Alienated by Melissa Landers

Pages: 344
Genre: Sci-fi
Series: Alienated #1
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: Feb 4, 2013

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.

This is officially the first alien book I've read that I liked. At first, I was a bit wary because, honestly, I haven't had the best luck with these. But Alienated was WONDERFUL. Absolutely, wonderfully, amazing.

I loved, especially, the sci-fi part. The worldbuilding for L'eihr was fascinating and I loved learning about this planet. While we didn't get to see it, we did learn a lot about it, and I was scrambling for every morsel. (Did you know their plants don't have photosynthesis? Instead, they draw nutrients from the air, making the plants grey-ish instead of bright green. FASCINATING ISN'T IT.) Everything was so well thought out and it wasn't as cheesy or as geeky as some. Not that I have a problem with geekery, but it tends to lean towards the unbelievable, while Alienated presented a very believable world. I also loved the words and the names that were only slightly different! Love for the world. So much love.

In the beginning, I was a bit irritated by Cara. She was such an opportunist and I didn't really like her attitude. After the first impression, though, I fell in love with her character. She was a loyal person who stood for what she believed was right and wouldn't abandon Aelyx and believed in him till the very end. And that definitely took some guts, considering everything.

Aelyx was such a swoony character! He was so stoic throughout most of the book, but reading things from his POV definitely shed some light on his feelings. I loved how slowly he evolved from a held off kind of character to such a...well, human, one. Seeing him interact with Cara was adorable. Plus, hilarious. For example, his "compliment": "Hips of that width are likely to pass live offspring without complications." BAHAHAHA. THE TEARS. THE LAUGHTER. It was hilarious. So, so, so hilarious.

The romance. Ummm, wow. I've never seen a couple so reluctant to fall in love! (I think) They fell in love so slowly it was barely noticeable sometimes, but the tension between them was just so adorable. They were so easy with each other, at least for an alien-human pairing. They had so many hilarious moments that I reread over and over, laughing again and again. And then the kissing scene. Oh my gosh. Cara may not have gotten cardiac arrest, but I definitely did. 

The plot was definitely a high point for me as well. So many things happened that made my head spin. The HALO (Human Against L'eihr Occupation) members were so cruel and just horrible to Cara, Aelyx, and anyone associated to them. The entire town ignored her family, shunned them, and did everything they could to make their lives a living hell. It was terrible and I wanted to cuddle our characters. They were so strong throughout the ordeal and I just can't stop loving them enough for staying loyal, especially Cara. 

Alienated is an original, one of a kind book that was an amazing read! I loved it and I can not wait for the sequel! I definitely recommend it to all sci-fi fans and to those that want a...different sort of Romeo and Juliet. Except, without the dying. Maybe.

Get it, read it, love it! 

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Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Pages: 432

Genre: Sci-fi

Series: Avalon #1

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: Jan 2, 2014

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

I'll admit, going into this, I was just a bit unsure. I'm not one for alien/otherworldly sci-fi, but Mindee Arnett? Galactic thieves and mercenaries? I was willing to risk it--and I am so glad I did.

Avalon is one of those stories that starts off with a bang and just keeps climbing up. The plot was one of those that doesn't let you rest, doesn't give you any worry-free time, and just intrigues more and more. Excluding all the plot twists (which were more than shocking) what surprised me was that what I thought was going to be the main conflict was resolved in only a few pages. Curiouser and curiouser, right?
Either way, it was what happened after that made everything even more interesting and even more cutthroat.

I will say that there was a twist I did predict from the first half of the book, but it was how I was right that made me gape. You have to hand it to Arnett--she sure knows how to keep you hanging and coming back for more! I read maybe a chapter of Avalon and then read the rest in one sitting. Because who can resist something like this book (that felt like an intergalactic horror story for a few chapters!)

And then the worldbuilding! I'm just blown away by all the science and every meticulous detail and research that probably went into this book. From dimensions to spaceships to lost planets and genetics, Avalon pretty much covers all your sci-fi needs! It's really just a gorgeous book.

