KLB Virtual Journey 10 Days 10 Blogs: Alien in the Family by Gini Koch

I had so much fun doing the KLB Virtual Journey for Eternal Rider that I talked my best friend into joining the newest journey!  I present a guest review of Alien in the Family by Gini Koch by Chena (aka Beans628 on Twitter) for the KLB Virtual Journey,

Alien in the Family

Series: Katherine "Kitty" Katt

Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance

Author: Gini Koch
Format: Paperback, 457 pages

Published: April 5th 2011 by DAW

Summary from BarnesandNoble.com

Super-Being Exterminator Kitty Katt and the Alpha Centaurian she loves, Jeff Martini, should be finalizing their wedding plans. But that was before she discovers Jeff is in line to become Emperor back on his home world. Kitty knows she is everything a royal family wouldn't approve of, and is bracing herself for the worst. As it turns out, the royal family is just the beginning. Especially when extraterrestrial Amazonian terrorists are determined to start and end Kitty and Jeff's nuptial festivities with a bang.

I saw Gini Koch’s name and raves for her Alien series all over Twitter for weeks before I decided to give them a try. It has turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because this series is awesome – and keeps getting better! We rejoin Katherine “Kitty” Katt, Airborne leader extraordinaire as she’s planning her wedding to sexy alien, Jeff Martini. Of course, nothing thus far has gone smoothly for these two so why would their wedding be any different?! This time around, Kitty, Martini and the Scooby gang (as I affectionately like to call them) are embroiled in what has become their specialty: multi-faceted plots, all in play at the same time. They’ve got a menagerie of aliens set on crowning the king of their choosing, man-hating Amazons determined to brain all of the men in Kitty’s life and an evil, suddenly sentient being out to control all worlds. And if all of that wasn’t enough, the representatives from Alpha Centauri are en route to attend (or is it disrupt?) the nuptials.

This installment took a closer look at Kitty’s relationship with her BFF, James Reader. (Insert fan girl SQUEE here) I LOVE READER!! There were some tense moments in this book when it looked liked he wasn’t going to make it. I tell you now: if that had happened, I might not have read the series anymore. Reade is THAT amazing! He and Kitty bonded from the moment they met. The traffic-stopping ex-model has helped her navigate her new life amongst the Alpha Centaurians and keeping her sane in the process. Martini has always been jealous of their closeness and he’s awfully lucky Reader is gay. Because I’m not sure which one of them Kitty would have picked otherwise. Reader has a way of keeping the Kitty craziness in check while always having her back.

Koch also gives major face time to Kitty’s oldest BFF, Chuckie, in this book. I actually like Chuckie. He’s a former nerd, current C.I.A. badass and conspiracy theorist. Due to the unknown intentions of the soon-to-arrive aliens, Chuckie temporarily takes over the Alpha and Airborne units. His needling of the always jealous Martini is priceless. Chuckie is less persistent in his efforts to win Kitty back than he was in book two. Once he realizes that he will always be her friend and that she truly loves Martini, he backs off. I found him to be incredibly charming.

Koch deftly handles the addition of new characters and manages to weave them into the story without being too confusing. The newest Airborne team member, Tito Hernandez, doctor/MMA fighter adds not only skill but laughs as well. He is a quick thinker like most of the other humans on the team. There are also a number of aliens who join up with Airborne to fight the baddies, but they fit in seamlessly (even with Kitty’s nicknames…and their REAL names!).

One of the biggest developments in this book was the maturity and evolution of Kitty and Martini as a power couple. In the first two books, Martini’s jealousy overshadowed the entire relationship and Kitty’s uncertainty and paranoia didn’t help them. As they move closer to the wedding, they deal with all of their fears and questions just as like any other real-life couple. I enjoyed the two of them so much more when they dialed back their insecurities and ramped up their commitment to each other. The wedding, when it FINALLY happens, is both sweet and laugh out loud funny.

In addition to Koch’s kick ass characters and witty dialogue, I think she’s also may have written the best bachelorette party EVER. EVER! Of course, MY dream party would include Rick Springfield, but that’s just me (don’t judge me!)! And, ahem, she also includes a hot (I mean, smoking!) bathtub scene!!! I’m already anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, Alien Proliferation in December. I’ve got the A-C fever…and I don’t give a damn!!

Special thanks and shout out to the ladies of KLB Virtual Events for giving me the opportunity to participate in the AITF tour!