'Strange Love' by Ann Aguirre is a unique alien romance that follows the story of Zylar, an alien who kidnaps a human named Beryl to be his mate in a tournament on his planet. The plot is filled with humor, adventure, and romance, with a touch of weird alien sex. The writing style is engaging, with a mix of quirky characters, misunderstandings in communication, and a talking dog that adds to the charm of the story.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings may include depictions of unusual anatomy, alien abduction, themes of forced mating competitions, and interspecies relationships.
Has Romance?
The romance is central to the narrative, characterized by two characters who initially find each other unattractive but gradually develop a deep emotional and romantic connection.
From The Publisher:
He's awkward. He's adorable. He's alien as hell. Zylar of Kith B'alak is a four-time loser in the annual Choosing. If he fails to find a nest guardian this time, he'll lose his chance to have a mate for all time. Desperation drives him to try a matching service but due to a freak solar flare and a severely malfunctioning ship AI, things go way off course. This 'human being' is not the Tiralan match he was looking for.She's frazzled. She's fierce. She's from St. Louis.Beryl Bowman's mother always said she'd never get married. She should have added a rider about the husband being human. Who would have ever thought that working at the Sunshine Angel daycare center would offer such interstellar prestige? She doesn't know what the hell's going on, but a new life awaits on Barath Colony, where she can have any alien bachelor she wants. They agree to join the Choosing together, but love is about to get seriously strange.
Ratings (47)
Incredible (4) | |
Loved It (19) | |
Liked It (16) | |
It Was OK (6) | |
Did Not Like (1) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (108):
Read It (47) | |
Want To Read (40) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (20) |
2 comment(s)
Beryl and her dog are accidentally kidnapped from Earth by a giant insectoid alien who though he was picking up his mail-order bride, who is of yet a different alien species. They're thrown together by chance and ally themselves out of practicality -- she's got no way home (blah blah solar rays blah blah ship AI blah blah handwavium) and if he doesn't secure a mate in the current round of the very reality-TV-like Choosing he'll be doomed to life as a drone, never permitted to mate or reproduce. They come to care about each other deeply and cleave together through challenges both within and without the Choosing.
So, this thing is completely ridiculous. But it's also incredibly sweet. I didn't actually find the sex scenes a turn-on, but the slow process by which they figure out how they can give pleasure to someone with a completely different anatomy and reproductive is just so caring and tender. It's really marvelously well done.
Delightfully silly. Reader beware, though, that if you are prejudiced against lgbtqia+ community, this is not your read. Spare us the rant, please.
Great character development! Nice execution.
What can you read after
Strange Love?
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.
