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Integrate
Fifty years ago, on a planet in the middle of allied space, two species--human and hirsa--founded a joint colony. Under their combined management, Koios is thriving, but crime is inevitable. For crimes involving both human and hirsa, there is the Department of Integration. When a particularly vicious murder is committed, two partners will have to question everything they know to find the killer--and learn about each other along the way.
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First published March 30, 2015
About the author
Thea Hayworth
5 books37 followersThea Hayworth lives surrounded by snakes, gadgetry and reference materials. She is also incurably addicted to pen names.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
November 15, 2016
Thea Hayworth is an absolutely fantastic author. It's apparent even in really simple things – "The elevator groaned its way to the fourth floor, spitting them out in a well-lit hallway that hummed only a little from the din in the bar." – but the whole story sparkles. Gorgeous worldbuilding, wonderful plotting, just 100% fabulous.
January 16, 2024
I've been on an alien romance kick that doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon, so adding more tentacles to the mix sounded like a great idea.
Yes, tentacles. I kind of love them.
But Integrate was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I felt like we were thrust into a world with sort of unclear parameters and guidelines, almost like there was a prequel story I was missing. I wasn't sure what was going on in the beginning, and add in the mystery element and I was even more clueless.
The romance was a bit insta-lovey for me, even though they had known each other for years. I usually don't like it when a romance is a friends-to-lovers situation, but it was okay here. I just wanted more build-up to the LOVE parts. The tentacle parts were fun, though.
I understand why people really enjoy this one, and I did too, but it didn't quite tick of all the boxes for me.
goodreads|instagram
Yes, tentacles. I kind of love them.
But Integrate was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I felt like we were thrust into a world with sort of unclear parameters and guidelines, almost like there was a prequel story I was missing. I wasn't sure what was going on in the beginning, and add in the mystery element and I was even more clueless.
The romance was a bit insta-lovey for me, even though they had known each other for years. I usually don't like it when a romance is a friends-to-lovers situation, but it was okay here. I just wanted more build-up to the LOVE parts. The tentacle parts were fun, though.
I understand why people really enjoy this one, and I did too, but it didn't quite tick of all the boxes for me.
goodreads|instagram
June 13, 2019
5 Stars
(re-read)
I cannot rave enough about Thea Hayworth. Amazingly talented! One of my absolute favorites is "Integrate," a short but sensational alien buddy cop SF mystery rom. The world-building is fantastic! Beloved comfort re-read! So many warm fuzzy feelings paired with humor & snark. Love it!
(re-read)
I cannot rave enough about Thea Hayworth. Amazingly talented! One of my absolute favorites is "Integrate," a short but sensational alien buddy cop SF mystery rom. The world-building is fantastic! Beloved comfort re-read! So many warm fuzzy feelings paired with humor & snark. Love it!
March 20, 2018
Exactly the alien buddy cop tentacle porn scent-marking romp I wanted. Absolutely worth $1.99
August 14, 2017
Everything I've read by Hayworth has been good so far. And she doesn't disappoint this time either.
To sum it up: strong characters, good plot, interesting alien species, awesome interaction.
Wish it had been longer.
It does not lack anything to make you complain about. Go read it!
To sum it up: strong characters, good plot, interesting alien species, awesome interaction.
Wish it had been longer.
It does not lack anything to make you complain about. Go read it!
December 27, 2019
Start as you mean to go on: with m/m tentacle, buddy cop romance.
August 30, 2018
The one where Gavin's a cop, his partner Sezin has tentacles, and they solve crimes and fall in love.
A lot of erotic romance takes its cues from traditional romance, but this is clearly rooted in the fanfiction universe, so those are the standards I'm going to judge it by.
I have to say at the outset that, as I've said before, I don't read mysteries and I don't really care about them; in a story like this, they're there (as Julad once said) "so the guys can Solve Crimes and Realise things." The case story here does an adequate job of postponing conversation and bringing up themey stuff in a not-too-obvious way, so I have no further criticism of it.
Characterization: I liked Gavin and Sezin very much. Background hirsa were distinguishable by clan but otherwise interchangeable. Background humans did what they needed to do, which was not much.
