Unintended consequence? The dog talks now. Once the pair are beamed up, our hero Zylar (who totally thought he was picking up his Alien Tinder date) gives both Beryl and Snaps some kind of translator chip or serum so that they can cross the language barrier. When Beryl gets abducted, she has her dog Snaps with her. I am fully in support of you falling in love with a Praying Mantis Lizard Alien if that is your jam, Beryl Bowman.

Or maybe lizard-y? The anatomical differences led to me feeling more like a curious scientist than anything else during the love scenes, but hey. First, while IPB’s aliens are all humanoid (and have six pack abs and, uh, equipment designed for human wish fulfillment), Strange Love goes for a decidedly more Praying Mantis-y alien. I’m not sure what would be better, but these are a little dark and twisty for what are ultimately pretty lighthearted books.)

I mean, if you’re gonna write alien romance, you may as well go for it, right? (I’ve got to say, though, while these covers are very good and feature cool looking aliens, I don’t think they reflect the tone of the series particularly well. It’s like, she’s totally aware that this is going to be bonkers but just goes all in. Aguirre sets such a fantastic tone with these books. The Galactic Love Series was a fun, wild ride. I may not have been as prepared as I thought I was, but sometimes you gotta leap into the unknown. Since I read so many Ice Planet Barbarians books ( review, more) AND I loved Ann Aguirre’s take on witchy romance ( review), I decided that I was fully prepared to read Ann Aguirre’s take on alien romance. JKatie Words for Worms Alien Romance, Romance, Science Fiction 2

Strange Love by Ann Aguirre