Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Strange Love

Listen, I went into this book fairly blind. I knew it was an alien romance, featuring a kind of dorky MMC who looked NOTHING like a human in features. I knew that my discord reading group had positive things to say about it. That was enough for me to buy this book and try it out.

I was not expecting everything that this book was. To start, it was absurd. I burst out laughing at the absurdity more than once. However, it was never slapstick. It was clever comedy and made complete sense in the context of the story. Even the talking dog, while hysterical, felt perfect at home in this story.

Everything about this book felt somehow both exaggerated and perfectly normal. The characters had big personalities, some even cartoonishly or comic book-like in nature. Snaps being able to talk was so silly, but it made COMPLETE sense in the context of the world. And while Zylar and Beryl's differences seemed so big and insurmountable in the context of love, both of the characters had the type of personalities that lent themselves to some extreme open-mindedness and the utmost empathy and caring.

Truly though, book was also so sweet and earnest. Zylar and Beryl are both sweethearts, and so easy to love. Watching them learn about each other, build each other up, and work together to thrive all while falling in love was absolutely beautiful. I adored them from the get-go, but by the end, I loved them as a couple. And I should mention that the smut between them is completely unique, definitely strange, and still very hot.

I didn't realize this was part of the series until everything with Helix at the end. I probably won't pick up the sequel immediately, but this was so enjoyable that I would definitely be up to reading another in this series.

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alldressedchip's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This was a surprisingly charming read with some interesting twists and turns and a number of... hot alien sex scenes???

Strange Love has a few convenient plot holes/contrivances; but the adorable love story, relatable style, and talking dog carry you through it. I'm excited to see what Helix gets up to in the next one!

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katiekeske's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This is now one of my favorite alien romances! It has a sense of humor, action, and a slow burn romance with love and attraction that builds over time. Imagine alien abduction meets the Hunger Games in order to win the chance for mating.

If you like a sweet, cinnamon roll that is a little awkward and feels like an outcast in society then you'll enjoy this one, too. Especially if you like aliens that are actually alien-like in appearance and culture.

The heroine is also capable, funny, and loyal. I liked her and her little dog Snaps.

I can't wait to read more in this series!

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puddicure's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

TL;DR: This is, quite honestly, one of my favorite comedic romance books I have ever read. This book has everything: fake dating, politics, drama, death games, a talking dog, tenderly-blossoming affections, and most importantly, steamy mutual exploration of alien bodies.

the highlight? M/F scissoring. This boy’s got HOLES!

Queer reader approved, highly recommended. Audio narration is good. Check your local library apps.

Anyway. As a preface to my full review: I’m a lesbian who withers at awkward comedy, and ‘miscommunication as a plot device,’ at least in a romanic context, usually gives me hives. As a result, I can only stomach romance in small doses, usually in dramatic contexts, and preferably, slathered in the more palatable sauce of genre fiction.

So when I checked out this audiobook from Hoopla, I expected very little, especially with the way the summary describes her love interest as “awkward, adorable, and alien as hell.”

What I found here was a veritable delight of shockingly good scifi. Like, I cannot emphasize enough how skillfully Aguirre fleshes out this little corner of the galaxy, the aliens that live there, and the tech at their disposal, all without dropping a ton of technical terms on you at once. Both Beryl and the reader are reminded time and time again, and to comedic effect, that this is an alien planet and an alien culture; and to the credit of the log line, that DOES make her new alien beau come across as quite awkward, mostly because he genuinely doesn’t understand and/or misunderstands a lot of the intent in her behaviors and turns of phrase. (While I’m on the subject: in the first few chapters, where the language barrier is dealt with via alien tech, was the moment I sat up and said out loud: “oh. This is good.” And it sets up SO many good jokes.)

Now onto the part of the story the summary doesn’t really touch on: the ceremony for being able to become mates is, basically, the fucking hunger games. And Beryl is a tiny human competing against other aliens who all have natural weapons to deter giant predators. It absolutely rules.

I won’t go too much into it, because I don’t want to spoil the delightful experience, but hive intrigue and politics also start to come into play, and it really cranks up the stakes.

Lastly, I have an audiobook specific compliment for the voice the narrator does for Snaps- their delivery really punches up his limited dialogue, and made me even more endeared to him than I would normally be. He’s a very good boy.

As far as if I’ll read the sequel…eh. The character they introduced who is the main character of the sequel didn’t get enough screentime for me to really care much about him. I might listen someday in hopes of these characters showing up, though.

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