I Married a Lizardman is a lot better than its title might suggest. I imagined something almost Chuck Tingle-esque, but what you have here is a very sweet, very romantic fish-out-of-water romance.

Susan, a human from a non-Earth farming planet, seeks help finding a husband with better prospects than she’ll find locally and is matched by the Prime Mating Agency with Olix, the lizard clan leader of the Xecania people.

Susan embarks on a new life with her new people and has a rather refreshingly non-traumatic time of it. Olix is lovely, if a little bit humourless and literal-minded. That’s often the way with aliens, I’ve found. Has anyone ever depicted an alien race which is funnier and more irreverent than humans? Given that there are eight books already in the Prime Mating Agency series, I’m guessing that if anyone has done it, it will be Regine Abel.

Despite their physical differences, Susan and Olix quickly embark on a rigorous and mutually satisfying sex life, which is lots of fun to read. Personally, I’d have been happy if this book had contained more hot interspecies sex and less stuff about agriculture. But maybe that’s just me.

There is sadly no BDSM or spanking in this book, which is a pity as I do like a bit of kink in my erotic romances. You can’t really describe this book as vanilla, though. Shagging a lizardy guy with scales, a long tail, and a spiny extruding penis is a kink all of its own. It’s certainly something that Susan develops a taste for.

Susan and Olix are both delightful, and there are fun, well-drawn supporting characters, including Yamir and Luped, Susan’s new lizardy in-laws. I Married a Lizardman is a sweet romance with a lot of raunchy bedroom action. It’s a great introduction to Regine Abel’s Prime Mating Agency series. I’m keen to read more.