Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch

The past couple of weeks, I've been hearing so much about this new science-fiction book with a funny bone and a flair for romance that I decided I had to give it a go. Not only did the title, Touched by an Alien, make me giggle but the cover art is truly priceless. I figured if the book contained as much craziness as the cover suggested, I'd be in for one wild ride.

Finding herself unexpectedly free after only a half-day of jury duty, Katherine "Kitty" Katt isn't expecting much in the way of trouble. As a mid-level marketing manager, Kitty's life is comfortable and happy as long as she can do her job and come home to her fish. Though Kitty's life instantly becomes a heck of a lot more interesting after she watches what can only be described as an irate man morphing into a winged monster bent on murder and mayhem and she does what any sane girl would at such a time. Takes him down and kills him with her trusty Mont Blanc pen.

It's not until the adrenaline has worn off and a group of uber-handsome men in gray Armani enter the scene, ready to contain the 'situation,' that Kitty begins to suspect that something is amiss. Aside from the freaky corpse she's now responsible for. Led by the cocky, yet notably talented agent Jeff Martini, Kitty is pulled from the crime scene only to discover that extra-terrestrials aren't the stuff of dreams, they are a living, breathing reality, sent to help protect earthlings from a deadly parasite that turns humans into murderous monsters. And since Kitty's crime fighter instincts kicked into high gear, these Men In Gray want her for their special mankind-saving team. Kitty's none too sure about joining forces with aliens, but as the secrets slowly trickle out and the threat hits close to home, Kitty is undeniably on board. And if for one crazy time.

Although glaringly predictable at times, I was there for every bit of Gini Koch's fantasy debut Touched by an Alien. Non-stop action and constant revelations kept things constantly moving (albeit sometimes to the point of excess) but I was just too interested in what would be coming next to worry all that much. It's like the pages just kept turning themselves. And there were enough tongue-in-cheek moments from the get-go to realize that Touched by an Alien doesn't take itself too seriously. Thank goodness. Gini Koch must have understood that too often science fiction/adventure books are so full of doom and gloom that they fail to simply be fun and decided to heck with it all and made something highly entertaining for her readers. Which was an utterly brilliant move on Ms. Koch's part. My inner sci-fi reader gave a shout every time Kitty took some some big, bad alien down while my romantic side was cheering for her happily ever after. Touched by an Alien has its flaws, but I found them ever so easy to overlook, because, dang if Kitty isn't extremely likable with her eclectic music selection and willingness to get the job done.

series reading order:
~ Touched by an Alien
~ Alien Tango (December 2010)

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
ALPHA Reader review
Hanging with Bells! review
Janicu's Book Blog review
Tempting Persephone review
That's QUEEN Bitch to You review

book source: my local library

12 comments:

Maggie Desmond-O'Brien said...

Haha! This sounds great. I agree about science fiction taking itself WAY too seriously at times, especially where aliens are involved. Thanks for the review!

Angiegirl said...

Saw this one over at Janicu's and wondered. Glad you enjoyed it as well. I'll have to see about finding a copy. :)

Chachic said...

I've been interested in this one ever since I saw Chelle's review. Hopefully, it becomes available here.

Michelle said...

Maggie - It's pretty crazy, but a lot of fun to be sure.

Angie - I actually picked this one up on her recommendation. It's quite silly, but still very enjoyable.

Chachic - Hopefully it does! It's a good summer fluff read.

Janicu said...

I think this was a book were the fun in it trumped the pretty minor issues I had with plot. I am loving the covers too.

Michelle said...

Janicu - It definitely put a smile on my face regardless of everything. And yes, the covers are bananas! Love them! Thanks for the recommendation ;)

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Anonymous said...

Great review! I adored this book and can't wait for the next.

Lisa Dovichi said...

Great review. I loved Kitty too. I mean, really, how can you not? I'm also terribly excited for Alien Tango and that Gini signed on for books 3 and 4. She can write about Christopher and Reader forever as far as I'm concerned. :D

Patti (@TheLoveJunkee) said...

"It's like the pages just kept turning themselves." ---> Exactly! Loved this book and can't wait for December!

Michelle said...

amberscottproject - Yep and yep. I am more than ready for #2!

Lisa - Bring on more Christopher and Reader (and Martini) those boys are very fun!

Patti - I'm glad to hear you liked it too. It was such a fun read.

Julie@My5monkeys said...

great review and it was funny.