A humorous, well written and engaging story that kept me hooked.
I love the humor, the style of writing and the character development.
I want to read other books by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book when I saw it. Admittedly, I was lured in first by the intriguing cover of a man staring up into a bright blue sky of stars forming the words “Come Take Me”. Naturally, this piqued my curiosity: Who is this guy? Why does he want to be taken? Furthermore, where exactly does he want to be taken to?

My answers to these questions came in the form of one 30-something, delightfully quirky, unlucky in love and life, often bullied, highly intelligent nerdish fellow named Marshall Shmishkiss. This is a character whose imagination and thoughts are “out there”, figuratively and literally, as he would love nothing more in life than to escape the drudgery and mundaneness of his life on Earth and travel far, far away to the galaxies, planets and stars floating in the sky above him.

In pursuit of his dreams, he posts videos on a website called ComeTakeMe.com imploring these yet unknown aliens through well-reasoned arguments the benefits of taking him. In a particular moment of frustration brought on by discovering his beloved website is actually monitored by fellow humans who’ve been watching “The Shmish”, as they all call him, as their form of entertainment, he even offers to help these aliens rid the universe of these lowly-minded Earthlings once and for all.

What follows is a wild, chaotic, in turns humorous and melancholic, thrilling adventure that Marshall, despite years of training and planning for, could never have anticipated when the fate of the universe ends up in his hands.

First, I have to say that Marshall Shmishkiss is not only one of the most delightful character names I’ve seen, but one of the most genuinely endearing characters I’ve had the pleasure of reading about. There are SO many fascinating characters in this book, but Marshall’s trigger-tempered martial arts instructor, Aleksei was a particular delight for me. I’m not a particular fan of most sci-fi or fantasy, but the story was so engaging, weird and fun that I bought in quickly. It’s also a surprisingly insightful book, that brings up issues of not only how different we all are, but also how very much the same in many ways.

It’s not Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or Star Trek, but it parodies or has flavors of each. It manages to pay homage or reference elements while remaining its own unique story. The author, Ethan Herberman, under the pseudonym E. M. Skyler, mentioned in a final note that he hopes to write a sequel or even a series, so hopefully this won’t be my last adventure to the stars with “The Mushkiss”. Until then … I’ll have to settle for these:

★★★★ ½

#ComeTakeMe #NetGalley

Come Take Me: A Celestial Satire by Ethan Herberman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Marshall M. Shmishkiss isn’t enjoying his life, but he’s taking steps to change it. He’s eating healthier, and taking classes in everything from self-defense to advanced emergency first aid. And he’s looking to move out of his dingy basement digs—not just across town, or to another city. Marshall’s set his sights much higher.

In the increasingly urgent videos he regularly sends to ComeTakeMe.com, Shmishkiss earnestly explains why he’s the perfect candidate for alien abduction. But are aliens actually reviewing his video applications? Maybe so, maybe not, but the easily-amused employees of CorpInc, the company that owns and oversees the website sure are.

While the book is quite silly and pokes fun at everything, it’s also surprisingly insightful, especially when examining the human condition from an outsiders point of view. A caution: I wouldn’t recommend it for young readers, as some of the topics up for lampooning are adult in nature.

What kept me reading well past my bedtime was the ‘what happens next?’ factor. This adventure is so original that I just couldn’t second-guess it. I loved the feeling of knowing that something new was waiting around every corner. Surprise-junkie that I am, I got hooked on this grand, weird adventure, right up to the last page.

Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will be amused by the author’s energetic, wide-eyed view of the universe. And if you like Doctor Who or The IT Crowd, odds are you’ll also find Come Take Me a welcome treat.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Not my cup of tea. Feel like there were some gaps in time that could have been filled with more detail. It jumps too much. Also, felt myself reading without really reading in some areas. Would have liked more story on Melody or the website submissions.

'Come Take Me' is an eccentric, unique look at the universe - and utterly hilarious!

In a world that everybody is dying to leave, you can make your pleads to the alienkind on cometakeme.com - but you'd better make it convincing if you want a chance!

And while you're reading through this whirlwind adventure, bordering on the wonderfully absurd, you'll notice the subtle nods to the very strange world we're already living in.

Following our cluelessly lovable hero, we get into all sorts of mishaps as he bumbles through like a clueless bee, bumping into countless obstacles on his journey to finally understand the universe.