Review: The New Guy by VC Lancaster

Posted December 12, 2019 by Kate

Review: The New Guy by VC LancasterCheck out on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon
Genres: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Also by this author: The E.T. Guy (Office Aliens, #1), The Security Guy (Office Aliens #3)
Series: Office Aliens #2
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Source: Kindle Unlimited

Maggie works in Enquiries at DETI (The Department of Extra-Terrestrial Immigration) and they're a little under-staffed. She's confused but grateful when a handful of Teissian refugees fresh off the spaceship are allocated to her department. She is put in charge of training Ro, a charming, scaled alien with a sexy voice, cute dimples, and a lot of secrets.
She knows office romances are a bad idea, but she just can't resist after spending every day sitting opposite him. As the two get closer, however, questions arise that threaten their relationship. Why does his friend seem to hate her so much? What is he hiding about his life on his home planet?
Can Maggie get Ro to open up before it's too late? Or will his secrets overwhelm them both?

Read my review for book #1 here!

Boy, oh, boy was I relieved to find out about this series! Somehow, I got super behind in one of my year-long challenges (imagine that!), the Romance Roundabout Reading Challenge, and out of the five science-fiction reads I’m supposed to have completed by the years end… I had two: Awaken Me Darkly by Gena Showalter, and Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Just TWO!! I had no idea I read so little science-fiction. But truth is unless there’s a new Ilona Andrews release… it’s just not likely that I’ll pick a sci-fi romance up. Sadly :(

Knowing that Suzanne from Under the Covers Book Blog was a self-professed alien-lover, I knew she’d be able to help me out. (Please poke around their site: it’s so well done. These ladies are insane and some of the best book bloggers to look up to and follow). Luckily, she had tons of blog posts and videos on the subject, filled with recommendations and I found this series. It appealed because it’s definitely sci-fi, with the wholly alien, barely humanoid heroes that dominate the series, but it also reads like a contemporary romance. For a mood reader such as me, who is not in the mood for a space-age science-fiction adventure, this was a relief. As I stare down the barrel at less than a month left to complete my year-long challenges, a series of quick reads like this one was exactly what the doctor ordered. 

      Related Post: TBR // December 2019 – The Month of Reading Challenge Recovery and Catch-Up

The book opens up with Maggie, who works in the Enquires department of the Department of Extra-Terrestrial Immigration. She answered phones, emails, and all kinds of …  well, enquires … and tried to either direct them to the correct person to solve their problem, or do it herself. It’s all customer service, and with all the new immigrants that arrived during the events of the first book, they are a busy and under-staffed department. So it’s hardly surprising when she is tasked to train someone new – one of the new aliens. 

His name is Ro, a Balin (which a species of alien), and they became fast friends. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. You do hear a friends-to-lovers romance in this one!! Their friendship was a fun one, full of easy banter and smiles, for the characters and the reader, and it was an easy decision to decide to get involved romantically. 


“You know, Balin do not kiss […] I have never done it before.”
“Well – ”
“You will have to show me how,” he interrupted. “By kissing me again. I may need many to learn. I am a slow learner. Not in most things, but in this I feel I will need lots of practice.” 


Ro was a cutie in this one! He was absolutely adorable, as he showed his emotions so easily through his body language. In the beginning, it was almost like a toddler. If you say no: total dejection. If you agree: absolutely, unfettered joy. He made me smile many times with his almost childlike innocence in many ways. There was one scene where they were about to leave a building and he saw the rain and was fascinated – something he’d never experienced. Maggie encouraged him to go and try it, and he eagerly stepped outside, but flinched and winced when the rain hit his face. He ran back under the roof and looked at her squarely and said “I don’t like it.” I had to burst out laughing – the scene reminds me so much of my nephew and mannerisms when he’s eating something he doesn’t want to, for instance. 

He went through the most in the book, and I have to admit that I wasn’t his biggest fan there in the middle. But it all gets wrapped up towards the end, so if you find yourself getting frustrated with him… it’s all part of the book. You’re definitely supposed to be. I was certainly intrigued as to what was going on, and I have to admit to getting completely taken by surprise when the book took its turn; something that was an odd pleasure, because normally with fluffy contemporaries like these (even if it featured an alien), the twists are easy to spot. That was not the case here.

I loved the friends-to-lovers trope and the workplace romance in this one, too! It’s not your typical workplace romance that’s full of angst and yearning looks, but there were enough touches of it to keep me satisfied. 

Related Post: The ET Guy (Office Aliens #1) by VC Lancaster Review (3 stars) 

Maggie herself was a great female. She was patient, understanding, bubbly, and very kind. There were a few times she could be a bit wishy-washy where Ro was concerned, which was a tad hard to understand, but it’s probably more realistic than I would have liked to admit. She stood up for herself when she was supposed to, and that was appreciated.

This book is the second book in the Office Aliens series, and though each book follows a different character, I would recommend reading them in the order they were meant to be read. You wouldn’t miss anything too big by reading them as standalone or out of order, but there seems to be something building in the societal background that may get missed or overlooked if you don’t do so. So: Please read these books in order :)

Overall, this book was quite a fun, flirty, twisty ride. I spent the whole first half with a big grin on my face, and the second half with a furrowed brow, which is exactly, I think, what the author intended.  It was a ride, and I had no idea where it was going, but I applaud Ms. Lancaster’s skill that kept me there and kept me intrigued. 

Series Reading Order

The ET Guy by VC Lancaster V.C. Lancaster V.C Lancaster Alien Sci-Fi Science Fiction Romance Recommendation Kindle Unlimited Read Cover to Cover Book Blog Kat Snark covertocoverlit Book Blogger Book blog reader reading Romance   The New Guy by VC Lancaster V.C. Lancaster V.C Lancaster Alien Sci-Fi Science Fiction Romance Recommendation Kindle Unlimited Read Cover to Cover Book Blog Kat Snark covertocoverlit Book Blogger Book blog reader reading Romance  

Other posts you may enjoy…

      Cover to Cover Book Blog Kat Snark covertocoverlit Book Blogger Book blog reader reading Scythe by Natalie C. Parker   

What science-fiction romances have you read recently? Is Sci-Fi something you enjoy regularly, or like me, foray into occasionally? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! 


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