It's Not Unusual to Be Loved by an Alien

Tentacular Tales #1

by Chloe Archer

A sexy alien living incognito on Earth meets a sci-fi loving nerd who wants to rock his universe. What could possibly go wrong? Besides the unexpected tentacles and the accidental Mating Courtship Ritual, that is....

RIVER SULLIVAN

As a bona fide sci-fi nerd and total X-phile—the truth is out there—I’ve always believed in aliens. Duh. But I never thought I’d actually find them on Earth–let alone right here in Las Vegas! Now I’ve stumbled onto a big freakin’ secret and found my very own hot AF alien. I’m head over heels, but he’s being a total grump and holding back. How do I make him realize a geeky sunshine guy like me is just what he needs in his life? Did I mention he also has tentacles?!?! #HolyHentaiFantasyBatman #SwoonworthyAlien #SignMeUpSugar #MakeItSo #VivaLasVegas

KAI GENARO

The last thing I need in my life is a chatterbox twink who’s determined to woo me and could expose the secret existence of aliens on Earth to all humankind. Everything about him annoys me, including his stupidly attractive halo of golden curls and his bright green ‘come hither’ eyes. To make matters worse, he’s been recruited to work for the alien Alliance on Earth, and I’m assigned to keep him out of trouble. I don’t care how attractive he is. I don’t date humans! Except, my tentacles may have accidentally started the Mating Courtship Ritual with him…

It’s Not Unusual To Be Loved by an Alien (Tentacular Tales #1) is a (102,000 words) M/M sci-fi rom com featuring an adorkable twink with unexpected secrets and a slight obsession with extraterrestrials, the reluctant alien he wants to make his boo, tentacles with a mind of their own, zany extraterrestrial shenanigans in Sin City, and enough humor to fill an entire spaceship. This is the first book in the series. There is no cheating, and this book ends with a HFN. Never fear, the series guarantees readers an HEA by the end!

Genres: M M Romance, Aliens, Science Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Audiobook

358 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2022

About the author

Chloe Archer writes M/M sci-fi and paranormal rom coms with laugh out loud humor because she’s all about bringing the funny-sexy back. Oh, yeah!

She currently call Minnesota home, but has lived abroad in places like Montreal, Edinburgh, and Tokyo. She’s hoping to relocate to Scotland permanently in the next few years if the stars align.

Chloe is a fur mama to two adorable Yorkies, Jasper and Teddy, and she loves them in a crazy dog mama kind of way. When she isn’t busy writing, she enjoys visiting friends and family, traveling, reading, binge watching movies and TV shows, and practicing her karaoke skills. She does a mean cover of Pat Benatar and Cher, or so she’s been told.

Reviews

[Kati *☆･ﾟ · Rating 5 out of 5]

* ☘︎ :･ﾟTOP 10 AUDIO 2023 :･ﾟ☘︎ *


4.5***** stars
audio 5+++ stars


⇢ Alexa play “The Boy Is Mine” by Brandy & Monica
(omg, it’s been freaking ages since I last heard that song)


Hell, Greg B killed it!! This was def the funniest shit I ever heard him narrate. This was a total blast, I had such a good time and there was not one dull moment. Totally recommended! *LMFAOOO

She better not be his girlfriend. No, she seems a bit too old for that. Regardless, I’ve staked my claim tonight. I battled a fucking Groxil-thingy to save Kai. In the famous words of 90s R&B queens Brandy and Monica, the boy is mine!

River is a hardcore sci-fi nerd and he’s sure aliens are out there, somewhere among us. He talks a mile a minute and is too damn curious for his own good. He really is the epitome of OTT twink. Funny af!

That’s how he ends up following his new neighbor (he’s convinced he’s an alien) out into the desert and actually finds… a restricted military base… and aliens.

River ends up the total conundrum when the aliens, lead by their interim commander Kai, fail to hypnotize him and erase his memory of what he’d seen on that base. (Not that he hadn’t already told them before he can’t be hypnotized.)


River is totally enamored with Kai (the one with the hidden tentacles) and Kai too feels oddly drawn to the human. And weirdly protective of him. There is clearly something neither the characters nor we spectators know about yet! Excitiiiing!!


And people. Kai’s family! I LOVED THEM, his dad, his brother but esp his mom (the better-not-be-his-girlfriend). She’s fantastic! They all are super important people at ANAL.

“Did you say this place is…the Alliance of Neutral Alien Lifeforms?”
“Yes?”
I collapse back in my seat and start laughing hysterically, […] “Oh. My. God! You guys do realize…w-what your acronym is…r-right?”

