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.

• ISBN10: 1937044297
• ISBN13: 9781937044299
• Publish Date: 1 November 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Entangled Publishing
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[lizarodz]

*Slaps forehead* HARD

That’s how I feel for taking so long to read this book. It has been sitting in my Kindle for a long time, and I finally decided to check for myself what all the fuss was about. Well, now I know that Obsidian is an amazing book!

**At this point I have to make a quick side story. A few weeks ago I had to travel for business and of course, my trip took place on the first day of the FAA furlough. I was supposed to arrive at my destination at 2:00 and instead got there at 9:00! Anyway, I read the whole book and started another one (thank goodness for the longevity of my iPad’s battery!). End of whining (seriously one of the worst traveling experiences ever!) **

Did I mention that this book is amazing? The characters alone deserve a standing ovation. I mean Katy and Daemon together are a thing of beauty, I could actually see the sparks fly when they were close to each other. Katy is loyal, smart, well grounded, and brave. On the other hand, Daemon can be a bit abrasive and off putting (and gorgeous of course) but you can tell that he is a good guy deep down. I think he really enjoyed his babysitting duty. What do you think? Apart from them, we meet Dee and a few other high school friends and some of the other Lux that live close.

The plot is awesome! Did I mention that this book is about aliens? Such an incredible imagination! The story is full of discovery, twists and turns and even mystery. I’m not sure if I would have acted as cool as Katy did with all the strangeness going on, but I understand the allure. The writing is splendid, and goes hand in hand with the characterization. The story is action packed, even though we are introduced to a new sort of being and alien culture. I really don’t know what else to say about this incredible book, it’s a good thing I had all the time in the world to read it because I couldn’t put it down :)

[Mercy]

¡Ah! Daemon :3 Es de esos idiotas, patanes, tonto, pero es imposible no amarlos xD

[Romance Schmomance]

When this book was first suggested to me, I never knew it was about aliens, shoot I didn't even know such paranormal romance series existed! And I know all of us, who hear the word 'alien', we think of what we've seen on television, weird shaped heads, very big eyes, UFOs in the sky, and so on and so on. But I never realized that aliens could be quite steamy, and that's what Daemon is, he is all gorgeous!

I absolutely loved this book and managed to finish it in one sitting! Katy is constantly making up excuses for the way that Daemon acts, which I don't blame her because of the way treats her, but their relationship begins to grow and develop. Trust me, you'll have to be a little bit patient with their relationship because I kept saying, why don't they do it already?! That was just one aspect that I loved, Jennifer wasn't in a hurry for all of that to happen. I'm sure I'm not the only one that agrees when I say this, but it's a constant push and pull between Daemon and Katy.

Read the rest of my review here.

[Cocktails and Books]

Why hadn't I read this sooner. Fanfreakingtastuc!

[Amber]

I HAVE DIED

"I LOVE A CHALLENGE"

DAMMIT

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As seen at: Miss Book Reviews

Everyone raves about this book so much that I knew it could go either way for me. Luckily I loved it!

Obsidian had me dying to pick it back up after I had to put it down, every time. I would try and read it whenever I had time; before work, after work, a few cheeky times while during work, before bed and once as soon as I woke up. This book was addicting, steamy (As fas as a YA book can go) and exciting.

To be honest it did take me a while to get into the book. This was mainly because the first part of the book was mostly about the interactions with the main male character; Daemon and I didn’t know where the story was going. Plus there were way too obvious clues as to the fact that Daemon and Dee, his twin sister, were different yet we still hadn’t found out what was going on. Once it got to the reveal I felt like it could have come sooner. Still I enjoyed the interactions between Katy and Daemon, a few of them even had me blushing and some of them had me cringing in embarrassment.

I thought this book would be a quick, light read. I didn’t think I would get invested in the characters but I was wrong. At one point in the book I actually teared up, I think this has more to do with the way Jennifer L. Armentrout wrote the scene and how she described the event that made me tear up coupled with with the fact that it reminded me of how I never handle being humiliated very well. I loved the way Katy handled the situation though.

I love that Katy was so strong, she kept describing herself as being shy and a pushover but I never once saw her act like a pushover. I loved that she didn’t take any of Daemon’s crap and that continued throughout the whole book. That was very refreshing. Katy felt like a great main character for a YA book in my opinion. She didn’t swoon over the extremely hot bad boy, she just admitted she was attracted to him yet she still couldn’t stand him.

