The Darkest Star (Origin, #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

[Leigha]

Please Note: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A young woman discovers there is more to her world - and herself - in this spinoff to the popular young adult Lux series. 

Man oh man, this book is hard for me to rate. On one hand, I disliked the relationship between Evie and Luc. Luc is an egotistical asshole. Not only is he rude to Evie, he disrespects her boundaries multiple times. When she attempts to reassert herself, he essentially bulldozes over her. Case in point - Luc refusing to let Evie leave his place when she returns for her phone. Only after she screams "you're hurting me" does he actual show some level of common decency. "I would never hurt you" he says. DUDE, emotionally hurting someone is just as painful as physically hurting someone. Their relationship bordered on toxic for most of the novel. 

Now all that said, I devoured this story. JLA has a way of reeling you into a narrative, making you care about the characters and the world. Evie's awakening to the events going on around her were fun, if a little eye rolling. The pace meandered a bit, but the ending climax felt rewarding and earned. If you enjoyed the first series, most likely you're going to enjoy this book. 

tl;dr JLA manages to weave together a problematic romance with entertaining action that fed my trashy side.