Obsidian (Lux, #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

[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.