Aliens and Ice Cream

I couldn't put this book down, I had to know what was going to happen. The characters were well written and relatable.

My curiosity was aroused, while browsing on NetGalley, by this title, which suggested a comedy, in contrast with the cover image, which has a bleak 1950s sci-fi look. In fact it’s a genius mash-up of post-apocalyptic alien invasion thriller, domestic drama, YA coming-of-age teen romance with some pretty gruesome horror scenes. I read the summary and had to find out how it all worked out, and ended up gripped and loving it.

A summer Sunday afternoon in an unspecified North American town, and the families on a quiet suburban street are preparing for a street barbecue. Suddenly the sky cracks open and millions of black eggs come pouring through, and proceed to annihilate anyone caught outside with laser beams, sucking up the remains. The survivors who managed to get inside discover that as long as they stay indoors, they are safe, but that the invasion is global and no one is coming to help.

Geeky 18 year old Matty Cutler, whose biggest problem that day was how to ask out the cute girl from down the road, finds himself trapped in a tree house with his younger sister and over-achieving schoolmate Heather, with no food or water, and facing the alien death rays if they step outside. As the days roll on, with tensions rising and hope fading, three families will have to work together if any of them are to survive.

This was surprisingly well written, perfectly paced, and had some of the best characters you love to hate that I’ve come across in years. In fact most of the adults are such a**eh**es that you can’t wait to see them become alien-lunch.
There is some rather disturbing domestic abuse, and not between characters you’d expect, a marriage in trouble, and some sweet and not at all annoying teenagers with way more sense and courage than their parents. It’s definitely not a comedy.

I quite like EOTWAWKI fiction, but the endings are rarely done well, as there’s no way of delivering a truly happy ending, so things are either left open for a sequel or are all depressing with everyone dead. Fortunately this cleverly found a way of ending on a hopeful note, with the author’s note hinting there is more to come. I liked the way the humans manage to fight back, and yes, there is ice-cream. This is very soft sci-fi which suited me just fine, best not to think too much about the technicalities. I will definitely be keen to read a sequel.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc which allowed me to give an honest review. Aliens and Ice-Cream is available now.

A look at invasion sci fi from the small end of the lens.
This is a rare find in sci-fi, a book that doesn't pretend to have a grand narrative or space opera heroics as the aliens begin their assault on Earth.
Instead, the heroism is of the everyday kind, and watches what a small group of suburban American families gathered for a bbq would do when seemingly invulnerable killing machines descend on the world.
It doesn't go beyond the boundaries of two or so houses. It focuses on three or four teenagers, their siblings and parents, and I enjoyed every second of it. This is 'reality' sci-fi at its best. Because sometimes seeing the small scale makes the stories much more poignant.
Recommended to fans of Sheri S. Tepper, or Becky Chambers, or even fans of massive sci-fi for a quiet break inbetween the drama of space fights.
Even reminiscent of Koontz.

War of the Worlds, but instead of focusing on just one surviving family, Aliens and Ice Cream shares the viewpoints of multiple families in a small neighborhood. Having this many POV characters in such a small story is a challenge, but Mike Rogers pulls it off well for most of the story. 4/5 stars, and may also appear to fans of Stranger Things due to the style of having the adult and children/teenagers tackling the same problem in their own ways (no paranormal elements, though).

LOVED THIS!!! Aliens and Ice Cream is 100% NOT my usual cup of tea. However I am so happy I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave it it chance. Delightfully different and unique. Highly entertaining!

👽 I really enjoyed this summer read. It will take you to a serene American suburban setting where everyone knows their neighbor and barbeques are held with an almost ritualistic frequency. Boring, you say? Cut to a few hours into the book when the sky is ripped apart, alien ships pour out and all Hell breaks loose (slightly graphic content warning by the way). Nobody knows what they are or where they came from. Nobody knows what they want. Only one thing is certain: step outside your house and you're dead.

Took me a while to finish but that has nothing to do with the book since apart from a few awkward-ish scenes at the beginning it's very fast paced. A big plus of this book are the numerous POV's: they help distribute the action evenly and it really works. The idea, however mysterious, seems very well thought. I would find myself guessing stuff or thinking I would eventually find a plothole but the author seems to have thought of everything. He just doesn't necessarily want to tell you yet 😏. The ending is good but will leave you hanging just a bit. I seriously need to stop asking for sequels but I can't help it. It's sci-fi after all. 👽

Endnote: I'm not gonna lie, it was the title that lured me in.

Million thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Its a typical day on a typical neighborhood street.
It's summer so the entire neighborhood is outside - suddenly the sky opens up and the world is under attack.
Families are separated and scattered around the neighborhood, you're safe as long as you stay inside.

