Five for Friday: 5 Books with ALIEN love interests!

In this list we are looking at alien love interests who are in relationships with humans- think an Edward Cullen scenario, but maybe a bit more blue…

At this point I’m pretty sure we’ve had so many YA books that nothing- not even Alien love interests- are unique anymore!

So let’s begin!

Just like YA, Katy Perry has a song for EVERY occasion

1. The Host by Stephanie Meyer

 

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

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Does this count as a YA? I’m not sure, but it definitely could be. I’ve mentioned this before, but the Host is one of my favourite books of all time, and one I love to recommend to people- seeing as most people read twilight and then grew out of that and haven’t tried any other Meyer books. The Host is a totally different experience from twilight, the characters and plot are really all encompassing, and engrossing. The relationships are so strong, and the ending makes me sob like a baby every single time! Even if you’ve watched the movie, do yourself a favour and pick this one up!

2. Alienated by Melissa Landers

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.

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This one sounds like a wild ride- it’s basically a roommate romance story, but the roommate is an alien? I’m also not sure how realistic the ‘exchange student with aliens’ idea is, especially only two years after first contact, but if you ever wanted to know what would happen in this very specific scenario, here you go! (I am also pretty curious right now, I can’t lie).

3. Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring… until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something… unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

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I remember when this book was released- and yes, I did actually read it. This was published in that weird period of time for the YA genre after the Twilight hype where all books where some kind of paranormal romance and HAD to have black covers. Unfortunately during that point in my life I was consuming these paranormal romance books at a rate of three a week, and I honestly couldn’t tell you if I liked Obsidian, but I didn’t read anymore of the Lux books, for whatever thats worth.

4. Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

(minor spoilers! also I won’t share the synopsis for this one, being the third book in the series). Technically not the only Alien/Human romance in this series but- in my opinion at least- the cutest; Cress and Thorne. Sigh. Hands down one of my favourite fictional couples.

5. The Diabolic by S.J Kincaid

Nemesis is a Diabolic. Created to protect a galactic Senator’s daughter, Sidonia. There’s no one Nemesis wouldn’t kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the galactic court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia.

She must become her.

Now one of the galaxy’s most dangerous weapons is masquerading in a world of corruption and Nemesis has to hide her true abilities or risk everything. As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns that there is something stronger than her deadly force: the one thing she’s been told she doesn’t have – humanity. And, amidst all the danger, action and intrigue, her humanity might be the only thing that can save her, Sidonia and the entire Empire…

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Whether or not Nemesis is actually an alien is up to you- she’s definitely not human, she’s more like a custom creature made to be a super bodyguard- and the other half of this relationship also might not be human- but he is humanoid and you know what? That’s enough for me.

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So thats it, five books with alien romances. Is this a trend you’d like to see more of, or less of? It’s certainly interesting, thats for sure!

Five for Friday: 5 YA Books set around Weddings!

We are officially in the midst of wedding season! Weddings are happening everywhere at the moment- I myself was a bridesmaid at one only a week ago.

Wedding fever reached a peak this year after the glorious wedding of Meghan and Harry- can we all agree that the whole wedding was complete goals?

So, its not really a surprise that weddings are having a bit of a renaissance within YA fiction. We’ve seen two major contemporary authors release so called wedding books in the last year, and I for one am LIVING for this troupe- give me ALL the wedding books please! So I decided to see how many more wedding centric YA books I could find- and heres the list!

Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.

The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.

There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.

There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo.

Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute.

Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

I was interested in this at first because I read somewhere that Charlie, the protagonist, plans the wedding which ends up going all wrong- and event planning is what I do. Plus, even though things going wrong at my events would be the worst, I’m sure I could see the humour in this fictional event ending up being a disaster.

This book was released in June 2018.

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Once and for All by Sarah Dessen

 

Louna, daughter of famed wedding planner Natalie Barrett, has seen every sort of wedding: on the beach, at historic mansions, in fancy hotels and clubs. Perhaps that’s why she’s cynical about happily-ever-after endings, especially since her own first love ended tragically. When Louna meets charming, happy-go-lucky serial dater Ambrose, she holds him at arm’s length. But Ambrose isn’t about to be discouraged, now that he’s met the one girl he really wants.

Sarah Dessen’s many, many fans will adore her latest, a richly satisfying, enormously entertaining story that has everything—humor, romance, and an ending both happy and imperfect, just like life itself.

Another YA wedding book! This one was released last summer, and also centres around a wedding planner, of sorts, and a romance.

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The Story of Us by Deb Calleti

Cricket’s on a self-imposed break from her longtime boyfriend—but she’s picked a bad week to sort out her love life. For one thing, her mother’s romance is taking center stage: After jilting two previous fiancés, her mom is finally marrying Dan Jax, whom Cricket loves. But as wedding attendees arrive for a week of festivities at a guesthouse whose hippie owners have a sweet, sexy son—Ash—complications arise:

Cricket’s future stepsisters make it clear they’re not happy about the marriage. An old friend decides this is the week to declare his love for Cricket. Grandpa chooses to reveal a big secret at a family gathering. Dan’s ex-wife shows up. And even the dogs—Cricket’s old, ill Jupiter and Dan’s young, lively Cruiser—seem to be declaring war.

While Cricket fears that Dan is in danger of becoming ditched husband-to-be number three, she’s also alarmed by her own desires. Because even though her boyfriend looms large in her mind, Ash is right in front of her….

This one was released a whole while ago, but it definitely centres around a wedding- so it counts, alright? This one also sounds interesting, the wedding sounds like more of a backdrop to the story but there’s that family drama that weddings can cause in the mix as well.

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The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt

Sixteen-year-old Holly wants to remember her Grandpa forever, but she’d rather forget what he left her in his will: his wedding chapel on the Las Vegas strip. Whatever happened to gold watches, savings bonds, or some normal inheritance?

And then there’s Grandpa’s letter. Not only is Holly running the business with her recently divorced parents, but she needs to make some serious money—fast. Grandpa also insists Holly reach out to Dax, the grandson of her family’s mortal enemy and owner of the cheesy chapel next door. No matter how cute Dax is, Holly needs to stay focused: on her group of guy friends, her disjointed family, work, school and… Dax. No wait, not Dax.

Holly’s chapel represents everything she’s ever loved in her past. Dax might be everything she could ever love in the future. But as for right now, there’s a wedding chapel to save.

This is one I definitely want to read- the premise is so unique- warring wedding chapels? Sign me up. I wonder if real Las Vegas wedding chapels do have rivalries…

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And last but not least-

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

I’m not going to add the synopsis here, because this is the third book in the series and spoilers are a thing, but lets just say there is a wedding in this book. Thats all.

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Do you know any more books that include weddings? Let me know!