There's a rather large cast of characters, but you just fall in love with each and every one of them (them being the good guys, I mean!) It was amazing how the team operated and how well they worked together and laughed together, more family than just some random teens stuck together. What I loved so much though, was how different each character was from one another. Some were more somber, most always joking, but each of them had their own quirks and habits that just made them stand out a bit and just make you love them, especially Jeth.
I don't read many male POVs, but props to Arnett for making a pretty believable voice and a protagonist you couldn't help but cheer for! Jeth was a rather complex character who had his faults and strengths and, like I already said--you can't help but fall in love with him!

Speaking of falling in love, the romance was the only thing I wasn't so sure on. While I did love the fact that romance took a back seat on this one, with only a kiss or two at most, I still felt a bit irritated by it in the beginning, especially considering that there's a bit of insta love when they first met, Jeth remarking on how beautiful Sierra, our love interest was, or something like that. I also felt a bit awkward because of a certain other character I felt like (almost wished) had feelings for Jeth. Then again, I'd probably have an issue with love triangles, so maybe not?

Avalon is an absolute must read for fans of hardcore (or not!) fans of sci-fi. I can almost guarantee you'll love this book with it's unbelievable twists and jaw dropping turns! I really just loved this read because honestly. Intergalactic thieves. 

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These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Pages: 374

Genre: Sci-fi/Romance

Series: Starbound #3

Publisher:Disney Hyperion

Release Date: Dec 10, 2013

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever? Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

I got These Broken Stars a little after release, and by then people were fawning over it, talking about how much they loved it, how amazing it was so suffice to say, I had high expectations. Very high expectations. So high I screwed studyimg for finals and read it instead.

And you know what? I loved it. Right from the start I loved it and it broke my slump of starting 8 books and finishing none of them. That's how amazing These Broken Stars was. Plus, that cover! 

So I actually have no idea how to start this review. It's always hardest to write about a book you loved, I guess? But let's start with characters. 
I adored Lilac as a character. She was brilliant character who was completely amazing throughout the entire book. She was smart, witty, and was willing to do what she could. She pretended to be the flighty heiress everything thought she'd be, but her reasons for doing so was heartbreaking and I actually felt heartbroken by page twenty. She was a character I could sympathize with and it's amazing that Lilac went through some character growth without losing my admiration. 
Tarver was swoony. Can I leave it at that? Fine. He was sweet and swoony and amazing and swoony and I loved him and his swooniness. In all seriousness though, Tarver was just as brilliant as Lilac, though more street smart than book smart, and it showed. I loved how caring he was towards Lilac and how badass he was, though not without his vulnerability. 

The romance was swoon worthy, but I think I've already used that word too much. I'm always a fan of hate/love relationship which is definitely how their relationship seemed when they crashed. I adored how they first met though, although it did seem a bit insta lovey, but the romance after that was entirely amazing. And I actually loved the insta love part of it too, surprisingly. I'm pretty sure there's a meme that's like "True love is when you take care of each other even if you're angry." or something like that and it definitely applies to the book. Also? Let me just say that I couldn't contain my squeals (and screams) at all. 

The worldbuilding and the vivid descriptions were a giant part of the novel and the science part was...mind blowing and just...brilliant. It was amazing, the things behind the whispers, behind the mysterious terraformed planet and it's definitely a creative, if not somewhat original, idea. 

These Broken Stars is, at it's core, a survival story and I loved that. I never knew watching people walk could be so fascinating. Of course, that's not all that happens. There was a mystery on the edges of the book and you couldn't help but get enraptured, wondering, dying to know what was happening, what was causing this or that, whether they were going crazy, or if there really was something...other.
What I think I loved the most was that our characters reached the conclusion before we did, which is actually pretty hard to do. And it wasn't just some wild leap, there was actually evidence to back it up and it was...interesting, seeing where we'd be taken next.

These Broken Stars is, perhaps, one of my favorite sci-fi books out there and I can't wait to read book two, which I'm hoping will at least have a Lilac or Tarver cameo! (It has to guys, it has to.) Heartbreaking and awe inspiring, These Broken Stars is just one that'll have to  make it to the top of your TBR, no matter how towering it already is!

