Review Detail

Initial thoughts after finishing the last sentence:

“NOOOOOO, it’s overrrrrr” & “That was awesome!”

Followed by:

“CRAP…..now I have to wait till next year for the next one” :’(

Aliens have made contact with Earth and although they have the same DNA as humans they are very different. The L’eihr are a highly evolved race that possess technology that can cure cancer and help the world. Earth needs the L’eihr and the L’eihr need humans but many humans want them gone for good. An exchange program is set up to see if humans and L’eihr can get along. Cara Sweeney is an ambitious teen that has her future all planned out. When she is chosen as one of three people to house an L’eihr exchange student her life changes in a way she never thought possible. Aelyx never wanted to go to Earth in fact he doesn’t want the exchange program to work…

There was so much about Alienated that I loved. When I started reading I was expecting insta-love between Cara and Aelyx. But I had to wait for the romance; it was actually done really well. The love between Cara and Aelyx grows slowly and with all they have to endure together it grows stronger. Their love is sweet and I couldn’t get enough. Cara is a wonderful heroine, she’s unafraid to say what she thinks, she’s tough, smart, and a fun voice to listen to. I loved her interactions with Aelyx, it was funny how she could boldly say things to him and tell when he was lying. It was fun to see how Cara affected Aelyx and slowly change his emotionless, stoic behavior. Aelyx is a definite favorite of mine; his world is so different from Cara’s. He has a different attitude and outlook on life. He doesn’t want anything to do with humans and is miserable at first but we get to see him change.

Alienated had all the elements I loved about the YA genre plus it gave me that sci-fi fix I was looking for. Melissa Landers creates such an interesting world where aliens exist. I loved finding out tidbits of information about the L’eihr and their way of life. It fulfilled my need for a sci-fi adventure and I am looking forward to learning more about the L’eihr in the second book. Toward the end of the book a twist occurred that I did not see coming. The twist really sped my adrenaline and the story up. Everything from there just goes whoosh, then it’s over and now I have to wait for the next book to come out. I can’t wait to find out what happens, I really want to see Cara’s and Aelyx’s happy ending.