With a strangled gasp, I wrap my arms around my waist, unable to stop laughing as tears stream down my cheeks. “Oh man…it hurts…it hurts so bad! This is so… freaking… epic!” […] “Sweet Saint Britney, I bet your business cards use the acronym, too. This is the absolute Best. Thing. Ever!”

I stroll into ANAL HQ and try not to laugh when I flash my brand-new, shiny employee badge on a lanyard at the security guard. They do use the acronym! This will never get old for me.

The first four books in the series follow River and Kai as main characters. Their romance so far was adorable and ends on a strong HFN in here. But if I’m being totally honest I'm already impatient AF because there are two more pairings with an enormous potential for an epic love story I want to read ASAP, but for that to happen I have to wait for books five and seven. *crying dramatically into pillow BUT, Chloe Archer at least promised that there will be more teasers for me about these "couples" along the way.



This was an absolute fabulous and super entertaining debut!! And for a newbie the author chose the perfect narrator to bring this ridiculous story alive.

And OMG, all the revelations and the cliffhanger at the end practically have me on the edge of my seat now. Not sure if I can really wait for the next audio to release or have to (at least for a bit) pick up the ebook.


*************
Tentacular Tales

Book 1 - It’s Not Unusual To Be Loved by an Alien - 4.5 stars
Book 2 - Can’t Help Falling in Love with an Alien - 4.5 stars
Book 3 - When a Man Loves an Alien - 4.5 stars
Book 4 - All You Need Is Alien Love - release 05/24

*more books in the series with focus on beloved side-characters’ romances in the making

[Kaity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread/Relisten #2: January 2024

BOOK THREE IS OUT ON AUDIO!! So that means a reread for books 1 and 2 ASAP!

Reread/Relisten #1: July 2023

Team A.N.A.L for the win! Lol 😂

Since the second audiobook just came out so I had to do a reread of this one and I loved it just as much as the first time around!

Can’t wait to see what happens in book two!!


5 tentacles stars haha: January 2023

Greg Boudreaux Narrations + Grumpy/Sunshine MC's + Aliens + OTT Humor (think Alice Winters The Hitman's Guide to Making Friends and Finding Love) + Sunshine Nerd is super smart beneath all his nerd talk + Grumpy Alien is in a special alien military/alliance team and has soft spot for Sunshine nerd + everything I didn't know I needed= my crack haha

River you reminded me so much of Leland from "Hitman's Guide" that I instantly fell in love haha. And Kai, trying to be all tough when you had a soft spot for River, yes please. I loved how River even when he wasn't taken seriously surprised everyone with his smarts, and that twist at the end, kinda saw it coming, but man oh man did i still love it.

This was a great debut novel and start to a series! I was so pumped when I looked up Greg Boudreaux and saw that there was a new book he narrated, I kinda one clicked it so fast without reading the synopsis, and man was I glad i bought this.

Greg B is like a god with his narrations and he nailed this one. I loved every minute that I wanted to have this never end. I hope the second book is coming out soon on Audible because now I can't read it without Greg B!

If you love Alice Winters The Hitman's Guide to Making Friends and Finding Love then you will love this book. There are tentacles, other aliens, hilarious high uncles, a lot of Scifi references (which if you don't know them all you will still enjoy this), and so much more! Ugh I loved this so much. I had a permanent smile on my face the whole time. I can't wait to read more about Kai and River...and Benji and Mal, and Ellie and Maddox, and all the rest of Team ANAL!! hahaha

Can't wait to reread this in the future, Chole Archer is definitely looking like a new one click author for me!

[Cat the bookworm (semi hiatus ish) · Rating 5 out of 5]

To quote one of the characters: this is Men in Black meets Star Wars meets The Princess Bride 😬

What an unexpected delight this book was 🥰 (well not entirely unexpected since Kati recommended it, and she knows by now what I like to read or listen to).

First of all: it’s Greg Boudreaux narrating it, so go get the audiobook if you can. It’s different from his usual books, completely OTT (including the voices he chose for some characters) but I’m pretty sure at least half of a star in my rating is due to him painting them characters in such vibrant colours with his voices.

So yeah. Give it up for Greg B. - 5++++++ starts for him.

As for the story: it’s about a Sci-fi nerd (River) and his permanently stoned hippie uncle finding out that aliens do, in fact, exist among us (as they discover by following their sus neighbour named Tom Jones one night - hence the book title).

