Obsidian (Lux, #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

[Nicole Lynn]

Find the full review on PopCrunchBoom.com!

The Review

Let me be straight with you. Yes, yes I did become a Lux series obsessor. (maybe even a member of the Luxen Army…maybe…I’m not admitting to anything ;) )

Before I read Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout, I was hesitant. Although other people’s opinions might draw my attention to a book, I don’t let their opinions influence whether or not I will like a book or even if I will read a book. Sometimes a book has great reviews, but it just doesn’t fit my mood or even the genre I like to read. Anyway, with Obsidian I wasn’t sure how I felt about aliens. I mean aliens are supposed to be tiny green men right? Or maybe tiny little people hanging out in a fake human body’s head (Men in Black anyone??). But, I was drawn in by the clear romantic relationship arc of the story. I am such a sucker for those. I was just praying that this would be good and not a corny love story. I’m glad my prayers paid off!

Obsidian had chemistry! The two main characters Katy and Daemon were perfectly written. I loved the way the scenes felt every time the two characters interacted–you could feel the sizzle and sexual tension. It wasn’t cheesy or a romance novel. It was just written well and I was an instant fan.

The story didn’t just focus on the love interest, it also brings in the whole world of the Luxen. The Luxen are the alien race living on Earth and Daemon just happens to be one. And trust me he is no tiny green man! He’s beautiful in and out of his human form. I really enjoyed the way Armentrout created her alien race. The Luxen are believable and that is important to me as a reader. I say it a lot, but if I can’t buy into an author’s idea or world then I won’t enjoy the story. Armentrout introduces the readers to an Earth where the Luxen are known by the government, where Luxen can assimilate and are really just better at being humans than we are, and where the general populous are mostly unaware of the Luxen’s existence. I only found a few faults in this world she built, but some of those were explained later on in the series.


When we are first shown the “villians” of the story–an evil alien race–I was instantly thinking Transformers (because my mind works in Pop Culture references). But that thought was quickly gone and replace with just a pinch of disappointment. The enemy as an alien race is a little predictable. So is the secondary “enemy” which was the government (again Men in Black flashback–another obsession of mine!). I do have to give Armentrout some leeway since there isn’t too many options when it comes to enemies for an alien race. The interactions between the opposing sides were well written and full of believable action. What made me feel a little bit better was what we find out about the government enemy in books two and three. This make the enemy more unique.

What I found really creative was what happens to Katy when she is around a Luxen using a lot of their “powers.” This is just another unique aspect of the Luxen world and an interesting plot mover for the novel. This also becomes more interesting as the series continues!

I believe Armentrout did a wonderful job writing the character Katy. I identified with her which helped a lot in persuading me to read on. She was a typical teen girl character, but through the novel she grew. Eventually, we as readers saw Katy become more bold, stronger, and truer to her self and her abilities. Katy didn’t want to become just a human in the way, but wanted to help and fight back. I like strong female leads, but I like watching them realize their strength more than already seeing it there. Armentrout wrote this character development really well. I also like Katy’s obsession with blogging about books (hey that’s me too!) and her relationships with her mom and Dee.


In the end, I couldn’t put the book down! I fell in love with the series and would recommend it to anyone into paranormal romance. I think I fell so fast because Obsidian is a great series that didn’t involve vampires and werewolves. I’ve mentioned it before in previous posts. Even though I love vampires, werewolves, faeries, and fallen angels, I just need a break from them. This was a refreshing series for me and I can’t wait to continuing reading it! I’m also looking into reading Armentrout’s other books. She is actually coming to a bookstore near me in November, so I’m hoping to talk with her and get a book signed! I’ll most likely follow that up with a post.