Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: The Pill Bugs of Time 
SERIES: Offbeat Crime #2
AUTHOR: Angel Martinez
PUBLISHER: Amber Quill
LENGTH: 24,000 words
BLURB:
Vikash Soren, the perfect police officer except for his odd paranormal ability, never seems to lose his temper. Always serene and competent, he’s taken on the role of mediator in a squad room full of misfits. But on the inside, he’s a mess. Unable to tell his police partner that he loves him, Vikash struggles silently, terrified of losing Kyle Monroe as a lover, partner, and friend.
But life in Philadelphia’s 77th Precinct doesn’t leave much room for internal reflection. A confrontation with a stick-throwing tumbleweed in Fairmount Park leads to bizarre consequences involving pill bugs, statues, and…time travel?
If Vikash manages to survive the week and stay in one point in time, he might be able to address normal things like relationship problems. He just needs Kyle to have a little more patience. Maybe a few centuries worth…
REVIEW:
I would love to rummage around in the brain of Angel Martinez and see what’s in there…. She has got to be one of the most creative authors I have ever read. Seriously. A pill bug that causes people to jump around in time? An animated leather jacket that helps fight crime? Who the fuck comes up with this?? Angel Martinez. That is who.
I hope I’ve got this right: This book is part of the AmberPax collection called Reeling Through the Years, which seems to be books about time travel. It’s also a continuation of a series from Angel called Offbeat Crime. The first book in the series, and part of a different AmberPax collection is called Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters. In that book we are introduced to Vikash and Kyle, two members of the 77th Precinct in Philadelphia. This precinct is made up of officers with psychic abilities, none of which seem to work quite right. Kyle’s talent is that he sucks up other people’s abilities and…. well, weird shit just happens. He can’t control it, and it just happens. Vikash is more of a mystery, he seems to have some sort of emotional thing going on, and bad shit happens when he gets wound up.
So there are a handful of cops in this precinct, all with odd abilities. They sort of work together, snitting their where along, to solve weirdo crimes. This story follows the group as they are tracking down what turns out to be a giant pill bug (rolly polly or potato bug depending on where you live) that has left babies around Philly that latch on to people and cause them to skip randomly through time. Yep. A GIANT PILL BUG. That causes time travel. Kyle and Vikash hunt down mama bug with the help of the animated leather jacket we met in the first book, some sort of caterpillar like dude named Tim, and the others from the 77th. It was one of the most fabulously bizarre stories I have read! And it works so very well!
Under that is the developing story between Kyle and Vikash. Kyle is out and proud, Vikash is not. He’s bisexual and having a hard time coming out one way or the other. He thinks that no one understands his bisexuality, and that he just needs to commit one way or the other. At this point he is involved with Kyle, but he’s had relationships with women as well. He refuses to touch Kyle in public, much less at work, and doesn’t trust Kyle to not do some big public display of their relationship. This mistrust and misunderstanding causes some issues between them, that we get to see them process through. It was a great story line, I liked the realism of it amongst the total un-realism of the rest of the story. These two men are dealing with real issues and drama, in a totally bizarre world. That also worked very well for me!
I loved the first one, here is my review of Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters. I totally loved this one too! The plot was quirky and creative, and the story between Kyle and Vikash was realistic and lovely. There is a bit of sex, and some nice emotional moments between them. There is a lot of humor, how could there not be with a giant pill bug! I can’t say it often enough, Angel is a fantastic author and everyone should try her books! Fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, alternate reality, whatever you want to call it, she writes it so well. Oh, Sci-fi and fairy tales retold too!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Great review! I almost picked up Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters when Amber Quill had their half off LGBT titles last weekend. Now I’m kicking myself that I didn’t. I love the sound of this series. Well, fingers crossed they do another sale soon!
Thanks Bugetta! They were both so fun!