Breathlessly - Heather Relken

If you’re fascinated by the strange and the unusual, this book is definitely one for you.

This standalone polyamorous Sci-Fi Romance was written as a full length novel based on an earlier short story by this author. It’s set in a not too distant galaxy and contains scenes of consenting interspecies sexual activity between two males and a female. There is a trigger warning for homophobia experienced by one of the main characters. 

I really enjoyed this book. Heather Relken has a very fluent style of writing which makes her work a pleasure to read. The characters are well thought out and her alien species are very detailed, right down to anatomy, culture and language. The world building is excellent and Relken paints a beautifully clear picture with her words.

The galaxy is a vast place, housing the strange and unusual. Amongst the strange and unusual are the Kholorua; a race of benevolent beings, more than 100 feet tall who like to collect other species as pets.

Milo is a human who wakes one day on an idyllic beach in what seems to be paradise. Definitely not where he fell asleep. He’s one of around seventy humans who have been collected by the Kholorua as a pet. Life is, for the most part, stress free and all his needs are catered for, except for one thing; it appears that Milo is the only gay in the village and most of the villagers do not approve. 

This is a story of how Milo learns to love himself and how he finds his place within a new family. After moving back to the beach, away from the toxic environment created by other humans, he is soon joined by two others of an alien aquatic species, who bond with him and accept him for who he is. This is very much a love story, with a secondary story arc about the villagers. It’s a reflection of how humanity can be both loving and terrible, accepting and intolerant. It shines a light on how damaging a narrow-minded way of living is and how life can be so much better all round with an open heart and mind.

There are scenes of a sexual nature. There are scenes which are openly homosexual and there are very descriptive scenes of interspecies sexual activity and alien genitalia. If you’re fascinated by the strange and the unusual, this book is definitely one for you.

Available from Amazon