A sweet and sexy sci-fi M/M romance, featuring an unexpected human alpha and the alien omega who captures his heart.

Taking a job as a construction foreman on Tern—a newly (re)established colony far from Earth—seemed like the fresh start Geo needed after having his heart and his self-esteem shattered by his self-centred ex.

But the last thing Geo expected was to find an intense new connection so quickly with another off-worlder named Makir—a male omega and a secret royal, who is running from his own traumatic past, hoping to avoid controlling alpha-types in newly (re)inhabited Tern.

As far as they both know, humans don’t typically exhibit alpha or omega traits, but something is definitely changing physiologically and emotionally in Geo, ever since he first laid eyes on Makir.

These two suffer from some major inabilities to communicate what they’re feeling, and, naturally, there are plenty of hesitancies afoot for both men dealing with past hurts, but their attraction is instant and palpable, steeped in the kind of fated-mate vibes that Makir has only ever dreamt about back on his home planet.

Not being new to the omegaverse genre, this story had many of the expected tropes and themes in play that I purposely read such books to enjoy. Geo (unexpected to even him) gave off those protective and growly-possessive alpha vibes the closer he grew to Makir, while Makir was more kind-hearted and nurturing in his omega traits, always the caretaker of those around him.

Their romance was sweet and heartwarming, but it was plenty steamy, too, with Makir’s first omega heat kicking in fairly early in the story, showcasing the pairs very own version of knotting and breeding that was unique to this story in a way I hadn’t read before. (Note: Mpreg is possible within the worldbuilding here, but not relevant in this particular story).

Overall, I enjoyed myself with this one, despite my general disinterest in miscommunication tropes and the pesky horrible parents that the story focused on later in the piece (boooooo).

Honestly, I had high interest in this story after only seeing the playful title, 20% Stud 80% Muffin—and, for the most part, this M/M sci-fi debut delivered the kind of fun, heart-happy, steamy omegaverse romance I was hoping for.

I’d definitely be open to reading more by this author, with sequels and beyond.

***A special thanks to the author (via Netgalley) for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re looking for an MM romance pairing a human and an alien, then this mostly sweet, mostly easy going story might just fit the bill.

As per the blurb, Geo may be insecure due to a recent bad relationship, but his expert builder skills allows him the perfect excuse to leave his baggage behind and start anew off-world, helping a decimated planet with its recolonization efforts. Makir is an omega Lorian who also wants a new start on life, escaping his hateful parents and past relationship trauma. When these two meet, strange things start to happen to Geo, and they both find each other absolutely irresistible despite their fears and reservations. Are they brave and willing enough to take a chance on happiness?

Admittedly, I have an intolerance to awful parents and a persistent inability to communicate fully which was present in this story. However, this had good world building, and it was still a cozy ABO romance capitalizing on alpha/omega dynamics with plenty of “mine” vibes, a mate bond, and explicit smexy. To top it off, this had likable protagonists surrounded by an equally likable growing found family - all of which I think many readers would greatly enjoy. Overall, I’m charmed enough and curious enough to check out the sequel when it drops!

Thank you to the author and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op via NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review

What a great story! 🤩
It was a true pleasure to see how characters grew, started to believe in themselves and trusted each other.
I have kept my fingers crossed for them and hoped they would finally talk through their insecurities. Of course it wasn’t that simple 😜
I even started to think about the phisical copy of this book to add it to my collection ❤️
I highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to arc read this novel!

Give me all of the monster romances. I will eat up alien romances every time I am given the chance! The spice was spicy and yet the MMC was majority muffin as promised.

This was a title request, I mean it's a fun title! And I had fun with this, cute, alpha, aliens, mates, danger, multi culture, spice, diversity and more.
The writing was good, the pace good for the majority, world building was lovely and the side characters were my fave.
The mc's I did like, their lack of communication irritated at times and their back stories were a bit more hard hitting than I was expecting. The cast of additional characters was great though and I think the norm day to day interactions were my fave, super interesting mix of culture and the care and respect they showed one another was a joy.
Over all I had fun and would read the next in series.
Thanks to Netgalley for the arc all thoughts and feelings are my own and left voluntarily.

After a bad breakup, Geo, a construction worker on earth, gets offered the chance to help oversee construction of a new colony on a distant planet, and he takes it. There, he meets Makir, a big blue alien, also reeling from a terrible breakup. Despite initial tensions, sparks fly and the two are drawn ever closer to one another.
It was fine. The alien aspects were fun but nothing wildly new. The characters were a little annoying with the whole instincts thing. Not my cup of tea.

