Obsidian (Lux, #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

[Jo]

Originally published on Once Upon a Bookcase

I've heard so many good things about the various series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, I decided it was about time I gave her a go myself. I picked Obsidian because it had been raved about, it had a hot alien, and it the main character is a book blogger. Sold! And wow, this book is awesome!

Katy has moved to West Virginia with her Mum. It's the last place she wanted to go; she's not too keen on being the new girl in such a small town. She tries to make friends with her next door neighbours before school starts, and that's when she meets him. Daemon. The most arrogant, insulting - not to mention smoking hot - guy she has ever met. His sister, Dee, is adorable, and they become close friends. But Katy can't stand Daemon - yet can't help being drawn to him. When he stops time to save her life, she discovers a secret: he and Dee are aliens. Aliens with enemies. And he's just put a trace on her, alien mojo making her shine brighter than Times Square. Now the Arum are after her. So Katy now has to spend a whole lot more time around Daemon. What a bummer...

SO GOOD! Oh my god, it's ridiculous how good this book is! It's the first YA book I've read with actual aliens, and so it was quite a new idea for me. The fact that Katy - Kat - is a book blogger was just awesome! When she first starts questioning what's going on with Daemon and Dee, being a fan of paranormal novels, she goes to what she knows. It's hilarious when she asks Daemon if he's a vampire, and he replies with such derision that he is definitely not a vampire. But it's awesome, because she's thinking about what she's read, and what could possibly be happening, and it just makes the book feel so much more real. As a book blogger, you can't help thinking as you read, "She's like me! She reads! She blogs! SHE'S GOT AN ALIEN LIVING NEXT DOOR!" Of course, it's fiction, but it makes it all the more believable that maybe... just maybe us normal people could have something exciting waiting for us round the corner. I must be honest and say that sometimes, she does make book blogging sound a little ridiculous. Her obsession with her blog just seems over done to me. I love my blog, and I work hard at it. But I don't compare huge, terrible events to that time when I couldn't go to that book event. Nor do I act like an addict needing a hit when I'm unable to blog for a while. It was just a bit much sometimes. There isn't too much focus on the blogging though, overall, so I could forgive those moments for the general awesomeness of the book.

Daemon is just so awesome. I swear, when it comes to bad boys, I've not read a character that is as rude or insulting as Daemon. And yet... although he's a flirty guy and quite arrogant, you can tell his rudeness is all an act. He's fighting what he feels, and you can tell. Some of the things he does are really quite out of order, and there were times when I was thinking, "Oh my god, you did not just do that!" But really, underneath it all, he's a guy who loves his sister, and wants more than anything to keep her safe. Because those Arum will stop at nothing to steal their abilities and kill them, and Kat is putting them all in danger. And this has also got to be the steamiest YA novel I've read, and I'm not just talking sexual tension, although there is a lot of that! It doesn't go too far, but further than I was expecting.Seriously though, how a girl is supposed to resist Daemon Black, I just do not know.

The action in this book is phenomenal. Normally, when there are abilities involved, there's not much proper fighting that you're aware of, and some of the time, it's like that in this book. But there are other times when it does get really physical, and god, you wonder how on earth there could possibly be a sequel! Those Arum are quite a violent bunch. They're kind of scary.

There were times, at first, when Obsidian reminded me of Twilight. The hot guy who is aloof and rude, who tells you you shouldn't be near him, and yet is always there. The sister who is bubbly and friendly. The girl who hates your guts as soon as she lays eyes on you. And all of them sitting together in the cafeteria, in a school where they are held in awe, and yet avoided. Sound similar? At first I wondered if it was going to be a kind of Twilight spoof. Yet, as the story really gets going, they just seem like minor coincidences, because it ends up being really quite different. There is even a references to Twilight at one point, when Kat asks Daemon if he's all sparkly, and the disdain in his voice is just awesome!

Such an incredible book! I'm already reading Onyx, the second book in the Lux series, and it's awesome! I will definitely be reading more of Armentrout in the future. Unbelievably good!