Apart from his day job, River writes alien tentacle porn (and is quite popular amongst aliens with it, but I digress…). Imagine his surprise when the hottie alien who interrogates him at the alien base has… you guessed it… TENTACLES (#teamAnal for the win 😂 - if you read the book, you’ll know what I mean…).

I won’t spoil a lot, because with this book, it’s more about the journey than the mystery- I kind of guessed right from the start what River’s big secret is. And I’d probably would have rated the story with 4 stars if not for the very surprising ending that left me gaping.

So much fun, go read it if you’re looking for something that will make you giggle and gasp! Can’t wait for the second audio (because yes, although the books are out in print, I’d rather listen to it).

[Drache.... (Angelika) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars rounded up because of aspects I really appreciate:
-sex positivity ,
-discussions about safe sex (they even put condoms on a tentacle!),
-awesome statements throughout the book, about acceptance, consent, like: "...humans have this unfortunate tendency to assume anyone who's different is dangerous and needs to be destroyed. It's definitely a failure of our species."

Enjoyable and funny romance between a geeky 22 year old Star Wars fan (River) and an older alien commander who works undercover on earth (Kai).

I have to admit I was surprised about the actual plot and that there wasn't even any sex until 70% 😂.

I liked Kai a lot, he was a hardcore commander but a total softie for River. River was so OTT it was endearing, almost like a little puppy yapping and hopping around, but equally exhausting.

Although the plot continues in the next installment, I'm not immediately going to read on. I need a bit of quiet in my mind after this turbulent rollercoaster.

[Rachel Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun debut! This is the first book in a new series, combing sci-fi with a LOT of humor! I feel like if Alice Winters was going to write sci-fi, it would be something a bit like this. Because River is that chaotic good energy of Leland levels and I am HERE for that lol

This is filled with pop culture and sci-fi references, I definitely loved all the nods to Doctor Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, and more. It also has a wonderful slow burn (but like, over the span of a week lol. It's a quick slow burn?) between a total grump with tentacles and an absolute rambling ball of sunshine and energy.

There's a lot to love about this book - I really enjoy River and Kai, and I love their entire relationship right from the start. I also love all of Kai's family, his easy-going brother, his loving parents, how much they love River right from the start, and how much crap they give Kai. This also has a fun component where River writes tentacle sci-fi romance and the entirety of the known galaxy reads his series. Honestly, brilliant.

Super strong debut. My reason for 4 stars is that I do feel like it was...like, super wordy. Like, I get that River rambles and that is part of his character. But there was a lot of story here - 100k+ words, and I feel like it could have maybe been just a tad shorter and still had the same impact. Every character and interaction is endearing and I really loved them and wanted to keep reading, but I will admit that I did a lot of skimming at parts that didn't feel super necessary for me.

This is also definitely a firm HRN ending - there are things that I feel like we still don't know about Kai and his species and the overall mating habits of his people. And we still need to learn a lot more about River too. I also REALLY want a story for Kai's brother. It ends in a good place, but their romance and ending is definitely unfinished (Like, I need to know about this 5th tentacle lol)

Fans of humor, sci-fi, some steam with tentacles, and crazy space aliens, oh and pot brownies lol, should definitely try this book when it comes out!

I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Lilly [Hiatus due to School] · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Not Unusual To Be Loved by an Alien was an interesting and, at times, fun read. Initially, I was expecting a Sci-fi, typical human-alien romance, but it was more than that. There are a lot of humour and pop culture references, from Star Wars to RuPaul, which I found amusing.

I liked River's character! He was over the top and wild but hilarious as well. He could get very rambly and overwhelming at times. He reminded me of a co-worker I had.

The romance was slow-burn-ish (the attraction was instant), but it took a bit of time until River and Kai were on the same page. It was past the 70% mark before anything spicy started happening.

I take off stars for the pace, length, and how wordy it got at times. I feel like the story could have been shorter and still worked. It took me days to finish it, and I am a fast reader. I sometimes caught myself putting it down and picking it back up later. So the pace felt off, and it was hard to immerse myself in it.

This story is set up with a major plot with the romance woven in there, so it did end with an HFN and kept me interested enough to want to read the second book, so I look forward to it. I think the series is set up with many of the introduced characters getting their own stories, perhaps, so that is exciting.

Overall it was a good read, and if you're into Sci-fi, alien romance, greek/nerd culture, and comedy, this is the story for you.

