Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 335
Format: Paperback (Emily), eBook (Izzy)
Source: Purchased by Reviewers
Goodreads • Amazon
Emily's Rating:
Izzy's Rating:
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.
Emily:
Note: this review is based off a re-read. Does it matter? Probably not. But now you know.
This series is by far one of my absolute favorites and, in my humble opinion, certainly one of the best I've read in the last couple of years. Jennifer Armentrout is truly a powerhouse of an author, and an automatic-read for me, and this series is where that all started. I first found out about the Lux series in the YA Sisterhood's Crush Tourney almost two years ago. Daemon caught my interest in the tournament, and it took no time at all to fall hard once I started reading.
Obsidian is everything I love about YA: well-developed, awesome characters; drama; wit; adventure; romance; and so many other things I'm forgetting to mention. Plus, the snark. It's a thing of beauty. While not a make-or-break for, the feisty-ness of JLA's characters is always a win in my book (ha).
On that note, let's first talk about Katy. Anyone who's read some of my other reviews (especially those of YA works) knows I tend to rant about how hard we as readers (most notably of the female persuasion) tend to be on female MCs/protagonists. While I still think that's true and it irks me to no end (seriously, why so much girl-on-girl hate?), as far as I'm concerned, Katy is a prime example of how to do this right. She's nerdy, quirky, a little insecure, inquisitive to a fault, brave when the time calls for it, and strong. The girl even runs her own book blog! She's friggin' awesome. I'm not even a little ashamed to admit that Katy was what got me thinking about blogging in the first place (still took me a year, but hey). But perhaps best of all is that Katy is 100% relateable and just damn likable, if you ask me. She's the kind of character that feels real long after you've finished reading.
Is it sad that the fact I get to talk about Daemon now makes me giddy-smile? Probably. Regardless, it's true. I love me some Daemon Black. Seriously. This boy did a take-no-prisoners climb to the top tier of book boyfriends in my realm. He's beautiful, sex-on-a-stick cockiness with a soft side for his family. He's powerful. He's probably a little too smart for his own good. And he'll be glad to tell you all of these things as well. In all honesty, there's very little in the way of coherent ways to describe my devotion with him. I'm pretty much passed out, eyes wide open, in a puddle of my own drool where he's concerned. And when I can pull myself together, it's basically just this:
With that, let's discuss my favorite part of this series. Because as wonderful as Katy and Daemon are, it's when they're Daemon-and-Katy that they truly shine. The chemistry between these two is killer, addictive, ad so damn entertaining. Each of them gives just as good as they get and it makes for a truly entertaining journey. They're just so quippy. I love the quip. I could go on about this forever without saying anything meaningful, so I'll move on, but just know the banter is awesome.
The other standout for this series is that all of the characters are just as awesome, even if you don't necessarily like them (Andrew and Ash, I'm looking at you). Dee is the penultimate new-best-friend in this book (adore), Katy's mom is achingly loving and maternal, even the other kids at school feel a lot like people you might've known in high school. But that's the way it is with JLA; even when all of this fantastic, out-of-this-world shit is going down, she never misses a beat in keeping all of the characters and their feelings, as well as those they invoke, grounded. I worship at her alter like nobody's business.
The fact that there are still people who haven't read this makes me sad. I finally got someone IRL to read it (yay Izzy!) and I'm so damn excited. This is a book for any and all YA paranormal fans. Join us as we experience the painstaking anticipation of the series conclusion and generally all of the feels. All over the place. So. Many. Feels.
GO READ NOW!
Elizabeth:
What do you get when you put a bookworm in the same vicinity as a sexy, smart-ass alien? You get Obsidian, that's what you get—and you love every single moment of it! This is definitely the best book I have read in a while...and I have read quite a few books as of late. But—gah! Words are just failing me!
HUGE shout out to my main girl, Emily, for recommending this series. I've told her this already, but she is the queen of recommendations! The Lux series has been the reason for my existence for the last two-and-a-half days. And I'm super sad I have to wait for the last book, now, but also super excited that I get to share my enthusiasm with y'all.
And this is just about how I feel about everything with this series:
Let's face it: I'm a giddy mess right now.
I'll try and start from the beginning, taking you on the emotional journey that has been my life for the past three days. I have shunned school, social life, and a little bit of personal hygiene for this series, and it was: So. Worth. It.
