lisxjayne's review against another edition
5.0
Never in my life would I have thought i'd truly enjoy a book about aliens, being a person who usually despises sci-fi. However, Melissa Landers created such an interesting and intriguing world I just wanted to keep reading. I instantly fell in love with Cara and Aelyx, and their snarky and sassy remarks had me giggling from cover to cover. My favourite part definitely has to be the way Melissa created a world so different from our own, yet made it so easy to imagine and 'understand' (I use quotation marks as some of the L'eihrs ways are... questionable). Yes there was predictable romance and yes it was cheesy, but I personally loved it, and cannot wait to pick up the rest of the trilogy.
saluki's review against another edition
3.0
Cara Sweeney hosts Aelyx, a L'eihr intergalactic exchange student to Earth, to help negotiations for an alliance to mutually benefit both species.
Important issues develop such as the nature of trust, levels of tolerance, the mercurial state of human emotions, procreation, and with the introduction of non-tactile and seemingly expressionless aliens the continual presence of fear of the others differences and a surge in xenophobia and its consequences. All weighty issues to explore but the romance aspect seemed the most prominent theme, and while romance is grand I was enjoying the L'eihr cultural differences and enhances in technology more.
So, it's an enjoyable alien romance novel and I'll be reading the sequel which appears to promise time spent on L'eihr.
lunabob's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so good. I'm really getting into all the syfy and stuff.
ffilippa's review against another edition
2.0
Actual rating: 1,75/5 stars
Alienated is a book I've had on my shelf forever. I'm on a mission trying to read all my physical books on my TBR shelf and Alienated was the first one I got my hands on. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.
I had quite a lot of problems with Alienated, but it had its good sides too. It's not at all like I hated the book, it's only that I found it cringey, unimaginable and monotonous. For example, about 50 % of the book (the first half) revolved around what food items Aelyx could possibly eat without puking. It was amusingly uneventful in my opinion.
When the characters were home doing nothing (which was often), nothing happened! UHG, it was so slow. Also, I didn't like the instant love, the numerous amounts of unnecessary misunderstandings between Cara and Aelyx, Cara being very contradictory and the L'eihr words not being "translated" in the beginning (some I understood in their context).
This is a different kind of 1.75 star rating. The book wasn't bad bad, but good bad. In the end, I had too many problems with it to higher my rating. I still believe that I will read book 2 in the future though.
Alienated is a book I've had on my shelf forever. I'm on a mission trying to read all my physical books on my TBR shelf and Alienated was the first one I got my hands on. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.
I had quite a lot of problems with Alienated, but it had its good sides too. It's not at all like I hated the book, it's only that I found it cringey, unimaginable and monotonous. For example, about 50 % of the book (the first half) revolved around what food items Aelyx could possibly eat without puking. It was amusingly uneventful in my opinion.
When the characters were home doing nothing (which was often), nothing happened! UHG, it was so slow. Also, I didn't like the instant love, the numerous amounts of unnecessary misunderstandings between Cara and Aelyx, Cara being very contradictory and the L'eihr words not being "translated" in the beginning (some I understood in their context).
This is a different kind of 1.75 star rating. The book wasn't bad bad, but good bad. In the end, I had too many problems with it to higher my rating. I still believe that I will read book 2 in the future though.
literacyell's review against another edition
5.0
It took me a while to finish this book, due to being very busy! But when I brought Alienated I was so worried about if I wouldn't understand the whole sci-fy book, some words can confuse me on these genre of books. But in fact I surprised myself as I really enjoyed reading this book. The ending was fantastic and I wouldn't expect it being any other way, the book and the whole outline of the book is beautiful, I cannot wait to read the second book INVADED!
emieinspace's review against another edition
4.0
My rating is actually more of a 4.5 stars. I loved this book. For a start, I really enjoyed Melissa Landers's writing. The descriptions were great, everything was fluid ; but my favourite thing were the dialogues. You know when you read a book, and you think "no one would say this in real life" ? It did not happen to me while reading Alienated. They sounded real to me. And it is something I appreciate very much in a book.