[Nelly S. (brain fog sucks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a rollicking, zany and hilarious alien romance! This genre is not usually my thing, but I decided to give it a shot because all my GR friends loved it. I can see why that’s the case. River is such an endearing and hilarious character with his utter fixation on aliens and conviction that they exist. And Kai, a senior commander in a secret alien settlement on earth, can’t help growing on you with his starchy demeanor that hides a soft gooey center. I loved the way River eventually broke down Kai’s strong resistance to him because he’d been badly burned in a past relationship with a human. River accomplished it with his irrepressible nature, not to mention his irreverent humor.

The alien courting ritual outlined in Kai’s chapters is also the funniest and sweetest thing. And did I mention the tentacles? In case you think it’s just tentacle porn, it’s not. Kai’s tentacles react in the most adorable way whenever he feels any emotion. Happiness, excitement, anxiety—it’s just the cutest thing!

[alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ve gotten so much joy from this series, i just had to round up. this is Greg Boudreaux’s narration pièce de résistance, and i mean practically to the likes of Michael Lesley and Tales of Verania. that level of fun, engaging hilarity.

you won’t regret it - join Team A.N.A.L today!

[Celine Ong]

reading a tentacle book was not on my 2023 bingo card but here we are

[Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid debut.

I debated between a 3 or 4 star review and I’m still not sure it deserves a 4 star, but for Greg Boudreaux’s spectacular narration.

This reminded me of Megan Maslow’s Starfig Investigations—so if you’re a fan, this might work for you.

The world building could have been stronger—I’ve lots of unanswered questions.

In a nutshell:
Perky, nerdy and optimistic 23 year old.
Serious, efficient and tentacled alien.
On earth
Aliens have secret bases
Someone is dealing drugs to visiting aliens
Who??
Fated mates?
Karaoke high times
Tentacle Tango
HFN/HEA

For a debut novel, it was pretty good and funny, but I couldn’t help but finding bits and pieces of other MM novels in this.

My rec? I enjoyed it if I didn’t think too much & the narration truly leveled up this story.

[Sherry Hassanali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely fabulous! I NEED MORE! 😘🥰❤😍🤗♥️❤😍😘

[Megan [Semi-Hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

MM Romance
Ongoing Series Book 1 of 4
3.5 Stars ⭐️

2024 Ugly Cover Challenge: Reading books I’ve had on my TBR forever and put off due to their covers. I fucking love tentacle books but this cover doesn’t work for me. I think it’s because they are just so purple, aggressively purple, and I like purple, but not like this. 💀

🎵Narrated by Greg B🎵 💗 Damn this man has range! He sounds completely different on every book and he made this an absolute joy to listen to!

But…I don’t know how to rate this. I’ve tried to read this book before and it just didn’t work for me but with Greg B narrating I decided to give it another go. I obviously loved his performance and omg did this book make me laugh. It was so utterly ridiculous at times that my witch cackle was probably heard throughout the neighborhood and the voices Greg used made it even better. I especially loved the comic running through it. But, I also struggled with aspects of it because when I wasn’t laughing, I was almost bored with the alien crimes and politics and I was not a fan of the sex scenes. I’m sorry but condoms on tentacles is just a hard no for me. They’re aliens!!! Condoms shouldn’t even be a factor and on the fucking tentacles?? Ugh 💀 But I digress. When I set this down with 45 minutes left and didn’t pick it back up for 3 days, I decided I was going to finish it but not bother with the rest of the series until a very, very crazy twist happened with 10 minutes left. It made my jaw drop because I thought I had the “twist” part worked out and while I was right about that, there was way more to it. So now I’m in a pickle because I was way more interested in the side characters and wanted their stories over Kai and River even if they haven’t been written yet but THAT twist!!!! Maybe I need more of project ANAL after all 🤭🤷🏻‍♀️

I feel like giving this book 3 stars would be unfair due to how funny this was at times and that twist, my god. I’m going to round up to 4 stars because I enjoyed listening to Greg B narrate this but I’m super conflicted on whether or not I’m going to continue this series. I just wish the books weren’t so long (350+ pages) because they’re all going to be about Kai & River and I don’t know how it’s going to hold my attention. But we’ll see.

[Ben Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Not Unusual To Be Loved by an Alien is one of those ott funny romances, think Alice Winters. I normally really enjoy that type of humour, and I did like it here as well but I feel like it outstayed it's welcome. It took away from the actual romantic aspects. If the book was a bit shorter I think it would have worked better.

I don't read many science fiction romances and I loved the sci-fi elements here. One of my favourite scenes is where River and his uncle Benji fist discover the aliens. And the plotline at the end got me hooked so I'll more than likely continue the series.

