August Kitko and the Mechas from Space

 August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White, 451 pages. 

August Kitko had resigned himself to inevitable death by giant robot with the rest of the planet. Which makes it a big surprise when the doomsday robot is attacked by a second giant doomsday robot, who proceeds to kidnap him and make him an integral part to the forces trying to save humanity from certain destruction. This is a whole lot of pressure for a jazz pianist, and soon he's drawn into a series of questions whose answers will determine the fate of his species. 

I had such a great time with this book! I had a hard time putting it down, and managed to tear through the whole thing in a few days. I was impressed at the amount of thought put into making all of the mechas unique and interesting, and that thoughtfulness translated into some really fabulous giant robot fights. I thought this novel did a really good job balancing these fun and exciting elements with the seriousness of the extinction event in the premise. I also really liked both Gus Kitko and Ardent Violet, who is both Kitko's rockstar love interest and the second protagonist of this book. This is a space opera with an emphasis on the opera, which is a fun choice. This book definitely makes my recommendation list, and I'm very excited to discuss it with Orcs & Aliens next week!