Relationship development: Better-than-average job of showing the gradual development of attraction. (I mean that she did it as well as good fanfiction, as opposed to a lot of pro romance, which tends to communicate that a character is beginning to feel attracted by telling you the condition of his/her erectile tissue.) She did that thing where nearly all the emotional problems are resolved by the first kiss, which took most of the romantic tension out of the rest of the book; there was nothing to deal with the next morning except cleaning up the case stuff. I would have preferred for the "exactly how much commitment does this indicate?" thing to go unsolved for a bit longer and introduce a bit more uncertainty.
Worldbuilding: Quite good -- not just futuristic scene-setting but futuristic taboos and futuristic problems and futuristic annoyances. Futuristic multi-species hot-drink preferences. Groovy. I loved the moment when Gavin, a bit thrown by Sezin's three tongues, thinks, Hey, BOTH of us are in bed with an alien.
Sex: Quite nice. I found the hirsa anatomy a little puzzling -- bilateral symmetry but three tongues and five dicks? But I suppose if I were fictional an alien would have the same issue with my fingers and toes. Anyhow, there was a nice sense of erotic discovery, which is what I'm looking for in my human/alien porn, so no complaints there.
A lot of erotic romance takes its cues from traditional romance, but this is clearly rooted in the fanfiction universe, so those are the standards I'm going to judge it by.
I have to say at the outset that, as I've said before, I don't read mysteries and I don't really care about them; in a story like this, they're there (as Julad once said) "so the guys can Solve Crimes and Realise things." The case story here does an adequate job of postponing conversation and bringing up themey stuff in a not-too-obvious way, so I have no further criticism of it.
Characterization: I liked Gavin and Sezin very much. Background hirsa were distinguishable by clan but otherwise interchangeable. Background humans did what they needed to do, which was not much.
Relationship development: Better-than-average job of showing the gradual development of attraction. (I mean that she did it as well as good fanfiction, as opposed to a lot of pro romance, which tends to communicate that a character is beginning to feel attracted by telling you the condition of his/her erectile tissue.) She did that thing where nearly all the emotional problems are resolved by the first kiss, which took most of the romantic tension out of the rest of the book; there was nothing to deal with the next morning except cleaning up the case stuff. I would have preferred for the "exactly how much commitment does this indicate?" thing to go unsolved for a bit longer and introduce a bit more uncertainty.
Worldbuilding: Quite good -- not just futuristic scene-setting but futuristic taboos and futuristic problems and futuristic annoyances. Futuristic multi-species hot-drink preferences. Groovy. I loved the moment when Gavin, a bit thrown by Sezin's three tongues, thinks, Hey, BOTH of us are in bed with an alien.
Sex: Quite nice. I found the hirsa anatomy a little puzzling -- bilateral symmetry but three tongues and five dicks? But I suppose if I were fictional an alien would have the same issue with my fingers and toes. Anyhow, there was a nice sense of erotic discovery, which is what I'm looking for in my human/alien porn, so no complaints there.
October 8, 2015
This story gave me all the warm, fuzzy feelings.
Not the murder mystery, mind you. That was properly gruesome and intriguing.
But I love the main characters, their snark and developing relationship. It's really sweet and adorable despite their different species and struggles.
Not the murder mystery, mind you. That was properly gruesome and intriguing.
But I love the main characters, their snark and developing relationship. It's really sweet and adorable despite their different species and struggles.
March 28, 2020
Not as powerful as Sevener, but then, what is? Still, the writing is top notch, and the characters are great.
August 6, 2021
Gavin Hayes and Sezin of the Scald are detectives in an integrated human/hirsa colony on Koios, and it looks like there's a hirsa out there killing humans.
I enjoyed this novella, but I'm not sure the mystery would stand up to further scrutiny and the world-building in it is slight. This is more romance than science fiction as the future isn't all that futuristic and the non-Earth setting reads exactly like Earth + Aliens. The city is clearly optimized for humans, which I found disappointing. I wanted to see what kind of accommodations it would take for these two species to be able to live in the same community with their different cultures and physical needs. There's not any of that, but you do get to see some of it on a personal level between Gavin and Sezin as they work together.
But Gavin and Sezin's partnership is very satisfying and as this is mostly about them flirting and trying to figure out if the other is into them it does what it means to do. They have chemistry, good sexual tension, good sex, and a happily every after.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Contains: explicit interspecies sex; tentacles; scent marking; possessive behavior; cops; references to rape, murder, and cannibalism; ableist language.