While this book was a fast and fun read, it was not simply aliens shooting people, this book highlighted the way people react to trauma.
And not just the trauma of an 'alien attack' the trauma that people face everyday, abuse, loss, betrayal, and how people react when they are forced to face these issues head on when their ability to leave is gone.
Fight or flight is no longer an option when you can't go outside.

Interesting take on an alien invasion. This was pretty well-written. Good cast with well-developed characters and pretty unpredictable. Since it's light on "sci-fi" it will appeal to a fairly broad audience, although I suspect younger adults will like it most.

I really appreciate the free copy for review!!

Crazy good concept and amazing writing style. Such a fun read with questions I had to have the answers to that kept me reading well past bedtime.

Despite the title suggesting a comedy, Aliens and Icecream is a small scale end of the world survival narrative. The grisly descent of the aliens on the neighborhood, while destructive and bloody, quickly shows a mechanical, programmed approach to the problem. This narrative explores the approaches of the different surviving groups in trying to work out how to survive both the invaders and their own problems.

The relations ships and emotions Rogers shows us are genuine and allows readers to identify with the different characters and to understand their plight, both with the aliens and the other people around them. The action is constant and the tension will mean you won't be able to put it down!

I was torn when deciding if I wanted to read this book. The title, the cover, the description... it felt a little campy, which isn't my thing. But I found the premise to be interesting, so I wanted to try it. I was hoping to like it, and I did. A lot! I liked it much more than I thought I would.

It was fun, suspenseful, engaging, and it had aliens. What more could you want? Characters you like and root for? Check.

I liked the writing style, and felt that as the point of view changed, so did the voice of the author.

This was a fun enjoyable read!

My thanks to Books go Social, the author and Netgalley for the Arc🐙
I loved the first 80% of this book! I was meh, about the last. This is not a complete book. It's at least a duology, maybe even a trilogy. This isn't a deal breaker with me, but I like to know beforehand.
I mostly loved the characters in this story. The kid's, from 4 to 18 were the main draw. The adults however were a damn soap opera. I hate soap.opera's. Cheating neighbor's. Big manly guy, who is a misogynistic arse, yet believes he knows best. To be honest, the kid's are the story here. The grown ups, we're to me a bit like the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon. Background noise. Mwa, mwa, mwa! I cried in the last half of this book. One death in particular, especially after all they had gone through, just broke my cold, little, frozen organ that I call my heart!
These aliens are some nasty stinkers. Worse, they are just the beginning. I don't know what's coming, but it's not going to be pretty. These Aliens have a plan. And that plan is not the destruction of Earth, just the end of humanity.
Fun times ahead, folks! I personally can't wait!
Now, I wouldn't be me if I didn't point out the major bummers of this tale of woe! Wrong word usage! Bad spelling is sure to get my dander up! But, using words that sound alike or somewhat alike, messes with me! It does. I'll spend 20 minutes just thinking about how the hell someone missed that! Then think of many different ways that both words can be used!
The dying alien shuttered? No, it shuddered. There were around 4 egregious errors like that. What is truly amazing to me is how the author always thanks their Beta reader's, and the editor! It's just a fact that if I had the talent to write a book, I wouldn't let that thing be released until it had been gone through with a fine toothed comb! Still, except for my own "word traumas," this is book that I enjoyed the heck out of, and would recommend. If you're looking for science, maybe not. If you want a good time. Maybe not. If you're looking for some claustrophobic, bloody, and w.t.f. is gonna happen, type of book? Then this might be your groove!
I'll be back for more!
Please though. Please! Find an editor, or someone who knows words! So annoying!

Whoa, i honestly expected this one to be like all the other alien invader books. I didn't expect a lot but wow it sucked me in from the very beginning. I loved the complex character stories along with the action. I love the not apparent solutions they come up with. I highly recommend this one! Great read!

The title of Aliens and Ice Cream is intriguing and a bit light-hearted. The novel begins with a shy 18-year-old boy puking on himself during an ill-advised attempt to impress the girl he likes. It's easy to believe Mike Rogers has a farcical tale for us. Instead, he has something much more interesting, albeit harder to read, in store.

Rogers wisely spends a few chapters introducing us to young Matt and his friends, family, and neighborhood. A barbecue is being planned for the weekend. Matt's father is nerdy and happy. Matt's mother Krista has a serious problem with one of their neighbors. A teenage girl is being abused by her alcoholic mother. Their lonely, elderly neighbor wants to chat.

Then the aliens come. They don't want to talk. They mercilessly decimate the neighborhood. Only a handful of people who could run indoors survive. That scene is being repeated all over the world. Matt, his little sister, and another girl have only a rickety old treehouse with no food, water, or power for shelter, but it seems to be adequate, for the moment. The aliens are seemingly impossible to kill, and they are ruthlessly efficient at killing and disposing of humans.

