Review: That Alien Feeling by Alessandra Hazard

Banished by his parents to the third planet in the Sol system, Prince Harht’ngh’chaali of the Second Grand Clan is completely fascinated by its inhabitants. Assuming the human name “Harry,” he tries to pass for a human to survive, but being human is so much harder than Harry expected. Humans are so confusing.

Adam Crawford isn’t looking for love. Financially secure and good-looking, he’s in a good place in his life. He doesn’t mean to fall in love with the quirky guy working at the coffee shop near his office. 

Harry is ridiculous—and ridiculously endearing. He wears ugly shirts and flowers in his hair, and he has a kind word for everyone. Adam falls hard and fast.

Little does he know that Harry isn’t what he seems and anything between them is impossible.

Star-crossed love between a human man and an alien prince from a world half a galaxy away.

Title: That Alien Feeling
Author/s: Alessandra Hazard
Publication Date: June 2017
ASIN: B071W6VWKT
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Maria's Rating: ★★★★★

Believe it or not I very nearly gave up on this book! I thought the beginning was adorable, but I already read a preview of that in Hazard's previous book (Just a Bit Wicked) so I guess you could say I wasn't as captivated by it as other readers were. What really stuck out to me, though, was Adam's immediate feelings of possessiveness and want towards Harry. I know some people will probably consider that vaguely disconcerting, but lord, I swear I love that kind of stuff. Harry, meanwhile, had an immediate connection with Adam which I found very sweet. Chemistry couldn’t have hit me harder in the face. I was won over almost instantaneously.

In any case, it got complicated real fast when Harry kept sending mixed signals to Adam despite explicitly saying that they were just "friends". And as much as I liked Harry, I wanted to strangle him, too, because he was just so goddamn clueless. I felt even more aggravated because I knew I couldn’t be annoyed with him because he literally didn't know what kind of pain he was causing Adam. I was so grateful for his co-worker Samantha because that girl was literally me while I was reading.

On the other hand, I suffered from major secondhand embarrassment and awkwardness on Adam's behalf because the guy simply couldn't help himself – he was completely smitten with Harry and he just couldn't stay away. I think I got frustrated with their situation really quickly – the whole "we're just friends even if we literally can't keep our hands off each other every time you see us together" – because it was reminiscent of Hazard's third book from her Straight Guys series, "Just a Bit Unhealthy". If you've been following my reviews, you'll know that I hated that book so much I could cry. The two books contain nearly the exact same situation down to the fiancée. Although I guess Just a Bit Unhealthy was waaaayyy more unhealthy because Harry's equivalent there actually had a kid with his girlfriend. I won't expound on that other book here because I would rather not talk about a book I hate in my review for a book I really enjoyed, but you get the idea.

In any case, it was around 20% into the book when I felt like I wouldn’t be able to continue if That Alien Feeling would follow the same route as Just a Bit Unhealthy. I was thankful to Jake for being the voice of reason because god knew Adam needed one badly. Not that he would listen (because no, he totally didn't), but it’s good to have a representative of sorts within the story, y’know? Again, not that it helped a lot, because Adam was so fixated on Harry. I thought it was actually a good thing that Harry got dragged back home around this time in the book – honest to god I would have dropped it had it kept going the “just friends route”. I do wish they hadn’t done it on Adam’s birthday, though. GIVE THE GUY A BREAK. Adam didn’t deserve that shit. Although I guess that gave it more impact, which totally crushed Adam’s heart.

It’s usually hard for me to care about secondary characters, even more actually like them. But somehow Hazard managed to do that when she introduced Seyn and Ksar. I think a big part of the reason the book kept me engaged was the two of them and how Seyn made it very, very clear that he would want nothing else but to severe the bond between them. And that just told me THEY WOULD BE SO, SO PERFECT TOGETHER. I ALREADY LOVE THEM PLEASE GIVE ME THE NEXT BOOK.

All my fangirl squealing aside, from a purely technical perspective, this is where I really want to underscore how much I loved Hazard’s introduction of these secondary characters. She wrote it so well she managed to integrate them into the story without making it feel like she was hijacking Harry and Adam’s story to make way for Ksar and Seyn. The way she did it accomplished two things very neatly: First, she allowed us to see Harry and Adam’s relationship from the point of view of those who are surrounding them – namely, Ksar and Seyn. In writing there are times when some scenes just work best when they’re told from the perspective of ‘outsiders’, and I think Hazard managed to do that perfectly here. I think it worked so well because (1) Harry was totally confused by all his new feelings for Adam while Seyn's detachment from the situation gave him the ability to more rationally analyze the situation and determine just how special Adam was to Harry; and (2) Ksar was depicted as a cold, heartless bastard, so it was implied that his take on things should be given weight because he was kind of good at this feelings business, despite being emotionally stunted himself; it meant that since he was kicked into action to do something to get Harry and Adam together, something really had to be special between the two of them.

This brings me to Hazard’s second storytelling success: by making Seyn and Ksar fit into Harry and Adam’s story, she managed to set up the stage for the next installment of this series. We got more insights of who Ksar was and what he did, the politics behind the bonding ritual they have going on in their planet, and just how complicated exactly his bond with Seyn was. I thought it was brilliantly written; it left me curious to know more about their planet and how Ksar and Seyn’s story would play out, since Ksar basically set himself up as bait in order to ensure that Harry would be able to stay with Adam on earth.

I think my only complaint about this book is that I would have preferred a longer epilogue to conclude the story. Considering Harry and Adam spent a year apart, I felt that they should have spent more time cuddling upon being reunited, especially given how much Harry loves the physical intimacy between him and Adam. Although this makes me wonder if Ksar and Seyn’s book will actually feature them heavily, especially since Ksar left right after saying that he would bring back his brother to their planet. Maybe Harry and Adam would eventually move to Calluvia? I think that would be interesting.