Greg Boudreaux narrates the audiobook and does an excellent job!

[Megan (inkwell_and_ivy_) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh this was so cute! My sci-fi nerd side was so pleased and giddy at all the nerdy references. As someone who lived and breathed everything Doctor Who, Star Wars, Firefly, Stargate and more at one point or another in my life, River felt like a cozy blanket reminding me of what it was like being the nerdy fan girl growing up.
River and Kai are freaking adorable, and this series was hilarious. Excited to see what happens next!
And as usual- Greg Boudreaux knocked this one out of the park!

[Ellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Not enough tentacles!!!

I don't want to be too negative because this book wasn't terrible, it was just not for me.

If you enjoy:
 ~ heaps of pop-culture references
 ~ Alice Winters style humour
 ~ strong & demanding bottoms
 ~ really safe sex (I did get a kick out of that part)
 ~ courting rituals

And do not expect:
 ~ lots of tentacle sex
 ~ cerebral plot (I called the reveal at 16% & I'm sure most will too)
 ~ any common sense to be applied to any part of the plot
 ~ River to be able to keep his mouth shut for more than 1 minute

You'll probably like this!

Sexual content: Not nearly enough (but it is explicit). Handjob, frotting, blowjob, anal sex (strict top/bottom, discussion of being vers), 69.
Kink: Tentacle sex.

[Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~]

3.5 stars

This was just what I was looking for, a fun read for a long weekend away. While I didn't get as much beach time as I wanted, the story was definitely entertaining during my flight delays. Funny, but sometimes a bit too OTT, a slow-build to the romance, a cute MC with no filter and his grumpy alien match, with a whole lot of extra-terrestrial nonsense going on.

While I thought that it was a bit slow in parts, and occasionally the humor and pop/sci-fi references were too much for me, there was a good storyline, fun secondary characters, and a nice little twist at the end. The tentacle sex was hot and River and Kai make a great couple. The story within the story, as well as the handbook within the story, was a nice touch as well. We learned a lot about Kai's species, but I still have questions that I hope will be answered in the next story.

I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger, but it's definitely a HFN with a continuing storyline. The next time I need a hit of over-the-top humor I'll be picking up the second installment.

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 4 out of 5]

River secretly follows his strange-behaving neighbor, he was right! The neighbor is as strange as possible, he’s an alien.
Landing in the den of the lion, together with his uncle Benji, he meets the big boss of the alien Kai. Well, that's a pretty attractive boss.
River is a flirt, a happy chaotic flirt.
Kai is smitten by River, if only he stopped wooing him
The aliens know who River is the author of the notorious Captain Starblade series. Every alien on the planet knows this scorching tentacles series.

So because of some immunity, the aliens need River to work for them. River is more than happy to help.
Not every alien species loves that idea.

There are too many eventful moments to put in a review. A trillion things are there to look at. River uses thousands of names.
Here are just a few: Mr. Hottie Boom Body - Holy Mama Cher - Operation Seduce Their Hot As Fuck Oldest Son - sci-fi boner alert - Mr. Lust at First Sight - It’s like Men in Black meets Star Wars meets The Princess Bride.
Yes, he references every sci-fi movie ever made.

River is just too much, he’s chaos, hilarious, and fun, but for me too much. He’s never in an ‘off’ modus, always ‘on’ I got hyper myself reading what he did.
He didn’t shut his mouth for one second l laughed out loud, but it was really exhausting!
All the secondary (not quite secondary) characters are as endearing as River and Kai are.
Overall a busy read, super extendedly written, fun so much fun, extremely silly, and it’s not done yet.
There’s a continuation!

[martina (the life of a chaotic reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh. i laughed a lot, that’s for sure and the dog nearly killed me, i literally had to put my kindle down because i was laughing too much.
on the other hand crack books are fun but maybe this one is a little too heavy on the crack. or maybe just too long. also everyone is a little bit too dumb. there must be someone with more than two brain cells in the entire galaxy right? that’s a question that will remain unanswered.
great grumpy/sunshine, great use of the tentacles, but the plot and pacing could definitely use some work.
also, can we please learn the difference between HFN and cliffhanger?
cliffhangers make me so fucking petty and mad, i don’t think i’ll read the next one😂.

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time)]

Thank you so much for the gift, Tropical Jingle Miraclewrap!

[Scarlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever felt like something is missing in your life, but you can't quite figure out what? I'm sure you'll find the answer to that question after reading It's Not Unusual To Be Loved by an Alien by Chloe Archer.

