Early Review: Alienated - Melissa Landers

Title: Alienated (Alienated #1)

Author: Melissa Landers

Release Date: February 4th 2013

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Genres: YA, Sci-Fi, Romance

Pages: 352

Source: For review

Interplanetary relations have never been more exciting! The first in a funny, romantic YA sci-fi series.

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

As soon as I heard about ALIENATED, I was dying to get my hands on it. Since reading JLA's Lux series, I've been a massive fan of aliens and think there should be more of them in YA. Hurray for Alienated! This hilarious, light-hearted sci-fi story with passionate romance is definitely going on my Favorites list. It's got everything that you'd want in a story and the only thing that's not so great is that the release date won't be until February next year and I already need the sequel really bad. 

The world building and description of the planet L'eihr was phenomenal. It's beautifully done and with the author's amazing storytelling skills, you can clearly picture the planet in your head even though we're in Earth most of the time. The whole exchange program thing was fun and very clever indeed. But what I really did like about this was how realistic the author portrayed both the humans and the L'eihrs. What do you think would really happen when you create this exhange program? Obviously not everyone will be happy with it. Everyone's reactions was very realistic and you could see where everyone was coming from. There was a few mysteries and suprising twists scattered which was a brilliant touch. 

Cara and Aelyx are the main characters that you wouldn't just get enough of. We have dual POV (yay!!!) which enables us to be able to learn about them individually. Cara wasn't some annoying, whiny brat - no, she was clever, actually thinks before she acts and just an all round interesting character. Guys, we have a new sexy alien in the house. AELYX. Oh, Aelyx. He's one of my top book boyfriends and when you read Alienated, you'll know why. At first, he's a bit mysterious and bland, but as we and Cara gets to know him throughout the book, oh he's just the swooniest character ever. He's HOTTTTT. The romance between them was kept at a slow pace, making the swoony scenes between them extra special. And oh boy, we don't get that much kissing, but when we do, it makes up for it. It's honestly one of the sexiest kissing scenes I've ever read in YA. 

If you're like me, and want believable and hot off the charts romance, Alienated is a must-read. (By the way, I love this book title - very clever and bold) Anyway, Alienated will sure be a hit next year when it releases. Be sure to buy it then! :)