I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Touched by an Alien
by
Gini Koch
It is part of the Katherine "Kitty" Katt #1 series and is a romance, science fiction in Paperback edition that was published by DAW Books on April 6, 2010 and has 389 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Alien Tango, Alien in the Family, Alien Proliferation, Alien Diplomacy, Alien vs. Alien, Alien in the House, Alien Research, Alien Collective, Universal Alien, Alien Separation, Alien in Chief, Alien Nation, Camp Alien, Alien Education, Aliens Abroad
First in the Katherine “Kitty” Katt urban fantasy series about a human who falls in with crusading aliens out to save the world.
My Take
Oh. My. God. This is too hysterically funny for words!! I absolutely love this start to the series, and Martini’s flirting just cracks me up. And I love their fear of Kitty’s purse! Then there’s her dad and his worry. As well as his very protective instincts when it comes to any guy around Kitty.
On first seeing Jeff, Dad’s first reaction is: “Who’s the octopus?”
Every two hours someone from the family will call to ensure she doesn’t disappear to Guantanamo or…elsewhere. The men’s room scene at JFK where they rescue Kitty’s mom.
Kitty is too composed for all that’s hitting her, then again, she’s really smart and what has she got to lose if she already thinks she’s doomed. I do like her snark and the backup plans she keeps making.
It’s interesting powers and modes of transportation combined with honor, loyalty, and compassion. Koch has given her characters weaknesses as well. Koch’s interpretation of the Bible with the Ancients’ text was interesting. And why not? All sorts of possibilities exist. Maybe there really are MIB…bwah-hah-hah… Of course, all the alien women are absolutely gorgeous…and brilliant. Really smart with a preference for really smart men. The alien men are also absolutely gorgeous, just not as brilliant, so that makes for a fun twist. Okay, okay, to be fair, they’re smart, just more inclined to wrangle and posture.
It’s definitely the comics in novel format what with the style of action and the superhero/villain vibe. Combined with the sarcastic wit that kept flashing back and forth, I adored this.
It’s rather confusing as to the background information, but persevere, it all comes out in the end, although with all the twists and turns in this as well as how it is resolved, it seems as though Koch must have used up all the possibilities. So, I am looking forward to reading Alien Tango and discovering how Koch manages to complicate it up.
Koch does need to learn the difference between Ravage and Ravish and Affect and Effect. At least…her editors do.
The Story
Stepping up to protect is not what was in Kitty’s mind when the man/bird was attacking, but it certainly seemed like the right thing to do. At worst, well, at worst, Kitty’s about to learn about a whole lot of deception that has surrounded her all her life.
The Characters
Katherine Katt is a very smart young lady who works for an advertising agency and has just finished a stint on jury duty. Chuckie is her best male friend and a conspiracy theorist. Mom, a.k.a., Mrs. Rambo, a.k.a., Angela Katt, actually is a consultant, for counterterrorism. Dad, a.k.a., Sol Katt, is a professor of history at Arizona State University. Well, actually he’s a cryptologist for NASA. Dudley is their Great Dane, Dotty is the Dalmation, Duke is their black Lab, and Duchess is their very useful pit bull. Sugarfoot, Candy, and Kane are the cats. Uncle Mort is a very protective U.S. Marine. Turns out Grandpa Roger was a senator whose daughter, Aunt Emily, Mom saved when she was in high school.
Mr. Nareema and his wife are Kitty’s landlords and very paranoid about safety.
Jeff Martini is an empath, a very powerful one from another planet. Christopher White is an imageer and Jeff’s cousin and work partner. Richard White is their Sovereign Pontifex with a mostly symbolic role; Theresa was his wife and a powerful empath. Paul Gower is the Head of Recruitment and involved with James Reader, a human who was a male model for Calvin Klein. Tim is still on the sidelines.
The women from Alpha Centauri are the big thinkers: scientists, doctors, etc. Claudia and Lorraine are good examples (Kitty refers to them as the Dazzlers). And they’re attracted to geeks; they fall in love with men with minds. Ooh, baby…! Emily and Melanie are Claudia and Lorraine’s mothers. Beverly was in charge of translating the text from the Ancients.
Lieutenant William Cox, Captain Jerry Tucker, Lieutenant Chip Walker, and Captain Matt Hughes are all pilots involved in the attack.
Al Dejahl is a different sort of terrorist organization — it’s not based on religion or race — headed up by Ronaldo Al Dehal, a.k.a., Ronald Yates.
The Superbugs include:
Mephistopheles looks like the Devil and can range from 12- to 20-feet tall. He has been terrorizing earth for 20 years and is nigh on invincible. The big-bads at the end are Killer, who shoots poison from every limb; Slug; Earwig; the pinkish-purple Pachyderm; and the Serpent. Reading as Kitty comes up with some innovative methods of taking these guys out is a hoot.
The Cover and Title
The cover is incredibly ugly. The models on it do not match up with what Koch says between the covers. The background, however, does match. It’s all monsters and battle, weapons and bombs while Jeff Martini and Kitty Katt make love.
The title is too right. Kitty is Touched by an Alien. Several of ’em to be exact.