Daemon is definitely swoon worthy, but he is also a jackass. Usually this might piss me off. In this book it didn’t because Katy knew he was a jackass and always kept that in mind. She never forgot about it. Also because I felt like Daemon acting like a jackass had more to do with a defence mechanism that protected himself and Dee. He wasn’t just a jackass because he was arrogant or he got a thrill out of tormenting people. There were also moments where Katy (And the readers) got to see the real Daemon, the real Daemon was the Daemon I’m sure we all preferred. There were layers to him as a character.

I admit I felt like there were a few cliché moments and reactions, I do remember rolling my eyes a couple of times and I admit that at times I had no idea what was going on around Katy because there was no description in surroundings except for what Katy was thinking. This wasn’t the most well written book, there felt like there was a lot of things missing and that at times it was perhaps focussed a little too much on the attraction between Katy and Daemon. But I still really enjoyed this book; it was entertaining, it moved me emotionally, and I connected with and really liked Katy.

Overall Obsidian was one very exciting and steamy book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was glad that in my opinion it lived up to the hype.

[inlibrisveritas]

I finally picked up one of Armentrout’s books after months and months of hearing everyone else rant and rave about them. If I had a dollar for the amount of swooning I have seen over Daemon I’d be a little richer and could probably go on a uber shopping spree. So I finally caved and bought Obsidian, and it actually ended up surprising me.

I don’t normally read books about aliens, and those I have read are video game based or middle grade…so nothing really compared to this. It’s certainly a bit different than most YA I’ve read and that’s because I’m more skeptical when it comes to aliens and space travel, it takes a lot more for me to ‘believe’ it…I need facts or at least really good explanation for things. Obsidian doesn’t really give a lot of ‘facts’ but it does paint a really interesting picture and the lack of knowledge makes sense given the character’s stories. The Luxen and the Arum are the two alien races portrayed in this and they have some rather interesting history as well as abilities. The one good thing about this book is that it doesn’t pile all the science and history on top of you and expect you dig your way to the end, it gives you bits and pieces as you move a long. Easy to digest for the reader and the main character, Katy.

I have to say I’m kind of fond of Katy after this. She’s a kind of laid back and quiet girl who spends her free time gardening and working on her book blog, Armentrout gets some bonus points for that because it’s just kind of cool to see it mentioned in a novel. Katy is also kind of witty and she doesn’t back down even when it’s probably safer for her to, she has a backbone and she doesn’t melt into goo whenever sexy smirks get thrown her way. Speaking of which that brings about Daemon, who is incredibly attractive and a jerk…I can’t tell you what surprised me more when reading this, the fact that Daemon was such jerk throughout most of the book or the fact that I actually ended up liking him in the end. I will admit that I was fond of his character but it grudgingly, he was just so rude and he kept saying things that just dug that hole deeper. The relationship that sprouts between them is complicated and delicious, there is so much tension between the two of them due to anger and attraction. The best part about the romance is that it doesn’t take the forefront of the book’s plot even though it’s obviously there. Then there is Daemon’s sister Dee, who is like a ray of sunshine through most of the book. She’s bubbly, hyper and so adorable I just want to squeeze her.

Overall I’m super happy that I broke down and bought the book. The ending is climatic and has the perfect set up for the second book, Onyx, so I can’t wait till I can read that one as well. I now fully understand why everyone is so enamored with these books.

[Kelly]

I can imagine masses of teens swooning and fanning themselves into oblivion.
Daemon... Sigh.

[Ashley]

booknook — Young Adult book reviews

3.5 stars

Ugh. I feel like the only person in the world who doesn't love Obsidian. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't wowed by it either, and I certainly didn't like the romance.

Okay, so Daemon is hot. But honestly, that's about it. He is a complete and utter douchebag. Right away we see that he's a douche, but I dealt with it, and I even laughed a bit, because I honestly thought he'd come out of his shell and turn into this nice amazing guy... so wrong. He continued to be a douchebag, with fleeting moments of sweetness in between. Even Katy realized this and bitched at him for playing hot and cold with her. It was so infuriating. One minute he's being an arrogant self-absorbed dickhead, and the next he's saying something sweet.. and then he's back to being a douche. Okay, so he was fiercely loyal and protective of his family and I guess that's admirable, but he still acted like a dick when it was completely unnecessary and uncalled for. I don't care how hot the guy is, he's still a dick.