I don't even know how to start this review. It took me a few hours to gather all my thoughts because the book was absolutely f u c k i n g fabulous.

River is the surprise that I wasn't sure if I liked or not. In the first chapter, he won me over with his curiosity, his persistence, and last but not least, his dressing style. Still, it takes a lot of guts to chase an alien in your pajamas!

River is the surprise that I wasn't sure if I liked or not. In the first chapter, he won me over with his curiosity, his persistence, and last but not least, his dressing style. Still, it takes a lot of guts to chase an alien in your pajamas!

Sci fi nerd, the most famous writer in the galaxy (you'll see why) and lover of tentacles. But that's not all! His sense of humor literally KILLED me laughing! There were moments when I couldn't catch my breath from laughing. At the same time, it was fascinating that he didn't realize how he was affecting the „people” around him, especially Kai.

Yes, there were also a few moments where the thousands of pop culture references got to be too much for me. But eventually, I grew to LIKE the little charmer!

I am convinced that there is some magic here! But what kind, you'll have to ask Chloe!
Kai is the complete opposite of River. Extremely gentle and devoted to his work. He is one of those silent and serious types that you can't take your eyes off of and want to smother with your love. Well, River did a great job here, so she doesn't need our help!

From the first moment Kai meets River, sparks fly between them. Things get even funnier when we add to all this chaos Benji - River's uncle, Evan - his best friend, Kai's family and most of all his brother Mal.

There was plenty of romance, but don't expect alien porn from the first pages. Not the story is definitely a slow burn with lots of humor, mystery, investigation of drugged aliens and unexpected twists.

The ending was...interesting, but it raised a lot of questions that we'll probably find some of the answers to in a second book! I look forward to it!

[Janet (iamltr) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not going to lie, I requested this off of GRR just based off the cover. I saw tentacles and was totally going for it. And I was so glad that I did.

This book was not anything like I was expecting. The story really did make me laugh my tush off. It has an Alice Winter's type of humor in it, for those who are unsure whether to start this one or not. A bit over the top and very campy in places.

So in this one we have River, a very gay twink geek, who is absolutely sure that aliens exist. One night his neighbor who he was convinced was an alien went out for a late night drive and River and his uncle Benji followed him. In doing so, they meet Kai, the captain of the alien alliance.

Speaking of the alliance:

Alliance of Neutral Alien Lifeforms

“It’s sort of like the universe knew I needed Team ANAL and dropped me in your lap. Or you in mine. I go both ways,” he concludes with a wink.

This was pretty much instalove and fated mates which was lovely. It was not exactly smooth, as Kai had some hurt feelings from the last time he tried to be with a human. Luckily for him River is all about the tentacles. This ends on a HFN and a bit of a cliffhanger that has to do with the overarching storyline not so much on the couple.

There is a massive storyline that this series is going to revolve around and I am going to assume that all these extra people are going to hook up as well, but this could have been edited a lot. A few hundred pages less would have been good.

[The Word Nerd Reviews Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/2/23 - re-read with audio. Narrator, Greg Boudreaux, used his phenomenal skills to bring this story to life, the characters were even quirkier and the comedy even more obvious.

Chloe Archer and Greg Boudreaux are an excellent match and I hope their partnership continues.

********

An engaging and addictive debut that is just plain fun to read!

It’s Not Unusual to be Loved by an Alien is a crazy (in the best way) read where you need to suspend any sense of reality and just go with the flow. Believe me, it’s worth it!

The story's premise is that aliens are living peacefully among humans. Some are refugees, others just immigrated, and some are holidaymakers. The controlling alien body, The Alliance, ensures that the secret is kept and that the aliens do not show themselves to humans. However, there is now a group?, an individual?, who wants to upset the status quo and sets up opportunities for humans to discover just what is living among them. Enter River, a sci-fi loving, alien believer nerd who discovers that like his teenage crush, Fox Mulder, 'The Truth is Out There'. Things happen and River ends up helping to try and solve the mystery of who is trying to out the aliens. I’m missing a lot of information here, but to tell anymore simply ruins the experience and the fun.

For a debut novel, Chloe Archer has done a magnificent job! The writing is smooth and engaging. I was hooked from the first chapter and even at this point I knew that I would love this book. This author's characters are so easy to love. They are all whacky in their own ways, but not to the point where they become ridiculous. They are quirky and fun, but when stuff gets real, they are on! Our main characters, Kai and River, are grumpy/sunshine personified, leading to some of the humour in the story.

