How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon – a Review
How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon is the first book in her My Alien Romance series, which is considered Sci Fi Young Adult. When you read this book, you know right from the start that this is indeed a more youthful book, not to mention just by the title.
Surprisingly this turned out to be a cute story. I liked the heroine in the book, Alex. She was not your normal teenage heroine. Alex was pretty, but she wore glasses, and she was a bit more on the plump side. But that did not matter to the hero, Ace.
This is a story of a human teenager, who gets her father to arrange for an internship at Circe, what she thinks is an army base. Alex plans to go to Columbia University, and this internship was her ticket there. She meets Ace almost as soon as she arrives, and from that moment on, Alex begins to realize that Circ is not what she thought it was. The Circe center is filled with aliens, who work among humans, as they learn to share on various technologies. Ace, of course, is an Alien.
This is a sweet romance, with two very likable characters in Alex and Ace. In fact, Vernon does a good job creating many of these characters, some you like and some you don’t. I liked Alex’s friendship with Jen, and not so much with Riley and Gavin. Alex and Ace begin to work together on computer security, and despite the taboo on human/alien romances, they cannot ignore their attraction for each other. This was the crux of the story, trying to keep their feelings a secret, and this is what leads to the more exciting last 1/3 of the book, when everyone finds out about them, and it almost leads to an alien/human war.
The story was a fast read, cute, as well a having a lot of humor in it. Though this is not my typical read, I was impressed with Vernon ability to create excellent likeable characters, her humor, and being able to use her trademark humorous comments even with the tense and exciting parts. For those of you who want a light romantic read, not a lot of action, though there is some, and don’t mind an alien storyline; then this book is for you. I feel Magan Vernon has a wonderful future ahead of her.
Reviewed by Barb
