I feel like I have read better versions of this book. ( )

An unlikely sci-fi story that never tries to hide its intention to not be anything more than an incredibly cheesy romance.
To its credit, it very intentionally puts away with quite a few of the incredibly dominant romance tropes like the alpha male and the hunky human-like body.
In a few sections, the book shows a surprising amount of insight into genuine sci-fi topics like the efficacy of cloning and what rights a clone should have compared to its original and it briefly introduces the concept of artificial consciousness and its ramifications which builds a rare bridge between sci-fi alien romance and actual sci-fi but it clearly doesn't have any intention to compete with "real" sci-fi overall.
The book isn't willing to have the actual discussion behind a lot of popular sci-fi topics even though the author seems to be familiar with at least some of them.
But what am I writing... This is essentially a diabetes-inducingly sweet and cheesy romance with frequent sexy times.
Fair warning though, the guy is truly alien which includes all of his anatomy and this doesn't include a conveniently shaped "organ" that is unlikely well suited to pleasure a woman as is typical in the genre. ( )

If you're expecting a thought-provoking in depth book this is not it. If you're looking for a book that's a little spicy, a little different, and something that has quirky humor than this is it. did not think that there was such a thing as science fiction romance. Overall was a fun read. Of course there's a talking dog so I had to give it a start for that ( )

I have not read much (any?) alien romance novels, but I get the feeling this one is different. I was laughing out loud at the start, but I loved how the silliness turned into something bigger. I loved the beta hero and how things came together without lots of trauma for the two main characters. And even though I kind of wanted societal change on a big scale, given how Beryl had recognized some serious issues with the way things work on Zylar’s planet, the ending felt unexpectedly good.

Re: my cozy fantasy rating… This is sci-fi, not fantasy, but it’s totally adorable so I decided to include it on my shelf. There is one scene at a party with unpleasant things happening, and one side character dies suddenly. ( )

So alien/xeno romances are REALLY not usually my thing at all, but a sale price and rave reviews on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books persuaded me to try this one and I ended up really enjoying it.

It's delightfully funny, particularly the talking dog (given a speech translator by the alien who didn't know any better) and the AI system. The heroine and her alien abductor trying to get to know and understand each other is great too.

The world-building and the alien culture is interesting, and the alien characters, especially the hero, who is surprisingly sympathetic and appealing for an insecty-alien-thing. His perceived inferiority and self-doubt and his journey to realizing that he is worthy of love are well done.

The heroine is fun, but it is maybe a little jarring how easily she accepts being abducted. Not just forgiving the hero for the mistake that led to it, but just kind of shrugging at the idea of never seeing Earth again and figuring out a whole new species and culture, let alone marrying an alien. Endless freaking out would perhaps have been tedious but her blase acceptance is a bit unbelievable too.

The relationship is maybe a bit Stockholm Syndrome-y if you think about it too hard, but other than the heroine's cheerful and unquestioning acceptance, feels genuine and believable enough. Alien sex is very much not my usual thing, but the sex is done well, with a lot of communication and consent, and hotter than I'd have expected, really.

The ending is not unhappy but not entirely perfect, a little bittersweet but optimistic. I've read a few times and overall, enjoy it much more than I thought I would. I've bought the second in the series but haven't read it yet, and also bought and loved the author's fairy tale Bitterburn. ( )