For this week's first review for Mark This Book Monday I have an ARC review of a book I can't wait to re-read again as soon as my preorder hardcover arrives, hopefully close to the release date of February 4th!
I won this ARC on a Twitter giveaway that author Ashley Elston did, thank you so much for making it open internationally! A fun bit of trivia, this was my very first paper ARC too!
Alienated by Melissa Landers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had wanted to read this since I found out about the book on Twitter and read the blurb here, and when I got a chance to read the ARC I was so stoked! You know that feeling of not knowing if that long awaited book will disappoint you? Well, this one didn't!
On Alienated we meet Cara, a high school valedictorian, overachiever extraordinaire that is given the chance of a lifetime to be part of a student exchange, the first student exchange with aliens! The L'eirh made contact with humankind a pair of years back and now they want to stablish better human-L'eirh relationships. Cara will get the responsability of being a human ambassador, but it can also be her ticket to the college of her dreams!
Aelyx is not happy about the exchange, nor are other two fellow students going to France and China, and they have a plan that won't make neither humans nor L'eirhs happy.
At first Cara's attitude and outlook didn't endear her to me too much, and neither did Aelyx attitude, even if he got more of a dispensation being an alien with hidden motives.
But the story and the way the relationship between the characters started developing really got me hooked. I really didn't expect the focus of the book to be so much on showing big issues through the story, issues like unhealthy relationships, xenophobia, bullying, and modern witch hunting! Cara and her family have to face so much hate because of hosting Aelyx, and they never cave in and keep on trying to do the right thing. Cara proves that she is trying to make it easier for Aelyx not just out of a sense of obligation and to get her rewards, but cause it's the right thing (and of course, cause she seems to be building a massive crush on him!).
Aelyx starts with a horrible attitude towards the inferior race of humans, even if he tries to remain civil, but little by little he decides to stop focusing only on the bad and gives a chance to what's good in humankind, in Cara and her family.
The way the romance progresses worked really well for me, and since I have no issues with interspecies/alien romances, I was rooting for it as soon as Aelyx started questioning his attitude towards Cara and his actions following his original plan. There was some very swooning moments in there, and I loved them!
All in all, this is a book about two teens that fall in love despite and probably because of their differences, and a book about how humans (and aliens) can be capable of the best and worst. Some big issues are addressed in this book, but there's still enough lightness to it to make sure it doesn't come along as preachy.
The ending doesn't have a huge cliffhanger, but it sure leaves you waiting eagerly for the sequel!
Very well deserved 4 stars!
View all my reviews
I won this ARC on a Twitter giveaway that author Ashley Elston did, thank you so much for making it open internationally! A fun bit of trivia, this was my very first paper ARC too!
Alienated by Melissa LandersMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had wanted to read this since I found out about the book on Twitter and read the blurb here, and when I got a chance to read the ARC I was so stoked! You know that feeling of not knowing if that long awaited book will disappoint you? Well, this one didn't!
On Alienated we meet Cara, a high school valedictorian, overachiever extraordinaire that is given the chance of a lifetime to be part of a student exchange, the first student exchange with aliens! The L'eirh made contact with humankind a pair of years back and now they want to stablish better human-L'eirh relationships. Cara will get the responsability of being a human ambassador, but it can also be her ticket to the college of her dreams!
Aelyx is not happy about the exchange, nor are other two fellow students going to France and China, and they have a plan that won't make neither humans nor L'eirhs happy.
At first Cara's attitude and outlook didn't endear her to me too much, and neither did Aelyx attitude, even if he got more of a dispensation being an alien with hidden motives.
But the story and the way the relationship between the characters started developing really got me hooked. I really didn't expect the focus of the book to be so much on showing big issues through the story, issues like unhealthy relationships, xenophobia, bullying, and modern witch hunting! Cara and her family have to face so much hate because of hosting Aelyx, and they never cave in and keep on trying to do the right thing. Cara proves that she is trying to make it easier for Aelyx not just out of a sense of obligation and to get her rewards, but cause it's the right thing (and of course, cause she seems to be building a massive crush on him!).
Aelyx starts with a horrible attitude towards the inferior race of humans, even if he tries to remain civil, but little by little he decides to stop focusing only on the bad and gives a chance to what's good in humankind, in Cara and her family.
The way the romance progresses worked really well for me, and since I have no issues with interspecies/alien romances, I was rooting for it as soon as Aelyx started questioning his attitude towards Cara and his actions following his original plan. There was some very swooning moments in there, and I loved them!
All in all, this is a book about two teens that fall in love despite and probably because of their differences, and a book about how humans (and aliens) can be capable of the best and worst. Some big issues are addressed in this book, but there's still enough lightness to it to make sure it doesn't come along as preachy.
