Dual Review: Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch

Publisher: Daw

Where did you get the book from: Purchased copy

Release date: Out now.

Blurb taken from Goodreads

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

Has: I chose Touched by An Alien to read just due to the awesome cover that Dan Dos Santos created. I love a good cover, but it’s not one of the main reasons why I would pick up a book. When I read the summary about aliens and men in black, I was sold!

MinnChica: ME TOO! I remember seeing it as your Twitter avatar, and thinking how amazing it was. I absolutely loved it, and was completely drawn to it. Then once you and Gini started talking more about the book,I was hooked!

Has: I think the cover sums up the book perfectly. It captures the frenetic action and tone of the book. It also emphasises the core romance between Kitty and Martini.

MinnChica: Absolutely. I love that with most of Dan Dos Santos covers, you can get a feel of what the content is going to be in the book from his artwork. With how crazy the background is, but with the calm and collected Kitty and Martini in the middle, I just knew it would be a great read.

Has: I agree. And it’s very rare to have a cover that really reflects what the book is about.

MinnChica: One of the big things that I really enjoyed about this book was that Kitty was so resourceful. No matter what she had with her, she was always able to make it work for her. She is like the female MacGyver!

Has: I also loved the banter between her and Martini. It  was a fast and snappy dialogue that felt like they were verbal machine guns!

MinnChica: Oh totally. The two of them were so great together. They really complimented each other perfectly.

Has: It also added to their sexual tension and I think for me that was a highlight, and recently I have missed that kind of sexy repartee as part of relationship which is one of my favourite. And that totally added to her character!

MinnChica: Definitely! Another positive point for me was that the story was really light hearted. It wasn’t serious at all. It was  fun and fast paced!

Has: I expected the book to have a serious tone, but it was very much in a style of a sci-fi comedy, but it also had serious themes such as the religious exodus that Martini and his family left their planet for. But the humour is a huge element in the book, and not only did it feature in the action, but it was very much apparent with the characters, and it made me chuckle out loud. I think the overall tone – which was so hectic and fast paced – added to the story too.

MinnChica: Me too! I can’t count the number of times I actually burst out laughing, and my husband would look up and wonder what the heck was going on. With how quickly the story line moved, and how series some of the undertones were, the laughs really supported the book and kept it moving.

Has: Definitely! And it had  ‘way out there’ humour, such as the hairspray as a lethal poison to the aliens (although if you get it in your eyes, it’s definitely poison :P), to the sharp and snappy dialogue. And even the names of the characters, Kitty Katt and Jeff Martini, added to the lighthearted tone.

MinnChica: There was an issue though that rubbed me the wrong way though out the book. Kitty was so incredibly resourceful and quick thinking in everything she did, but when it came to Christopher, she seemed really dense. For all her great female intuition when it came to fighting aliens, it really didn’t help her out at all with the men!

Has: I definitely agree with you about that, but then again she was experiencing crazy attacks by aliens and just learned she was in the midst with another group of aliens. Another thing; her relationship with Jeff was definitely fast paced too, and I don’t think she would have picked up on those clues because it must have been overwhelming. Although when her mother kept hinting about Christopher’s feelings, I think Kitty was too obtuse

MinnChica: Agreed. And her mother did practically spell it out to her. I would think that even with as many clues as Kitty received, she would have picked up on it a little bit sooner.

Has: Another aspect was the fact that I did find the first half of the book had too much info dump – especially about Martini and Christopher’s alien group, and the worldbuilding added to that too. I think because it was such a fast paced book it was hard to take it all in because you had things happening from attacks to hot moments with Martini and Kitty

MinnChica: I didn’t feel like it was too big of an info dump. No more so than other first books in other series that I’ve read. I liked that we were able to learn about the world as Kitty did. I mean, she had to get a crash course in it, and as the reader, so did we.

Has: True, and for me – especially since its the first book – I kind of expected that but the sexual chemistry and banter between Martini and Kitty along with the other characters helped.

I have to admit, I was surprised by how much I loved this book! I thought it would be a light hearted read, but it was so different to other books out right now which is so refreshing. The worldbuilding and characters was a joy to read, and I loved the romance between Kitty and Martini – even though it was so fast paced, and it was a ‘love at first sight’ romance which is hard to do. The love story was very believable, and I think that grounded the story from going really out there.

MinnChica: Oh I agree. I was expecting to like the book because I heard it being compared to Men in Black (and I love that movie), but it was so much more than that for me. It was fast paced and fun like Men in Black, but also more serious. And the romance between Kitty and Martini? Perfect! Loved it!

Has: I think my favourite and memorable parts of the book were when Kitty and her team was killing off the aliens at the end. Who would have thought that Best of 80s rock music from Tears for Fears, and Motorhead, could be lethal. Although that scene is running close to the hot make-out scenes that Kitty was involved in in a certain lift.

MinnChica: Agreed! The big fight scene in the desert was my favorite as well. I loved the Kitty used what she had, and was fast thinking enough to be able to take down all the different aliens. I loved that she called in the Air Force to help dump salt water on the slug like alien!

Has: And she did it with style! I think this is what made this book a cut above the others. Yes it had outlandish moments, but it was fun and fast paced and that made it refreshing!

MinnChica: I think some of the really out there moments is what made it so fun to me. It’s like a scene in Men in Black, when he has the itty-bitty gun that threw him across the street when he used it. That kind of humor really brings something new to a fight scene, and I love that Kitty was able to kill all the aliens in a way that made sense, but was also different!

Has: Oh definitely! Gini Koch has imagination in spades. The fast pace and unique world setting along with the sexy romance between Martini and Kitty was a joy to read, and is definitely in my top ten. Actually make that top 5 reads this year for me. All I can say is that Touched by An Alien is fun fun fun fun fun sexy read!

I give  Touched by an Alien a B+

MinnChica: I really loved this book. After it was all said and done, I was super happy with this read. It was fun, fast-paced, imaginative, and so different from what is currently out there. The humor and conflict were done so incredibly well! It is also one of my top reads for this year.

I also give Touched  by an Alien a B+