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Did you know that Melissa Landers writes contemporary romance under the name Macy Beckett? It's true, and I’m a huge fan of those books. When I found out she’d be debuting a science fiction Young Adult series, Alienated immediately went to the top of my most anticipated list. Her romances are fun, flirty, and sexy, and I was eager to see how this would translate across genres. Alienated contains her usual wit and humor with an easy-to-root-for romance, and there's also an engaging mixture of fluff and more serious themes. I was thoroughly entertained and am happy to have a new alien series to enjoy!

Two years ago, an alien race from the planet L’eihr made contact with humans for the first time. They have superior intelligence, technology, and medicine, and as an initial peace offering gifted humans with the cure for cancer. Since then, both governments have agreed to a temporary alliance to see if their nations can co-exist peacefully and learn from one another. L’eihr will be sending three of their most gifted teenagers to live with three human families. Cara Sweeney, future valedictorian of her high school, is chosen to host Aelyx, including bringing him to her school. As you can imagine, not everyone is in accordance with this plan, fearing that the aliens have an ulterior motive. Protesting quickly escalates to hatred and violence, leading to a fast-paced and high stakes conclusion.

First, I was really interested in how Melissa Landers would characterize this new alien race. The L’eihr have nearly identical DNA to humans, except their brains are bigger and they can do cool things like read minds. Thankfully, it doesn’t stop there. Alienated may be light on the sci-fi, but I really enjoyed the little details that separated the L’eihrs from humans. Mainly there’s a dichotomy between the intellect and the emotional. For years now, rather than natural reproduction, the L’eihrs have been cloning the DNA of their best and brightest from generations past. As children they aren’t raised in a family but in a type of commune, meaning very little physical affection. As a result, their emotional growth has been stunted. This is personified by the drab, identical clothing they all wear, the colorless world they live in, and the flavorless food they eat. When Aelyx first arrives on Earth, he is astonished by its bright greens and sky blues, by Cara’s fiery red hair. I like this contrast a lot, showing that humans have something to offer the L’eihrs, and not just vice-versa.

Their differences are also highlighted by the use of dual perspective. Whereas Cara’s narration and personality are bubbly, comic, and light, Aelyx is more reserved and detached. I immediately connected to Cara, who is smart and driven but compassionate as well. No matter how much social standing she loses with her classmates or how many cold shoulders are given to her and her family, she stands by Aelyx’s side. She even tries desperately to find him the perfect food that will remind him of home. Another fun tidbit is that she runs a witty commentary blog, keeping the world (and us) up to date on human-L’eihr interactions and L’eihr trivia. As a blogger, I really appreciated that extra touch to her character. Aelyx, on the other hand, was not likable at first. He comes off as snobbish and judgmental, and he even has a plan in place to sabotage the peace treaty. Over time, mostly due to Cara and her family’s kindness and his budding romance with Cara, his emotionless exterior begins to crack. It's a well done character arc, and I was swooning for him way before the end. It turns out that he can be just as funny as Cara but in a dry, sarcastic way. It’s also extremely cute that he has to recite the periodic table in his head whenever things with Cara heat up.

Aelyx and Cara’s romance is of the slow-burn variety, with a solid foundation of friendship built first. No love triangles, and their relationship is thankfully steady and mostly drama free. As for chemistry, there is ONE scene that many reviewers have already mentioned that had me fanning myself. L’eihrs don’t exactly kiss but instead demonstrate intimacy and attraction through something called sh’ellam. You’ll have to find out for yourself what it entails. When Aelyx proposes that he and Cara exchange a bit of action, my heart was doing little happy dances. This is what I love about Melissa Landers� romances, and I wish we had gotten a few more scenes like it.

The ending of Alienated has me anxious and excited for the second book, Invaded. I hope Aelyx and Cara aren’t separated for too much of the time, but I am looking forward to learning more about L’eihr and experiencing the planet for the first time right alongside Cara.

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