I enjoyed this novella, but I'm not sure the mystery would stand up to further scrutiny and the world-building in it is slight. This is more romance than science fiction as the future isn't all that futuristic and the non-Earth setting reads exactly like Earth + Aliens. The city is clearly optimized for humans, which I found disappointing. I wanted to see what kind of accommodations it would take for these two species to be able to live in the same community with their different cultures and physical needs. There's not any of that, but you do get to see some of it on a personal level between Gavin and Sezin as they work together.
But Gavin and Sezin's partnership is very satisfying and as this is mostly about them flirting and trying to figure out if the other is into them it does what it means to do. They have chemistry, good sexual tension, good sex, and a happily every after.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Contains: explicit interspecies sex; tentacles; scent marking; possessive behavior; cops; references to rape, murder, and cannibalism; ableist language.
January 17, 2018
Tentacles are not my thing AND YET this was SO GOOD.
December 2, 2018
Oh, yes! Another highly imaginative action-packed story by Thea Hayworth, with a tentacled cop and his curious human partner hunting a serial killer, and a glorious tentacle scene as the cherry on top.
Hayworth has a knack for dropping you in the middle of some rich world and leaving it to you to figure out a way to get comfy, a tactic I much prefer over the info-dumping or forced explanations some authors tend to go for instead. As was the case in Sevener, here, too, the only thing that was missing for me were adequately fleshed-out characters. In Integrate the lack of character development even got somewhat in the way of the romantic story-line, because I was struggling to get why & care when the MCs rather suddenly decided to eat their cake. Integrate should really have been a novella of 120 pages instead.
That first tentacle hesitantly sliding up the MC's arm though! I'm going to have to put this lady on auto-buy.
Hayworth has a knack for dropping you in the middle of some rich world and leaving it to you to figure out a way to get comfy, a tactic I much prefer over the info-dumping or forced explanations some authors tend to go for instead. As was the case in Sevener, here, too, the only thing that was missing for me were adequately fleshed-out characters. In Integrate the lack of character development even got somewhat in the way of the romantic story-line, because I was struggling to get why & care when the MCs rather suddenly decided to eat their cake. Integrate should really have been a novella of 120 pages instead.
That first tentacle hesitantly sliding up the MC's arm though! I'm going to have to put this lady on auto-buy.
September 25, 2017
NICE. A really sweet romance. Finally, the consensual tentacle loving story I've been waiting for, really.
January 17, 2018
This is a m/m buddy-cop SF murder mystery with tentacle sex. The worldbuilding is great, it is very readable, and it is definitely worth your two dollars.
January 5, 2018
buddy cop alien romance to start off 2018? SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN. tightly written, well-characterized novella. :D
October 9, 2020
This book is pretty hard to describe, actually, but it does make my re-read list. It’s not so much a romance, as it’s not about the sex. It’s a book about relationships. Two people who spend so much time together, who trust each other so completely, that a bond forms that is stronger then social convention, culture, or even species. In a relationship like that the people involved make a deep and very real imprint on each other.
December 29, 2017
This book has everything. It's a gay alien interspecies buddy cop romance, AND IT'S AMAZING.
Like seriously, wow. Super interesting setting, with convincing interspecies politics and conflicts. Pretty interesting murder-case that managed to hold my attention even though I'm not usually very interested in those. Great characters and characterization, and I especially loved that both the humans and the hirsa are considered aliens.
Sezin and Gavin have such a great relationship, and I adore that even though they've been partners for a while, they still bump into interspecies misunderstandings and conflicts. And all of this makes for a great, convincing slow burn !!
Like seriously, wow. Super interesting setting, with convincing interspecies politics and conflicts. Pretty interesting murder-case that managed to hold my attention even though I'm not usually very interested in those. Great characters and characterization, and I especially loved that both the humans and the hirsa are considered aliens.
Sezin and Gavin have such a great relationship, and I adore that even though they've been partners for a while, they still bump into interspecies misunderstandings and conflicts. And all of this makes for a great, convincing slow burn !!
August 14, 2017
Fast, engaging, with good world building. A couple of things got a bit confusing about the anatomy and social structure of the aliens, but that didn't hinder the romance, or the sex scene.
The mystery and investigation could have been better developed, the detectives jumped to conclusions a couple of times.
In spite of that, it was a fun read. Loved the main characters, and the writing style was smooth, and kept me involved.
The mystery and investigation could have been better developed, the detectives jumped to conclusions a couple of times.
