Review: Obsidian (Lux #1)

Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publication date: November 29, 2011
Publisher: Entangled Publishing

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.

Obsidian is my first book by Jennifer Armentrout and I have to say, I'm pleased. I think she definitely lives up to the hype I've read from other reviewers. The best description I can come up with for this book is FUN. It's a perfect example of a fun read. You don't learn any life lessons from it and it doesn't really add anything new to the genre, but it sure is a blast to read. And quite a steamy read. There was a moment in the book where I was quite surprised at how far it went. I felt my eyes grow big in shock and thought to myself how is this categorized as YA?? But then it suddenly cut off and I admit I may have been a little disappointed. Ha! So like I said, FUN!

I love the narrator Katy: strong, snarky, a book blogger. She is a great example of a girl who can stick up for herself and she shows that she can hold her own against mega-douche Daemon (cafeteria scene anyone? I internally cheered when that happened). Speaking of Daemon, yes, I called him a mega-douche. "Sensitive" on the inside or not, he's a jerk-face and this stays pretty much constant throughout the book. Personally, I would have stopped talking to him after my first few confrontations with him but I'm not Katy and then there would have been no story, so I'm glad I wasn't the main character.

The pace of the book is great and I appreciated the natural dialogue. I loved every scene that Katy and Daemon share. Honestly, I probably could have read the whole book without the other characters and just enjoyed Katy and Daemon in a room talking and making-out. Those two are the highlight of the book. Oh, and the story ain't bad either. ;)

All in all, I found this to be a great introduction to Armentrout's work and I look forward to reading her other books. Can't wait foe Onyx (Lux #2)!