What do you think?
Rate this book
Spaced Out #2
Space Oddities
He did not flee across galaxies just to get emotionally compromised by a barista.
Alien fugitive Adrian has one job: keep his boss's daughter safe until reinforcements arrive. Unfortunately, this means blending into small-town human life to stay hidden from the field operatives hunting them.
But all his carefully crafted plans go out the window when a conspiracy theorist starts digging up his backyard, and his boss's daughter starts apartment hunting. If that wasn't bad enough, now he has to navigate feelings he doesn't understand when he develops an inconvenient crush on his favorite barista. Adrian needs to get things back under control quickly, because one wrong move and the field operatives will drag them back to the ship—or kill them.
Elen's life is a disaster.
Her grandmother just died, her suffocating relatives have descended on her small town, and now her friend, Twinky, has vanished without a trace. Soon, a strange epidemic of amnesia plagues the town—and worse—it seems a serial kidnapper might be on the loose. All she wants is a joint and a nap, but if she doesn't find out what's behind all this, she could become a victim herself.
Things quickly get complicated when teaming up with Rättvik's resident conspiracy theorist to investigate leads her straight to the mysterious (and sexy) bird-watching regular from the coffee shop. And just when she was starting to like the guy, dammit.
Found family. Small-town mystery. Slow burn romance. Opposites attract. Neurodivergent leads (ADHD meets Autism).
SPACE ODDITIES is a sci-fi comedy about friendship, trust, and the dangers of getting attached to a human. Perfect for fans of Good Omens, Agent to the Stars, and the works of John Scalzi, A. Lee Martinez, and Christopher Moore.
**Part of the Spaced Out Series, each book (mostly) stands alone but should be read in publishing order.
Alien fugitive Adrian has one job: keep his boss's daughter safe until reinforcements arrive. Unfortunately, this means blending into small-town human life to stay hidden from the field operatives hunting them.
But all his carefully crafted plans go out the window when a conspiracy theorist starts digging up his backyard, and his boss's daughter starts apartment hunting. If that wasn't bad enough, now he has to navigate feelings he doesn't understand when he develops an inconvenient crush on his favorite barista. Adrian needs to get things back under control quickly, because one wrong move and the field operatives will drag them back to the ship—or kill them.
Elen's life is a disaster.
Her grandmother just died, her suffocating relatives have descended on her small town, and now her friend, Twinky, has vanished without a trace. Soon, a strange epidemic of amnesia plagues the town—and worse—it seems a serial kidnapper might be on the loose. All she wants is a joint and a nap, but if she doesn't find out what's behind all this, she could become a victim herself.
Things quickly get complicated when teaming up with Rättvik's resident conspiracy theorist to investigate leads her straight to the mysterious (and sexy) bird-watching regular from the coffee shop. And just when she was starting to like the guy, dammit.
Found family. Small-town mystery. Slow burn romance. Opposites attract. Neurodivergent leads (ADHD meets Autism).
SPACE ODDITIES is a sci-fi comedy about friendship, trust, and the dangers of getting attached to a human. Perfect for fans of Good Omens, Agent to the Stars, and the works of John Scalzi, A. Lee Martinez, and Christopher Moore.
**Part of the Spaced Out Series, each book (mostly) stands alone but should be read in publishing order.
- GenresScience Fiction
381 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 31, 2026
About the author
Dorian Lane
2 books6 followersDorian Lane is the author of one book and hopefully, soon, many more. She comes from a small island in Puget Sound where it's safe to say everyone is an aggressively territorial stinging insect in disguise. Her hobbies include coffee snobbery, hair dye that makes grandparents grumpy, and cuddling with her traumatized rescue dog who farts out what she's convinced are evil ghosts.
She can usually be found reading or playing video games into the wee hours of the morning because sleep is a social construct she chooses not to participate in. SPACED OUT is her debut novel.
