Alien Communion

by Xandra Gregory

Book by Gregory, Xandra

Genres: Aliens, Science Fiction, Erotica, M F M, Futuristic, Romance, M F Romance

216 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2006

About the author

Xandra Gregory writes ultra-hot erotic romances about extraordinary lovers in exotic settings. When she’s not galaxy-hopping through the Civilized Worlds, she lives in the American Midwest, in the middle of a cornfield, which everyone knows is the best place for starships to land without getting harrassed by the government.

Xandra writes for Liquid Silver Books and is an active member of Romance Writers of America, and the Passionate Ink Erotic Romance chapter.

Reviews

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like science fiction. I like romance. I like some erotica. Somehow the combination thereof just doesn't really work out quite as well for me. I read this book because I've worked on the cover, so I don't really feel qualified to give it a review. It's just not the sort of book I read; I thought it was OK. It's one of my publisher's bestsellers, though, so I know it's just me. I guess I'm just not into interspecies dating and extra appendages in my bed partners.

Still, my take on it is this:

I feel the science fiction part of the book could have been further developed and elaborated. There's an opportunity here to explore an alien race and the heroine's interaction with them in a sociological and psychological sense, more in terms of the sort of descriptions I've read in the speculative fiction genre (of which I'm a very big fan), and the novella format just isn't long enough for that. Everything felt too jam packed. So all in all, if this were a longer work, with more narrative meat between the love scenes, it might have been more to my taste. As it is, I felt so bombarded by the action and sex scenes, I had a hard time connecting with the heroine to understand her love of the aliens.

I was particularly interested in the concept of her DNA changing, though, and would have liked her physical, emotional, and mental changes chronicled a bit better throughout the book. I also like that the ending wasn't pat but still left the story on a hopeful note.

Finished reading March 5, 2008.

[Hayat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, so I expected a bit more than what I actually got in this book but I should've known better.



This time it is my fault because this book delivered exactly what it promised in the blurb, the title and even the book cover. Yup, that cover should've been warning enough but what can I say? I'm a bit stubborn and little curious... Okay, a LOT curious and you know what they say about curiosity. It can lead your mind to places it never wanted to go in the first place before you dragged it there kicking and screaming.




The basic idea was promising but I didn't care for the delivery of it. The plot was all over the place, the characters were not well developed and writing was a bit bland. Try as I might, I just couldn't connect with the story or characters.

Maybe I didn't take to this story because the heroine, Dr. Rayne Warren, a woman who was supposed to be exceptionally intelligent, an excellent researcher and a phD holder suddenly develops a serious case of TSTL. She leaps to action without thinking endangering her self and others and can't even see danger when it is staring her in the face. This women doesn't have the common sense God gave to a pigeon.



I'm starting to see a pattern in sci-fi romance. It seems to me that every intelligent well educated book heroine who is very capable in her normal everyday life suddenly loses all intelligence and even common sense as soon as the hero enters her life. These book heroines may have been leaders in their corner of the universe but you can't prove it by their actions. They are a bunch of hypersensitive over active bunch of sexual nerves with a serious case of over active hormones and a curious mix of stupid and naive carrying the label 'highly intelligent women'. These TSTL heroines are starting to really get on my last nerve.



To be fair, I've read enough sci-fi romance to know that this book is no worse than many of the books I've read lately and it might even be better than some but this is a case of one too many dumb heroines. I've reached my limit for TSTL female protagonists. For now though, I'm just going to have to take a break from this genre.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rayne is a doctor (PhD) who had first aware contact with aliens. She's been involved with exchanging information with them and becomes friends with a female alien, whose brother Tai'en is also interested in the humans. Rayne's ex-boyfriend, who betrayed her, becomes a loose canon and now Rayne has to stop a war at the same time she's getting to know Tai'en.

I thought the story was pretty good. I just wasn't invested in it as much as other sci-fi romances I have read. Another WTF cover, especially the woman's face. My husband and daughter went to town on that one while I was reading it.

[Kizi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was all over the place. The story contradict it self almost every step of the way. It was an great idea. I love scifi romance, but this let me wanting something else.

[Marion · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very strange.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book!!!!

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting idea, but the writing is poor and some of the m/f interaction left me cold. The sex I found hot.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erotic alien story with a little F/F, MFM ménage and voyeurism.
I would have liked to have read some of what our hero was thinking.
An epilogue would have been nice too.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read "Alien Communion" and I love it. An Alcaini alien and a human woman risk it all for their love. An alien willing to defy his own race for a girl he truly loves is a great man in my book.