One little warning is that the ending is well, not so much a cliffhanger, it leaves on a very solid happy for now for Kai and River, but this series is going to be one of those where there is no 'end' until the final book, and the story just keeps rolling from one book to the next.

Normally I hate cliffhangers, and I usually refuse to read a book with one (my anxiety just doesn’t cope with them), but this didn’t really feel like that. I mean, yes, I’m dying for book 2, but it didn't leave me in an emotional state over what was happening to our team. This part of the story was resolved, but it wasn’t over. Think of it as the battle was won, but the war will go on, type of thing. I highly encourage you to not let this put you off. The ending leaves you wanting more but does not leave the characters in mortal peril (as per your typical cliffhanger).

If you enjoy a whacky fast-paced alien story with great characters, written in an engaging and addictive writing style, I HIGHLY recommend you read It’s Not Unusual to be Loved by an Alien. You won’t be sorry!



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[Sreberko · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It's Not Unusual To Be Loved by an Alien" is a mix between Alice Winters, AJ Sherwood (The Tribulations of Ross Young), Cody Jennifer (The Trouble with Trying to Date a Murderer), and Ready Player One. It's a rom-com, where you have to not only put aside disbelieve but straight throw it out of the window.
And you have to like word plays and reminded every line that the MC is a nerd - knows all the quotations, all the names, and will use them without mercy.

It's a very good novel. Fast-paced, naughty, bizarre, and full-on weird. You either have to embrace it, or just not read it, there are no in-betweens.

🌙 It wasn't a book for me. It is a fast read, don't get me wrong, and the descriptions were detailed in a way that made me easily see everything in my mind. But at the same time, it was too over the-top to actually enjoy it. It was like I ate a whole tray of magic brownies, and lose common sense.
🌙 I didn't find River believable in any way. This is hilarious because he should be the most normal person in the whole book. But his actions made no sense, his use of "nerdy" knowledge, and explanation of every-single-one pop culture reference made me lose my mind. People like that don't exist. And if they do, they are the most annoying human beings.
🌙 The plot was... hm. Most of the book seemed to focus on the romance but suddenly we had a mystery, and then another mystery (that one I called an obvious development of one of the characters, but hey, only because it's a trope, it doesn't have to be obvious for everyone), and three (?) potential pairings for next books in the series. Call me old-fashioned, but it was A LOT to take in for a first book of the author and left me even more overwhelmed.
🌙 The ending was something between HFN and cliffhanger, with no answers whatsoever - not a bad thing per se, but I think it would be nice to inform the readers in the beginning. Only HFN didn't wholly explain the enormity of all plot bunnies.
🌙 This book has one of the most absurd safe-sex talks that I read in my entire life. It made me question a lot of Kai's anatomical aspects and killed the whole mood for the rest of the book. Dear authors - please, for the love of everything that is holy, DO NOT put condom/PrEP in every book in every genre, especially when you DO NOT want your readers to spend time analyzing the health and anatomy of your MCs.
Just use magic. Any kind of magic, really.
🌙 It's a bizarre book. It's well written, well edited, and consistent in all the abstract topics it touches. Balances between three different writing styles (River's tentacle-fiction, Mating Courtship guidance, and the book itself), and not one is saying A WORD seriously. It's definitely not my type of subgenre - but oh boy, it's a sure go-to recommendation for anyone who likes this kind of humor.
If you are one of these people if anything that I listed there made you think "YES" - just go, read it, and have fun. You will love it.

I received an ARC of this book from the Gay Romance Reviews, and I am voluntarily leaving an unbiased review.

[haletostilinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this tentacle alien romance, and will be reading more in this series.

River is a sci-fi nerd who believes aliens are real. When his new next door neighbor acts oddly over and over, River and his uncle, Benji - who was River's guardian ever since his parents died when he was 10 - suspect that the guy is an alien.

So they follow him late at night to a secret alien base in the middle of the desert in Las Vegas, and it turns out they were very very right.

At the base, Kai is there, and he's high ranking, so he is the one to 'interrogate' River and his uncle.

River is small and adorable but also full of humor and sarcasm. Kai is serious and rarely smiles, but River makes him smile when he doesn't want to, but he can't help it.

When Kai tries to do what must be done, though, having to wipe River's memory, it turns out it doesn't work on River at all, for some reason, when it should. So instead, Kai's father - who is the Admiral of the "Alliance" which is a fairly big alien organization on Earth that keeps aliens visiting or staying permanently in line so aliens aren't discovered by humans on earth - invites River to work for the Alliance, with Kai.

