Katherine Kingston
ISBN #:  978-1-41-993414-8
Publisher Name:  Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Date Released:  April 2011
Genre:  Erotic Romance/BDSM/Sci-Fi
Book Format:  eBook

BACK COVER BLURB:



COVER SNARK:


FIRST LINES:







Received from publisher for review.

Gini Koch
ISBN #: 978-0-756-40668-4
Publisher Name: Penguin Publishing Group/DAW
Date Released: April 2011
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Pages: 457
Book Format: Print.


BACK COVER BLURB:

Super-Being Exterminator Kitty Katt and the Alpha Centaurian she loves, Jeff Martini, should be finalizing their wedding plans. But that was before she discovers Jeff is in line to become Emperor back on his home world. Kitty knows she is everything a royal family wouldn't approve of, and is bracing herself for the worst. As it turns out, the royal family is just the beginning. Especially when extraterrestrial Amazonian terrorists are determined to start and end Kitty and Jeff's nuptial festivities with a bang.


COVER SNARK:
I like the cartoony vibe which fits the lightheartedness of the series. But wish it was amped up a bit.

FIRST LINES:

In Springtime a young alien’s thoughts turn to love. And marriage. And, as fast as possible, the baby carriage.

Dating anyone from a different culture can be hard. Try dating one from a different planet. Oh, and working with him, too. Every day. Every single day.

LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

Before I commence with this review, let me say that I am a fan of this series and will probably buy the next book. As you know, I try not to buy anything and for me to say that I’m buying something really is important. Now that I have stated this, it’s time for Lynette to be a complete and total hypocrite by listing why ALIEN IN THE FAMILY drove me crazy. I apologize in advance and I know I’m going to piss off a lot of you, because my filter is off. I’m going to try to go through this review and clean it up later and make it less ranting, but I don’t know if I can. At least you can’t say that I am not emotionally invested into this series.

The first several chapters of ALIEN IN THE FAMILY where hard for me to read. I actually put the book down and didn’t pick it back up again for several days. The narrative of the story dragged as the author felt the need to do very long and drawn out summary of what had happened in the previous two books in the series that unfortunately fell short for me as I wanted the narrative to focus on what was occurring at that moment. Kitty is an interesting character, but she often feels too slap stick for me, where none of the actions are grounding in reason and common sense and since she is just Kitty and supposedly so amazing we are just supposed to go with it. This time, I had a harder time going with it.

I am also getting annoyed with Kitty and her (excuse me, but I can’t think of another word to describe this) golden p-ssy. Every and I mean EVERY man she meets wants to screw her, falls in love with her, etc. I seriously don’t get it. Why? This needs to be explained to me a little bit more. Why does every man she meets want her, even when she makes it clear that she doesn’t want them, she has several men pining for her. WHY, WHY, WHY? I get that you want to make her appealing, but REALLY? REALLY?

Another one of my pet peeves that occurred in ALIEN IN THE FAMILY and in fact the entire series is that there is really not a lot of conflict. The premise of this series is that through some amazing circumstances, Kitty learns that there are aliens on the planet and takes a top secret job to protect the planet ala Men In Black. However, everyone is in on her secret life. Everyone who is close to her is in on it. As each book progresses, I’ve never quite grasped why her parents, best friend, former boyfriends are in on this top-level secret except that is convenient for the author to do so so that Kitty doesn’t feel as isolated in her new life. And with each book, I get more annoyed that Kitty doesn’t have to work for anything in her life, that the series doesn’t really have any internal conflict.

I also don’t understand the chemistry between Kitty and Jeff besides that he’s a hot looking alien and they have awesome sex together. Despite Kitty’s golden p-ssy, I get more why Kitty would appeal to Jeff, but what is it about him (besides beinghot) that does it for her. There are tons of other hot men who want her. To put it plainly, I am a die-hard romance reader at heart and for me it’s all about the emotional connection between the hero and heroine. I don’t get a deep emotional connection on her end. Her behavior doesn’t support it. I was hoping for more when as her wedding draws near and she’s trying to puzzle out what it is about Jeff that makes her want to spend the rest of her life with him. The explanations she gives herself and Jeff on why him fell flat to me. Of course I don’t believe ALIEN IN THE FAMILY is really marketed as a romance, so I can kinda cut the author some slack.

However, this is my blog and my rant about the series. I still enjoy the series despite myself, but these issues that I have with ALIEN IN THE FAMILY keep me up at night. Seriously. They bug the heck out of me and I had to get them off my chest or I was going to burst. Thanks for listening.

