Zylar of Kith B’alak is desperate for a mate. Beryl of Earth is not. In fact, all Beryl wants is to finish her community service, get her bills paid and maybe have a life. What she doesn’t expect is an alien abduction, a talking dog and a deep bond with some of the weirdest creatures you’ll ever read about.
Strange Love by Ann Aguirre is a book of such sweetness, humor, and even some heat (Zylar is an alien, and an insectoid one at that) (so trust me when I say that the sex was weird but really cool). I mean, seriously, this woman wrote one of my most hated books of 2019 (The Third Mrs. Durst) and now one of my most favorite books of 2020.
Reasons to love this book:
1. Beryl is abducted because of a mistake. Zylar was aiming for someone else.
2. Beryl’s dog Snaps is abducted too and because of a communication chip, he can communicate. (And when he screws up and says “I’m a bad dog” I admit there was a little sniffle.)
3. The bad guy, Ryzvan was a bad guy but not a cartoon character bad guy. Although I would have loved a little more comeuppance for him, he worked as a bad guy.
4. Zylar is an insectoid alien with self-confidence issues. Beryl gives him confidence and he gives Beryl a universe.
There is so much good stuff in this book. I had a quibble in one or two places but they were small.
And the way the society on this planet is laid out, there were issues that could be addressed by others in further books if Ms. Aguirre chooses to continue writing in this world. Such as, the mating “dance” that takes place on Kith B’alak is like a game of Survivor but not winning means dying. And if your intended chooses, she can choose another to mate with (or be “nest guardian” to) and like Zylar has faced before in other ‘Choosing’, he could be left alone and face a future as a working drone with no chances of happiness.
This book was wonderful. Read it. Read it now. It’s a 10 out of 10 and a hoot as well as a holler.
