A review by mcstressy
I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

LIKED:

  • The idea of the planet being basically a giant research facility with silly nonsense like not understanding that dinosaurs don't still roam the earth is fun. It's very goofy and I appreciate that. 
  • The scientific aspects of the world-building (like above) are my favorite, I think. I like Intern a bit and the idea of the infatuation numbers and their little tamagotchis was just fantastical nonsense in a fun way. 
  • Toto is the best character. Sometimes Lemmings' kind of comic relief/sidekick/non-human talking characters can rub me the wrong way, but Toto was fun. 
  • I liked both of the love interests and I'm glad this was a why choose (and blessedly with swords crossing as it should be). I do wish they had both been pushed a bit further into their own unique archetypes, because sometimes their grumpiness did feel like it was overlapping a bit. 
  • Lemmings' titles are just ridiculous and I appreciate the camp of it all. 

LAMENTED:

  • I found Dory to be a bit lacking. Her decisions didn't feel consistent and I didn't really get a good understanding of who she was. We kind of lose the fact that she's a scientist despite the fact that the story is so science focused. 
  • The whole warlord subplot came in so late and felt very superfluous. I'm not sure if it's setting up for a sequel, but I did not care about it and felt it took away from the main characters. 
  • The pacing of the story overall felt a bit hodge podge in how it progressed. I know there was a loose 'Wizard of Oz' thing going on with the character names and plot and everything, but I think it just needed a bit more of that structure to the adventure itself. 
  • Boy howdy I could have done without the bit of them running whilst knotted. A horrifying image. 
  • The drugs making it fully non-consensual isn't my favorite. I know that Lemming writes a lot of kind of magical nonconsenting, but this one kind of ruined a bit of the actual romance of it all. 
  • Why is there only one of the MMCs on the cover?? Why hide that it's a why choose? I'm so confused by that decision. At that rate just don't have either of them. 

LONGED FOR:

  • Both men on the cover
  • More differentiation in personality, etc. between the two MMCs
  • More structure to the adventure plot 


Will I read the next one? : Probably. I do enjoy Lemmings books well enough, generally, however, I do feel like overall my enjoyment of them has been going down since the first Mead Mishaps book. There are times when her humor just gets to gimmicky, cringey, Tumblr-core for my personal tastes. 

 
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