Review: Alien in the Family by Gini Koch

Book: Alien in the Family by Gini Koch
Series: Katherine "Kitty" Katt #3
Previous Books in the series: Touched By An Alien (#1), Alien Tango (#2)
Pages: 480
Genre: Science Fiction / Romance / Comedy
Buy A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository
Available Formats: Ebook & Paperback
Publication Date: April 5th, 2011
Publisher: DAW
How Did I Get This Book: Purchased
First Line: “In spring time a young alien's thoughts turn to love. And marriage. And, as fast as possible, the baby carriage."
Preview Book: Preview on Google Books
Description: Super-Being Exterminator Kitty Katt and the Alpha Centaurian she loves, Jeff Martini, should be finalizing their wedding plans. But that was before she discovers Jeff is in line to become Emperor back on his home world. Kitty knows she is everything a royal family wouldn't approve of, and is bracing herself for the worst. As it turns out, the royal family is just the beginning. Especially when extraterrestrial Amazonian terrorists are determined to start and end Kitty and Jeff's nuptial festivities with a bang.

If you have read my reviews of Touched by an Alien and Alien Tango, then you are probably aware of my obsession with this series. It is easily one of my favorites of all-time and Kitty is hands down, my favorite narrator.

With the first two books in the series, Koch has set the bar amazingly high and Alien In The Family certainly doesn't let you down. I will try my best to refrain from including spoilers for the first two books, but please be warned, some minor details may be touched on.

In Alien in the Family, all of our favorite characters are back and simply as wonderful as ever. Kitty and Martini are still going strong and all of Kitty's boys are back in the game. Christopher takes more of a side role in the third installment, while Reader is given more screen-time, so to speak.

Kitty is, as always, spunky, sarcastic and incredibly fun. Like I said before, she is probably my favorite book narrator, because she is such a spitball. She has a no-nonsense attitude, she doesn't take crap from anybody, has phenomenal taste in music and will not change for anyone. Honestly, if you haven't read this series before, I encourage you to go back and read my reviews for the first two books - I describe the cast of characters in great detail.

As far as plot goes, it's the format that we've come to expect and love with these books. There is some crazy world-dominating plot going on that Kitty and the boys have to investigate. As always, there are multiple plans going on and they have to wade through everything to determine what is exactly happening. This time, our cast is faced with a variety of aliens, including a planet of lesbian amazons who are determined to bring their galactic war to earth.

While all of this is happening, Jeff and Kitty are trying to plan their wedding. This means we get to meet some new characters, including Kitty's extended family. In Alien Tango, we were introduced to Jeff's family and believe me, Kitty's is just as crazy. I am particularly fond of her Nana Sadie and Nona Marie. 

Kitty and Jeff are rarely separated in Alien in the Family, so we are treated to tons of wonderful moments between the two. I have always been a fan of their banter, and there is an abundance of it here. We are also given a number of scenes between Reader and Kitty; their relationship is really explored in this installment. I have always been a fan of their friendship; Reader just gets Kitty.  

I am going to wrap this up, because I don't want to get into too many series spoilers, but believe me, Alien in the Family is a great installment to the series. On a final note, I desperately want a poof - which is the official royal pet of the A-C royal family. Trust me, you will want one too!

 Favorite Quotes:

"The U.S. was the immigration country of choice even for alien jellyfish things that turned humans into scary monsters. It made you proud, really."

"I had no issues with lesbians, but I didn't swing the bat that way, and I kind of resented getting molested."

"They didn't answer. But I was thinking. I'd had to do a lot of thinking like this over the past year, and it was starting to come naturally."

"Wow, bossy and nasty. What a fun combo."

"I'm with the Naked Ape." Jareen said. "Let's get in there and kick some evil overlord butt."

"Restraint is not exactly my watchword, either."