Books like Cottonwood

***5 stars***\ A Bug's Life....\ There were hundreds of aliens in there, hundreds of them. They crawled over the trash, over the Heaps, picking through the human waste for treasures to put into sacks, into boxes, or even into their own mouths.Twenty years the yang'ti have lived in captivity on an alien planet after their spacecraft developed mechanical problems. Herded into internment camps they eke out an existence living off the open landfill and meagre handouts from their hosts. Welcome to Cottonwood.Sarah Fowler arrives at Cottonwood, Kansas, as a social services liaison officer to the aliens. Her job to update the census brings her in direct contact with the aliens, Sanford and his son, T'aki.Every now and then you come across an author who writes extraordinary stories, something so different, so captivating you want to write a review that does the book justice. I really can't. If you want to read a far better, more comprehensive review of this masterpiece, please read Pam's excellent review. I hadn't planned on reviewing this, but this is my first (and I think probably my only) 5-star review for this year. This author is simply a cut above. I understand that many readers don't read, or like, science-fiction and won't be able to 'get' my 5-star rating for this book. But any writer that can make me see past \ this\ -just as she did in The Last Hour of Gann and make me seriously wish I could be the heroine to end up with him, has \ talent.\ There's a lot more to this novel than just a romance between an alien and a human. But this is a beautiful love story. Two of my favourite novels this year (so far) have both been sci-fi romances - The Last Hour of Gann and Cottonwood - both by R. Lee Smith, and feature two heroes unlike any I've ever come across and now on my list of Best Heroes Ever. One is a lizard alien and the other a bug alien."I am you and you are me."Besides, apart from the whole alien-thing, Sanford was the ideal man - strong, sensitive, a caring father, plus he could program a coffee maker. What more could a girl ask for? Okay, skin would be nice, but it didn't pay to be too picky. Highly recommended.* Thanks Rach, loved the buddy read!Steam: 2.5