Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind (Planet Nerak, Book 1) [Paperback]

Karen Kelley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2007

Sex with the perfect man is overrated, especially if your Mr. Perfect is a robot, and you know there's something better out there. Can Mala help it if "out there" is way out there? Her grandmother, an intergalactic traveller, left a diary behind describing the exceptional lovemaking talents of Earth men. There's also a documentary that depicts a comely young woman and a rugged-looking person she calls "Sheriff." There are no Sheriffs on Mala's home planet. Solution? Head for Earth and get one of her own...Sheriff Mason McKinley is having one heli of a week. First, the local conspiracy theorist called a bunch of reporters to town in search of Bigfoot, and now he insists he's seen a UFO land out near Devil's Bend. But when Mason rides out to investigate, instead of little green men, he finds the sexiest woman he's ever laid eyes on. Though Mala's odd behaviour - an obsession with the naked channel, straightforward offers of sex - might have something to do with amnesia, what red-blooded American male wouldn't feel lucky? Still, Mason doesn't want to take advantage of a lost soul...however much she wants to be taken advantage of...

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Barton is gorgeous and attentive, but technically he is a robot (with a very erotic feature) built specifically as Mala's Companion. Companions are important to the inhabitants of Mala's world since there are no men. After watching a documentary left by her space-traveling grandmother, Mala decides to visit Earth. Landing in the middle of Texas, she meets Sheriff Mason McKinley, who is investigating a report by the local crackpot, who insists that a UFO had landed. Mala doesn't make a lot of sense to Mason, but she looks human, and, assuming that she has amnesia, he lets her stay at his home. When he goes off to work, she hacks into his PayPal account and orders $3,243.22 worth of sex toys. This sexy, humorous romance combined with kitschy sci-fi is a fun read for anyone who appreciates tabloid humor. Mason is pretty darn hot even if he doesn't have a robot's versatile attachment, and Mala's outsider perceptions are entertaining. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Readers will enjoy the dry, witty humor and down-home feeling of this steamy, fast-paced romantic suspense!"

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Brava (March 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758211724
• ISBN-13: 978-0758211729
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,409,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rosemary Rodgers hooked me on romance with 'Sweet Savage Love'. I consumed books after that until I decided I wanted to try my hand at writing. Not as easy as it looks! But I'd found my niche. I instinctively knew this is what I wanted to do.

Luckily, I'm married to a wonderful man who gives me 100% support in anything I want to try. He not only told me to go for my dream, but he encouraged me not to give up.

And the dream did become reality. Wow! I still have to pinch myself. I love being an author!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Hot Hot Read, March 27, 2007

By 

Cryna Palmiere "bluebroom" (Calgary, Alberta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind (Planet Nerak, Book 1) (Paperback)

Karen has done it again, she has given us a hot, hot, sexy but funny read. This book was a joy to read.

Mala lives on the planet Nerak, which is a planet of perfection. She does not want perfection anymore, but wants to travel to earth and experience everything that she has read about in her grandmother's journal and watched on a film about Earth. She takes a space ship and travels to earth only to crash just outside of Washboard, Texas. The first person she sees after crashing is the Sheriff of the small town, as it is his ranch that she has landed on, and he is just like she has read about.

Mason McKinley cannot believe the beautiful woman who seems to have been in an accident and suffering from amnesia. He decides to keep her at his ranch to protect her. What develops between them is hot, intense feelings, which makes you grab for the ice to cool down. Mason soon feels that since meeting Mala he has been cast in a movie in which only one of them has the script. Mala is so loveable with her zest to learn everything, her outspoken way in which she has no qualms to tell everyone about the great sex that she is having with Mason. This in itself makes for complications for Mason. Mix in the reality of living in a small town, snoopy reporters out for a good story, the confusion of the hero and the naivety of the heroine and you have a hilarious, hot sexy read. But what will happen when the elders from the planet Nerak come for a final show down, leaving Mason with his beliefs in shambles and a relationship wrought with complications. The secondary romance between Barton, who has been sent to bring Mala back and Carol only adds to the dimension of the whole story.