In spite of that, it was a fun read. Loved the main characters, and the writing style was smooth, and kept me involved.
July 22, 2017
Gay interspecies Alien/Human buddy cop mystery story? Hell yes, don't mind if I do.
And you know what? This is *really excellent*.
And you know what? This is *really excellent*.
November 11, 2021
It would be more like 3.5* but have to give 3* although it breaks my heart.
I had so many hopes up for this book - acc. to the blurb and reviews this seemed to be straight up my alley. I even installed and registered special reading app just for this book since it's not available on Amazon or Google play.
But...I'm not sure what happened. The plot was original and intriguing, same for the alien race and the world. The mcs were both lovely and funny and overall likeable but it probably missed another 50 pages devoted to their relationship to understand it better and let it evolve slower (can't believe I'm saying something like that) or maybe better explain the sudden development...(and also maybe one or two more smutty scene wouldn't mind).
That's probably mi biggest issue - it wasn't instalove but it was sudden. They worked together for a while (didn't say how long but looked like months at least) but without any special trigger they went from colleagues to life partners within days.
Idk, I probably have to read it again because I feel like I didn't read the same book as the other reviewers but to be honest I'm not sure if I want to because that's my other issue - the language. I'm not native English speaker but I think I'm pretty profound in reading (my read section is only a fragment of what I read) and this is first time I had real problem understanding. Many times I had to reread a sentence or dialogue multiple times and I was still getting lost in what the author meant. One part was using too colorful/artful language and many strange terms - what the heck suppose to be helm in this case? I still have no idea how hirsa's back looks like. The other part was the sentence composition didn't help either.
My initial goal was to help hidden gem get more attention but now I understand why it got lost in history.
I had so many hopes up for this book - acc. to the blurb and reviews this seemed to be straight up my alley. I even installed and registered special reading app just for this book since it's not available on Amazon or Google play.
But...I'm not sure what happened. The plot was original and intriguing, same for the alien race and the world. The mcs were both lovely and funny and overall likeable but it probably missed another 50 pages devoted to their relationship to understand it better and let it evolve slower (can't believe I'm saying something like that) or maybe better explain the sudden development...(and also maybe one or two more smutty scene wouldn't mind).
That's probably mi biggest issue - it wasn't instalove but it was sudden. They worked together for a while (didn't say how long but looked like months at least) but without any special trigger they went from colleagues to life partners within days.
Idk, I probably have to read it again because I feel like I didn't read the same book as the other reviewers but to be honest I'm not sure if I want to because that's my other issue - the language. I'm not native English speaker but I think I'm pretty profound in reading (my read section is only a fragment of what I read) and this is first time I had real problem understanding. Many times I had to reread a sentence or dialogue multiple times and I was still getting lost in what the author meant. One part was using too colorful/artful language and many strange terms - what the heck suppose to be helm in this case? I still have no idea how hirsa's back looks like. The other part was the sentence composition didn't help either.
My initial goal was to help hidden gem get more attention but now I understand why it got lost in history.
November 19, 2019
Monsterfuckers, this book is for you! But it's actually a quite charming murder mystery slash romance even if you're not into the idea of mostly humanoid aliens with tentacles -- there's one sex scene, which you could easily fast forward through if you're squeamish. (I do dearly wish the author would hire a designer to make a better cover, because this one is screaming "graphic design is my passion" at the top of its lungs rather than communicating any of the book's positive qualities.) It's a novella rather than a novel, which it can get away since it's a friends to lovers story, but I thought that the established friendship and sexual tension were communicated well, so I wasn't left scratching my head over how Gavin and Sezin suddenly decided out of nowhere that they had to bang. The worldbuilding was fantastic (the protagonists are cops on an integrated space colony shared by humans and the "humanoid aliens with tentacles" aka hirsa) and I would really love to read more books set in this universe!
November 5, 2023
That was adorable.
And by adorable, I mean with multiple dead bodies, but I enjoy some murder mystery with my romance. The opening throws you in to the worldbuilding, but soon I settled in, and I actually wriggled down in cosy anticipation, once I realized - Oh, this is going to be good. I love that feeling of picking up an unknown of a whim, and being pleasantly surprised.
One of my favorite sci-fi tropes is the meeting of different cultures, and here we have an alien society of clans with highly-developed scent marking. Fans of ABO and werewolves would feel at home here. I like how scent is described not just in the context of mates, but in picking apart the clues of a crime scene, knowing clan affiliations, and the everyday concerns such as who a parent would be comfortable holding their child.
