[ARC Review] Count Down by Hollie Hartwright

Publisher's synopsis: Tessa wasn't looking for forever. It found her anyway.

When Tessa goes to the Advena Club, all she wants is a gin and tonic, a dance, and maybe - just maybe - a make-out session. What she finds is a man with glowing golden eyes too beautiful to resist.

The only issue is, he isn't human.

He also comes as part of a package deal.

Aster, Morgan, and Cy have been travelling for five years straight to find their elyn - a being fated to bring harmony to their world. Tessa is everything they've dreamed - but she might not be willing to give up Earth for the stars.

They have eight hours to convince her.

Let the count down begin.

My thoughts: I was immediately hooked by the premise of this story, and Hartwright did not disappoint. I've read a lot of poly romances. I've read a lot of monster and alien romances. But I haven't read a poly monster/alien romance that involves four different species, so Count Down really stood out to me. 

At just under two hundred pages, this was very much a quick, binge-able read. It doesn't take long for the action to start, and once it gets going, it seems like Tessa and her guys always have something going on. 

I truly appreciated that we get many lesser-used creatures in this romance. With characteristics that I don't normally read about, and abilities that aren't always common, it was easy for this story to be wholly unique to anything else I've read. 

I loved Aster, Morgan, and Cy. They were all essentially the perfect guy alien for Tessa. They balanced each other so well, and adding Tessa to their mix helped complete them both as a group and as individuals. And I thought that balancing was such a well done part of the plot. I don't usually like the idea of needing another person to feel whole, but Hartwright put the emphasis on balancing each other, rather than completing each other. Morgan, Aster, and Cy would have survived just fine without Tessa joining them, but adding her highlighted their own strengths within their group. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Tessa's new experiences with both aliens and a poly group. Whether you're into alien/monster romance, poly relationships, or both, Count Down is sure to be a different kind of read for you. 

A huge thank you to the author for providing a review copy of Count Down via BookSirens. 

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Release date: 9/23/22
Format: eARC
eARC provided via: BookSirens