She can usually be found reading or playing video games into the wee hours of the morning because sleep is a social construct she chooses not to participate in. SPACED OUT is her debut novel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 20, 2026
Space Oddities, book two in The Spaced Out series, is very definitely a second in a triptych. I did not read book one. Does this matter in my review? I feel like it does and here's why:
I really wanted to love this book. It has aliens, it has love, it has humor, it has incredibly awkward humans (none of these things are spoilers- they're all in the summary blurb) and I love all of those things. But, Space Oddities relies heavily on family dynamics and reading book 2 as a standalone didn't really allow me enough time to care about the main character's families, and thus, be invested in those dynamics. Instead, it just felt like there was annoying, awkward human stuff getting in the way of my space adventure/ politics.
The space adventure/politics side of the story is also great. Alas, the book ends on a cliffhanger (as all second in a tryptic things should) which left me feeling a little disappointed because it made the time with all of the sloppy family dynamics feel like even more of a waste.
The takeaway: Read book one first. I'm planning on going back and starting over. The main characters are interesting and likable and I think, given more time with them, the awkward family dynamics in book 2 will have meaning that I actually care about.
And I am definitely looking forward to book three so I can dive back into the space adventure I was thoroughly enjoying.
Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free in exchange for my honest review.
I really wanted to love this book. It has aliens, it has love, it has humor, it has incredibly awkward humans (none of these things are spoilers- they're all in the summary blurb) and I love all of those things. But, Space Oddities relies heavily on family dynamics and reading book 2 as a standalone didn't really allow me enough time to care about the main character's families, and thus, be invested in those dynamics. Instead, it just felt like there was annoying, awkward human stuff getting in the way of my space adventure/ politics.
The space adventure/politics side of the story is also great. Alas, the book ends on a cliffhanger (as all second in a tryptic things should) which left me feeling a little disappointed because it made the time with all of the sloppy family dynamics feel like even more of a waste.
The takeaway: Read book one first. I'm planning on going back and starting over. The main characters are interesting and likable and I think, given more time with them, the awkward family dynamics in book 2 will have meaning that I actually care about.
And I am definitely looking forward to book three so I can dive back into the space adventure I was thoroughly enjoying.
Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free in exchange for my honest review.
May 8, 2026
Space Oddities was a really cool story! I liked the dichotomy of the main characters—between the shy, anxious personality and the outgoing and devil may care attitudes. The plot was interesting and the humor was top notch. I laughed through the whole story.
My only suggestion would be to label the chapters based on the point of view of the character in that chapter. It got a little bit confusing at the beginning trying to figure out who was who. This type of writing isn’t generally my favorite for that particular reason but I’m still giving it a 4/5! Really good book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
My only suggestion would be to label the chapters based on the point of view of the character in that chapter. It got a little bit confusing at the beginning trying to figure out who was who. This type of writing isn’t generally my favorite for that particular reason but I’m still giving it a 4/5! Really good book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 19, 2026
2.5 stars
I wanted so much to like this one. The idea of a potentially cozy sci-fi where we have an alien trying to assimilate with humans while also starting to fall for one is right up my alley. And while I know that technically this is book two, while I haven't ever read book one, we are informed that you can read this series in any order.
I'm going to start off by saying that I found this book a bit hard to read. We have two main POVs, one is in first person and the other is in third. Occasionally, there is another POV, but I wouldn't call them a main character. However, there is no indication at the beginning of the chapters as to whom we are following. We can only figure it out by the first or third person pronouns. This annoyed me because sometimes a pronoun wouldn't pop up right away, especially when reading on my Kindle app, and I would have no idea who was narrating. I also didn't think that the voices were distinct enough to tell by the character's voice alone.
I did like the idea of the small town vibes and our alien character growing attached to his favorite barista. But I really wanted more from that. The summary or book pitch that I saw does mention a slow burn romance, but this romance was barely even simmering. I was really hoping for some more character interaction and bonding. Also, the way that the characters talk and narrate was so long and meandering. I understand that both main characters are supposed to be neurodivergent, one ADHD, one autistic, but there were many parts of the story that I wished were cut because I didn't need to know exactly how your family eats their breakfast or how you ended up picking out that one dress that you sort of liked at the thrift store. There would be long passages that didn't feel like they moved the story forward.
And then the ending. What was up with that? It just ended. I felt like I was missing the whole conclusion. Looking at the first book in the series, it does appear that the book I read is more like a prequel, and the storyline will continue in the first book, but I was very thrown when I finished this book. We had the sort of climax, with crazy, out-of-left-field stuff happening, and then the next part was basically the author's acknowledgements. I really needed some closure to have enjoyed this book more.