Which leads me to the characters. I loved Cara. At no point during the story did I think that she was annoying me, as it sometimes happens. Sure, she is flawed but who isn't? I found her very interesting, not only in her personality but also in her actions throughout the story. As for Aelyx, the character development he went through as well as learning more about his life, his planet and himself, was very interesting. Both of them had great character development, which is something I love reading about. They're also complex characters. Cara's parents were awesome, I loved them a lot. As for Tori and Eric, they changed in the course of the novel, that is for sure. And I liked the romance. It did not happen too fast or too suddenly, it was well-done. Overall, I loved Melissa Landers's writing of her characters.
Now, to the story. It is what drew me to read Alienated in the first place. It is nothing like I ever read before. I loved how the author managed to mix the humour with more serious subjects. Some scenes between Aelyx and the Sweeney family were so great. I mean, for example, the food issue seemed pretty realistic to me. So many good moments. But then, the book also had its serious moments (politics, protests, the media coverage of the event that are the first alien exchange students on Earth ...), and those were so interesting. I kind of wish we could have had more of them. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I won't say anymore. This book is full of secrets and suspense.
The only thing that slightly bothered me was that the ending seemed a bit rushed. But since there is a second book coming out, I don't mind that much because there will probably be more explanations in Invaded.
To conclude, I loved Alienated and I can't wait to read Invaded and see how the story develops in this second book.
Which leads me to the characters. I loved Cara. At no point during the story did I think that she was annoying me, as it sometimes happens. Sure, she is flawed but who isn't? I found her very interesting, not only in her personality but also in her actions throughout the story. As for Aelyx, the character development he went through as well as learning more about his life, his planet and himself, was very interesting. Both of them had great character development, which is something I love reading about. They're also complex characters. Cara's parents were awesome, I loved them a lot. As for Tori and Eric, they changed in the course of the novel, that is for sure. And I liked the romance. It did not happen too fast or too suddenly, it was well-done. Overall, I loved Melissa Landers's writing of her characters.
Now, to the story. It is what drew me to read Alienated in the first place. It is nothing like I ever read before. I loved how the author managed to mix the humour with more serious subjects. Some scenes between Aelyx and the Sweeney family were so great. I mean, for example, the food issue seemed pretty realistic to me. So many good moments. But then, the book also had its serious moments (politics, protests, the media coverage of the event that are the first alien exchange students on Earth ...), and those were so interesting. I kind of wish we could have had more of them. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I won't say anymore. This book is full of secrets and suspense.
The only thing that slightly bothered me was that the ending seemed a bit rushed. But since there is a second book coming out, I don't mind that much because there will probably be more explanations in Invaded.
To conclude, I loved Alienated and I can't wait to read Invaded and see how the story develops in this second book.
zeina8's review against another edition
4.0
% Scale: 87%
I really enjoyed this book at lot more than i anticipated. If you're looking for an action filled gritty sci fifi novel then this isn't for you. But if you want a lite funny cute romance with sci fi elements then i think you would enjoy this book. Our main character Cara is very strong and independant this may come off as controlling and self absorbed at times. But she is generally a well liked character. Our main male protagonist and love interest A'elyx is an alien and does come off that way very well and his development into becoming more emoitonal and human was done very well. the plot was focused around Cara and A'elyx and their relationship but the mystery and the introduction of HALO added some nice elements to the story. also there are quite a few comedic lines in this book, my personal favourite being anytime A'elyx eats some human food. Overall I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be picking up the sequel.
I really enjoyed this book at lot more than i anticipated. If you're looking for an action filled gritty sci fifi novel then this isn't for you. But if you want a lite funny cute romance with sci fi elements then i think you would enjoy this book. Our main character Cara is very strong and independant this may come off as controlling and self absorbed at times. But she is generally a well liked character. Our main male protagonist and love interest A'elyx is an alien and does come off that way very well and his development into becoming more emoitonal and human was done very well. the plot was focused around Cara and A'elyx and their relationship but the mystery and the introduction of HALO added some nice elements to the story. also there are quite a few comedic lines in this book, my personal favourite being anytime A'elyx eats some human food. Overall I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be picking up the sequel.
esppperanza's review against another edition
3.0
3.75 Stars
I thought this book was really cute but I'm not sure if I am going to pick up the next book.