Absolutely loved this book and can't wait for book two! Being my first Alien/human fates mates book I found the different alien anatomy very interesting. Watching Geo overcome his insecurities was inspiring.

This book was alright it wasn’t bad or amazing just a pretty standard kind of alien romance and while I started off really enjoying it, tit started to drag. I think the pacing could have done with some work but in more positive thoughts the world building was interesting and This book is full of brilliant and diverse representation but I think it just wasn’t for me.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very quick and overall a silly good time. I thought the characters really became a good duo. At first, I was skeptical that it would turn out well. However, both MMCs grew so much and were able to accept each other. I thought this was a fun world to be in and the side characters added the perfect amount of humor.

Heat Factor: Makir has a couple heats and there’s more even than that, but it's not like there's a constant play by play
Character Chemistry: Adorkable
Plot: Geo and Makir have both fled their home planet lives for a new, independent start, but they get tangled up in each other
Overall: This was a fun one

Did I want this book purely because of the title? I did. It tickled me every time I told someone what I was reading. And the book is pretty fun and generally light-hearted, but it's not really a comedy.

Geo finally took his friend's advice to get a job off Earth for a while after he couldn't turn a blind eye to his boyfriend's cheating anymore. Of course, his boyfriend is exactly the kind of man who says no one else will ever put up with all Geo’s faults and ugliness, and he won't be waiting when Geo comes crawling back. The new planet will allow him to pad his builder’s resume and possibly start his own construction company back on Earth.

Makir convinced his brother to let him leave his planet after he was brutally assaulted (and left sterile) by the mate his father had approved for him, and all he wants is to prove that he can take care of himself and be a valued member of the community. But he's broke and he's an omega and it's not great. Still, if he can power through and get contracts at his mechanic’s shop (once it’s up and running), things will finally start looking up.

Geo and Makir get off on the wrong foot when Geo inexplicably starts acting like a caveman when they meet to discuss building Makir’s house and shop. Turns out Geo has latent alpha qualities and being fated mated to Makir wakes them up. Geo has no idea why he acts like such a tool around Makir, and Makir, not realizing that Geo is clueless about alphas and omegas, isn't super excited to find another posturing alpha on his new planet.

The beginning of the book involves a lot of lack of communication or understanding between two different species, which makes sense in context. It's so very human of Geo to hare off to a planet with a bunch of different aliens on it without taking the time to study any of their cultures or anything. And it's understandable that Makir, as a very educated member of his species, would expect others to have a certain baseline knowledge when interacting with him or those around him. Plus, the omegas in this book are involuntarily subject to their alpha’s dominion, so Makir is usually fine, but when around an alpha he becomes visibly submissive, so it's understandable also that he wouldn't want to share that vulnerability widely, let alone with the alpha he doesn't know, who doesn't know how to control his inner alpha at all, and who is a threat to Makir’s hope for independence, fated mated or not.

Luckily, a forced proximity situation presents itself and forces Makir and Geo to overcome their issues. Then they get new issues! It's very cute. Once Geo realizes what's happening to him, he works very hard to not act like an entire tool bag around Makir, but it's hardly smooth sailing.

I had a great time reading this book, but it's not going to be for everyone. Like, if you don't like a dominant protector type taking out the trash in your books, this one probably isn't for you. Makir does plenty for himself, but there's more than one time when he's not really able to because of another alpha, and Geo steps in. There's also a reckoning with his past moment for Makir that results in some righting of his universe. Then, I'm not entirely sure what to make of the physiological changes to Geo’s body when he has his alpha transformation. He describes himself as fat, but also he's a builder, so he's got muscles and strength in his limbs, but he also has a big, soft belly. And his belly stays soft and still makes him self-conscious even after his shoulders and arms bulk up with the alpha juice, so that's reasonably consistent. He's also self-conscious about having a small penis, but that becomes thicker and develops some kind of knot thing. So IDK, I mean why not? but also why? So YMMV about all that.

Finally, I was a little concerned about a magic peen situation that would resolve Makir’s inability to have kids (especially in view of all Geo’s physiological changes), and on the one hand I kind of wanted that to happen, because it seemed like Makir was really sad about that loss. On the other hand, I would have been disappointed by the heteronormativity and pro-natalism of a magical healing situation because *waves at the plethora of reasons that always come up*. BUT I can confirm there is no magic healing and no babies, so maybe this could be a good fit for the crowd looking for those stories.

