Authentic Imposter

Alien Persuasion #2

by Hazel Jonas

An alien with extra features broke my heart. Now I want revenge.

It took me too long to put the pieces together. That selfish rat faked his death and skipped town, leaving me behind to build a new life within a shattered crime family.

I was desperate for retribution. My plan was virtually perfect! But who would have guessed the cranky alien doesn’t appreciate being one-upped and has other plans that include a cabin in the middle of nowhere?

Despite Silver’s anger towards me, I can’t shake the feeling that he is trying to protect me from secrets about my past. I’m uncertain I’m ready for the truth.

Silver promises to take me home. Eventually.

Too bad the new leader of the Syndicate doesn't care what Silver wants. The boss uncovered an even deadlier secret than my own and he demands Silver be the one to atone for it.

Authentic Imposter is an alien romance and cannot be read as a standalone (book 2 of 2). This book ends with a happily ever after. It also contains dark themes and elements that some may find disturbing. It is intended for adult audiences. Please see the author's website for a more detailed list of themes.

276 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2023

About the author

Hazel Jonas lives in rural New England with her husband and a gaggle of cats. She loves to write about the creatures we’ve been told not to lust for. In late 2022, Hazel switched to writing spicy slow-burn romance.

With a background in bench chemistry and chemical manufacturing, Hazel writes part-time while working contract jobs.

She takes part in a wide variety of hobbies. Each of which depends on what direction her neurodivergent brain decides to drag her in.

Reviews

[Moonburst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authentic Imposter is the satisfying conclusion of the Alien Persuasion Duet. Picking up right where Counterfeit Human left off, Lilly is grieving and alone. When she realizes that Silver may not actually be dead, she hunts him down for revenge. But her plans are disrupted when he turns the tables on her. Forced to face their collective emotional baggage and origins, Silver and Lilly strive to continue their relationship. But it isn't long before their pasts come to haunt them.

This book has fairly accurate depiction of grieving and healing. As Silver and Lilly work through their differences and hurts, they don't just magically talk it out. Things take time to heal and to move through emotionally. I loved how the actual relationship became more real as they worked through their issues. Many romance novels err on the side of everything just working out magically, which can be fun, but is certainly not realistic. For an alien romance, the relationship was extremely grounded in reality.

An interesting look at the way people injure each other in relationships and how to heal them.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

New-to-me author. This is part two of the Alien Persuasion Duet. It ends with an unsatisfying HEA.

The story starts with a grieving Lilly. At one point of her grieving process, she sends a heart-wrenching text to her lost love that had me tearing up. Then she figures out Silver is still alive and it all goes downhill from there.

My fascination with this story centered around the mystery of Silver and Lilly’s origin stories. Both origin stories were treated as afterthoughts. The whole thing with Lilly’s hair was never given a satisfactory explanation. Her particular origin story was given very little attention.

The bad romance between Lilly and Silver went through several repellent twists and ended in a questionably happy-for-her ending. The story was well written. However, the ideas expressed in the story were unappealing. Pretty sure I will never read anything from this author again.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Tima · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silver, the male alien lead, left Lilly, the female human lead, so that she wouldn’t be further damaged by him. But Lilly thought he was dead and has mourned him and struggled to move past her grief. Finding he’s alive, she’s furious and determined to get revenge…

This story is dual POV, and complex, emotional, and honestly a bit confusing at times, though that was in line with the characters’ feelings. I found this story a bit angsty and not quite what I expected from the blurb. There was significant character and relationship development but it felt a little overwrought. The intimate scenes were intense and sometimes a bit unusual. The ending was a HEA of sorts but not quite as confident as I prefer.

I received a complimentary copy from the author and this is my voluntary honest review.

[Kris10 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book continues right where the first one left off. Personally speaking, I found it more well-written than the first book, but I still struggled "getting into it". This book seemed to flow easier than the first and came to a conclusion. But the HEA at the end didn't meet my expectations of what a HEA ending should be and left room for there to be another book. There was a part in it that was really emotional...but then it seemed to fall to pieces afterwards. The romance wasn't as strong as I would've liked being a romance book and the plot seemed a bit rushed. And the hair phobia thing was never addressed, so I still have no idea why Lilly didn't like her hair touched.

I received a copy of this book via BookSirens and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

He’s Dead… Isn’t He?
Lilly thinks Silver is dead. After mourning him for 6 months, she finds out he isn’t, and tracks him down in a fit of pique. Silver disappeared to protect Lilly - now that she’s found him, he’s worried about her safety. Lilly has to come to terms with what she did at the end of the first book and it appears one of her coping methods is ample amounts of filthy dirty sexual interactions - to each their own! The ending isn’t exuberantly happy, but it is true to the characters and it feels satisfying. Overall, I enjoyed this unique Sci-Fi romance - it challenged me to really wonder about the characters and made me curious about their secrets.

[Acacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good, read the first and this one didn’t disappoint. Great characters and storyline. Well developed plot and no plot holes. Easy to follow and understand, lots of twists and turns to keep it exciting. Can’t wait to see what they write next.