This review was originally posted on my Bring on the Books blog on December 14, 2011. I recently posted a quick review of the first three books in this series based on my reading journals when I first read them. This is my 2011 review of book four, which is still one of my favorite books in the series.
Summary
Kitty and Martini are back, and baby makes three. You would think the happy little family could enjoy a little quiet together, but “quiet” is probably not going to be in the cards for them any time soon. After a traumatic delivery, Kitty discovers a plot to take out Chuckie and Kitty’s mom. At least, that seems to be the plot. But there are more layers to this situation than meets the eye. There’s a mole – or is there? Kitty’s high school friends are in danger – or are they part of the plotting? At the root of everything is Kitty’s baby. The bad guys want the baby and, like any good momma, Kitty will fight tooth and nail to protect her.
Review
This is a hard book to summarize because sooooo many things are going on, and I don’t want to give any of the good stuff away. I have been a big fan of this series since I read the first book. I re-read them just for fun even though I have tons of new and yet-unread books laying around. Alien Proliferation is a perfect addition to the series. I didn’t want to put the book down. I laughed out loud often as I zoomed through this 400+ page non-stop thrill. It was a delight to dig into such a meaty book that wasn’t filled with a lot of unnecessary fluff. Plenty of great twists and turns. New dynamics between characters as Kitty gets a new partner to work with and other new characters are introduced (or familiar characters are developed more fully). While motherhood changes Kitty in some ways, it doesn’t change any of the things I love about her – her sarcasm, her intuition, her kick-butt-and-take-names attitude. She continues to be a great, strong character.
This is not a story for the faint of heart. Kitty is in a life-and-death battle and there are casualties. Everything that happens is appropriate to the story, though. I enjoyed this so much, I am looking for time when I can carve out a few days to read through the whole series to date from start to finish. The next book, Alien Diplomacy, releases in April, 2012.
5 out of 5 stars
Recommended for: fans of the series, science fiction/fantasy fans who like an element of romance in their stories
Cautions: My personal feeling is that new readers will be lost if they jump in here. Do yourself a favor and start at the beginning and enjoy the whole series. Otherwise, there’s some violence, and some romantic moments are described in detail. Those sections can be skipped over by sensitive readers. There might also be some language (honestly, I was reading so fast to find out what was going on, I didn’t really pay that close of attention).