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A review by katyanaish
Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch
3.0
Whew. This one is really tough to rate.
The stuff that was good was very very good. I liked the intricate plot - aliens and terrorists and religion and government agencies... oh my! I liked Kitty, Jeff (most of the time), and most of the secondary cast. There were parts that were utterly hilarious, and generally the fast pacing was exciting.
Sometimes, though, the pacing was too fast. The heroine, Kitty, was brilliant, and I respect that... but she was putting pieces together out of left field like 30 seconds after she entered a situation. There were several passages that whipped through my brain like a whirlwind, and I had to re-read, because I didn't follow the quick leaps. That all said, the logic was pretty solid... we just got there really fast. However, the logic being solid served to make this team of people kind of look like boobs. I mean, Kitty and her parents whizz in and solve some critical problems - make some critical connections - in like, 2 hours... on things these people have been working on for decades.
My primary problem, though, was Christopher. And I have to say that he was a big enough problem that I nearly put this book down before the halfway mark. It was bad enough that he was a hostile asshole to her from the very first time he spoke to her - he was calling her "princess" in a shitty, condescending way literally every time he spoke... and I really wanted her to stab that pen into his groin. Everyone rolls their eyes that Kitty doesn't realize his problem is that he likes her. I'm sorry, are we fucking 5 year olds? He's only mean to you because he likes you? Is that really where we're going here? She did her best to ignore him for awhile, but eventually started calling him out for being a massive prick.
Then her mom enters the situation, and treats Kitty as if she's the one out of line, and tells her to "stop baiting him"... Guys, I was so angry I was speechless. She did nothing to bring on his shitty behavior. And if he's being a dick to her because Jeff is being so over-the-top with his "I'm going to marry you" schtick, I'm sorry, but that's not her, and he doesn't get to direct his anger at her. And the fact that it was her MOM who was blaming her just killed me. What fucking mom lectures her daughter to be nicer to the man abusing her? Because that's what he was doing. He was mocking her, belittling her, and knocking her down at every fucking opportunity. And here's mom, inviting him to hang with them, lecturing Kitty about snapping back at him, and telling her to stop baiting him. Good thing mom didn't know that he practically attempted to rape her in the elevator, because she'd probably tell Kitty it was her fault for wearing a skirt.
And yes. That scene made me deeply uncomfortable, because it really gave a rape vibe. I wish she'd have cracked open his fucking skull.
Jeff also had times where he felt manipulative - and he just came on WAY too strong in the beginning. To the point where, I don't know you guys... I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the A-C were the bad guys all along as we go further into the series. I mean, look at all the stuff they've lied about. Look at their really erratic tempers, and the way the two main guys would flip a switch and be either hostile or manipulative. I've got to say, there were lots of red flags. But while we're on the topic of flipping a switch, after the elevator incident Christopher flipped a switch and became a totally different person. It was baffling.
But I liked the book enough to continue on. That's why this is hard to rate. I guess we'll see how it goes from here.
The stuff that was good was very very good. I liked the intricate plot - aliens and terrorists and religion and government agencies... oh my! I liked Kitty, Jeff (most of the time), and most of the secondary cast. There were parts that were utterly hilarious, and generally the fast pacing was exciting.
Sometimes, though, the pacing was too fast. The heroine, Kitty, was brilliant, and I respect that... but she was putting pieces together out of left field like 30 seconds after she entered a situation. There were several passages that whipped through my brain like a whirlwind, and I had to re-read, because I didn't follow the quick leaps. That all said, the logic was pretty solid... we just got there really fast. However, the logic being solid served to make this team of people kind of look like boobs. I mean, Kitty and her parents whizz in and solve some critical problems - make some critical connections - in like, 2 hours... on things these people have been working on for decades.
My primary problem, though, was Christopher. And I have to say that he was a big enough problem that I nearly put this book down before the halfway mark. It was bad enough that he was a hostile asshole to her from the very first time he spoke to her - he was calling her "princess" in a shitty, condescending way literally every time he spoke... and I really wanted her to stab that pen into his groin. Everyone rolls their eyes that Kitty doesn't realize his problem is that he likes her. I'm sorry, are we fucking 5 year olds? He's only mean to you because he likes you? Is that really where we're going here? She did her best to ignore him for awhile, but eventually started calling him out for being a massive prick.
Then her mom enters the situation, and treats Kitty as if she's the one out of line, and tells her to "stop baiting him"... Guys, I was so angry I was speechless. She did nothing to bring on his shitty behavior. And if he's being a dick to her because Jeff is being so over-the-top with his "I'm going to marry you" schtick, I'm sorry, but that's not her, and he doesn't get to direct his anger at her. And the fact that it was her MOM who was blaming her just killed me. What fucking mom lectures her daughter to be nicer to the man abusing her? Because that's what he was doing. He was mocking her, belittling her, and knocking her down at every fucking opportunity. And here's mom, inviting him to hang with them, lecturing Kitty about snapping back at him, and telling her to stop baiting him. Good thing mom didn't know that he practically attempted to rape her in the elevator, because she'd probably tell Kitty it was her fault for wearing a skirt.
And yes. That scene made me deeply uncomfortable, because it really gave a rape vibe.
Spoiler
Look, this is a guy who has been an aggressive asshole to her from moment 1. Now they are briefly alone in an elevator, and he hits the stop button and dived on her. She said stop and pushed at him several times. He pinned her arms, tore open her shirt, and was super aggressive. And yes, I know, she got into it as it went on, but I don't give a fuck. It should have NEVER gone there, because she was saying STOP from the outset.Jeff also had times where he felt manipulative - and he just came on WAY too strong in the beginning. To the point where, I don't know you guys... I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the A-C were the bad guys all along as we go further into the series. I mean, look at all the stuff they've lied about. Look at their really erratic tempers, and the way the two main guys would flip a switch and be either hostile or manipulative. I've got to say, there were lots of red flags. But while we're on the topic of flipping a switch, after the elevator incident Christopher flipped a switch and became a totally different person. It was baffling.
But I liked the book enough to continue on. That's why this is hard to rate. I guess we'll see how it goes from here.