Member Review

Aria is an alien queen of a group of interplanetary refugees, finds sanctuary on Earth as long as they follow an extensive list of government-mandated rules. She meets Greg on her annual "females night out" in Washington DC (i.e., annual escape/outing from the government compound in Alaska they call "home"), who works as a staffer for an Alaskan senator and is temporarily in DC for work. They end up trying to solve a mystery together, and the whole story gets a bit twisty but not too hard to follow. This book is ridiculous and I love it. Imaginatively written with a lot of dry humor, from the unique perspective that the Earth has already been destroyed (and Aria feels bad about it, hence the title) so you're searching for clues while you're reading as to the how and why. I guess you'd call this sci-fi/romantasy? I felt like it was equal parts sci-fi and romance; Aria's relationship with Greg is equally the focal point along with the survival of her people. Aria was fantastic, and Greg was sweet but not terribly dynamic, this was really more Aria's story. Fair warning, this book has copious end notes, and normally I don't like switching back and forth because it hinders the flow of the story for me, but I got used to it. Great debut story from this author, I'm looking forward to more from her in the future! Thank you to NetGalley for providing an Ebook ARC of this story. Publishes 8-30-24.