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Severed Tower by J. Barton Mitchell

Goodreads Blurb

Holt, Mira, and Max have fled Midnight City with Zoey after watching her repel an entire Assembly army. Zoey's powers are unlocked, but who and what she is remains a mystery. All she knows is that she must reach the Severed Tower, an infamous location in the middle of the world's most dangerous landscape: The Strange Lands, a place where the laws of physics have completely broken down. But the closer they get to the Tower, the more precarious things become. The Assembly has pursued Zoey into the Strange Lands. Among them is a new group, their walkers and machines strangely bereft of any color, stripped to bare metal, and whose agenda seems to differ from the rest. To make matters worse, the group hunting Holt are here, too, led by a dangerous and beautiful pirate named Ravan. So is Mira's first love, Benjamin Aubertine, whose singular ambition to reach the Tower threatens to get them all killed.

Then there's the Strange Lands themselves. They have inexplicably begun to grow, spreading outwards, becoming more powerful. Somehow, it all seems tied to Zoey herself, and the closer she gets to the Tower, the weaker she becomes.

It's been a while since I read Midnight City, but I remember being so absolutely in love with the story and the characters! And guys, after reading the sequel, I can not recommend this series enough to sci-fi and dystopian/apocalyptic fans.

Yeah yeah, moan all you want about how alien invasion books are becoming typical and the norm for YA. This series, the worldbuilding, the plot, its all so original! I can't get over it at all.
So something that wasn't quite in the last book is that this series is seriously sci-fi. You don't see as much as you usually would in the first half of the book, but towards the end, the sci-fi makes a definite appearance. I'm still unsure exactly what happened, but I'm pretty sure Mitchell managed to weave together parallel universes, dark matter, and a whole bunch of other things I can't think about. (ALSO. There was totally a Doctor Who moment in this.)

I'm so in love with our wide range of characters too. They were all quirky, flawed, and absolutely badass, in their own ways. We're introduced to so many new characters, Ravan, Avril, Ben, Gideon, and the White Helex and Menagerie crews. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to remember all of them and their roles, and I couldn't help but love all these new characters as much as I loved Holt, Mira, and Zoey. Because they were unbelievably unpredictable and unbelievably scarred in some way. They were all brave, in different ways, and it's just impossible not to be touched by some of their sacrifices.
Also the White Helix? I love them. Is creepy, but is cool.

Surprisingly, even with a ton of POV's and in third person, I didn't mind it. Which, guys, that's an Anomaly (Pun intended.)

The plot was as unexpected as the characters. Because holy crap. I didn't expect any of that at all. Explosions are more than a few and with all the Anomalies and Artifacts, things are sure to be...mind blowing (My punny side has revealed itself.) The ending especially! I just couldn't believe it and I can honestly say that it's one of the better endings I've ever read.

Ah the romance. Honestly, there's not too much to write because the romance honestly didn't show itself, despite there being to exes brought back into the picture. Like I'd hoped, romance was kept to a bare minimum, though you could clearly see Holt and Mira's, Mira and Ben's, and Holt and Raven's dynamics. All three pairings made brilliant teams and, to be frank, I think I was more in love with Ben than Holt. For me, I feel like Ben sacrificed the most for Mira, despite his misgivings.

A sequel to die for (Oh hey, hello pun), The Severed Tower surpasses the first, which already blew my socks off! I'll definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good sci-fi and a story where our narrator's not the only player in a game we don't understand. Yet.

Pages: 400

Genre: Post Apocaylptic

Series: Conquered Earth #2

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Release Date: November 19, 2013
Rating: 4.5 Stars

Waterfell by Amalie Howard

Goodreads Blurb

Nerissa Marin hides among teens in her human form, waiting for the day she can claim her birthright—the undersea kingdom stolen from her the day her father was murdered. Blending in is her best weapon—until her father's betrayer confronts Nerissa and challenges her to a battle to the death on Nerissa's upcoming birthday—the day she comes of age. 
Amid danger and the heartbreak of her missing mother, falling for a human boy is the last thing Nerissa should do. But Lo Seavon breaches her defenses and somehow becomes the only person she can count on to help her desperate search for her mother, a prisoner of Nerissa's mortal enemy. Is Lo the linchpin that might win Nerissa back her crown? Or will this mortal boy become the weakness that destroys her?

Going into this, I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about it. The reviews I saw were mixed and my friends ranged from hating it to loving it completely. And I'm a mermaid girl, so I was definitely curious.
Before going in though, I was worried and already grimacing a bit. Lo Seavon. Lo SEAvon. And Nerissa Marin. Like Marine?

