Review: Obsidian

Obsidian (Lux #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published November 29th, 2011 by 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.
-goodreads.com

Rating: 4.5 stars
Review:
I knew it. 

I KNEW it!

I just knew it was only a matter of time before I, too, joined the ever-growing Obsidian-loving cult because goshdarnit the book really is that good!!

This series focuses on a not-as-popular supernatural-ish entity.... ALIENS.  And good golly miss molly, if there are more aliens out there in the universe who look like Daemon Black, then please come visit Earth!!!! But that's for later on in the review, so let's continue before I enter into full-on fangirl mode. *calms self* 

Now Katy, the main character, doesn't know that Daemon and Dee are luxen, but as a reader, I already did, which kind of made the first quarter of the book a little boring because the whole time, I was just waiting and waiting and waiting for Kat to finally learn the truth! Once that happened, the book really "started" for me. The pace picked up, there was more action and fighting, and (my favorite) more learning about luxen! 

I really REALLY liked Armentrout's luxen because I don't think aliens have ever been handled this way. (Although I could be wrong because I haven't read many alien-oriented books...) The whole concept of light beings vs. dark beings was really interesting and their respective powers and abilities were super cool. Sorry ET, but I just don't think you're gonna cut it for me anymore...

The characters were all pretty great and I loved all of them--except for Ash and Andrew because they were pretty sour-faced every time they appeared in the novel.

Katy is freaking AWESOME! She is tough, selfless, hilarious, oh and did I mention she's a book blogger?! Yeah. Bonus points right there. I loved Katy. She never backed down from a challenge and she wasn't afraid to stand up to Daemon or the other luxen when they were being mean. However there were a few moments in the book when Katy pretty much just walked right into a blatantly obvious situation and I was pretty much screaming at her to come to her senses. Yeah, those moments were kind of annoying. But other than that, she was a fantastic character. 

...and OF COURSE, I couldn't conclude this review without mentioning the male protagonist of the series. The very swoon-worthy bad-boy err alien: Daemon Black! *Le sigh*

I will admit that when I first started Obsidian, I was a little iffy about Daemon. I mean, let's face it: he was kind of a jerk to Kat.

Confession time: I was starting to worry that there was something seriously wrong with me because I was not falling-to-the-ground-swooning at Daemon. 

BUT THEN! 

Then, I learned more about Daemon... like how much he loved his family, how protective he was of his family, how he grieved for his brother Dawson, how he worried that Kat's presence would harm his sister, and that worry was why he was so mean to Kat at first. And after that--after he started accepting Kat--well... Well. Let's just say that was when I did fall-to-the-ground-swoon at Daemon and all his hotness. I don't know what it is about YA guys that makes them attractive even when they're kinda arrogant.... but for Daemon, it totally works for him! Some of his one-liners were the most hilarious parts of the entire book! However, don't think that Daemon's all about toughness and arrogance because he has some seriously sweet moment. Just.... aww I'm having a little fangirl moment just thinking about it!

Bottom line: when I finished the book (and the Daemon's POV excerpts) I was like this....

Except just when things were getting super interesting.... Jennifer Armentrout decides to end the novel!!!!
And now, I am forced to wait agonizing months for the release of Onyx, though from what I've heard from people who've received ARCs, the sequel is 100x better than the first! can't wait!
Highly recommend this book!

Warning: prepare to swoon and squeal at alien hotness.