Rating: 2.5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

 

The last thing Carlo Russo and his friend Grace expect after an evening of broken-hearted commiseration is to be abducted by aliens. Concussed and confused, Carlo finds himself under the watchful eye of Zenon, a skilled pilot and leader from Negudade.

Zenon isn’t thrilled about his current mission; kidnapping Earth women in order to try and save his own race doesn’t sit well with him. But the Negudade have lost interest in mating due to lack of emotion, and breeding with human women may change that. Their retrieval party didn’t count on Carlo, but Zenon decided to take him as payment for the mission.

Falling in love was never part of the equation, but Zenon and Carlo are drawn to one another and lust quickly evolves into something more. As their situation in space turns dangerous, both will have to fight to save their future.

There Will Be Aliens had an interesting premise, but stumbled over instalove and a pretty weak plot. I usually enjoy an aliens meets human life story if the world building is strong and there is enough character development to make it feel believable. But There Will Be Aliens never really achieves this balance.

Zenon and Carlo are rather flat in terms of their depth and it’s hard to really know who either of them are. The author explains that Carlo and Grace accept leaving Earth because both had terrible childhoods. But that’s about the extent of what we know of their pasts and they accept their abduction far too quickly. They’re barely fazed and Grace dumps Carlo in Zenon’s care with barely a blink. From there, Carlo falls in lust with Zenon and then becomes his mate with little more than a casual shrug. The development of their romance lacks credibility and doesn’t really have much emotion behind it. It seems based on happenstance more than anything else.

The plot to There Will Be Aliens does exist, but it’s pretty thin. There’s a bare bones structure to it with a few details about Zenon’s home world and that’s about it. We never get a real feel for who Zenon and his crew mates are and what is waiting for the human captives back on the alien planet. And while Zenon repeatedly expresses distaste for his mission, there’s no ignoring the fact that eleven people are taken from their homes, against their will, and that never really gets made right.

There Will Be Aliens had potential and it’s the sort of story I generally enjoy. But the characters never develop beyond base constructs and their romance doesn’t read as anything more than casual lust. Add to this a lack of significant plot and the end result is something of a disappointment. I’d have to recommend giving this one a pass.