Close Encounters: An Alien Affairs Novel, Book 1

By Katherine Allred

Kiera Smith is not like ordinary Genetically Engineered Persons . . .

The Bureau of Alien Affairs needed a special GEP agent with empathic abilities to handle their most extraordinary assignments—and a rogue geneticist saw to it that Kiera fit their specifications. But she turned out stronger, faster, smarter, and more impervious to harm than anyone anticipated. A reluctant "superhero," Kiera wishes she were normal, but it is not to be.

On Orpheus Two, the indigenous Buri race faces extinction, a prospect the powerful Dynatec corporation welcomes and, in fact, may be actively hastening. It is Kiera's job to protect these beautiful, exotic aliens . . . and to discover what there is on Orpheus Two that Dynatec feels is worth killing for.

But the magnetic allure of Thor, the breathtaking Buri leader, is proving a dangerous distraction. And now, to save Thor's people, Kiera will need a power she's never before possessed—something hidden in the unexplored recesses of her heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 6, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061970986

Reviews for Close Encounters

[devilwrites · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The premise: Kiera Smith is a Genetically Engineered Person who was commissioned by the Bureau of Alien Affairs to handle extraordinary assignments involving alien races, and her creator decided to add something special to the mixture, making Kiera one-of-a-kind even among her own kind. She'd give anything to be normal, even though it's not meant to be, a point driven home by the fact she's suddenly very, very comfortable among the Buri, an alien race who's facing extinction for no discernible reason why. Kiera must find out what's going on, especially before the Dynatec Corporation takes advantage of the dying race and takes over the planet. But to do so, not only must Kiera accept that she's different and unique, but she must accept her feelings for the Buri leader Thor, as well as embrace a power that could easily overwhelm her and destroy everything she holds dear.My RatingGive It Away: it's an odd book to review, because I liked the science fictional elements (though this isn't hard SF by any stretch of the word), but the romance didn't really work for me, and I consider this book to be a romance first and an SF novel second. I found this book in the SF/Fantasy section of my store, but I suspect it'd do better if it were shelved in the Romance section. Not because it has romance IN it, but because I feel romance readers will enjoy this book more, whereas SF readers might feel tricked into reading something that's more romance than not. It's an odd formula: readers of SFR who want SF first and Romance second, like me, will probably have issues with this book, especially with the heroine (who completely fails as an anthropologist), but readers of SFR who want Romance first and SF second will probably be able to push aside their disbelief and enjoy it as it is. If you like SF and don't want romance in it at all, skip this book and don't even consider it. Because while the SF-nal plot is enjoyable and actually more substantial than I expected it to be, the romance detracts from it on the whole, even though in truth, the two genres marry decently well within the pages. Not as well as, say, Catherine Asaro or Ann Aguirre or even Sandra McDonald, but well enough. It's an enjoyable book that reads SUPER FAST and will entertain you, even if you want to smack the heroine like I did. Will I read more books in this series? Possibly. It'll depend on my mood, and there's other SFR authors I like better, so they get priority.Review style: Once again, I've divided the full review into two categories: what I liked and what I didn't. As far as spoilers go, I can't NOT talk about this book without spoilers, do not continue to my LJ to read the rest of the review.REVIEW: Katherine Allred's CLOSE ENCOUNTERSHappy Reading!

[Azy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book. A unique take on the scifi romance genre.

[DellaFarrell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

very entertaining read, fast paced and well written

[VicPar32 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

it a great story, with romance, and suspense.

[akbroodmother · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting read! The technology was not over the top and had limitations, the mystery had a few twists i didn't expect. All in all a good weekend read. I would read more from this author.

[snitchbitch-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't.

Characters were flat and one-dimensional, and the main character I found quite unlikable.

As far as SciFi Romance goes, I've definitely read better.

I won't be continuing this series.

[shy_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this mostly because it was Romance/Science Fiction- something a little different. There was humor, and well the world seemed interesting and the first person perspective was nice even though I usually don't like it in Romances. The storyline could have been more thorough I mean there was nothing indication that she knew her stuff about anthropology and aside from the computer stuff which I suppose anyone could do- scan, feed it to the computer, here's you answer. Slight spoiler, I did get annoyed by some of the stuff she did, really she publicly bathes him (the hero- forgot his name) and doesn't wonder what that implies to the rest of the village and gives him a more extravagant gift than the others? Doesn't even realize what’s going on when he marries her, excuse my doubt anyone who read it would know she was getting married or something like that it was so obvious. Kiera was supposed to be use to different species and customs but it didn't come across that way to me the way she sometimes behaved. Okay aside from that it was entertaining and fast paced, I usually roll my eyes when a book begins when a character narrates how beautiful they are, hardy har har, but it did it with some humor so it didn't bug me too much. It was a quick enjoyable read, one that my sister took with her when she left from her visit, go figure. Note, I found this in the Fantasy/Science Fiction section so if your looking for it and it isn't in the Romance section check there, because people who work in the bookstore seem to overlook the Science Fiction/ROMANCE on the spine... if it has the word romance on the spine put it in that section.