Oh this would be good. (I just wasn't sure if I'd meant that sarcastically or not when I'd though it.)

So first things first, I was actually a bit...confused by this book. There were a lot of contradicting plot lines that might have had to do with my copy being an ARC, but I digress. More than that, the actions and twists of the book were so...sudden. There was nothing leading up to it, no tension built or anything. The twists just jumped at you from the book and not in a particularly stunning way.

Nerissa...Nerissa wasn't my favorite character in the world of YA. She was whiny and, like Seipo brought up (and promptly apologized for) selfish. She did things however she wanted, pretty much regardless of the consequences and the toll it would take on those around her. She didn't seem to realize what people were sacrificing for her and she was...so naive. She believed that she was strong enough with very little training. She believed that she could take on the one person who managed to kill her powerful father. And she never thought once to suspect the people around her even though there were so many hints about it.
Bringing me to that little bit of information. Nerissa was also behind and oblivious. I figured things out three to ten chapters before her and I found it ridiculous that she herself pointed out things that should've tipped her off, but didn't. And now I wander into the plot discussion.

The pacing was actually quite fun and I loved the action bits, but the entire story was really quite predictable. While there were a few things that surprised me, the largest twist was something I'd seen coming a mile away and was actually pretty cliche and sort of made me want to bang my head on the wall.

And while the plot was pretty decent, the story focused mainly on the romance--insta love. Their relationship was so "electric" and insta lovey I cringed a few times as Nerissa described Lo's eyes as "matching the depths of the ocean" for the hundredth time and couldn't help but laugh every time she tried to deny her feelings for Lo. Which I honestly didn't understand. She didn't have plans to go back to her world, why would admitting she had a crush on him hurt her in any way? It was really ridiculous how much she tried to fight it despite her getting jealous and snapping at him when he talked to another girl for even ten seconds.

What is sort of fascinating, but weird, is that our characters...are not mermaids. No, they're alien water dragon-like creatures who resemble the Loch Ness monster, I'm assuming.That part was actually intriguing, and I do wish we focused more on the other aspects of the story besides Nerissa falling in love with Lo.

Pages: 360

Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy

Series: The Aquarathi #1

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: Oct 29, 2013

Rating: 2 stars

The Rules by Stacey Kade

The Rules was really a great read and, if it'd been a contemporary, would've received a full five stars, but as a sci-fi, it lacked a bit. We never saw much of Ariane's alien side or much of her powers, except for a few occasions. It didn't really play a major role until maybe the last part of the book, though, and that was a bit disappointing. We also never really understood much about her...condition, which was also one of the setbacks. I do think that the book set up the sequel nicely for a hardcore sci-fi novel though! So I'm definitely anxious for book 2!

This book, at first, really sounded like a giant revenge plot going on. It was definitely interesting, but another thing that made it seem more contemporary than sci-fi...so there was that.

Ariane was definitely a great character! She was an easy character to understand and I loved reading from her POV. There's no count for how many times sympathy welled up in me for her. Always having to hide, always having to be careful. And having such a bee (I ban myself from cussing) as a best friend. She was definitely a strong and fiery character who hated standing back. She was stubborn and always believed in doing what she was right, and was so adamant in doing the right thing, even when it just stabbed her back.

Our love interest was also pretty cute! I'm always one for character changes and Zane seemed to have gone through a pretty rough one when his mom left. Suddenly he's not as cruel or ignorant as his friends and he really did see Ariane. Their romance was absolutely adorable and sometimes I just wanted to scream and tell him what Ariane was hiding. He was worried without being completely overbearing which is something I've realized happens a lot in these kind of books! He pried away her slowly built up wall and it was wonderful seeing them fall in love! 

The plot was definitely unpredictable. I was surprised time and time again and, while it didn't help with the sci-fi, I do love a good revenge plot! The ending chapters were some of my favorite though! For reasons I can not say. But they were super good and I loved the plot! It definitely kept me on my toes! 

The Rules was an amazing book and one I wouldn't mind recommending over and over! There's definitely a great set up for the sequel and I can't wait to get my hands on it! 

Pages: 416

Genre: Sci-fi

Series: Project Paper Doll #1

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Release Date: April 23, 2013

Rating: 4 stars