I finished reading... How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days

How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days by Susan Grant

Question: Where's the best place to hide an interstellar fugitive? Answer: Suburbia

His internal computers are offline, his former employers want him dead and the Men in Black are after him. Without his cyberpowers, Reef is as weak as a lowly Earthling. He's tried to kill every human he's met--so why on Earth would they help him?

Evie Holloway needs a bodyguard! Her fledgling chocolate business is mistaken as a money-laundering scheme for the mob and the bullets have started flying. But does the suburban soccer mom really want to shelter the alien hit man who almost offed her future brother-in-law?

She is desperate, and Reef is incredibly sexy. "Ten Days," she tells him--but it turns out that ten days just might be long enough to spark a love that's truly out of this world.

I like Susan Grant's books. I have ever since I picked up Contact in the bookstore and took a chance on a new-to-me author. How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days is the the third book in her recent series about the Jasper family and how they accidently find themselves pivotal in the affairs of the galaxy.

This series was clearly intended to be more tongue-in-cheek that Grant's earlier work and I felt that that showed in the first two books. They were okay fun, but nothing special. This one is also fun, but it also has more depth and a better development of the characters and their relationship than its two predecessors did. The story is also a simpler one this time around, with intergalactic events having less effect on the story which may contribute to the increased success.

Evie has more of a past and more issues than her sister and brother, with an ex-husband, two children and a desperate need to please that has lead her to do what she thinks others want her to do rather than take the time to figure out what she wants for herself. Reef on the other hand has no past at all and is trying to reclaim both that and his humanity now that his main computer has been removed.

They need to learn from each other and as they do so they find they also simply need each other. The ending is very nicely done, with a trip off planet from Evie (and others) and I can easily see Evie and Reef living out their happily ever after.

Grant has a skill for giving her main characters children and managing to include them in the story in a satisfying way where they neither take over nor end up almost irrelevant. Evie's son and daughter are both a significant part of the story - her daughter Ellen more than her son John and I predict a book for Ellen some time in the future - and yet they don't hurt the story, but add to it, especially as Evie and Reef try to get in some personal time with two teenagers in the house!

Oh, and there's a clever little cameo from the pilot of the Roswell spaceship!

A solid and satisfying read. So if you were a bit uncertain about How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days after reading the first two Jasper books, do give this one a go. I certainly enjoyed it.

How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days
Susan Grant
8/10