Invaded (Alienated, #2)

by Melissa Landers

[Berls]

This review appeared first at Fantasy is More Fun.

**I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

I launched into Invaded as soon as I finished Alienated - and I just couldn't put it down! I love the themes, the characters, and -as an added plus for Invaded - there's a strong mystery element that I ate up!

Note: You will want to watch out for spoilers from Alienated in this review, though I'll try to keep them at a minimum.

I freaking loved everything about Cara's time on L’eihr (Aelyx's planet). I was worried about this going in - since it's one thing to write about aliens on earth and entirely another to write about a human on an alien planet. If you're not a huge alien person (which I'm not generally), I think Invaded has the perfect blend of weird and familiar to make a believable but not uncomfortable alien world.

What I didn't expect was the mystery. There really wasn't any mystery to Alienated, so I expected a continuation of the sweet romance with a strong emphasis on learning to overcome prejudice and fear. Both those elements are there, in completely different but equally enjoyable ways, but (for me at least) Invaded was much more about this mystery. I know it shocked me a few times and I came close to tears twice! So not expected!

I'm super glad I requested Invaded for review - and in audio. Madeleine Lambert does a good job with the voices and really grew on me. There's a shout-y quality to her voice with Cara at times, but I think that's appropriate because Cara is someone I imagine would have that quality - she's so passionate about EVERYTHING! And I easily got used to the male voices, though they were slightly feminine. All in all I'd say Lambert gives an A- narration, which more than makes me happy!

I look forward to a third book - technically there isn't one contracted and Invaded does end with enough resolution that this COULD be it. But there's also enough left hanging for the series to continue and based on how well it's been selling, I suspect we'll see a third *crosses fingers*!