While the beginning of ALIEN IN THE FAMILY dragged and drove me crazy on so many levels (really, you see no problem with your best friend who is in love with you calling a meeting not only in the same city but the same hotel, the same freaking suite where you guys had wild monkey sex. You don’t put your foot down out of respect for your fiancé? You don’t tell your friend point blank to stop disrespecting your man and this was some immature crap? Not once? – Sorry, couldn’t help myself again), the middle picked and became quite interesting. However, the ending was blah. It was a little disjointed and I wished that all the plot threads were tied up a little neater.

Yet, there is something about Kitty and Ms. Koch’s writing that despite all my ranting and raving, makes me eager to read her work and to see what’s coming next.

Hello, my name is Lynette and I am a hypocrite.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Purchased with my own money.

RATING:

Gini Koch
ISBN #: 978-0756406325
Publisher Name: Penguin Publishing Group/Daw Books
Date Released: December 2010
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Book Format: Print

BACK COVER BLURB:

It's been five months since marketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt started working with the aliens from Alpha Centauri, and she and Jeff Martini are getting closer. But when an experimental spacecraft is mysteriously returned to the Kennedy Space Center, Kitty and the rest of her team are called in to investigate. Now the team must survive murderous attacks, remove a space entity from a group of astronauts, and avoid an unhinged woman with a serious crush on Kitty's high school boyfriend. And that's all before evil masterminds decide Kitty's extermination is vital.

COVER SNARK:
I actually really like the cover.

FIRST LINES:

"Are you sure she can do this, Captain Tucker?"

"Absolutely, Commander Martini." "Like lickin' butter off a knife."

"Jeff, I've done it already."

"Yeah, don't remind me."

FAVORITE LINES:

"I hope that's working like we wanted it to."

"It's a plan of yours, Kitty. I'm sure it's going to go haywire somewhere."

LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

Some books pull me in despite my reservations, not because I'm overwhelmed by the writing, but because the story and the voice of the author are so compelling. ALIEN TANGO is one of those novels. I read ALIEN TANGO thinking 'really, you gotta to be kidding me,' but I kept reading and kept being sucked in. It was an experience similiar to when I read J.K. Rowling and you thought if I read another adverb where Harry, Ron, Hermoine or any of the others did one more thing happily, sacredly, sadly etc., I was going to poke my eye out with a fork but I still found myself being blown away and loving the series. Or when I read the Twilight Saga and asked myself why am I reading about a heroine who is taking the woman's movent and moving it back to the sixteenth century, why? And why do I keep re-reading this? That is how I feel when I was reading ALIEN TANGO, I read if fully understanding that their were things that drove my crazy, but I loved the book despite those things.

ALIEN TANGO is the second novel in the Kitty Katt (yes, that is her real name and part of my issues with the novel) series. The first novel, Touched By Alien while engaging, didn't suck me in, but it was enough for me to want to read the second book. Although I think that was because I had already had this book when it was offered free from Amazon. Here's what drove me batty.

• The slapstick comedy routine. I mean come on. You're running for your life and this is how you're acting what you're thinking? Not only the slapstick when you're running for your life, but in all other instances. I mean really Kitty, really? Those moments didn't work for me personally. But I will admit that one scene where she's in the car and accidently turned on the On Star (sorry, I don't know the universal term, the dispatch help people that come with some car models) cracked me up. That was frigging hilarious. Everything else made me roll my eyes. I think the author would get better results if she kept to Kitty's character traits but toned down the slap stick in future releases.

• The obvious plot. I know I have a weird habit of usually guessing what's going to happen in a book, but ALIEN TANGO was way too obvious for me. The instant a hint appeared, I could tell what it was about and how it would manifest later. To me it was like hanging a sign over someone's head (umm, especially Chucky's from the first telephone call in the first couple pages) and saying, 'the killer is Colonel Mustard and he's in the conservatory with a candlestick.' Or was I the only one who caught all the plot clues? I know this is a habit of mine, but to me they seemed more obvious than usual.

• How convenient all the pieces falls into place for Kitty. She hardly has to work for anything (except kill a few monsters) her family relationships, old boyfriends, men all seem to fall quite easily into the spaces Kitty has mapped out from them with only a couple words. There is no real strong internal angst or conflict.

However, despite the issues that I had with ALIEN TANGO, it pulled me in. ALIEN TANGO has an unique premise, interesting romance, quirky characters that pulled me in and had me going back for more and more importantly wanting more.


