'Alien in the Family' Katherine 'Kitty' Katt #3 by Gini KOCH

Received from the Author

From the BLURB:

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.

** Contains spoilers of ‘Alien Tango’ **

Kitty’s back, and so is her Armani alien army.

Following the events of ‘Alien Tango’, Katherine ‘Kitty’ Katt and her fiancée, Jeff Martini, are planning the wedding of the galaxy, literally. For Kitty and co it’s going to be a case of something old, something blue, something borrowed and some inter-galactic wedding crashers...

‘Alien in the Family’ is the third book in Gini Koch’s space-spectacular ‘Katherine “Kitty” Katt’ series.

I won’t lie to you, I squealed a little when my letterbox revealed this advanced reader copy for my perusal. And since I'm being honest, I’ll admit that there may have been some happy-dancing involved too. And it turns out that all that squealing happy-dancing was well deserved, because Ms Koch has done it again...

So much happened in the last book. ‘Alien Tango’ introduced us to the wider Alpha Centauri alien race, including Martini’s (dysfunctional) family. A big focus of that book was the social norms and prejudices of the A-C’s, including the perceived prejudice of alien/human couplings. ‘Alien in the Family’ brings the book back to Kitty and Martini, while also expanding the universe. Gini Koch is introducing a whole new crop of characters in this third instalment – from Amazonian assassins to space corgis. She’s also putting Kitty and Martini’s relationship to the test, before they tie the knot.

“I want it in writing, and I’ll be going over it for loopholes.”

He laughed. “Not a problem.” He looked back at Martini. “Okay?”

“No, but we’ll deal with it. Officially, Centuarion unwillingly concedes the C.I.A’s limited authority during a time of interworld crisis.”

“And unofficially?” Chuckie sounded supportive, not challenging.

Martini closed his eyes. “Unofficially,” he opened his eyes, “help us. Please.”

In ‘Alien Tango’, Koch introduced us to the character of Chuckie. Chuckie is Kitty’s best friend from high school, who was mentioned in ‘Touched by an Alien’, but made his first appearance in ‘Tango’. For a long time Kitty thought of Chuckie as her rich, globetrotting bestie – the man she had one (spectacular) one-night-stand with, and was perhaps even maybe subconsciously pining for. Until Jeffrey Martini came along – in all his suited Neanderthal glory. But much was revealed in ‘Tango’, about Chuckie’s occupation, and his feelings for Kitty – which resulted in a marriage proposal, and one very unhappy Martini.

I love Chuckie’s character, both for his very Kitty-like sense of humour, and the role he plays in causing some delicious tension between Kitty and Martini. One of the best things about ‘Touched by an Alien’ was the immediate intimacy between Kitty and Martini. Martini was literally proposing to Kitty from the get-go, and they’ve both been mutually infatuated ever since. It’s a rather unusual coupling for a series – that the protagonist has found her true love and is sticking with him, no matter what. There’s no will-they-or-won’t-they to Kitty and Martini. There’s just love. That’s not to say there isn’t any tension . . . Koch has written Martini as a deliciously territorial Neanderthal, and Kitty is an alien-magnet who has attracted her fair share of crushes (including Martini’s cousin, Christopher). But Chuckie poses an entirely new set of jealous problems for Martini. Chuckie has known Kitty for longer, they have a romantic history, and in light of recent inter-galactic wedding complications, the human Chuckie could potentially be an easier relationship for Kitty.

I really love that Koch has found new ways to explore and strengthen Kitty and Martini’s relationship. Not only is Chuckie a hilarious addition to the cast (seriously, Martini’s responses to him are priceless!), but his presence has triggered a whole new dynamic between Kitty and Martini.

I thought Koch outdid herself in ‘Alien Tango’ when she introduced a whole cachet of fascinating secondary characters – from alien consciousness ‘ACE’ to hottie agent Kevin. But Koch absolutely goes above and beyond in ‘Family’. Expect to see some very drunk, but very helpful college footballers and a new human addition to the A-C team. But best of all are the fun and furry new characters, named ‘Poofs’. Yes, the name sounds awful out of context, but these alien fur-balls are total scene-stealers, and you’ll finish the book wishing these was a plush Poof doll tie-in.

The stand-out of any Kitty Katt novel is the relationship of Kitty and Martini. These two are the hottest couple in the universe – the Brangelina of outer space, if you will. I am happy to report that Kitty and Martini meet their smut quota in ‘Family’, but readers should also be prepared for some sweet romantic moments that require tissues. Plus, there’s a bonus musical appearance that will send you head over heels.

At this point in the series it should be apparent that Gini Koch can do no wrong. ‘Alien in the Family’ is yet another book-blockbuster of fantastic proportions. Kitty and Martini have one of the most envious fictional relationships and Kitty is the most rockin ass-kicker to grace the space-opera genre. This third instalment is phenomenal, but fans should be warned that an ‘OMIGOD!’ ending will make the months drag by until the December release of ‘Alien Proliferation’.

5/5

'Alien in the Family' is released April 5th 2011