I thought this book was really cute but I'm not sure if I am going to pick up the next book.
sunnydee's review against another edition
2.0
2,4 von 5 Sternen
Wahrscheinlich sind Jugendbücher wirklich nichts mehr für mich. Ich fand einfach es passierte so gar nichts in dem Buch. Die ganze Austauschschüler-Alien-Geschichte fand ich von der Idee her toll und hatte mir sehr viel davon versprochen. Aber wie oben schon gesagt passierte aus meiner Sicht so gut wie nichts.Die ganze "Angst vor dem Unbekannten" und "Fremdenhass"-Geschichte wurde für mich einfach zu übertrieben dargestellt. Die Teenydrama-Geschichte um Freundschaft und Liebe fand ich auch eher fad. Ich habe mich zeimlich durch das Buch gequält und ein paar mal überlegt einfach aufzuhören. Schlussendlich habe ich es dann doch bis zum Ende gelesen, aber gelohnt hat es sich für mich nicht. Ich kann daher keine Empfehlung aussprechen, obwohl es ja hier auf Goodreads genug positive Leseerlebnisse zu diesem Buch gibt.
Wahrscheinlich sind Jugendbücher wirklich nichts mehr für mich. Ich fand einfach es passierte so gar nichts in dem Buch. Die ganze Austauschschüler-Alien-Geschichte fand ich von der Idee her toll und hatte mir sehr viel davon versprochen. Aber wie oben schon gesagt passierte aus meiner Sicht so gut wie nichts.Die ganze "Angst vor dem Unbekannten" und "Fremdenhass"-Geschichte wurde für mich einfach zu übertrieben dargestellt. Die Teenydrama-Geschichte um Freundschaft und Liebe fand ich auch eher fad. Ich habe mich zeimlich durch das Buch gequält und ein paar mal überlegt einfach aufzuhören. Schlussendlich habe ich es dann doch bis zum Ende gelesen, aber gelohnt hat es sich für mich nicht. Ich kann daher keine Empfehlung aussprechen, obwohl es ja hier auf Goodreads genug positive Leseerlebnisse zu diesem Buch gibt.
somarostam's review against another edition
4.0
Well, when I received this book for review, I was intrigued. I really like ANYTHING that deals with aliens and their generation. Their ideas, their lives, it's all so interesting! And although this book didn't satisfy all that, it was cute, altogether!
Cara is thrilled to host the first ever exchange program between humans and the L'eihrs. But when Aleyx, the cutest alien she has ever seen, arrives, she can't even stand him. And the feeling is mutual. And it seems like a huge group of humans want the L'eihrs off of Earth and out of their lives, and that only fuels more problems.
The idea of this book is more towards the contemporary genre not the science fiction one. It's a story of two teens falling in love, who are not fit for each other but still try to make it work. I would have liked some more world building, because i felt like it was lacking a bit in this aspect. I never fully understood the differences between the aliens and us, but i have to say that I liked the information that was provided.
The romance is sweet , cute but nothing serious. It's the kind of high school romance that you know, might not be forever. I don't know what the author will do with this romance for the future books in the series, but I am hoping that she'll make it more mature and long-lasting. I did like the main characters, not at first, though. I didn't like Cara and Aleyx's arrogant attitude towards each other, but they did grow out of it. So, the character development was really evident.
Although this book is not the best science fiction book out there in the blogging world, but it is interesting, nonetheless. And I know that it has a lot of potential so I am waiting for the author to show us more of this interesting world!
Cara is thrilled to host the first ever exchange program between humans and the L'eihrs. But when Aleyx, the cutest alien she has ever seen, arrives, she can't even stand him. And the feeling is mutual. And it seems like a huge group of humans want the L'eihrs off of Earth and out of their lives, and that only fuels more problems.
The idea of this book is more towards the contemporary genre not the science fiction one. It's a story of two teens falling in love, who are not fit for each other but still try to make it work. I would have liked some more world building, because i felt like it was lacking a bit in this aspect. I never fully understood the differences between the aliens and us, but i have to say that I liked the information that was provided.
The romance is sweet , cute but nothing serious. It's the kind of high school romance that you know, might not be forever. I don't know what the author will do with this romance for the future books in the series, but I am hoping that she'll make it more mature and long-lasting. I did like the main characters, not at first, though. I didn't like Cara and Aleyx's arrogant attitude towards each other, but they did grow out of it. So, the character development was really evident.
Although this book is not the best science fiction book out there in the blogging world, but it is interesting, nonetheless. And I know that it has a lot of potential so I am waiting for the author to show us more of this interesting world!