WHERE PURCHASED:

It was a limited time free book. I downloaded ALIEN TANGO from Amazon and read as part of the Show Me The Free Book Challenge by The Unread Reader.


RATING:

Gini Koch
ISBN #: 978-0756406004
Publisher Name: Penguin Group (USA)/DAW Books
Date Released: April 2010
Price: $7.99 Retail
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Book Format: Print

BACK COVER BLURB:
How can a sexy marketing manager join forces with an Alpha Centauri male in Armani to save the planet-using hairspray, a Mont Blanc pen, and rock n' roll?

Easy...

She's Touched by an Alien

Marketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt steps into the middle of what appears to be a domestic dispute turned ugly. And it only gets uglier when the man turns into a winged monster, straight out of a grade-Z horror movie, and goes on a killing spree. Though Kitty should probably run away, she springs into action to take the monster down.

In the middle of the chaos a handsome hunk named Jeff Martini appears, sent by the "agency" to perform crowd control. He's Kitty's kind of guy, no matter what planet he's from. And from now on, for Kitty, things are going to be sexy, dangerous, wild, and out of this world.

COVER SNARK:
I actually like this cover. It really pulls you in.

FIRST LINES:

My first super being was an accident. Literally and figuratively.

LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

I've heard about the buzz on this book for a long time and then the second book became a free Amazon read. I downloaded the second book when it was free, but I didn't want to read the second book without reading the first. For months, I tried pimping myself out to get a free copy of the first book but had no takers, so I finally gave in and bought TOUCHED BY AN ALIEN.

TOUCHED BY AN ALIEN tells the story of Kitty Katt (yes, that's her real name) who stumbles upon weird creatures upon leaving jury duty. As one of those weird creatures is going around trying to kill people, she does what anyone would do. She jumps atop the thing and stabs him with a pen. Of course that brings her to the attention of a secret government agency where it turns out that this "secret" agency are actually aliens who have come to earth to protect the planet.

Umm, okay, so there you go with my cheesy plot summary. My bad, I know it sucks.

I love sci-fi romance and TOUCHED BY AN ALIEN has an interesting premise and quirky, three-dimensional characters. I was intrigued by Ms. Koch's writing, and kept turning the page. However, I'm not a big fan of slapstick comedies (my humor is more on the dry, sarcastic side), and TOUCHED BY AN ALIEN to me seemed for lack of a better word, campy. It also bothered me with how convenient the plot line was. For example in TOUCHED BY AN ALIEN Kitty is close to her parents and worries how she could lie to them about what she does for a living now. Well the author solved that issue and a little to conveniently to bring her family into the fold. I was angry by that easy solution. I really couldn't buy into that and rolled my eyes and thought 'really' in a nice sarcastic tone. (Remember the dry sense of humor here.)

Despite the camp and other issues I had with TOUCHED BY AN ALIEN, I was intrigued by the read and was curious about what was coming up next. I also immediately went and began reading the second book in the series that I already had on hand.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Bought with my money!

RATING:

Ria Candro
ISBN #: 978419931741
Publisher Name: Ellora's Cave Publishing/Aeon
Date Released: December 2010
Price: $5.20 Retail
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Romance
Book Format: eBook

BACK COVER BLURB:

When Natalie awakens on a spaceship manned by three gorgeous and adoring hunks, she’s convinced she’s dreaming. It’s up to Andros, Leikos and Zafron to prove to her she’s not. And that she’s the perfect mate for all three of them.

Spygian alpha males travel far and wide in search of their perfect partner. And then share their mate in the most delicious, pleasurable ways they can imagine. But for Natalie, loving these red-hot aliens means leaving Earth. Is she willing to take a chance on a love that’s out of this world?

COVER SNARK:
Once again, I just don't like Ellora's Cave's covers. The woman looks like a fifty year old plastic surgery barbie doll.


FIRST LINES:

The front panel of the ship's control room slid open, exposing a view of space through the clear, impenetrable shield.

"We are approaching Earth now," said Leikos, Andros' second-in-command.

Okay, are you satisfied with my sucky plot review? I'm trying, but you know I totally suck at giving plot reviews. So let me tell you what I liked and didn't like.

Overall, I really liked MATED as a story and I'm on a sci-fi kick now too. I've liked the sci-fi stories that I've been reading. MATED isn't an exception. Although it's a quick, simple, steamy read, it captured me and I liked how she set up the world. Although this is a ménage relationship, because of the men's culture and their planets history, I totally bought into their relationship and I believed in it.

