Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout

Obsidian
(Lux #1)
Jennifer Armentrout

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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.

“You’re such an ass. Has…anyone ever told you that?” He flashed a genuinely amused smile. “Oh, Kitten, every single day of my blessed life.”

Let's discuss reasons this book received a five star review, plus the Alpha Award (the HIGHEST honor I give a book and an award seldom given to YA books):

1. Holy Hawt Chemistry Batman!
One of Katy's new friends says it best after witnessing the steam rolling off Katy and Daemon during class. They have the best and most tension-filled chemistry I have ever read in a YA book. Their back and forth was entertaining and I kept shaking my book, trying to magically turn it into an adult book so these two would get it on already. Just read this scene below, which is the encounter that led to Lesa's totally awesome statement above.

"You owe me. Again." I stared at him for a long moment. The warning bell rang, but it seemed far away. My chest lurched. "I don't owe you anything," I said, low enough for only us to hear. "I have to disagree." Leaning closer, he tipped the edge of his desk down. There were only a few inches between our mouths. Totally inappropriate amount of space, really, since we were in class, and he had a girl on his lap yesterday. "You're nothing like I expected." "What did you expect?" I was sort of turned on by the fact I had surprised him. Weird. My eyes dropped to his poetic lips. Such a waste of a mouth. "You and I have to talk." "We have nothing to talk about." His gaze dropped and the air suddenly felt steamy. Unbearable. "Yes," he said, voice low, "we do. Tonight.".....The teacher cleared his throat. Blinking tightly, I saw that we had the entire class transfixed.

See what I mean? Even when its hot they still hate each other. I love it. And author Armentrout definitely pushes the boundaries a little for what's usually considered 'acceptable' in YA - and I was uber pleased.

2. Daemon lights my fire.

So, the chemistry between the two is hot, but Daemon is even hot just on his own. The cover model on the front of the books hits the nail on the head. He is exactly what I was picturing as I was reading. Daemon is brass and rude and arrogant and dreamy. You want to slap him silly and then kiss him even sillier. Its quite the predicament for the reader.

3. Katy = NOT too stupid to live!

Katy is actually a great young adult heroine. She's smart, helpful, and doesn't give in to Daemon. There's no love at first sight in this book (although there may be a bit of a lust at first sight situation...). Katy is just a plain ole human, but somehow she is able to help out her new 'otherworldy' friends here and there in the story - and in actually believable ways. She fights her attraction to Daemon constantly because he is just such a total jerk most of the time. And even when she sees a glimpse of his softer side she doesn't run into his waiting arms. In fact, Daemon and Katy make it the entire book without becoming a couple. What?A story with completely normal pacing for the build up of a possible relationship? How very original! AND, she's a book blogger! How awesome is that? She talks about checking her blog for new comments and even feels bummed when her computer breaks and she can't post her Waiting on Wednesday post!


4. Dee is totally adorable.


Dee is Daemon's sister, and talk about polar opposites. She is sweet and bubbly and wants so badly to make a human friend that I just couldn't help but love her, similar to the way Katy felt. Even though she is supermodel gorgeous, she is completely down to earth and super kind to Katy. She's a great best friend type and I hope she plays an even bigger part in book two.

5. Daemon is utterly and ridiculously hot.

Okay, I know I mentioned this already but it seriously deserves mentioning twice. His chiseled abs, shaggy brown locks, bright green eyes, and constant half smiles - whew! He is an irresistible character and his jerkish one-liners are awesome. I say this tentatively, but there were times when it was almost like reading a young adult version of Mac and Barrons!

6. The science fiction didn't make my brain hurt.

Some sci-fi is very scientifically and technologically based with a lot of unfamiliar terms. This is not one of those. Armentrout gives us just enough information about Daemon and his kind without info dumping or getting too much into the science-y stuff. I felt like there was a perfect amount of world building for the Luxens, and I have a feeling that this will be one of those series where we get to learn more and more as the series goes on.


So, as you can clearly see...I quite enjoyed the book.

Recommended for fans of: hotness, sexual tension you could slice with a knife, YA sci-fi, smirks, I Am Number Four, Mac and Barrons, and aliens.