Karen has penned a yummy, hot and hilarious read. I have enjoyed all Karen's books, but this one is just that much better. It is a book that is worth getting and reading and then putting on your keeper shelf to reread. I look forward to more releases.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sexy and funny story., March 20, 2007

By 

Judy "book reader" (Cincinnati, ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind (Planet Nerak, Book 1) (Paperback)

Karen Kelley Has written an exceptionally hilarious and wickedly sexy story in Close Encounters Of The Sexy Kind.

Mala is restless. Everything is perfect on her planet Nerak. Her every want and need is taken care of either by button or a companion. She keeps re-reading her grandmother's travel journals. They tell about a wonderful place called Earth. Watching a racy film from her grandmother's things has Mala more determined then every to go to Earth. She has to find this man called "Sheriff."

Sheriff Mason McKinley is used to the quirks of some of the residents of his small town. Even though he knows there is no such thing as an UFO, he is honor bound to check the sighting out. Mason does find an injured woman wondering in the woods. She can only remember her first name so Mason being the good guy that he is offers to take her to his home.

Mason soon realizes something isn't quite right with Mala. Her reactions to everyday things are comical. Her manner of speaking is foreign sounding. But he reads her loud and clear on the out of this world attraction to each other. Their attraction is electric. Each time is more sensual then the previous time.

Besides the quirkiness of Mala, Mason has reporters and residents trying to locate the alien that they think have landed. When Mala's companion from Nerak arrives to warn her that her time on Earth may be ended, she realizes she has to convince Mason of the truth. But will this cost her, her one true love?

Close Encounters Of The Sexy Kind should be on every romance readers must read list. I laughed so hard so many times. Besides being funny it's got a great hot and spicy romance to make you sigh. Karen Kelley has really outdone herself, I can't wait to read more of her books.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Silly but fun sexy romp, September 2, 2007

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind (Planet Nerak, Book 1) (Paperback)

The planet Nerak is perfect--perfectly boring for Mala. When her android valet suggests one more hormone smoothie to deal with her boredom, she decides to follow her explorer-grandmother's example and visit Earth. After all, she is something of an expert on Earth. She's viewed the fascinating XXX documentary, Callie Does the Sheriff a number of times. Although the elders have banned space travel (they've also banned males as that sex created wars and problems, something tiny and resource-poor Nerak couldn't support), Mala decides to hijack a spaceship and head for Earth. She leaves her valet, Barton behind to cover for her.

Sure enough, Mala finds a sheriff--sexy Mason McKinley. But Mason is the kind of guy who only believes what he sees--and insists he doesn't see anything he doesn't want to believe in. What he does want to believe in is Mala, though. Fueled by chocolate (there's no chocolate on Nerak), Mala is a sexual dynamo and Mason enjoys every minute. The only problem he has is her strange delusion that she is an alien. When Barton arrives, sorting out problems for the town of Washboard, Texas's single female, everything seems to have fallen into place. Unfortunately, though, Mala's ship was seen and tabloid reporters want to make Mala a story--a story none of them believe to be true.

Author Karen Kelley goes completely camp in this novel of alien love. Mistaking an XXX-rated movie for a documentary is only the first in a series of mistakes and blunders as Mala explores a huge and different world, determines that bigfoot (Hypotronds to those of Nerak) have survived on Earth, mistakenly believes she is dying when the sun sets (Nerak has two suns and never gets dark), and spends three thousand dollars of Mason's money on sex toys to make sure her seduction of the local sheriff goes off on schedule. Barton, rejected on Nerak, is precisely what Mason's friend Carol needs--and would be pretty much a treasure to any woman.

Modern Science Fiction requires development of plausible explanations for such details as having a tiny planet with gravity equal to Earths, parallel development of the English language, sexual compatability between alien species, faster than light space travel, and a breakdown in the law of conservation of energy (at one point, Mala admits to generating a gigawatt or so of energy through sex--the equivalent of a nuclear power plant). Harking back to an earlier time in SF, Kelley simply goes for the romp. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE SEXY KIND isn't Science Fiction to make you think, it's paranormal romance to make you smile--and guess what, it works.