mariethelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This was slow and weird at first but god damn Im so hooked right now that I need the rest of the series right now.
octagonal's review against another edition
2.0
I was sad about Star-Crossed getting cancelled, and therefore I really couldn't pass up a book about an alien dude going to a human high school and being all cutesy.
BUT it wasn't as good as I was hoping. I mean, it wasn't bad exactly... but there was a lot of obnoxious things that had nothing to do with the plot. Such as the main character's hair being described as auburn/copper/fiery, even though these are clearly not the same color, people. There were also way too many random pop culture references for me. I have a thing about that, idk.
BUT the end was entertaining.
BUT it wasn't as good as I was hoping. I mean, it wasn't bad exactly... but there was a lot of obnoxious things that had nothing to do with the plot. Such as the main character's hair being described as auburn/copper/fiery, even though these are clearly not the same color, people. There were also way too many random pop culture references for me. I have a thing about that, idk.
BUT the end was entertaining.
kstring's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written! But, I give 3 stars for a few reasons:
1. An unnecessary amount of cursing that just makes the book feel awkward, hard to take seriously, and difficult to enjoy. It wasn't very pleasant for a reader like me who doesn't see the necessity of cursing.
2. Way too much foreshadowing and expression of emotions from the get-go. I was able to put together the entire plot by the end of chapter 2.
3. The passage of time. I could never tell what day it was because one minute, something would be happening, and the next, it's a three weeks later something with no mention of anything done in the three weeks between events. I felt that it could have been better controlled.
Overall, a nice read if you don't mind swearing.
1. An unnecessary amount of cursing that just makes the book feel awkward, hard to take seriously, and difficult to enjoy. It wasn't very pleasant for a reader like me who doesn't see the necessity of cursing.
2. Way too much foreshadowing and expression of emotions from the get-go. I was able to put together the entire plot by the end of chapter 2.
3. The passage of time. I could never tell what day it was because one minute, something would be happening, and the next, it's a three weeks later something with no mention of anything done in the three weeks between events. I felt that it could have been better controlled.
Overall, a nice read if you don't mind swearing.
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.