Review: Alienated by Melissa Landers

Title: Alienated
Series: Alienated #1
Author: Melissa Landers
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication date: February 14th, 2014
Genres: Young adult, Contemporary, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Romance

Synopsis:
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.

I'm a conspiracy theory nut, so whenever I get the chance to explore books about Aliens (fiction or not) it's almost always a great time. Provided that there's a believable basis, and their interactions with humans come with realistic consequences. Otherwise, count me out. I believe it was last year, or maybe even the year before, where Alienated was receiving a HUGE amount of hype, particularly in the BookTube community. It definitely peaked my interest, and I've finally gotten around to picking it up!

Waiting on Wednesday | The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

This week I'm waiting on The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson.

Mystery Mission #1 Reveal // The 2016 Bookish Bingo Challenge

2016’s Bookish Bingo Challenge comes with a little bit of a twist. This year five boxes on the bingo card are marked with a mysterious question mark. As a result of not knowing what lies beneath them, they prevent you from attaining your precious BINGOs. Every second month a new mystery mission will be unveiled here on the blog so you may work towards completing your card. These mystery missions aren’t in any way superior to the other tasks in the challenge.

This is the first of the five mystery missions to be unveiled! I’m excited for you all to see it, because it’s a little bit of an subjective one. Though I had originally intended to choose the missions myself, I decided that you guys should be able to leave suggestions, so these mystery missions have been created by the members of the 2016 Bookish Bingo Challenge group on GoodReads.

Review: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

Title: The Start of Me and You
Author: Emery Lord
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication date: March 31st, 2015
Genres: Young adult fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Friendship

Synopsis:
It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?

Back in 2014 I fell in love with Emery Lord's debut novel, Open Road Summer. It was the quintessential contemporary novel in my eyes, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to read more from her. The Start of Me and You gave off a different vibe, not nearly as playful or witty. From the premise it seemed this story would something more in the same vein as Gayle Forman's novels, and if you know me, you'll know that Gayle Forman's novels are my absolute favourite.

That's a Wrap! A look back at January 2016

I honestly cannot comprehend the fact that another month has passed. I told myself that 2016 would be the year I finally begin to blog consistently, and though it's been a bit of a bumpy ride, it's definitely been rewarding. So much has happened over the course of the past month and I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to highlight some of the reading related things that occurred in January. Let's get into it!