There were a few things that I wish were fleshed out. For one, I didn't get in the beginning why Natalie didn't go to college. She was griping that she didn't get a promotion because she didn't have a degree and that the reason she didn't have a degree is because her parents died and so they couldn't pay for college? Umm, WTF? Hello, ma'am, this is the 21st century here, do what everyone else does, go to college part-time, or go to college on-line. I totally didn't get that reasoning, and I rolled my eyes when reading that in the beginning. But maybe that's me because everyone in my family who went to college paid for it themselves. (BTW, does anyone want to pay back my student loans, they're killing a sister – note of advice from Aunty Lynette, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GO TO A PRIVATE WOMEN'S COLLEGE – NEVER, THE EXPENSE IS NOT WORTH IT).

Anyhoo, back to my review.

I also wish that Ms. Candro went a little deeper into the world building. She has a great set-up, intriguing premise, solid writing, but I wanted to know more about the world that the men come from. I also didn't understand how the men knew Natalie was their mate? It infers that theirs a way for them to just know, but it wasn't explained.

Besides that, this was a solid sci-fi read and I'd definitely check out her next release.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Received copy from publisher for review.

RATING:

BACK COVER BLURB:

ISBN: 978-1-60504-906-9
Samhain Publishing, Ltd
February 23, 2010
Paranormal Romance/Sci Fi

For Captain Steffi Savannah and her crew of deep space smugglers, life has become little more than a dogged exercise in mere survival. Their latest disastrous heist ended with another dead crew member—and no place left to hide. She’s even finding it hard to dredge up any excitement over the giant, crippled ship that appears on their radar, even though it’s the salvage opportunity of a lifetime.

They find that it’s no ordinary alien vessel. It’s a ship of dreams, populated with the last remnants of Earth’s mythical creatures. Including the blond, built, mysterious Arne, one of a race blessed with extraordinary beauty—and few inhibitions. Though he won’t tell her exactly what he is, in his arms Steffi rediscovers something she thought she’d never feel again. Wonder, love…and hope.

It isn’t long, though, before the Royal guard tracks them down, and Steffi and her crew are faced with a terrible decision. Cut and run. Or risk everything to tow the ship and her precious cargo to safety.



LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

I just could not get into IMPULSE POWER: THE MYTHMAKERS. The writing didn't suck, but the story did not pull me in. In my humble opinion the reader doesn't get an insight into the motivation behind the characters actions. IMPULSE POWER: THE MYTHMAKERS is marketed as a sci-fi romance, but I found the romance non-existent. What little romance there was happened so quickly without the two characters exchanging no more than a couple words with each other before declaring that they were life-mates. Nothing was stated (not even sexual contact) that allowed the reader to see what drew them towards each other.



Speaking of sexual contact. That aspect of this book left me confused. The heroine is a sexually free person (as we see at the beginning of the story). She meets a man from a culture where sex is considered an appetizer but she doesn't have sex with him? Nothing is stated that explains the lack of their sexual relationship. In this instance, I needed a statement that explained why not. It confused me.


If I were to judge this from purely a sci-fi aspect, I'd still have problems with this story. There was not a lot of action inside IMPULSE POWER: THE MYTHMAKERS. And the situations didn't build upon one another. Forgive me, but to illustrate my point, I'm going to explain what I mean, by using a reference to the 2009 Star Trek Movie, which is in a similar genre and I assume most people have seen.


a. Kirk, Sulu, and Olsen (in red shirt so we know he's about to die- LOL- sorry little Trekkie tidbit) have to jump to the drill and disable it so the Enterprise can get transporter capabilities back on-line.b. Olsen waits too long to pull his chute and dies.


c. Kirk lands and fights with the Romulans but is getting his butt kicked.


d. Sulu lands (but looses his parachute), kicks butt, and saves Kirks life.


e. They have to disable the transporters but Olsen had the charges.


f. They use the Romulans weapons to disable the drill and get the transporter back on line.


g. Transporter is back on-line but the Romulans drop the red matter which will destroy the planet.


h. Sulu falls off the drill (remember no parachute) and can't be transported because it's nearly impossible to be transported when moving.


i. Kirk jumps to help, but the combined weight is too much for the parachute and his malfunctions.


j. Kirk and Sulu are falling with a chute and can't be transported.


k. Will they survive or not? Will the planet be saved?


Unfortunately, there is no similar building of tension inside IMPULSE POWER:THE MYTHMAKERS and the lack of that had me scanning the pages wishing for more, wishing for something to make me savor the read. Unfortunately, nothing did.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Copy courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

RATING:
E