Thank you to the author and BookSirens for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted so much to like this one. The idea of a potentially cozy sci-fi where we have an alien trying to assimilate with humans while also starting to fall for one is right up my alley. And while I know that technically this is book two, while I haven't ever read book one, we are informed that you can read this series in any order.
I'm going to start off by saying that I found this book a bit hard to read. We have two main POVs, one is in first person and the other is in third. Occasionally, there is another POV, but I wouldn't call them a main character. However, there is no indication at the beginning of the chapters as to whom we are following. We can only figure it out by the first or third person pronouns. This annoyed me because sometimes a pronoun wouldn't pop up right away, especially when reading on my Kindle app, and I would have no idea who was narrating. I also didn't think that the voices were distinct enough to tell by the character's voice alone.
I did like the idea of the small town vibes and our alien character growing attached to his favorite barista. But I really wanted more from that. The summary or book pitch that I saw does mention a slow burn romance, but this romance was barely even simmering. I was really hoping for some more character interaction and bonding. Also, the way that the characters talk and narrate was so long and meandering. I understand that both main characters are supposed to be neurodivergent, one ADHD, one autistic, but there were many parts of the story that I wished were cut because I didn't need to know exactly how your family eats their breakfast or how you ended up picking out that one dress that you sort of liked at the thrift store. There would be long passages that didn't feel like they moved the story forward.
And then the ending. What was up with that? It just ended. I felt like I was missing the whole conclusion. Looking at the first book in the series, it does appear that the book I read is more like a prequel, and the storyline will continue in the first book, but I was very thrown when I finished this book. We had the sort of climax, with crazy, out-of-left-field stuff happening, and then the next part was basically the author's acknowledgements. I really needed some closure to have enjoyed this book more.
Thank you to the author and BookSirens for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Firstly, thank you to Lane for the advanced reader copy! I was very excited to get Space Oddities as I was eager to know what happened. This is a spoiler free review.
Back in the small, damp PNW town of Rättvik. Starting in the POV of dear sweet Adrian we immediately get to learn more about him and his companions. Seeing more from Adrians POV was my favourite part and watching his and our other POV character Elen's relationship begin was so sweet.
This was a very satisfying read as even the tiniest detail from book 1 was included and even though I knew where it was going (Read book 1!) I was still holding my breath at the end.
It made me laugh, cry and very annoyed at times (Especially with one specific aunty character... Still mad).
I highly recommend you read book 1 before venturing into Rättvik as it provides context and makes book 2 an even more fulfilling read.
Overall, this one has been my favourite of the two so far and am excited to see whats next for Adrian, Elen and the rest of our Oddities.
Back in the small, damp PNW town of Rättvik. Starting in the POV of dear sweet Adrian we immediately get to learn more about him and his companions. Seeing more from Adrians POV was my favourite part and watching his and our other POV character Elen's relationship begin was so sweet.
This was a very satisfying read as even the tiniest detail from book 1 was included and even though I knew where it was going (Read book 1!) I was still holding my breath at the end.
It made me laugh, cry and very annoyed at times (Especially with one specific aunty character... Still mad).
I highly recommend you read book 1 before venturing into Rättvik as it provides context and makes book 2 an even more fulfilling read.
Overall, this one has been my favourite of the two so far and am excited to see whats next for Adrian, Elen and the rest of our Oddities.
April 1, 2026
A fun read with 90's references and an alien unsure what to do with the human feelings and a human who accepts a mission unaware of what they're about to see.
Adrian is an alien outlaw, who is a stickler for keeping his head down and staying out of trouble, while keeping his companions safe from bounty hunters. Unfortunately that won't last.
Elen is a local barista/musician doing her best to hide from life. Unaware that aliens live right here in her town.
As Elen discovers people in her town are going missing, Adrian is her only answer.
Will Elen and Adrian be able to pull off the plan or will things go sideways in ways Adrian doesn't want.
This is book 2 of 3. I am going back to read book 1 and then rereading this book in prep for the 3rd book.