The cast of characters is small enough to easily keep track of, but large enough to have differing interests and struggles, including power struggles. They are all doing their best to survive against a powerful and unfamiliar enemy, but they remain the people they were before the aliens started zapping. I love that Rogers keeps the action on a small stage as it affects very normal, recognizable American people. Some characters are able to watch internet videos and the news. This provides some glimpses as to how the entire planet is being affected. However, nobody seems to know any more than the main characters or to have any help to offer, not even the President of the United States.

This novel is classified as YA. The action is centered around the teen characters who end up stuck in the treehouse. However, there are many gory, bloody, horrific scenes in this novel. None of them feel gratuitous. But there is some definite nightmare fuel. Without aliens, of course, human beings have been all too adept at harming each other. This is also depicted, with scenes of abuse and other violence. In a way, this is even more troubling than the aliens' killings--not even the end of the world can stop people from hurting each other. The adult characters are well-drawn, and their emotions and experiences before and during the invasion are depicted as well as those of the teen characters. There are short, sharp sub-chapters from multiple perspectives.

Aliens and Ice Cream reminded me a bit of the TV series Falling Skies. That said, this is a unique and very human-scaled sort of sci-fi novel. Human-scaled sci-fi is my favorite kind. Series are extremely common in YA, and it appears that Rogers may be setting up a sequel or two. I have no problem with that. I can see it becoming a cult classic.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for throwing me a copy. I've had this book laying around in my kindle for a few months and wish I had read it before now. This is a really awesome alien story and I hope there's a sequel. Loved the pure violence and character build up.

Well that was a pleasant surprise, I really didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did! The first couple of chapters I was a little unsure and wondered if it might end up being a bit shallow but before I knew it, I was flipping those pages like mad. The characters were well rounded and likeable (except for one who's an absolute tool, just like real life I guess, there's always going to be at least one arse who messes it up for everyone) and I enjoyed rooting for them, there were some genuine heart-in-my-mouth moments, I was even moved to tears at the demise of one of the characters. The ending was a little abrupt so I think I feel a series coming on, and though I prefer standalone stories, I enjoyed this one so much I'd definitely read a follow up. Thanks to the author and netgalley for the arc.

This was right up my alley: it was weird, speculative, carefree, weird, fast paced, oddly funny & did I say weird? And I'll answer that whole 'how long could you stay indoors' thing: my current best is 2.5 weeks.

The writing style was unique in a way that might make this an acquired taste, and I'm okay with that. I'll most certainly be picking up more from the author.

My Rating: 4
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Kindle e-Book/ Netgalley/ January2020
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<i>Thank you so much Netgalley for the e-copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are y own and not influenced in any way. </i>
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This book follows our main character Matt along with his family and friends during an apocalypse where you die a painful death if you step outside any shelter. I was really interested in reading this book after looking at the title and the cover. I thought it was going to be a funny, feel-good thriller and boy-o-boy did it prove me wrong!
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<b>Trigger Warning:</b> : Apocalyptic setting/ Death of family/ Blood
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First, I really loved plotline and how the book cover and the title had nothing to do with the actual story!! It really adds to the thriller aspect of the story that is happening and the stakes of every decision hit you in the face. The structure of the story was really well done and how each character reacts to a sudden terrible situation gives depth to them all.
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Second, I loved that this story had multiple points of view. We get to see how each character is doing and how their mind works during an alien invasion. This book starts off really well and in a happy setting, and then you are hit with aliens in the middle of a happy scene! That just pulls the rug from under your feet and I was definitely surprised at the placement of the scene.
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Now coming to the character and the storyline, even though you have multiple characters narrating their side of the story, it was not difficult to understand the perspectives. You get to experience the invasion from a lot of different angles. The family dynamic and how it changes when it happens is really good to read about. The conversations and the simple banter to divert the attention helped with the situation as well. The relationship between Matt and Heather was really cute. I think my favorite character has to be Heather!. I mean, jumping out of the safety of a roof to go, help a friend while there are aliens hovering over the streets with laser killing beams is just batshit crazy and really courageous. She is my new bestie and I am not taking a No for an answer! The tone of the book, even though the setting is sad, gives a wholesome experience. Being a fan of Stephen King's books and lover of horror movies, I didn't find the blood and the killing queasy. But keep in mind it has a lot of blood spilling in it.
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Overall, this book has the perfect amount of characters, storyline was simple yet really gripping, the tone of the book delivered the thriller aspect of the plot, loved the humor and the simple banter that was in-between was refreshing. If you want to read a book with an apocalyptic setting but with a good family dynamic, character development, I definitely recommend you pick this book up!

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

A very well-written imaginative story that sounds unreal, but yet you can't put down until the very end.

The characters were well-developed and believable, and the overall storyline had me cheering for a positive outcome.

This is the first book I've read by this author, and I hope to read more in the future. A job well done!!