The ending doesn't have a huge cliffhanger, but it sure leaves you waiting eagerly for the sequel!
Very well deserved 4 stars!
View all my reviews
Great review! I can't wait to see how Cara is received on Aelyx's planet, but I'm worried about a love triangle with that head council dude that we met in the end.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there's a show that is getting ready to premiere on CW called Star Crossed that made me think of this book so much. http://www.cwtv.com/shows/star-crossed
Have a great day!
Same here, I'm hoping no love triangle will happen, but we will see!
DeleteSo glad you enjoyed it! I've got it pre-ordered, since I didn't get an early copy, but it sounds like it'll be worth the wait, and not much of a cliff-hanger? yay! :D Great review!
ReplyDeleteI was so happy it didn't disappoint me! I hope you'll love it!
DeleteI love the sound of an alien exchange student program. I would be happy to host an alien in my house as long as he/she/it always remembered to keep the toilet lid down. :) I'm curious about the cover...I gather the alien has a human appearance?
ReplyDeleteStephanie @ Inspiring Insomnia
According to the book the biggest differences are not so much physical but cultural, but there are so differences that are not exactly reflected on the cover, even if it's a stunning cover!
DeleteI will be reading this soon and it looks like a lot of fun. Great review!
ReplyDeleteKate @ Ex Libris
Thanks Kate, I hope you'll love it!
DeleteThis one looks so good! I'm not sure if I'm into interspecies romances though. It reminds me a bit like the zombie thing, but I guess I might as well find out! I think I'm most excited to see the culture shock and then gradual acceptance for Earth by Aelyx.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review!
-P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex
I guess with all my love of sci-fi I'm a bit desensitized about the interspecies romances thing, since it never was an issue for me!
DeleteHope you'll give it a try and like it, P.E.!
I have this one and I'm just about to start it, but to be honest, i expected a sappy, predictable romance and I wasn't exactly thrilled about it. I'm glad this deals with more serious issues. I think I'll like it much better that way.
ReplyDeleteI'm certainly glad you did.
Lovely review, my friend.
To be perfectly honest I was expecting a overly typical, full of high school cliches story, but it wasn't like that at all!
DeleteI hope you'll like it, Maja! I cannot wait to see what you think!
I didn't request this because I'm not usually fond of books about aliens. But I do like the Paper Doll series by Stacey Kade, and I've read a lot of positive reviews for this, so I may have to give it a try!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics
I love sci-fi, so I was quite intrigued about this twist on aliens! I do hope you check it out, Jen!
DeleteI'm definitely intrigued about the interspecies/alien romance I don't see having a problem with it but I've never come across it. I know I'm not for the ghost/non ghost romances those are weird to me. And Zombie romance is just icky. I do like how deep this story seems to be with many different topics I wouldn't have expect that either. I'm excited to read this one soon! :)
ReplyDeleteHopefully you'll like it too, Giselle!
DeleteOh my gosh, everyone loves this book so much! I'm not going to read your review yet, Kate and Kim and I all read it and are doing a joint discussion review in a couple of weeks, so I want my thoughts to be clear. I'm glad you enjoyed it, though.
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden
Ooooh, I cannot wait to read the discussion post! I'll be keeping an eye on the blog for it!
DeleteThanks Wendy!
This one sounds good Pili, congrats on getting accepted! I like the sound of delving into real issues which is something lots of YA books brush over.
ReplyDeleteJeann @ Happy Indulgence
Thank you, Jeann! I was beyond happy when I won the book on the twitter giveaway!
DeleteI hope you check this one out!
I loved, loved, LOVED this book! You're right, it dealt with a lot of big issues (Modern witch hunting? Never thought about it that way! But SO true!) but it was a a very fun read at the same time! And that alien boy sure knows how to make a girl swoon! ;)
ReplyDeleteI still haven't posted my review yet and the book is out next week... Ooops! Hopefully I'll have it up before the release date.
Wonderful review, Pili! I'm so glad you liked it too! After that crazy ending, I honestly cannot wait to see what will happen next!
Wasn't it awesome! I cannot wait to read your review, Lili!
DeleteAnd yeah, the cover reveal for book 2 and the ARCs are apparently very near, so we'll have to keep our eyes peeled!!
The ARCs are almost ready too?? Wowzers! That is exciting! I cant wait to see the cover of book 2... I absolutely adore Alienated's cover, so I hope they match!
DeleteI hope you'll check it out and like it, Aman!
ReplyDeleteIt's a duology as far as I know!
I'm glad you enjoyed this one since I know you were looking forward to it so much! I like it a lot too and look forward to the next in the series. great review Pili!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristen! So excited for the next one!
Delete