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A review by wilybooklover
Strange Love by Ann Aguirre
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
Zylar is just the most adorable cinnamon roll of a hero. He made this book for me. Beryl is also a great heroine: brave, but also a little bit of a hot mess. He accidentally kidnaps her (we all make mistakes, right?) and they decide to make a go of it because he can't exactly get her back to Earth, even though they find each other's appearance a little (or a lot) scary. Together, they made a really great couple who complemented each other's strengths and weaknesses.
The plot is a bit wacky and the alien culture more or less practices eugenics, with some harrowing tests involved in the process. The relationship remains sweet and understanding and low-angst all while they face these trials together, which is one of my favourite things to read.
I loved how alien Zylar was. He's not at all humanoid — closer to a giant bipedal insect. He doesn't have anything like human genitalia (which makes the sex scenes interesting, and perhaps not for everyone). He's adorably formal and awkward. The alien culture is suitably strange and a little bit terrifying.
Oh, and there's a talking dog who gets some of the funniest lines. I adored every page of this.
The plot is a bit wacky and the alien culture more or less practices eugenics, with some harrowing tests involved in the process. The relationship remains sweet and understanding and low-angst all while they face these trials together, which is one of my favourite things to read.
I loved how alien Zylar was. He's not at all humanoid — closer to a giant bipedal insect. He doesn't have anything like human genitalia (which makes the sex scenes interesting, and perhaps not for everyone). He's adorably formal and awkward. The alien culture is suitably strange and a little bit terrifying.
Oh, and there's a talking dog who gets some of the funniest lines. I adored every page of this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Death, Classism, and Kidnapping
Minor: Gore, Child death, Drug use, Infidelity, and Sexual assault