I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Key Lime Sky by Al Hess Published by Angry Robot on August 13 2024
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A focus on relationships rather than plot left me with mixed feelings for this cozy, science fiction alien invasion story.
Key Lime Sky is the second book I’ve read by Al Hess, and although it has elements I love, like humor and interesting queer characters, it didn’t hit the highs I experienced when I read World Running Down. First, the plot itself is extremely slow to take off, and I found myself setting the book aside to read other things. I also didn’t care much for the characters, which surprised me because I loved Al’s characters in their last book. Still, I did enjoy parts of the story, and I thought the ending was really good, so overall I would call this a mixed bag.
Denver Bryant lives in the small town of Muddy Gap, where they’re considered to be the town eccentric. Denver is non-binary and autistic and is known for blurting out their opinions to people, even when they aren’t wanted. Denver has a fondness for pie and has a somewhat popular pie review blog, even if it doesn’t bring in enough money to keep them afloat. But life is predictable and fairly normal, until one day while driving, Denver witnesses a strange green light blast across the sky. For some reason, no one else in town saw it but Denver, and when their friends and neighbors start disappearing into thin air, they suspect Muddy Gap is being invaded by aliens.
With the help of their new friend Ezra, Denver sets out to find the alien and prove to everyone that something terrible is happening in Muddy Gap. Along the way, they find themselves falling in love with Ezra. How can two relationship-challenged people work things out, especially in the middle of an alien invasion?
Denver was such an interesting character. Being both non binary and autistic, I loved the way the author incorporated both elements. I wouldn’t say Denver is easy to like, though. They don’t really have a filter, which gets them into trouble plenty of times. And oh, so many awkward moments between Denver and Ezra, especially when they first meet, but also as their relationship progresses, they keep running into various relationship stumbling blocks. Some of these felt authentic, but a few were just a little too cringey for me.
I also loved the way Denver’s love of pie is slotted into the story. The author includes some very drool-worthy descriptions of Denver’s favorite pies, and I wanted to drop everything and make my own pie! After all the alien invasion parts in the middle, Hess brings their story back around to pies at the end, and it was a very sweet way to tie things up.
But I did have a few issues. This is a character/relationship focused story, so the alien invasion storyline is a little thin, and I can’t say I enjoyed it that much. Oftentimes Denver and Ezra will be in a weird situation or in extreme danger, and suddenly Denver realizes how horny he is, so they stop and have sex. This happens more than once, and I rolled my eyes every time (this is very common in fiction, especially romantasy, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!) We also get a lot of relationship drama between the two and it was just too much. Denver, being who they are and having trouble with social interactions, misunderstands Ezra’s actions and intentions, and that leads to some petty “I guess you don’t like me” type scenarios, which felt very immature.
As for the characters, I did appreciate seeing a non-binary/autistic character in a story, and I thought Hess did a good job with these attributes, but Denver is grating at times and I just didn’t always like them. And Ezra was very unappealing to me personally. He’s described as big and muscular and he has a handlebar mustache, and he and Denver fall into bed way too quickly for my taste. I guess I had a hard time believing that these two would get together, and it was tough to see past that.
Ultimately I’m glad I finished Key Lime Sky (it was touch and go for a while), because I did love the ending and Hess’s messages about home and family and staying true to yourself. Even though this wasn’t a runaway hit for me, Al Hess is definitely a writer worth checking out.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
“Hess brings their story back around to pies at the end, and it was a very sweet way to tie things up.”
Very…sweet? Was that a pun? 😉
I hear you about the characters’ dynamic. That kind wouldn’t work for me at all (also, I hate sex scenes in books to begin with). But this sounds like a quirky book with enough redeeming qualities despite the hiccups…
Roberta R. recently posted…Katrina Monroe: “Through the Midnight Door” (ARC Review)
Ha ha yes that was a pun, I guess I should have italicized the word sweet, lol.
I’m glad it ended up having a good ending! The concept sounds really fun (especially all the pie!)
Rebecca @ Powder & Page recently posted…Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman – Review
The ideas were a lot of fun:-)
Too bad that not everything in the book was as good. I can definitely understand why with the relationship drama between Denver and Ezra. But on the other hand it’s great to see a a non-binary/autistic character in a story, which is always great. Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience by Stephanie Burgis
Denver’s character was really well done and seemed authentic, even if I didn’t like him all the time.
I think the relationship would bother me (and the sex scenes in the middle of an alien invasion), but parts sound very cute, and anything with pie deserves a good look! I’ll mark this one as a “maybe… someday” for me!
The pie parts were really cute, I wanted more of them:-)
I wasn’t sure that this sounded like my kind of read anyway to be fair but I’m sorry that you had mixed feelings over it. I’ve got to admit that I definitely know where you’re coming from with the danger/sex scenes. I’ve read books in the past where I’ve thought ‘really, now?!?’ and it’s so unbelievable. But at least it had some elements that you enjoyed and a decent ending.
Lots of readers enjoyed this more than I did, so it could just be me.
Yeah, sood good, some not so good. I don’t like the sound of the relationship issues either.
Lynn 😀
Lynn Williams recently posted…#SPFBO X: My First Five Cuts
It was a mixed bag, but I will check out their next book:-)
If nothing else, the title and cover make me smile. 🙂
I know! I do love “pun” titles.
I almost requested this, because of the cool alien storyline. But I’m disappointed to hear that part of it was light! Cracked up at the part about the sudden attacks of horniness though, lol!
Yeah, those parts were both funny and annoying, lol.
Haa to bad because I have seen another review very enthusiastic but now? I don’t know what to do! LOL
I’ve seen mostly rave reviews, but I guess it just didn’t work as well for me.
I definitely get what you’re saying about relationship drama in the middle of an alien invasion hahha. But also… it seemed pretty true to Denver’s character, for me. Like- their neurodivergence coming into play at all the wrong times is pretty realistic, right? (Though I also had a little trouble with Ezra’s appeal- maybe the whole point was like, that he was a decent dude? That was all I could come up with!)
Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight recently posted…Reviews in a Minute: August, Ongoing
Not for me, but I did enjoy reading your review!
I was pretty excited by this one and I was hoping to read it soon but now I have to think about it. I rolled my eyes a couple of time, and that was just reading yoir review!! This does not bode well… At all!!