review 1: This book was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It was brilliant, mindblowing and utterly captivating. And I am not one of those people who can say something like that about just any book, perhaps 1-3 a year.So what was in this book that made it the best book of 2014 for me until now? At first glancy it is a simple alien romance story. We've all seen and heard of them and there are at least 10 TV series running right now with a similiar theme. Star crossed, the bland teenage drama being one of them. This book did nothing truly mindblowing, but it were the many little things that came together so perfectly, that I could not but love this book.The first perfect little detail is that the aliens in this book are not humanoids. They are not perfect, Hollywood actor-lookalikes over whom every girl... more will swoon and fall for. The yare BUGS, yes, real life sized alien bugs with chitin and monstrous bodies. Ok, they have human eyes (and for me, personally, that could also have been omitted), but aside from that they are scary, I mean something-that-crawled-out-of-your-nightmares scary. The second facinating part is how the human culture "accepts" aliens among them. Well, duh, they cant accept people with different religion, skin color and sexual preference, you can bet they will not accept something that looks like a creepy-crawlie. The author perfectly describes the human nature: the lockup of aliens, the terror, the torture, the living conditions, the deaths... Now there aren't any aliens on earth at this time, but if there were I'd be pretty sure the same would come to them what was described in this book. Our nature is not accepting, kind and open. In fact, maybe there are aliens on earth right now, but we dont know it because they are hidden away somewhere.I also liked the love story, I liked that it was slow and it was based on more than lust and fun. While I did struggle a little with the female protagonist, (Honestly, I thought she suffered from authism in the beginning of the book, because of the humming) then over time I started to respect her. She wasn't a strong woman, but neither did she give in. I do not know if I could do what she did if I were in the same position. But then again, I wouldn't have been captured, because I wouldnt have gone to my sister for aid in the first place. That was a little stupid on her part.The best character, for me, were the two male protagonists. okay, maybe Samaritan wasn't really the main character, but I really saw something special in him. From a serial "rapist" to a trusted doctor and a friend? You don't see that coming every day.Sanford, was another great character. He was supposed to be a male hero, but he didn't go about his business in a macho way that truly disgusts me in most books. He was more of a silent broodign type. As he said himself: patient, waiting for his moment. And a good father, who was put into an impossible situation, where he had to raise his child in horrid conditions. This book really makes you think about a lot of things. About human nature, about what I would have done in those situations myself. This is what a good book should do, therein lies the value. review 2: Another dark one, but so very compelling. I seem to have a love/hate relationship with Robin Lee's books, I find them dark and horrendous and yet I cannot put them down. I have read all three Heat, The Last Hour of Gann and Cottenwood with each book I claimed that it would be my last, but like an addiction I have felt compelled to read them. R. Lee Smith is a fantastic writer, I get sucked in from the beginning until the very end. I squirm at the horrid/ horrendous bits and want to cover my eyes at the brutality portrayed and yet I continue on. In all it's darkness and horrific brutality there is still humour ( yes I even laughed out loud several times ), love and honour. less
