That Alien Feeling by Alessandra Hazard

That Alien Feeling is a bit of a whimsical story. Whimsical but at the same time tremendously endearing and thoroughly entertaining. I also became – very unexpectedly I might add – quite emotional when the forces working against the two MCs just wouldn’t let up. And yes, there were a few tears.

The main character of the book is a young guy named Harry. Harry is utterly blind to social cues, lacking all fashion sense, naive to a fault and working in a coffee shop in London. Also, he’s an alien prince from the planet of Calluvia. Which certainly explains a lot of his weird behaviour. Anyway. Harry was sent to earth by his parents as a punishment. Not that Harry is the least bit remorseful though because he adores earth and humans.

Enter Adam. A very hot human coming to get his daily caffeine fix. Sparks fly, etcetera. But Harry can’t actually feel sexual attraction due to a psychic bond linking him to his betrothed – his bondmate, chosen by his parents – who is also an alien. So despite very intense feelings, Harry doesn’t really understand what is growing between him and Adam.

But Harry isn’t allowed to stay on earth. And a romantic relationship with a barbaric human would never be accepted by any of Harry’s fellow Calluvians. He is forced to return to his home planet without knowing if he’ll ever be able to get back to Adam. Only it’s not only Harry’s heart on the line, it turns out his very life might be in danger.

So you see, the plot is a bit silly. But it’s all in good fun and Hazard manages to turn this whimsy into an absolutely charming story.

However, the first few chapters were a bit painful to get through. Not because of the alien thing. Not because Harry’s a telepath and prince to boot. Not even because of his clueless weirdness and odd behaviour, by human standards that is. No, it was painful because of the entirely implausible way Adam reacts to Harry’s extreme strangeness. Almost instantly, Adam is totally infatuated with Harry and finds all his outrageous behaviour, all his evasive responses when asked about himself, to be completely adorable. Adam falls hard and fast and it’s just too much.

Still, after that awkward beginning, the story goes on and it’s frankly awesome, if you’re not expecting something deep and Nobel prize-y that is. It’s cute and altogether yummy. It’s a fairy tale with some X-rated sections. It’s a feel-good story with a roller-coaster middle for grown-ups who enjoy reading about against-the-odds love and male naked bits getting in close contact with other male naked bits.

There isn’t much of world-building or even character development going on, but that’s just fine. That’s not what the book is about. It’s all about the angst-y love. Lovers forced apart. Insecurities and hope. I would have loved if there had been more clashes between human and alien society (sci-fi fan here!), but the story didn’t need any of that. It’s still utterly delightful. And it had me craving more too. That Alien Feeling is the first book in the Calluvia’s Royalty series, and in the second installment – That Irresistible Poison – you get to follow Harry’s best friend and Harry’s brother. Which I’ve already started in on. So obviously, this read is well worth your time!