Let’s Kick Things Off With A Super Strange Review

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  Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

I’m currently sat at my desk, iPad in hand, wondering if reviewing this book is the right way to go about things. I’ve read twenty two other books so far this year. I have at least thirty more to read just from books I currently own, and four hundred more on my TBR. This book didn’t have to be the first.

But this book was a first for me – and therefore it’s pretty fitting that I kick off my reviewing career with a first review for the first time reading this… thing.

The thing in question? Alien smut.

You read that right. And let me tell you how we got here before we go any further.
It was a dark Friday night. Being the young, sexy, thriving twenty-four year old that I am, I was obviously curled up in bed. Candles were on. iPad was in hand. Kindle app open. SJM in the other hand. And I decided that, although I love Sarah J. Maas with a burning passion that rivals that of our own sun, I was going to ask for Kindle Unlimited recommendations to bulk out my reading (and also get a few last minute books in that wouldn’t cost me the earth or fourteen hours of reading – I was behind on my GoodReads 2021 Reading Challenge).
My reading group being the wonderful and weird group that it is, started rolling a number of books my way. Everything from Den of Vipers, to forty page anthologies explaining some old guy’s victories in life.

And then it came up.

Ice. Planet. Barbarians.

I was instantly hooked, I can’t lie. I took one look at the cover and was sold. We love a good ol’ rompy romance over here at HT Book Reviews, and boy did this look like it would take the cake. So, being the young, sexy, thriving twenty-four year old that I am, laid up in bed on a Friday night, I downloaded it.

And that, my friends, is exactly how we got here. If you’ve just sat and read that long ramble, I applaud you. But you’ve finally reached the review – welldone!
Let’s talk about how this book made me feel.

LOOK AT THIS COVER AND TELL ME YOU AREN’T INTRIGUED

The story begins in America, and we meet our protagonist – Georgie. Georgie is a twenty-two year old woman, taken in the dead of night by what we will later fondly call ‘basketball heads’ and ‘little green men’. Sounds ridiculous, but stay with me here.
Georgie finds herself amongst a group of other girls; they’re all similar ages, have no underlying health conditions, and aren’t pregnant. Or at least, aren’t anymore.
When the ship they’re being transported on crashes, Georgie is the one to volunteer to begin a rescue mission, and heads out into an alien-infested, snow-covered, and all out brutal planet.

And guess what? Apparently, the ice aliens are hot.
Georgie encounters Vektal – a seven foot, bluish-grey being with horns, ridges covering his body… and a giant d**k.
Unsurprisingly, he and Georgie have a language barrier, but that doesn’t stop them. Throughout the novel (or novella, considering it is less than 200 pages) we see them develop their own ways of communication – in a very George of the Jungle meets Jane kind of way. It’s honestly sweet, and powerful, and seeing both points of view really does make you fall in love with both of the characters.

We get to see things from Vektal’s point of view, and this was so well written. I can’t emphasise how amazingly written it was. There are parts of this where I wanted to cry, and some where I burst out laughing.
Vektal sees Georgie in the exact same way she sees him – she’s a weird, smooth-skinned alien with absolutely no suitability for the cold planet she’s currently residing on. One thing is different though – it’s love at first sight for him. He can’t get over how he makes her feel instantly, and we see him try to win Georgie’s affection throughout the novel, whilst he tries to save her life.
The thing I loved most about Vektal as a character was how he never crossed any boundaries with Georgie. EVER. As soon as a signal and word were assigned to ‘no’, he backed off instantly and understood. This is so much different to the other romances I’ve been reading, where all the men are bullish and dominating, taking what is ‘theirs’ and everything else goes out the window. Seeing a relationship built on trust and curiosity for one another was beautiful, and really is a credit to the author.

Overall, this book was amazing. The world was built on solid foundations, and only got better as we continued. The characters are lovable and deep and really, really well-rounded in terms of all having their own personalities. Suspense was built, and there were a few plot twists that caught me off guard and made it even more maddeningly addictive.

So, I gave my first ever alien smut read a five star rating. Here are my star ratings for the five important things I need in a book:

Writing Quality: *****
Characters & Development: *****
Plot: *****
World Building: *****
Enjoyment: *****

To say this may be the weirdest book I’ve ever read is an understatement. Saying I’m excited to read the other 21 books in this series? Also an understatement.

I guess I’m on the alien erotica hype train all the way to pound town.

God, that was grosser than reading an alien bang a human.