Okay, so my homegirl, Katy, moves to West Virginia with her mother for a fresh start after her father dies. Petersburg is a small, Podunk town that doesn't even have a Walmart let alone a decent internet connection for Kat to keep up with her book blog (yes, you all are allowed to be besties for resties with this super awesome chick). But what does this sleepy town have that the rest of the great U.S. of A doesn't? Daemon "Come-do-me-now" Black.
From Kat's first description of him, I was like this:
From the moment he spoke, I was all:
My deranged obsession has severely devolved from there.
Daemon landed on the perfect side of sexy: a man with an ego to rival my own and a body to back it up. I was a goner from the get-go, folks; you will be too!
But what do I love more than his sparkling personality and his beautiful, beautiful face/body/everything? His relationship with Kat.
Kat, for all her shyness, is not afraid to go toe-to-toe with Daemon, and I love her with all my being for it. She may only hang out with him because Dee, his sister, is also her best friend, but that doesn't mean she has to put up with his crap. And, let's face it, she loves getting a rise out of him just as much as he does her. Their constant push and pull is...is...is perfect. And he is just so damn sexy.
And...
I'm sorry, I just have so many emotions right now.
But back to Obsidian:
(SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING—VERY SLIGHT, BUT STILL)
From the start, sparks fly between Katy and Daemon. Not the inevitable kind, more like the "Imma cut a bitch" kind. But his twin sister, Dee has a mitigating effect on his jerkiness, so Kat decides to hang around. Plus, they're neighbors; it's not like she could avoid him forever.
But as she continues to spend time with the Black siblings, she begins to get suspicious of them. There is something not normal about them. They disappear at random. They eat like heavyweights, yet remain absolutely stunning—it's kind of not fair. They hang out with another set of gorgeous triplets (seriously, twins and triplets is there something in the water?!). And they are super secretive about their lives. Hell—she didn't even know they had had another brother until school started (oh, I'm sorry, two sets of model-triplets in the same town)! Also, they keep doing weird things: bodies flickering, staying under water for extended periods of time, scaring off bears with flashes of light, randomly saving her from muggers.... And honestly, how could anyone have such amazing levels of doucheiness and not be something extraordinary?!
Also, teenagers keep disappearing from Petersburg, and the twins and their friends seem to know more than they're letting on....
After Daemon saves Katy by flat-out stopping a truck, he has to explain what they are and why they are hidden. The Luxen, beings made of light from a galaxy far, far away (insert Star Wars reference here), are at war with their eternal enemies, the Arum. The Arum, opposites of the Luxen in every way, prey on Luxen, hunting them for their powers, and kill humans just for the hell of it. And it seems as if they have been using Petersburg as their own personal playground. Yeah, that's right, they're evil, shadow-aliens who look at humans like playthings. Basically, I would so die in this world. Like, right out of the starting gates, die. I would be Sarah. You'll get it. Don't worry, not a huge spoiler.
And now she is stuck with what is called a trace: a "Come Kill Me Now" flare of energy that has Arum tripping over themselves to get to her. So now she is stuck with the ever-annoying, yet still ever-drop-dead-gorgeous, Daemon who seems none-too-pleased with the fact that he has to play bodyguard to his sister's human-friend.
And let the witty banter commence!
For every snarky, wise-ass comment Daemon makes Kat fires back. Their relationship, albeit frustrating and confusing, is beautiful. Daemon and Kat spend the entire novel with a back-and-forth tension that doesn't seem like it will ever end. He gets jealous, then claims he dislikes her. She gets jealous and then emphatically states she hates him. What liars! They are so attracted to each other!
Eventually, their reluctant relationship evolves into frienemy status that will make you tear-up with joy and laughter. Because, seriously, these two never cease to make me crack a smile or giggle.
And by the time the end rolls around, Katy is less the human in distress and more the alien ass-kicker. I do love it when we get a strong and witty female protag!
But after Halloween, one thing is certain: nothing will ever be the same between Katy and Daemon.
And that concludes my scatter-brained synopsis. But trust me, guys, this is awesome and totally worth reading. Also, from what Emily has told me, JLA might be my new favorite person. She is just so cool and I kind of wish I were her best friend. But I'll totally settle for being Katy or Daemon's BFFL... well, that might be a bit one sided, but you get my drift.
GO READ THIS BOOK AND IMPROVE YOUR EXISTENCE DRAMATICALLY!!! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!!
# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.
She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.
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