I'm not sure what I expected when I came to this book, but it surprised me at every turn, which is amazing for a book that starts with the end first.

From the luscious prose of literary fiction in what could easily have been stock sci-fi, the skillful use of cliches and pop-culture references for a geek-dream-come-true, the heart-wrenchingly true characters and complex relationships, to the use of time travel to NOT pull all the cinema-stunts you expect when you hear "time-travel," the book was a sheer joy to read.

As a testament to the skill of JM Frey as an author, the alien character was just as easy to identify with as any other. Sure, I've been the young mother primed on hormones and no sleep willing to tear out eyes with my bare hands to protect my child, so of course I felt Evie's plight keenly. But I've also been the lost, grieving, out-of-place, off-kilter outsider who just desperately wants to make it to the next minute without causing my whole world to fall apart. Again. (Granted, it was probably a bit teenage-melodrama-induced on my part, but still.)So I was right there with Kalp, even as he described physical traits and reactions that made it obvious we weren't even the same species.

And we haven't even mentioned Gwen and Basil yet.

On top of the beauty of the story, the author plays with typical novel structure and writing in ways that are fascinating to watch without being intrusive or distracting.

Truly a fabulous book. One of the best sci-fi I've ever had the pleasure of reading.