How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days [Mass Market Paperback]

How does one go from being innocent at heart, to a killing machine and finally to a near helpless prisoner? Author Susan Grant takes on a tale of this magnitude with skill and grace as she brings her all to this inspiring story of a backwater planet alien turned assassin and the human woman striving to be the perfect image her family demands she be. They come from two different worlds--or do they? Earth may now be aware that aliens exist, but they're about to find out just how much they have in common too.

Reef is a mechanically enhanced assassin in need of a hideout. Even though he failed to destroy his mark, once in the hands of these pesky humans, he's hard pressed to escape their good intentions. He's being reassigned, but for the first time, it's not with orders to kill, it's with ones to protect. Evie Jasper Holloway wants nothing to do with the killer that came after her family and ransacked her home. That it's a surprise when she finds out he's to live with her is an understatement. It could jeopardize not only lives, but the state of her family as well. But as the black sheep of her family, she tries her best to fit in where she can and soon she comes to realize there's more to this sexy alien than the next kill. He has a past, one he can't readily remember, but with Evie's help, he's soon on his way to a full memory recovery. Only problem is, Earth sees him as the bad guy and the one that made him into a killer wants him back. Can they manage to deflect the ill will of Earth and an intergalactic plot and still come out ahead?

"How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in Ten Days" revolves around the power of love and family and how each can shape a life in different ways. Good or bad, either way can have a devastatingly altering effect. No one experiences this more so than Reef and Evie in this third installment of Grants Otherworldly Men series (see "Your Planet or Mine?" and then "My Favorite Earthling"). When Evie takes on a cause, it's with a whole heart and boundless passion. And when she sets her sights on Reef, it's with no less enthusiasm. Their romance is a fast consuming fire that stakes a firm claim early on in the book and builds with good pacing till the very sweet end. I grew to dearly love Evie thanks to Grant's fine characterization skills. I found Evie to be a woman I could myself very much identify with. She has an inner strength that isn't fully realized till Reef steps in. And in turn, Reef has remained incomplete his entire life till Evie unlocks the door holding him back. Though we get snippets of what happens in the first and second books, this one reads very well on its own and focuses wonderfully on Evie and Reef's love. Once again, author Grant has won my respect and admiration for another beautifully written romance. Can we say, auto buy?

Eriff was kidnapped from his home world at a young age. His mind was wiped and his body implanted with bio-engineered enhancements. He was the first child to become a REEF - Robotically Engineered Enemy Fighter - an assassin.

His last mission failed. He is stranded on Earth. His computer system was trying to terminate him. Whether he had succeeded or failed the last mission did not matter. Clearly, his employers wanted him dead. He is rescued and, ironically, offered a chance at a new life by his former archenemy, Cavin of Far Star. REEF is renamed Eric Sanders and he is sent to the suburbs of California. His cover is to be a Secret Service Agent protecting Evie Holloway and her children in light of her family's elevated role dealing with the Coalition. His internal computers may be offline, but Eric still has his training and instincts.

Evie Jasper Holloway told her senator sister that she did NOT want the Terminator as her bodyguard. How could she trust an unstable REEF with her own life, much less her two kids'? Eric shows up anyhow. When the bullets start flying, Evie becomes grateful for the protection, REEF or not. It is not long before Evie comes to realize that Eric, without the computer system controlling him, is very human indeed ... and very attractive.

***** This is the REEF from book two (My Favorite Earthling). During the second book I cheered the Jasper family to victory and hoped the REEF would die. When I learned that this assassin was to be the hero of book three, I laughed. I was positive that there was no way the author could make me feel anything but disgust for this futuristic terminator. But oh how I ate those words (thoughts?) within only a few pages of the story. Author Susan Grant proves her writing talent as never before! Her poisoned pen did more than make these characters seem real to me; Susan Grant brought these characters to vivid life. Now if only the daughter, Ellen, could get a story. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.