey were playful with each other, but could also be serious. While the relationship did develop quite fast, that didn't mean it wasn't a good one.

Loved Griff's family and how they're all involved and in each others business.

If you're looking for something light and fun Neanderthal is for you!

Thank you Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy of this book.

4 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5 steam level
Let’s get into it shall we? We shall!
This is the second book in a romance series and I have not read the first book.
We need to get something out of the way- the premise of these books is a pact three grown adult males with each other… get ready for it. In order to decide which of the three gets to open the final Christmas gift from their deceased grandmother, they decide to go on six dates with the first person who responds to their online dating profile. If they can make sure they don’t fall in love in those six dates they will be the one who gets to open the present.
Ok so this is really important… I fully acknowledge that the premise for this is nonsensical. It’s quite ridiculous. But let it me said that I very much enjoyed this book and just chose to ignore the insanity of the bet premise.

Here’s what does matter about this book…let’s talk tropes! Fake dating, forced proximity, cinnamon roll hero (hard on the outside and squishy on the inside), grump to sunshine, insta-love
These are some of my all time favorite tropes (minus the insta love).

This book was a quick read. It was spicy (more for verbiage than content). I loved the couple. I liked the friendships in the periphery. I enjoyed the banter! Are heroine has some southern charm and hilarious southern phrases she uses throughout the book. Overall it was a quick and fun read!

Things I didn’t vibe with:
-The bet premise.
- There was something else that I’m blanking on, but keep that in mind and I’ll update if I remember it later hahah

Content warning: emotional abuse, workplace harassment.

what you should listen to while reading:
Song: The few things by JP Saxe
”I don't say what’s on my mind quite as much as you'd like me to
I've been hearing that my whole life, I promise, it's not just you
But I so confidently want you
That when you say you're insecure about my feelings I don't take it serious
But if you need me to tell you more

You're one of the few things that I'm sure of
You're one of the few things that I know already
I could build my world of
One of the few things that I'm sure of
And I want you to unravel me
Come closer, come closer
Come closer, come closer”

If you’re looking for a spicy romcom, pick up this book! I’m gonna go back and read the first book in the series!

xoxo,
dux

Big thanks to Grey's Promos & Entangled Puishing for an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley. This review is being given honestly and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

CW: misogyny, sexism, mentions of past SA/Harrassment in the workplace, parental neglect, emotional abuse, and verbal abuse, semi-graphic sex scenes

Right away I want to say that I liked this better than I liked Mama's Boy (book 1) and I think that's because I love a good hero falls first plus it included tropes I HATE which made it harder to connect to the MCs in book 1. I liked Kinsey as our MC but absolutely hated the work issues that she experiences (past & present) in the book. Griff was pretty okay except his 3rd act f*ck up but once again I'm BIG into hero falls first and Avery Flynn did a great job with that. Overall I really liked this book and enjoy how well Avery Flynn creates and integrates side-characters.

I ABSOLUTELY need book 3 next because I read a small Teaser and need MORE asap.

Aww man I was hoping I would love this but I just couldn’t get into it. The characters and the romance just weren’t it. Couldn’t connect with them and didn’t feel the chemistry

Here’s what I’ve got to say about this…I’m loving it! This series is just giving me everything I want right now. I completely love the banter, the swoonyness, all the feel goods that are there to devour. Avery Flynn has just gives me such happiness with these guys. I can’t wait for the last cousin!