A review by apostrophen
Line of Sight by Jenn Burke
4.0
Having recently watched Sense8, I have to admit, the romantic notion of the whole cop thing is a thing for a reason. Will was pretty hot, and there’s just something about a man in uniform swooping in to save the day. I know, I know, I’m totally caving to a stereotype, and I know most cops are smouldering piles of muscle and sexiness. This is fiction. Allow me my heroes.
Now, an alien cop wasn’t something I’d have considered, myself. But then I bumped into this little novella, and it turns out alien cops? Just as hot.
So you’re an alien cop (born of human stock long removed, mind) and your partner (a non-human from a species that thinks humans are kind of pathetic, really, as they can’t control their emotions) has turned out to be crooked. Said crooked alien partner has smacked you down hard and chucked you out in an escape pod and stranded you on the backward planet Earth. It’s been a year. It’s time to admit that no one is listening to your homing beacon. It’s time to decide that this weird planet is your new home.
And it’s definitely time to give in to the temptation in the form of the local bar owner who gave you that job eve though you had no ID at all and showed up out of nowhere about a year ago. The attraction is definitely there – though said bartender also lost his love recently enough that starting something new feels a little bit like a betrayal. In space, the cop had long learned to repress his emotions and keep himself under strict control.
But on Earth? Why not – finally – give in and feel.
Which is, of course, when everything will blow up in their faces. Maybe literally.
This was fun, and sexy, and the science fiction aspect was strong enough without overpowering the narrative. The characters were interesting and well drawn, and I liked where they started (and where they went). More, the conflict that does arise from without (from said science fiction aspect) made sense and was consistent, which I loved. This was a great taste of Burke’s writing, and I’ll be diving into her sci-fi series from here.
Now, an alien cop wasn’t something I’d have considered, myself. But then I bumped into this little novella, and it turns out alien cops? Just as hot.
So you’re an alien cop (born of human stock long removed, mind) and your partner (a non-human from a species that thinks humans are kind of pathetic, really, as they can’t control their emotions) has turned out to be crooked. Said crooked alien partner has smacked you down hard and chucked you out in an escape pod and stranded you on the backward planet Earth. It’s been a year. It’s time to admit that no one is listening to your homing beacon. It’s time to decide that this weird planet is your new home.
And it’s definitely time to give in to the temptation in the form of the local bar owner who gave you that job eve though you had no ID at all and showed up out of nowhere about a year ago. The attraction is definitely there – though said bartender also lost his love recently enough that starting something new feels a little bit like a betrayal. In space, the cop had long learned to repress his emotions and keep himself under strict control.
But on Earth? Why not – finally – give in and feel.
Which is, of course, when everything will blow up in their faces. Maybe literally.
This was fun, and sexy, and the science fiction aspect was strong enough without overpowering the narrative. The characters were interesting and well drawn, and I liked where they started (and where they went). More, the conflict that does arise from without (from said science fiction aspect) made sense and was consistent, which I loved. This was a great taste of Burke’s writing, and I’ll be diving into her sci-fi series from here.