What follows is fun alien shenanigans, although at times they feel a little OTT, as well as River's antics, but also it's just fun, so while there were times I couldn't quite take the OTT-ness - especially near the end. What happens with Chewy, River's dog, made me roll my eyes, as hilarious as it is - overall I didn't mind it too much.

I also wish there had been more moments of River being a little less silly and ridiculous and more serious. He's very adorable, full of enthusiasm and rants galore, but also full of jokes all the time and sarcasm at times as well, and while we get some serious moments, he's mostly just silly a lot of the time.

Which I don't mind, mostly, I just wish we could have gotten him joking less at times. So that and the OTT-ness at times, has me giving this one star off. Also, I wanted more sexy times with the tentacles! I know we're getting more of these two - this kinda ends on a cliffhanger, although not that bad of one, but it's apparent that the next book is about them - but we only get one full on sex scene between them, and I wanted more. Which, it was good and steamy, for sure, but as always, I'm greedy for more.

It takes awhile for sex to happen between them, although I feel it happens at the right time. I just wanted more after their first time together.

But for the most part this is just a fun, humorous alien story between a goofball human and an alien with tentacles that sometimes seem to have a mind of their own.

Also, the scene where Kai accidentally gets high of weed is freaking hilarious.

Definitely going to be reading more in this series. While I do wish it tones down some OTT-ness, in some ways it works and is just hilarious and fun to read.

Onto the next!

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.5 stars

It’s Not Unusual to be Loved by an Alien is the first book in the series Tentacular Tales by Chloe Archer. It’s a super campy, science fiction romp starring the super sex- and gay-positive River and the very buttoned-up Kai. The story has a very pronounced opposites attract trope that is greatly helped by having the chapters alternate between using Kai and River as narrators. River also conveys a strong manic-pixie-dream-boy trope. Personally, I wasn’t too into him as a character. Part of the dislike came from how he seems to have zero brain to mouth filter for anyone in any situation. As an example, the first time River meets Kai’s parents (which is probably the second time he’s met Kai), River happily just announces how fuckable Kai is to all and sundry. But points to Archer for indefatigable consistency in River’s character. From start to finish, he never loses a single iota of what makes him him.

Read Camille's review in its entirety here.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

This story was a lot of fun. River is funny and his sense of wonder and enthusiasm is contagious. While River’s eccentricities at times straddle the line between endearing and cringe, I genuinely enjoyed reading his POV. I also loved how easily he won over everyone around him, especially Kai, his guarded, occasionally grumpy, but mostly gentle, potential mate. My biggest issue with this book is that it felt like it dragged at times. A story like this one works best when it’s fast paced, which this often wasn’t. The ending definitely kicked up the story though, and opened up many possibilities for some action and drama in the future.

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audio was fantastic!

It's not unusual to be loved by an alien was a real surprise.

Full of inventive and rich worldbuilding with plenty of humour alongside, it was a page turner for sure.

A slow burn but with plenty of heat when they get there. I loved how vulnerable Kai was and how accepting River could be when given the chance.

Some things weren't a surprise, but one bit literally had be going wtf? Didn't see that shocker.

I will absolutely be picking up book 2 because I need to see where this goes. I'm also emotionally invested in the great cast of characters.

[Kristel (hungryandhappy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tentacles.

That's it. That's my review.

[ML · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so very odd and it took me awhile to get into it. River was like a kid on a sugar high and Kai was a grumpy and serious alien. I wasn’t sure how these two would mesh. The dialogue was super cringy at times and River’s uncle perpetual drug use honestly should have had a TW. It was a lot. So that’s your TW.

Here’s a sample of River being River…
“then nut up and ask me out. Don’t be a petty bitch and complain when someone else expresses interest. Until I let you or someone else stake a claim, this ass is still available and open for romantic business.” I smack my right ass cheek to make my point before twirling around and sashaying out of his office and back to my desk. The image of a gobsmacked Kai firmly planted in my mind keeps me in a good mood for the rest of the day.”

This is River trying to get Kai on board the River train.
Uhmmmm

I kept reading and when they finally figured out their mutual attraction and love for one another the story got better. Then a wrench was thrown in at the very end that honestly seemed insane but I’ll go along for the ride in book 2 just to see how things shake out.

AND the sexy times WERE hot which made this book turn from a 3 ⭐️ to 4 ⭐️. Tentacles FTW.
Another side note 📝 :The story within the story was very meta and clever.

[Moon ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved the audio! 5 on 5 well deserved stars!