I also like how in societies where the is a taboo against touching, it can make the slightest contact seem meaningful, and dare I say, erotic. Need to find me more of those.
I just... I just had a good time, okay? Definitely will check out more by this indie author.
And by adorable, I mean with multiple dead bodies, but I enjoy some murder mystery with my romance. The opening throws you in to the worldbuilding, but soon I settled in, and I actually wriggled down in cosy anticipation, once I realized - Oh, this is going to be good. I love that feeling of picking up an unknown of a whim, and being pleasantly surprised.
One of my favorite sci-fi tropes is the meeting of different cultures, and here we have an alien society of clans with highly-developed scent marking. Fans of ABO and werewolves would feel at home here. I like how scent is described not just in the context of mates, but in picking apart the clues of a crime scene, knowing clan affiliations, and the everyday concerns such as who a parent would be comfortable holding their child.
I also like how in societies where the is a taboo against touching, it can make the slightest contact seem meaningful, and dare I say, erotic. Need to find me more of those.
I just... I just had a good time, okay? Definitely will check out more by this indie author.
January 22, 2022
I was hesitant to read this book because a lot of comments said 'tentacle porn' and I'm looking for books more on the interspecies romance side and less smut, and this one did it good. I think this book was so much more than 'tentacle porn' (and it only has one sex scene).
I loved the book, and from my point of view it goes in-depth into their cultural differences as much as it can in a short spawn of pages. The book is short, but the world-building was great. There was a lot of material to work with if the book was longer.
I liked the characters from the beginning and the little details in their interactions. Gavin and Sezin have been partners for a while but they don't get together until 2/3 of the book . I loved that, it made it interesting and a little bit on the slow burn side.
This book is woth a re-read, I liked it a lot, I just wish it was longer.
I loved the book, and from my point of view it goes in-depth into their cultural differences as much as it can in a short spawn of pages. The book is short, but the world-building was great. There was a lot of material to work with if the book was longer.
I liked the characters from the beginning and the little details in their interactions. Gavin and Sezin have been partners for a while but they don't get together until 2/3 of the book . I loved that, it made it interesting and a little bit on the slow burn side.
This book is woth a re-read, I liked it a lot, I just wish it was longer.
June 24, 2018
This was good!
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
December 20, 2019
Just a cute, lightweight gay alien buddy cop romance. It's nothing that would particularly stand out if the words GAY ALIEN BUDDY COPS didn't get you hype, but I liked the worldbuilding, I liked the sweetness between the two partners and the way that Hayworth built a believable romance out of what's really just a novella-length narrative. Our two leads' hookup is remarkably drama-free, as if the only reason they haven't been together this whole time is that they didn't realize interspecies boning was an option, and their comfortable interaction believably sells that longstanding affection. It helps that Hayworth doesn't overreach herself: the relationship stays firmly at "hey, we could give this a try" stage, eschewing the drama of most romances for a low-key possible beginning.
April 21, 2020
I really liked the worldbuilding there, but - given that it is already very short - there is not much room to flesh out the characters a bit. Also... she lost me a couple of times along the way, for example I'd still read a sequel. The mystery was nice and given more page-time, the characters would only get better.
February 8, 2022
Human cop and his alien partner solve a murder and start a relationship with each other. Featuring cool aliens and a couple of explicit, fairly sexy sex scenes. The tentacles are tasteful.
Well-written, though slightly short - I could have read another 50,000 words of this and not gotten bored. I wish this was a series with ten more books.
Well-written, though slightly short - I could have read another 50,000 words of this and not gotten bored. I wish this was a series with ten more books.
January 13, 2018
for those of us who like this kind of thing, this is exactly the kind of thing we like.
(by which I mean, did I read the gay buddy-cop-turns-more with bonus possessive tentacle sex book? yes, I did. Did I enjoy every minute of it? hell yes.)
(by which I mean, did I read the gay buddy-cop-turns-more with bonus possessive tentacle sex book? yes, I did. Did I enjoy every minute of it? hell yes.)
January 27, 2018
The tentacle sex was great and all, but now I just want a lot more fun, not grimdark alien/human buddy cop novels.
February 12, 2019
WHY WAS THIS SO GOOD IM SORRY MOM
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