Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout Book Review

Title: Obsidian
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: November 29, 2011
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Series: Lux #1
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Pages: 271
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

“Beautiful face. Beautiful body. Horrible attitude. It was the holy trinity of hot boys.” 
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, Obsidian

Synopsis
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. (Goodreads) 

My Thoughts 
Yes, it's yet another Obsidian review. The overwhelming flood of Obsidian reviews should be the incentive you need to pick up this book and read it. I have to admit that when I hear about a book that has a lot of hype, I want to hate it. No idea why. But with this book, the hype was completely deserved. I loved it. It was a thrilling read that takes every cliche and either twists it or mocks it. 

Katy was such an awesome female lead. First off, she's a book blogger. That idea can only be called brillance. All book lovers can't help but adore her. Katy and I had so much in common, and that made it even easier for me to connect with her. I loved that she felt a certain reverence for books, fearful of dog-earing them, and how excited she was when new books arrived. Definitely a kindred soul. She also was a force to be reckoned with. She stood up for herself and didn't put up with Daemon's crap despite her attraction to him. While she was far from being a trained ninja, she wasn't afraid to defend herself in dangerous situations.

Daemon was a whole different story. I couldn't stand him for most of the book. Katy felt the same for the most part, but she couldn't deny her attraction to him. I liked how she didn't give into temptation and she told Daemon off time after time. When she defended herself, I couldn't help thinking you go girl. Even though Daemon was douchebag material, he had his nice moments and I couldn't help loving the sexual tension between the two of them. I'm a HUGE fan of romances where both characters can't stand each other initially and try to deny their feelings. Maybe they're star-crossed lovers or complete opposites, but it makes for an entertaining story. Much more entertaining than instalove. And you definitely have to wait for the romance here. There's the lovely tension throughout, but it takes almost the whole book for it to really reach a climax. And I loved that. Plus, it's well worth the wait. The chemistry between these two is fantastic, and there are some steamy, well-written scenes. It's definitely not all lust though. There's heart-warming moments too, and despite my initial dislike of Daemon, he really comes through. While his earlier behavior is inexcusable, he does have his reasons. 

While I generally avoid books that take place in high school, high school drama is almost absent in this book. If anything, it's used as a way to contrast the normal lives of teenagers and the alien reality that is existing alongside it. I loved Dee and Katy's other girlfriends. I found them amusing though Carissa and Lesa definitely take a backseat to the other characters, but they're really not involved in the alien side of things. They're there because I think Katy does want a normal life despite her getting all tangled up in Daemon and Dee's lives. She just wants to be a normal teenager, but that is so not happening. The premise was wonderful. I'm not usually into aliens besides Stephen King's The Tommyknockers, but I loved the Luxen's powers and their fight against the Arum. 

Obsidian was a little too close for comfort to Twilight. There were so many similarities that it was difficult to ignore the resemblance. Though I loved when Armentrout parodied Twilight. Like when Katy says: 

“Will you show me what you really look like? You don't sparkle, do you?” 

and

"What are you? A vampire?"He rolled his eyes. "Are you serious?""What? You say you're not human, and that limits the pool of what you can be! You stopped a truck without touching it.""You read too much."

This book had some funny, memorable lines, and I laughed out loud more than once. But besides the alien twist, it did mirror Twilight closely. Girl moves to small town. Unnaturally good-looking male, that she has a strong attraction to, wants her to stay away from him. Yes, he can travel at unnaturally fast speeds and oh wait, he glows. Gorgeous male is definitely hiding a secret. Then there's the whole stopping a truck. Not the most original setup. Then Dee watches her while she's sleeping. That was actually hilarious, and I loved Katy's reaction. 

Besides that, this book was so much better than Twilight, and I really shouldn't be comparing. I mean, Daemon was far from the martyr figure. I can't be with you. I can't live without you. I can't be with you. Though he definitely acted bipolar. And Katy wasn't a danger to herself, tripping all over her own feet, basically falling into sharp things and almost dying everywhere. She was nothing like Bella. 

Overall, this book had me hooked. I stayed up way too late reading this baby. I could not get enough of Katy and Daemon. I immediately bought Onyx and I'm officially addicted. If you love action-packed, thrilling reads that are dripping with sexual tension, basically made to have you wanting more, then read this book NOW. Armentrout definitely has a new fan in me. Just ordered Cursed. 

Happy reading,

Courtney