Overall, I loved this one despite my initial misgivings. I can’t wait for Ksar and Seyn’s story; I have so much hope for the two of them! Also, let it be said that the cover of this book is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. I just love it.

Five solid stars.

Review: The Alpha King (Kingdom of Askara #1) by Victoria Sue

The Kingdom of Askara has been torn apart by conflict for centuries, where humans exist as subservient beings to their werewolf masters. Legend says it will only be able to heal itself when an Alpha King and a pure omega are mated and crowned together, but a pure omega hasn’t been born in over a thousand years.

Luca is an Alpha-heir eagerly awaiting the choosing ceremony on his twenty-fifth birthday and the gifts granted by whichever omega he mates. His small pack is destitute due to the decisions of its ruling council, but being only an Alpha-heir, he has no authority to challenge them. Not until now—this moment he has waited a long time for.

Kit grew up as a street-rat, an unlicensed human who would never be more than a slave for whichever master owns him. Then one day he came across a young Alpha-heir, attacked and dying of poison, and found out their fates were suddenly entwined.

Luca needs to take over his pack and save his people. He cannot afford to be distracted. But when he meets Kit, he develops abilities indicating he is not just a pack Alpha, but the King his world has needed for a thousand years.

Is Kit really the cause of Luca’s newfound power, the true mate he needs? How is it possible when the young man isn’t even a werewolf, and as merely a human, a mating is not only forbidden, but for Kit, a sentence of death?

Title: The Alpha King (Kingdom of Askara #1)
Author/s: Victoria Sue
Publication Date: January 2017
ASIN: B01N351BQS
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Maria's Rating: ★★★★

I've never read a standalone Victoria Sue novel prior to this, but I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised! All I've ever read of her are her co-authored books with Shannon West, but I can definitely say Victoria Sue can deliver a kickass story on her own.

I thought the idea of alpha kings was an interesting twist, quite different from the per territory alpha that I often see in other shapeshifter books. I think what I like the most about it is how the pure omega and the alpha king are supposed to rule as partners - something that definitely elevates the status of the omega in this particular universe. In other books, omegas usually have some power that can trigger the alpha's, but the leadership is almost always left to the alpha, with the omega sidelined as soon as they are mated. I wouldn't say I've been frustrated with that kind of take on things because it's just so common, but now that Victoria Sue created a new norm, I think I prefer this much better.

I liked both main characters, which is quite rare for me; usually I would prefer one over the other. I found Luca to be an inherently good alpha and mate and brother. I liked how his newfound power never made him forget the values he had before becoming the alpha king. Considering he was practically blindsided and became the alpha king out of the blue, I thought he managed to get his shit together pretty quickly and adequately. Sometimes I would get the urge to smack him upside the head for his bad calls and ridiculous lack of talent at communicating with his new mate, but I think everyone can agree that the universe just dumped the responsibility for the entire territory on him as the new alpha king, so we can all cut him some slack. He was a good alpha and he had the best interest of the marginalized population at heart, and I think that was what counted the most.

On the other hand, Kit proved himself just as strong and stubborn despite being a human omega. I loved the prologue which showed how the two of them met; I found it overall bittersweet how Kit made the choice to allow himself to be caught in order to make sure that Luca would survive. At first glance it's easy to say that that was obviously the best choice to make, but I think it should be remembered that Kit was running away from all the abuse and the beatings at that time - which means he sacrificed what would have been a better, easier life for the sake of ensuring Luca's safety. It can be argued, of course, that if you look at it from a long term perspective, Kit benefits more if Luca survives and becomes the alpha king. But it's not exactly easy to see benefits in the long run when you're fighting to stay alive today. So I adored it and I think that gave more depth to their relationship.

I think my biggest complaint about this book is that it has too much of everything. It has true matings, mpreg, antagonistic mother, human alliance against wolves, secondary characters who are star-crossed lovers, evil twin, and alpha king coronation all in one go. I felt that the story could have been told much better had they split it into multiple arcs: (1) alpha king and pure omega mating; (2) breeder conflict and mpreg; and (3) evil twin and the journey for the coronation of the alpha king. Some things happened too fast when they could have been dragged out for much longer. For example, the whole alpha king and pure omega mating. I think this arc could have made for a single book and would have established the romance between Luca and Kit much better. It could have also been a way to better present a clearer view of Askara and the territories that make it up.

The second arc could have been about the problem of having an heir, which would have set up the perfect stage for Luca's hostile mother and the greedy omega breeder that they found. Personally, I feel that Luca and Kit should have had more time to spend together just by themselves. Maybe it's just me, but having a baby thrown into the mix makes me think that the incentive of staying together gets a bit more complicated in such situation...

The third and the last arc could have been about the evil twin and the coronation (?) of Luca. This arc definitely could have been told in a book all by itself, since there were a lot of things that happened in this particular part of the story. I think the human alliance should have had more time dedicated to them too, since it also served as the introduction to other couples like Darrin and Sascha and even Asher and Sam. I just feel like this was a missed opportunity. There could have been so much more - and in multiple books, too!

Overall, I think this is a very good read. The characters were believable and they had a charm to them that had me rooting for their happy ever after. Victoria Sue writes well, and I think she has a clear picture of where she wants her story to go. I think with a good editor to look things over and make suggestions on the overall pacing and length of the story/arc per book, her next novels can still be so much better. I'll definitely be watching out for those. In the meantime, I'm giving a solid four stars to this one.