This week is all about aliens! Yes, you read that right, aliens. I used to avoid the entire “space” genre as if it were the plague. People would tell me, “You have to read “The Fifth Wave” by Rick Yancey, it changed my entire view on life!” Then I would ask, “What is it about?” To which they would reply, “Aliens have taken over the world, and there is this girl who is hiding out in the woods and waiting for the fifth wave to descend and kill her like the other waves have killed everyone else. . . ” At this point in the conversation, my mind would start to wander off and think, “Green guys taking over the world with ocean waves? No thanks.” I would vaguely reply, “Yeah! I will add that to the list, but I have so many books to read it might take me a while.” Don’t lie! Admit it- we have all been there at some point with one book or another. However, this summer I finally relented and bought a couple of alien-type books in order to appease my alien-book-loving friend. The first book I read was “The Fifth Wave” and after, I was hooked.

Basic plot summary: Cassie lives in a frightening future where aliens decide to wipe out the human population and take over the earth for themselves. However, unlike my earlier assumption, they do not use literal ocean waves to do it (well, not all of the time). There have been four waves, or offensive attacks, which have completely decimated the human population and the small amount of people who have survived are in constant worry, waiting for the fifth wave to descend. The first wave is a complete electronic destruction. The second is a giant metal rod dropped from space causing tsunamis to wipe out land within 60 miles of the ocean. The third is a deadly plague which kills everyone who isn’t born immune. And fourth is an invasion of the body snatchers — you can’t trust anyone.

I give this book a 98% rating. It has many parts of varying lengths and each part switches between different point of views. It has action, drama, interesting plot twists and a little bit of romance to keep you on your toes. The second book, “The Infinity Sea”, just came out as well, which is a satisfying read and it’s also going to be a movie! So read it now!

The next book series I recommend is “These Broken Stars” by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. This is a mosh posh of “Titanic”, “Star Wars”, and “Survivor Man.” I’m sure you just thought, excuse me? But trust me, it is brilliant! I give this book a 97% rating and recommend it to anyone who likes dual points of views. The story follows a rich heiress named Lilac and a young war hero, Tarver. Earth entrepreneurs have taken over the galaxy and have begun colonizing different planets for humans. Both of our characters are aboard the Icarus (a top of the line space cruiser). When the hyper drives fail and cause the ship to crash. Tarver and Lilac are in the same ejection pod and land on a planet that was scheduled for colonization. They need to find civilization quickly, but there is one problem — Tarver and Lilac cannot stand each other and they think they may have been the only ones to survive the crash. There is action, hard decisions, character development and epic plot twists. Is there romance, you ask? Well, you will just have to read to find out!

After reading both of these series, I considered myself a space/alien book converted. I cannot get enough! I went searching for another series, one that already had all of the books out and in stores, and I found “The Lux Series”by Jennifer L. Armentrout. There are five books in the series, however, there are special editions now available in which the first two books are combined in “Lux Beginnings” and the third and fourth are combined in “Lux Consequences.” The fifth one is just by itself and is called “Opposition.” If you need a feel good read with action and romance, pick this series up! Summary: book blogging and hot aliens—enough said! And, if you get the special edition, there is bonus material in the back, such as extra “deleted” scenes. Great, right? I think that more authors should do this! Overall, I give the series a 94%.

If you have a hankering for even more alien books, pick up “Cinder” (a part of the “Lunar Chronicles”) by Marissa Meyer. This book screams “Sci-fi” with cyborgs, moon people, and a strange take on modern fairytales. Another great space type book is “The 100” by Kass Morgan. You may have heard about season one of “The 100” on the CW. It is a fantastic TV show, but it was a book first! The book is extremely different from the show, so I encourage you to both watch and read it. Thank you for reading, and remember, don’t knock it ‘til you read it!