Invaded

Invaded by Melissa Landers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This series is just so clever. A foreign exchange student program between planets? Sign me up!

This sequel to Alienated is even better. This time, Cara is living on L'eihr and Aleyx is on earth. They are honoring an agreement put forth by The Elders of L'eihr brought on by the circumstances of the last book and neither one likes it much.

Cara is struggling to fit into a new society, a new school and a new climate. Apparently someone is also trying to frame her for theft, punishable by death. She doesn't speak the language (much) and she's trying to keep up with people who are physically, academically and technologically advanced. Add to this the fact that she is essentially the Earth ambassador and her stress level increases exponentially. The way she handles all this stress is somewhat fictional, but there's a sense of her frustration there. She adopts an "I will conquer this!" attitude rather than wallowing in self-pity. She usually won't even let herself cry.

Aleyx is such a great character. He is balanced and calm in every situation. Even when his life is threatened repeatedly, he finds time to joke and laugh with his roommate and friends. Watching him try to analyze the female psyche is pretty entertaining. He wants so desperately to get it right and is completely unfamiliar with getting anything wrong in general, let alone the complex workings of the mind of an Earth girl.

There are some delightful side characters here. The side romances are as entertaining as the primary one. The bad guys are mysterious. It's not difficult to discern what's happening, but it doesn't read as predictable. Landers has done an excellent job of providing ups and downs in the plot, keeping the suspense going without seeming anti-climactic.

There's really not much to dislike here. For a YA romance that's inventive and new, it's a great departure from the standard contemporary romance. The audio is narrated by Madeline Lambert, who does a fabulous job. Her voice for Aelyx is especially good. She captures his character perfectly.

Melissa Landers states on her website that this series is only contracted for two books and a novella. The ending of this book is emotionally satisfying, leaving no real need for another book. But Landers was smart to leave room for another book there is interest from the publisher. As good as this series is, I would anticipate yet another winner. This is fun YA sci-fi done really, really well.

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