Reading kind of runs in my family. My mom’s mom — my Nana — frequently passes books down to us, and my Aunt Rikki — my mom’s sister — does the same. About a month ago, Nana and I were talking books, discussing the ones we were currently reading and whether they were good or not. She told me about a book about aliens that were good, but there were parasites that could attach themselves to humans or aliens and take over, controlling the host. Instantly I was reminded of Stephanie Meyer’s The Host, which is her only book currently on the market that doesn’t involve vampires and rabidly horny teenage girls and middle aged women.

I’d forgotten about Nana’s alien book, until one day this week it appeared on my nightstand.

“Touched by an Alien?” I gaped at the cover.

Touched by an Alien, by Gini Koch

I was kind of afraid. Did I really want to read alien/human erotica? Hadn’t I seen enough anime porn to know what it was like*?

Still, I’d run out of Chelsea Handler memoirs**, and my only other option was cracking open On the Road and attempting to finish it***. It was all or nothing. I decided to give Touched by an Alien a shot.

The story started off interestingly enough, but it’s obvious that this is Koch’s first novel. Still, it was interesting enough to keep me turning the pages, and about halfway through, the pace reached a gallop, the writing got wittier, and I couldn’t stop. I wasn’t even bothered by the erotica, because it wasn’t too heavy and it was well-written. Hell, it was pretty steamy!

The concept is pretty kickass. Kitty, a marketing manager, is just leaving jury duty when an alien tries to kill her. The Alpha-Centaurions — the alien investigators who sweep her away immediately after — prefer to call what attacked Kitty a superbeing. Koch did a great job constructing a literally alien culture and religion while remaining rooted in the real world; one of the subplots is living in a modern world full of terrorism.

To make the novel even more kickass, Kitty is a rock and roll fan, and the story is full of references to Aerosmith, Metallica, Mortal Kombat, and other things that I could appreciate — and that I’m sure Nana just shrugged her shoulders at.

There is a sequel coming out in December, which I am definitely — and surprisingly — excited for. Who ever thought I could ever like a romance novel?

*I cannot wait to see the spam comments I am going to get now. Hell, even the Google ads that will inevitably pop up! Sorry, guys.

**I am going to review these. Someday. Sigh.

***Oh, Jack Kerouac, can’t you write shorter paragraphs?