As a fan of zany and chaotic science fiction, you know I had to read I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy. This is the second in the Cosmic Chaos series and was hilarious! Whenever you think it can’t go further, Lemming takes it there! Keep reading this book review of I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy for my full thoughts.
Summary
It’s not in Blair’s nature to just give up. Not when she’s beamed up to a spaceship and then dropped on an alien planet. Not even when she’s in the middle of a forest fire surrounded by dinosaurs. And definitely not when she’s captured by an arrogant alien king. If King Osid thinks he can break her, he’s in for a shock. Blair lives by one If you stay ready, you never have to get ready.
But absolutely nothing could have prepared her for finding out that she’s that arrogant King Osid’s mate.
Despite recent hiccups, the alien researchers are determined to get their breeding program back on track. With that in mind, Blair and Osid are bundled off to the research center for what they’re told is couples counseling. As they face a series of increasingly dangerous challenges, it soon becomes clear the research aliens may have confused an episode of The Bachelor with Survivor. Bonding over their common enemy, and shall we say…encouraged by love darts, Blair and Osid let down their walls (and take off their clothes). When they discover that there are—somehow—even more secret plans in the works, another hilarious, steamy, over-the-top adventure is in store.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Predictably, I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy is tons of fun. There’s the chaos from page one, but there’s a kernel of heart as these characters become vulnerable. What I loved early on is the lack of communication between them – which Lemming will fix in chaotic ways – but about how difficult it would be to get our points across. The beginning is certainly a flash of fast paced action which – at times – can feel a bit too fast. With dating trials which are like a dating show mixed with Survivor, I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy pushes them together time and time again with a mixture of trauma bonding and rare emotional glimpses.
The couple games are hilarious and fun lending this next installment the signature scientists are using these human parameters to throw them together. There’s plenty of banter and meeting fire with fire! I wish some moments were slowed down a bit, but there’s really not a lot of space to do that. I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy is action from the get go! As characters, I wish this had a bit deeper character work on each of them singularly. There were some really fun Easter Eggs for book one, but towards the ending and their ‘getting together’ you lose sight of what makes their individual journeys and less of their romantic journey. If that makes sense.
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I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy is predictably a lot of fun. And I did enjoy the touches at the end which connect to the larger world as some characters have to face the music. I just feel like I was thrown headfirst into the show itself and was thrown back out! Find I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.