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

Title: Obsidian
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Release date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Summary: Katy moves to a small town in West Virginia called Ketterman after her father dies. Her neighbors are the lovely, nice Dee and the infuriating Daemon. But something’s very off about the twins. They don’t seem to have any parents, odd things happen around them, and everyone in Ketterman seems almost afraid of them.

   When Daemon literally freezes time to save her, it turns out they both are aliens. Yes, aliens. And by doing that, Daemon also gives her a trace, which means they have to stay close until her “alien mojo” fades.

   Ketterman might not be as boring as Katy first thought.

My thoughts: Imagine a world full of aliens. Their home world was destroyed, and they landed on Earth. Now they walk among us, looking just like us, but secretly fighting evil in the world – the Arum, who wants the alien’s powers. See, the aliens – called the Luxen – have special talents. They can move with the speed of light, freeze time, heal, and other super-cool stuff. And when they use their powers in front of humans, that leaves a trace – the human lights up like a lamp, which leads the Arum straight to them, trying to find the Luxen.

   Let’s get one thing straight; I’m not a big fan of aliens. Therefore, I was a little hesitant at first about this book, but it was written by JLA, so I gave it a chance. And I did not regret that decision once.

   First off, I loved Katy. She’s brilliant, really. At first, she’s very careful, and it’s mentioned that her father used to tell her not to be a “bystander”. But she grows throughout the story, and I think it is admirable how she’s really trying not to be a bystander, as I’m having the same problem in reality, I know it’s not that easy of a task.

   She’s mostly a nice, caring person, but when she’s with Daemon, it’s like she’s a whole different person. He brings out the worst – or best, depending on how you look at it – in her, and makes her to this sarcastic, completely different person. They have an ability to make each other pissed literally all the time, and there are not many relaxed moments with those two in the same room. It’s always entertaining to read a conversation between them.

   Katy is not thrilled by the idea to move to West Virginia, but her mother thinks it’s what they need to move on after her father died three years ago in cancer, but she gets used to the idea pretty quickly, especially when she meets Dee.

   Dee is a very chatty person, and in the beginning, Katy finds it hard to keep up with her, but also refreshing. She desperately wants a “normal” friend, meaning a friend that is not a Luxen, and is really thrilled by the thought of having Katy as a friend. She’s always worried about Katy not wanting to be her friend anymore, though, first because of Daemon, and then because of them being aliens.

   She’s a very happy person, most of the time, and very nice and caring, and in the beginning, she’s pretty secretive and evasive too, always avoiding Katy’s questions.

   Then we have Daemon. In the beginning of the book, Daemon is always angry at Katy for some reason she can’t figure out. He’s always telling her to stay away from Dee, that she’s not the kind of friend Dee needs, etc. He’s very protective of Dee, almost to a point where it’s actually scary, but it’s also very sweet – except when he’s yelling at Katy.

   He is also very hot, which is mentioned all the time. Unless he has to, he doesn’t wear any shirts.

   Most of the time, he’s a total ass, but he has these sweet, nice, vulnerable moments occasionally, when he’s opening up to Katy, and I melted every time, but except for those few times, he’s really being a jerk, especially to Katy.

   I really loved this book. The characters were great, and it was really easy and fun to follow Katy’s POV. This may be my new favorite JLA book so far, and that says a lot, considering how much I love all her books.

   The plot was good, easy to follow, and thrilling. Even when there weren’t an action scene, it kept up a pretty quick pace, so it didn’t get boring. So I’d definitely recommend this book, especially to fans of JLA. It doesn’t disappoint.