Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Contagion

This is absolutely adorable. It's only adorable because Simmie, our alien, is entirely oblivious about everything. He knows literally knowing about humans or anything off his planet and rather than being pissed Aurora is gentle with him and treats him with respect and kindness. I loved that jokes and humor often went over Simmie's head, but that he never feels excluded from the jokes a human audience will clearly understand. This book is remarkably self-aware which makes reading the alien perspective so delightfully fun.

"That's good," Aurora says, eyes on my throat. It strangely makes her look demure—a thing she is absolutely not. (52)

Simmie being an absolute unit of an apex predator with severe OCD and anxiety is not something I would expect to find so hilarious and refreshing but it absolutely works. The times that Aurora takes advantage of Simmie's terrifying appearance in front of other humans, without Simmie's understanding, is peak humor and great survival skills. The whole book is a single POV, we only ever get Simmie's perspective. While I'm normally a dual POV girl I really like just seeing these events from the alien perspective.

Truly fantastic take on an alien romance. Shockingly good mental illness representation for what is, at least in part, alien erotica.

Content Warnings

krysley's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

tostita's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book was genuinely funny, and the narrator’s performance only enhanced the humor. The story is told entirely from from the first-person POV of a germophobic alien who escapes captivity with a human woman with radically different ideas about the acceptability of touching things, with her bare hands no less! Together they make their way through the definitely-not-sterile wilderness, with the smaller, softer but more worldly human leading the way, both emotionally and as navigator. Simmi’s rather nerdy nature makes it all the funnier when they finally reach a human outpost and he is suddenly perceived as a barely constrained killing machine, a perception Aurora encourages as a protective camouflage. Though the banter between the two was amusing, as a romance I found it less compelling. I didn’t feel much in the way of chemistry between them and the story would have worked just as well, if not better, as a buddy comedy without the smooching. Also, there is a weird moment during the first sex scene where things suddenly take a dark turn, with reference to recent sexual assault that never comes up again, that could have easily been cut from the story with no loss. Still, overall this book made for an enjoyable quick listen.

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