A review by pearlbrook
The New Guy by V.C. Lancaster

3.0

Summary: Alien/human romance set on Earth in a customer service office. No I'm not joking. Yes it makes surprisingly good reading. Alien refugees have been taken in by Earth and are taking part in society. Some of them join a human/alien communication-y type business. Maggie, Ro's new boss, falls in love with him. Alien angst happens.

Spoiler

Main pairing: Maggie/Ro
Favourite character: N/A
Villain(s)

Spoiler

Drugs, toxic masculinity and not talking about shit

Character rating: 4/10
Plot rating: 5/10
Setting rating: 9/10
Overall rating:6/10

Pros: I love the writing style of this series. It is fluffy and cute and lighthearted (sort of), easy to read and interesting at the same time. The ideas behind the plot were creative and well executed, and although I haven't read book one of this series, I didn't feel at too much of a disadvantage because the premise of the series is laid out pretty clearly.

Cons: My main problem - really my only problem - with this book is the direction of the narrative. But here's the thing: that isn't an author problem, it's a me problem. The first half of the book is super cute, Maggie and Ro are adorable together and I was fully expecting to love it right through to the end.

And then it slowly becomes clear that something is very, very wrong in the relationship. It makes for uncomfortable reading because the person you think is the hero is gaslighting, deflecting, and being aggressive towards our heroine. There's miscommunication and then there's refusing to communicate, and Ro definitely ended up in the latter category, which made me want to tear my hair out sometimes!

Now, there is a very good reason for all this which is explained near the end, and it definitely made for an interesting, unique read. I suppose you could say it challenged me as a reader? So essentially there is nothing wrong with this book as long as you are in the mood to be confronted rather than soothed. However, at the same time I think the issues that Maggie and Ro had made it difficult to cheer for their relationship throughout the book and I found myself wondering multiple times what they actually had other than mutual attraction. That led to a bit of a detachment on my part and though I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, I wasn't consuming it as fast as I could because omg I need my couple to have their HEA. That's also why I don't have a favourite character - even Maggie, likeable as she is, has serious issues and needs to grow a fucking backbone and have some necessary conflict in her relationship rather than letting really bad behaviour slide.

Final opinion: I enjoyed this read and will definitely be picking up the other books on KU. This wasn't a feel-good, blanket hug book but as long as you know that going in and are prepared to ride the rollercoaster, you'll probably have fun.