Pheromone: For the Love of Aliens, Book 1 by C.M. Stunich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Humans… pets, meat, or mates?
Pheromone
That’s the first thing I see when I open my eyes, that damn sign. Don’t fancy myself being sold for any of the above reasons, so I’m relieved when my buyer is killed by an… Um.
Hot venom and horns and a violent grin.
What the actual f–k is that?! Or should I say who the actual f–k is he? Because he’s definitely male. Definitely big. Definitely exuding pheromones that turn me into a much less rational human being.
Hi, I’m Eve Wakefield, twenty-five years old, professional caterer, recently abducted by aliens alongside my best friend. I’m also completely and utterly screwed. Lost on a jungle planet. Rooming in a downed spaceship with a dragon dude. Being hunted by a moth man with demon eyes and vampire teeth. Begging for help from a tentacle-tailed fox man who also happens to be… a space cowboy?
Here’s the I desperately want to go back to Earth. But I am not leaving this place without my bestie, Jane Baker. And I can’t find her or get us home without the help of three males who just so happen to be ideal romantic matches for yours truly. Yay.
Three very different men. Three very different lives for me to try out. Three very powerful romances.
Only one thing finding Jane. Then… then I’ll worry about the messy complications of finding myself perma-mated to aliens.
Yeah, it’s a whole thing.
Book One of an Alien Romance Trilogy
The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💚💜❤️
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 😟🙁🤓😍🥰
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Duet Narration
This novel opens with a surreal and disorienting sequence—Eve, a 26-year-old caterer, finds herself amidst chaos on a rooftop alongside a pop star, paramedics, and an oddly pivotal possum. Within moments, she and the others are abducted by aliens, initiating a narrative that blends dark humor, speculative absurdity, and visceral peril.
The strength of the opening lies in its absurdist imagery and tonal unpredictability. The narrative immediately subverts reader expectations, positioning Eve in a world that destabilizes trust, autonomy, and survival. The sign declaring “Humans…pets, meat or mates” succinctly encapsulates the existential stakes of her new reality, while Eve’s injury heightens her vulnerability and introduces a body horror element that permeates the early chapters.
“On my first day off in weeks, I’m lying cheek down in the dirt of an alien world with two merciless suns baking me to death. While a dragon that eats people, battles against tusk-faced alien sex traffickers. This has got to be a low moment for me, surely things can only go up from here.”
World-building is a standout feature throughout the text. The author constructs a dynamic ecosystem of alien species, each described with sufficient specificity to evoke vivid mental imagery. The use of an obsolete pink headset for translation—shared between Eve and a dragon-like humanoid—demonstrates the author’s attention to technological limitations and communication barriers in cross-species interaction. Details like gravitational heaviness and biologically activated healing via saliva further ground the speculative setting in sensory realism.
Eve’s characterization, however, invites critique. Her naïveté, especially regarding trust toward unfamiliar species despite witnessing violence and exploitation, strains credibility. While this may reflect her psychological shock or emotional desperation—particularly in her pursuit of Jane—it risks undermining reader empathy by minimizing the stakes of her decisions. I definitely was not a fan of how long she holds out hope of somehow finding her friend and getting them both back to Earth. I wish she would have just embraced her new life. Though I really love her personality, she is funny, sarcastic and pithy.
The story’s chaotic structure serves a dual function. It reinforces Eve’s disorientation in an alien environment while offering a rapid succession of encounters with diverse alien cultures. From the slug-like predator to the horned humanoid dealer, each interaction serves to reinforce a broader commentary on commodification, dominance, and survival ethics in interstellar systems.
Interpersonal dynamics between Eve and her potential mates deviate from conventional genre patterns. Her chemistry with multiple alien characters is not presented as a unified romantic arc typical of reverse harem narratives. Instead, each bond is culturally and emotionally discrete: Abraxas, the dragon-like protector; Rurik, the moth-winged prince; and Hyt, the tentacled cop wearing a cowboy hat and with a southern drawl, operate more as conflicting archetypes than harmonized romantic partners. This narrative choice lends greater complexity to Eve’s emotional landscape and disrupts the genre’s common “mate-bond” trope.
From an audio production standpoint, the duet narration by Patrick Zeller and Brooke Daniels is technically solid, with Daniels providing particularly expressive delivery. However, the lack of vocal variation among male characters may inhibit full immersion, particularly in scenes demanding emotional differentiation. Though I have to admit, Patrick is using different voices for the different three main characters and doing well with it.
The overarching structure as a trilogy—spanning 48 hours of audio—raises questions about pacing and character endurance. While series continuity allows for deeper emotional arcs and thematic development, the sheer length risks narrative fatigue, especially if character evolution stalls or secondary plot threads are underdeveloped. This reviewer’s preference for standalone installments within series is well-founded in this context, suggesting a potential structural mismatch between story ambition and reader expectations. I really enjoyed the story and narration, so I will definitely listen to the rest of the trilogy, but I may listen to another book or two in between each one to stop from getting bored.
In summary, this novel distinguishes itself through inventive world-building and a subversive approach to alien romance conventions. While character decision-making occasionally challenges plausibility, the author’s commitment to aesthetic diversity and thematic boldness provides a refreshing departure from formulaic genre fare.
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