Adrian is an alien outlaw, who is a stickler for keeping his head down and staying out of trouble, while keeping his companions safe from bounty hunters. Unfortunately that won't last.
Elen is a local barista/musician doing her best to hide from life. Unaware that aliens live right here in her town.
As Elen discovers people in her town are going missing, Adrian is her only answer.
Will Elen and Adrian be able to pull off the plan or will things go sideways in ways Adrian doesn't want.
This is book 2 of 3. I am going back to read book 1 and then rereading this book in prep for the 3rd book.
April 29, 2026
Space Oddities is the second book in the Spaced Out series, and is a heartfelt story about found family and love. First off, I really liked that both the leads were neurodivergent and felt like real characters. I often find that characters with ADHD or autism have stereotypical traits that are dialed up to show how "different" they are in an unrealistic way. I loved Elen, and I would absolutely get the second book (this one is a prequel) for more Elen content. The ending felt a bit jarring, but it is a prequel so i'm willing to give it some leeway for that. Overall, Space Oddities was a fun and uplifting book that was a good pick-me up after a dreary start to spring.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 27, 2026
Space Oddities is a wonderfully unique sci-fi read that completely captured my heart with its characters, even if the structural layout threw me for a loop occasionally.
The Neurodivergent representation in both main characters was fantastic! As an ND reader myself, I absolutely loved how they were written. Following their trains of thought felt natural, authentic, and incredibly easy to connect with. I particularly enjoyed the sporadic "Pro Owling" tips sprinkled in between the chapters
The only downside for me was the multi-POV structure. I normally love multi-POV, but without clear chapter headings or indicators marking whose head we are in, it was a tad difficult to keep up with at times.
Thank you to Dorian Lane for providing an ARC—I can't wait for Book 3!
The Neurodivergent representation in both main characters was fantastic! As an ND reader myself, I absolutely loved how they were written. Following their trains of thought felt natural, authentic, and incredibly easy to connect with. I particularly enjoyed the sporadic "Pro Owling" tips sprinkled in between the chapters
The only downside for me was the multi-POV structure. I normally love multi-POV, but without clear chapter headings or indicators marking whose head we are in, it was a tad difficult to keep up with at times.
Thank you to Dorian Lane for providing an ARC—I can't wait for Book 3!
Review of advance copy
Let me start out by saying that this is my first book from this author and its part 2 of a series. So, I am going to read book one soon, and I can't wait till part 3. but omg how cute was this book!
Space Oddities by Dorian Lane was such a fun and heartfelt read! I loved how the story mixed quirky sci-fi elements with a genuinely touching exploration of friendship and connection. The characters felt charming and real, and the strange, cosmic moments only made their relationships more meaningful. It’s imaginative, a little weird in the best way, and full of heart. By the end, I was smiling and wishing I could spend more time in this wonderfully odd universe. Highly recommended!
Space Oddities by Dorian Lane was such a fun and heartfelt read! I loved how the story mixed quirky sci-fi elements with a genuinely touching exploration of friendship and connection. The characters felt charming and real, and the strange, cosmic moments only made their relationships more meaningful. It’s imaginative, a little weird in the best way, and full of heart. By the end, I was smiling and wishing I could spend more time in this wonderfully odd universe. Highly recommended!
May 8, 2026
Wow! This was quite a ride! I love seeing things from a different perspective! And you get more from the story too, it makes a unique experience. I also loved the characters and natural way everything unfolded. Definitely worth a read!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 1, 2026
Great plot line and wonderful characters to read about!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Space Oddities is a small town sci-fi mystery set in the pacific northwest. Elen is a neurodivergent musician working as barista in a book store/coffee and bakery shop who gets drawn into the mystery of a missing busker outside of her shop. As Elen investigates the missing musician, she discovers a secondary mystery of people who may or may not be connected to those who've gone missing not remembering a large block of time of their lives. As Elen goes down these rabbit hole mysteries with the local conspiracy theorist, she's also having to manage her sensory overwhelm at dealing with the death of a loved one, her gathering family and new friendship with newcomer Adrian who may or may not be involved with all the missing people. This book has excellent world building, great character development and thoughtfully portrays what it’s like to live with a neurodivergence. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews