Book Review: Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Release date: May 8, 2012

Rating: 3 stars – IT WAS GOOD.

Purchase from Amazon

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.

WARNING. SPOILERS MAY LIE AHEAD. DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU.

This isn’t your typical alien story. Daemon Black and his kind aren’t some strange, small, green creatures like from Toy Story or E.T. They are different and it makes the novel unique and creative on it’s own. I’ve never read a novel about aliens who were beings of light so definite kudos to the author.

So why then did I give it 3 stars? The characters. I had a really hard time with characters. And….I also felt like the novel felt a little flat.

Let’s start with characters: Katy. In the immortal words of John Green, “…nerd girls are the greatest under-utilized romantic resource.” John Green is right! Hardly do we EVER see girls who are nerdish. I loved that Armentrout’s female protagonist was a bookish fiend, much like moi and many other girls out there. I could identify with her in that aspect. I also loved her thoughts about Daemon Black…most of the time. There were instances where it annoyed me because it was overdone. Half-way through the novel I just wanted to give up and call it a day. Ugh. It also annoyed me to no end that she liked Daemon despite the fact that he was just so darn cold and rude to her! Okay, there were times that he was sweet and even likeable but…ugh. Anyways, Katy is strong and insecure (at times.) It’s what makes her real, makes her easier to connect with. Overall, she’s a pretty likeable character.

Next we have the infamous Daemon Black, who everyone finds seemingly attractive. I don’t know if there is something wrong with me but he literally annoyed the shiz out of me. He was just so cocky and arrogant. And I like arrogant guys…in books, okay? I fall for your typical fictional character once in a while. Most of the time there is something deeper inside me that makes me fall head over hells in love, wishing them to be real. But not in Daemon’s case. Yeah, I read that exclusive scene from his point of view at the end of the novel, but it did not help me like his character any more. I also do understand what’s at risk if he let’s Katy near him and his sister Dee. But why is he so bent in having her near him all the time since she got marked (a phenomenon that imprints a human with their energy whenever the Luxen use their power around said human(s)). I’ll tell you why….BECAUSE HE’S ATTRACTED TO HER. Then why, if he’s attracted does he push her away, is crude, belittling, and antagonizing to Katy?! I mean, he was just so moody all the time – like flipping on a light switch every five seconds. Wouldn’t it get annoying?

I know he’s also through a lot, losing his brother and being this ultra super protector….but I don’t think any of that is a good enough reason to treat Katy so badly. He obviously cares for Katy after he got to know her. It’s pent up sexual frustration – that’s what it is, which Armentrout does a fabulous job writing, but I just think it’s executed poorly and very frustrating and overdone, getting in the way of the storyline as a whole.

By the way, Daemon even admits (in the exclusive scene from his p.o.v.) that he liked getting a rise out of her!

Who does that?

*breathes*

Then there was Dee who I thought was sweet and very bubbly. She’s a good friend and I love her for it. I also like her protectiveness over Daemon. At the same time, she was the voice of reason and bluntly asked him what the hell was wrong with him when he acted like a total asshole. (Katy’s word not mine!)

Okay, moving on…the other thing that bothered me was their frequent bantering. It was very cute and adorable and funny for the first few chapters but when you get to the middle it’s like GIVE IT A REST ALREADY.

It wasn’t all bad though, there were some really nice quotes in their that Daemon said that thawed out my heart a little. It made me like him a wee bit more.

I also have to applaud Armentrout for creating witty and humorous dialogue. I giggled and smiled a few times. But at the same time I just thought it was too much and kind of like a joke that get’s old fast.

The other thing that bothered me was the formatting of the copy I received. I tend to ignore these small mistakes but it was something that happened throughout the novel. There seemed to be no indentation when there was dialogue between characters. For example:

Another sigh, much louder and more annoyed than the first pushed through Daemon’s hard lips. “No, Dee, we just woke up and were talking. You were snoring so loudly we couldn’t stay asleep any longer.” Dee snorted. “I doubt that. Katy, are you feeling…okay this morning?”

This sort of formatting happened throughout the novel and at times it was difficult to pick up who was speaking. It’s just little itty thing that I’d want the publisher to pick up and edit next time around.

Anyways, it seems like I”m bashing on the novel and I’m not. I swear. It was just a bit disappointing when I thought it would be an AMAZING read. It has a lot of good reviews giving this series 5 star ratings across the board and I respect that. I see why they’d like this novel: spunky-strong-bookish-nerd female protagonist, supernatural-drop-dead-gorgeous-boy-next-door, sweet-supernatural-hot-boy-next-door’s sister turned protagonist’s best friend, creative and unique idea. There were times where I got lost in the infuriating but swoon worthy witty banter between love interests. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. There was something important missing that would have made me fall madly in love with the world Armentrout creates: substance and suspense. It was thoroughly predictable and that ruins the fun out of reading this story.

I was very resistant in wanting to read this to begin with. Why? Because the cover didn’t captivate me or interest me. Yes, I’m the kind of person that judges a book by it’s cover. But that’s not all that grabs my attention. It’s also the summary or synopsis of a novel. If it’s good and peeks my sudden interest then I take a leap. But I digress. I made a promise to read this for a friend. And I stick to my promises. With that said, I liked the book, but it wasn’t my favorite nor does it interest me enough to keep on reading the series.

Memorable quotes:

I’ve always found that the most beautiful people, truly beautiful inside and out, are the ones who are quietly unaware of their effect. The ones who throw their beauty around, waste what they have? Their beauty is only passing. It’s just a shell hiding nothing but shadows and emptiness.

Daemon might be the most physically flawless male I’d ever seen-his face was something that any artist would die to get a chance to sit and sketch-no light reflected badly off him. But he could also be the biggest jerk on the planet.

Posted by Emma Snow on February 26, 2013

https://emzsnow.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/book-review-obsidian-lux-1-by-jennifer-l-armentrout/