I think I was hoping that Obsidian would have this great knee-weakening romance, but what I got was two people who hate each others' guts but happen to be sexually attracted to each other. That makes for some steamy, charged moments, but a crappy relationship.

Moving on. Dee was totally an awesome character and I adored her! She's one of those sweet, adorable, totally huggable best friends. I think I'm obsessed with these kinds of characters. She's just a cute, bubbly, sweetheart who you can't say "no" to. And then there's Lesa. Lesa was totally my favourite character! She didn't have a huge part, but there were small bits now and then that had me cracking up!

"Oh my god, you have to tell me everything!  Did you guys kiss?  Wait.  Did you have sex?"
"Lesa, seriously, chill."
"Whatever.  You have to tell me.  I will hate you forever if you did but don't tell me.  What does he smell like?"
"Smell like?" I scrunched up my face.
Obsidian, Page 240

"I don't think he meant to kiss me," I say finally.
"What? Did he slip and fall on your mouth? Those things are known to happen."
Obsidian, Page 241

"I don't know. I mean we haven't talked about it. He literally left afterward, and all he's done since then is poke me with his pen."
"Probably because he wants to poke you with something else," she said dryly."
Obsidian, Page 241

So, the bottom line: I hated the romance, the alien stuff was kind of cool, the side characters were great, but this book didn't rock my world. I read it through quickly enough but it just didn't draw me in. I wasn't hooked. I didn't scream with delight or squeal or cry or any of that awesomeness. And there was a time sort of in the middle when I was getting a little bored. It was in between major plot moments and I was like, "Okay, ready for something new to happen." The beginning was also a little frustrating because it was before we found out about the alien stuff and everyone seemed to be alluding to this big mystery. It reminded me a lot of when people say stuff like, "So I know this super awesome secret... but I can't tell you." There is nothing more annoying than that!

I didn't hate Obsidian but I clearly didn't love it. I'm kind of disappointed because I literally see everyone and their mother obsessing over Obsidian and I kind of wish I could be one of those people. I wanted to be super excited about this book but it just wasn't thrilling me.

[Hixxup]

I had decided to start off this series by reading the short story "Shadows", Triplets Daemon, Dawson, and Dee, lived in a small town in West Virginia. In "Shadows", Dawson is the main focus in the short story, where he meets the new girl Bethany, and imidiately falls in love with her, and her him. Even through massive warnings, from Daemon and the rest of his family and friends, Dawson revfuses to let Bethany go, to where later it's impossible to let her go. Well something happened to them, and they disappeared. Claims of their death rumored around the town.

Obsidian picks up one year after Dawson and Batheny's disappearance. Katy and her mother move to West Virginia, from Florida to start a new life after the death of her father three years ago. Katy's mom wants Katy to go meet the neighbor teenagers. Katy is basicaly a recluse, she doesn't have many friends and she prefers to stay indoors and read her books, and review them on her blogs. Being new in town, she doesn't know where anything is, and she has to go to the store for food and gardening equipment. Reluctantly, she goes next door to ask her new neighbors for directions.

She knocks on the door and the door is opened and she is speechless just staring at the man standing in the door. When he finally speaks he's rude and quick with Katy. She gets aggrivated with him and starts to leave, and he reluctantly gives her the directions.

She gets to the store, where she ends up meeting Dee, Daemon's sister.
They become instant friends. And of course Daemon, and their friends don't think it's a great idea for them to be friends. Katy can't understand why they feel that way. She instead ignores them and continues to be friends with Dee. Meanwhile, the chemistry between Daemon and Katy starts to heat up, he's even given her a nickname which I just adore "Kitten. Just thinking of him saying it roll off his tongue just set my blood boiling.

Anyways, chemistry is building up as Daemon, is fighitng his urges to persue Katy. Throughout the book it is based around Daemon and Katy. Now Katy is light up light the sun, because thus be unknown to humans, Dameon, Dee, and their friends are an alien species called the Luxen, they came from the planet Lux, that was destroyed by the Arum, the creatures of the dark, the only enemy of the Luxen, has come to town. And with Katy lit up like she is she is a open target for an attack from the Arum.

Daemon saves her a few times from the Arum, and of course in doing so only brings them closer.

THe final battle of the book, something happens that causes a change in Katy, and things changes things between Daemon and Katy. He wants something more.... now does she cave into him after everything they've been through...or does she make him work for it??? I can't wait till onyx to find out.