There's a lot going on in this world, and plenty to explore in the next book that's clearly teased about Geo’s best friend and his foreman, and on the whole it was light and fun. Redd did a great job paying attention to all the different species quirks; I loved that Makir’s tail was like a whole expression on its own. Just a really great way to spend a few hours.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

I am decidedly not the target audience for this book, but went along for the ride anyway. It’s light-hearted, genuinely funny, and had me clutching my pearls. There are things in kangaroo pouches, and that’s all I’m going to say about that. So, we’ve got Geo, a shy, self-conscious human who has a complete personality makeover once he dumps his terrible boyfriend and catches a rocket to a building site planet. He meets Makir, who has blue fur, a tail for days, and a bar for boyfriends which is literally on the floor. He turns to jelly at the barest hint of kindness, and honestly he deserves the world. Most of the tension comes from Geo being monumentally bad at expressing even a single emotion — and also giant worm monsters. The ending felt a little bit rushed, but it’s an entertaining read with lots of cool worldbuilding.

Silly romance about a silly alien and his even sillier human.

While I have some issues with this book, I actually had a lot of fun reading it. The overall idea of the planet where different species live is really fun and can be used for a whole series of books (which I think is the plan), and the different species created are fascinating.

I think that the best part of this story is not the romance but the different characters and their dynamics.

But this book is a romance, so let's focus on this. I actually don't read a lot of omegaverse, but I try to keep my mind open and read different things. And as for me, that part was fine, the spice was there, and it's written really well. My problem with the romance is the lack of communication between Geo and Makir. From the beginning, Makir is withdrawing information from Geo, firstly because he doesn't know that humans don't understand alpha/omega dynamics, but then he knows that and still doesn't explain how things should work between them. As for Geo, he wants to know many things but is too afraid to ask. And this happens for the whole book. I know that lack of communication is a great plot device, but there are other ways to create tension between the characters (like using the resident lizard alpha). For me, Makir and Geo's relationship progressed too quickly in comparison to how little information they shared.

Other than that, the book is okay; quick, fun and steamy read. And sometimes it's all you need.

20% Stud 80% Muffin had me hooked by the title and cover before I even started reading the story. I do not read alien romance very often as it isn't really what I am into but I absolutely adored this book.

Geo and Makir are everything! I love MM stories and this is on my list for my favorite of the year. Their banter and connection was written so well and it had me kicking feet and squealing. Really, the development of all the characters was well thought out and it really comes across. The way the descriptions of the characters were written was perfect for me. I was able to picture everyone in my head as if I was standing right next to them. Also, their personalities all stood out without pulling away from the two main Babes. The world/universe building was great as well. It was very easy to picture everything and orient myself as a reader.

I am very eager to read what comes next from the author.

This is OK! The cover page makes the characters look like Avatars mixed breeds with Nightwalkers from Games of Thrones. After reading this, it's apparent that it's a Ruby Dixon knockoff. I think I prefer her writing over this.

4.5⭐
This is my first book from the author and I really enjoyed it. It took a bit of couple of pages to get into the book, but once the story grab me and I was flying through the book. I really enjoyed the story, and I really liked the characters. I was a bit worried if I would love Geo in the beginning because of his behavior towards Makir, but he improved as the book go on. so I really loved their relationship. Even when the book ended I kinda wanted more of them. I enjoyed their protectiveness and willingness to do anything to help the each other.
I loved the book, and can't wait to read the next book.

This was a fun, if a little silly at times, alien romance! I'm a sucker for fated mates and inter-species romance, so this was a great read.

I did wish some things were fleshed out a bit more towards the end, but all in all I really enjoyed myself would absolutely pick up book two!

A fun mix of sci-fi, alien romance troupes, and omegaverse/m-preg themes this m/m romance followed a construction worker from earth who accepts a job posting for a house builder on another planet. Fresh out of a terrible relationship Geo isn't looking for live but biology has other plans. It was fast paced, with good tension between the characters, and believable obstacles they needed to overcome in order to be together. Looking forward to Ginger and Jayjay's story!

The book was well written and was very adventurous if you know what I mean, I found out that this type of book wasn't my cup of tea but I'm still glad I stuck it out until the end.