Obsidian - Review

Obsidian (Lux, # 1)

By: Jennifer L Armentrout

Published: May 8th 2012 by Entangled Teen (first published November 23rd 2011)

361 pages

Source: Borrowed my SNL's Kindle, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--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.

First off, I’ve got to say that I LOVE the fact that Katy is a book blogger! I love that Jennifer L Armentrout mentions current memes that Katy participates in like In My Mailbox and Waiting on Wednesday. I did find it a bit unbelievable how much reading Katy got done without even really reading that much. But that’s me reaching for something to complain about and just being jealous of the speed that many bloggers have when it comes to tearing through books that I just don’t have.

Now for the good stuff. HOT!!!!!!!!! *fans self with the nearest object within reach* I’m sure I cannot do this book justice and so many others have probably reviewed it with great words, but I’m having a hard time not swooning as we speak. Jennifer L Armentrout knows how to write some tension. Boy let me just tell you! The back and forth banter that Daemon and Katy have going on is nothing short of hot. It’s a love/hate kind of thing. And goodness knows those can be the best kinds. It means there’s passion! And boy is there passion! *blushes*

Of course, you struggle right along with Katy when Daemon hits these moments of huge jerkdom and you want to punch him in the face just as much as Katy does. But I’m not sure why she hasn’t figured out that showing him how riled up she gets just fuels his fire. Of course, we later find out some of his true motivations behind his crappy behavior. And the included chapters at the end of the version I read that were from Daemon’s perspective were much needed. They show a side of him that we really don’t get to see much in Obsidian. Even though we know softer Daemon is there, the alternative perspective gives us so much more. It lays hold to the truth that we never can fully know how someone else is feeling, what they are thinking, or the motivations that drive their behaviors. Those are all things we just can’t know. And the things driving Daemon that we see only from his perspective show a much deeper story than Katy will probably ever know (seeing as how he never fully explains himself to her about these situations).

I read this entire book on a Saturday. I started it and couldn’t put it down. I won’t so much say I neglected chores and such as I have before because there wasn’t much that HAD to get done that day. But I rarely get to spend an entire day reading a book from cover to cover, so that was extremely nice. I’ve definitely noticed that the less I have to put a book down (whether forced by responsibilities and life or because I WANT to put the book down) the better my experience and overall impression of the book.

And I really loved the experience. I don’t read many alien books and so it was a nice change up from the other supernatural/paranormal/otherworldly creatures that I do read about so frequently. Think Twilight meets Roswell. If you don’t like Twilight then scratch that analogy because I’m pretty sure you’ll like this one anyway. Luckily because I’m borrowing my SNL’s kindle, I jumped immediately into book 2, Onyx, without much of a break in between (and I have book 3 already lined up for as soon as I finish book 2).

If you’re looking for a paranormal YA with some super amped-up tension with an extremely HOT and snarky protagonist…Obsidian is the book for you! I give Obsidian 4.5 Stars. Have you read Obsidian? If so, what did you think?