“Why are you such an ass?” The words came out before I could think twice.
”Everyone has to excel at something, right?”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, Obsidian
Spoiler warning: I will mention a small part of the ending that was one of the biggest surprises of this book and one of this book’s biggest strengths. If it bothers you avoid this review, if not. It will not necessarily remove the enjoyment of
Obsidian is the first book in the YA science fiction series Lux, and was published 2012 by Entangled Teen. It is written by the American author Jennifer L. Armentrout and is a paranormal romance in the same genre some Twilight and The Mortal Instruments but the male lead romance is an alien. Don’t worry, he is a sexy alien. God, forbid that he actually would look like E.T.
Now, the plot is fairly straightforward and most likely will have a lot of similar plot points such as other Paranormal romances. Such as the human girl falling in love with the paranormal male, in this case an alien. He is hot but standoffish, often rude, because she could never understand him and she being not like other girls because she likes to read. This are just a few things that falls under tropes.
I would say though that the plot tries to add actual substance though to the plot. The male romance, Daemon (Yes, that is his name.), is from a planet called Lux who has been destroyed by a hostile race called Arams. Most of the elders of his people are killed with their planet and the youngest had to escape to find a planet that could inhabit them. They find earth but are feared by the humans that hides them from the rest of the world leaving the Luxans distrustful of humans.
Enter Katy, a girl who has lost her father to cancer and has a hard time fitting in, preferring to read over spending time with others. She become friends with her neighbor Dee Black but are constantly angered by Dee’s hot but extremely rude brother who doesn’t want his sister to spend time with Katy. Katy soon find out why and in turn become hunted by the Arums still hunting the Luxan all while she has to try avoid the increasingly attraction to Daemon.
Now, what is the biggest change I was mentioning in the spoiler warning? What had surprised me? In the end, they don’t end up together. Katy refuses to date him because she wants something better. Which was a nice scene if only because Daemon might have saved her several times but he has been a dick to her throughout the series. It would not make sense for them to get together when they seem to hate/love each other. But that hasn’t stopped other YA romances before. This one did, at least in the first book, which is the one I’m reviewing.
The characters are fairly well developed. The main lead has a clear personality, gentle and shy but also a hot temperament and strong moral. Most of it comes from her background. The loss of her father left a deep scar on her that shapes her decisions even long after. Daemon is protective, mostly because he was raised to be the protector of his group, and comes across as rude and hostile. Considering that he lives in a society where he has to hide what he is to be accepted it is understandable.
Now, why did I say fairly? Because, this story follows the perspective of Katy which means that she and in extension, the reader, has a hard time understanding the other characters feelings and development throughout the story. She tries occasionally to understand but since she isn’t angry after the death of her father, mostly because of the support of her mother, she cannot understand the anger and hopelessness of Dee and Daemon that shapes them.
They will never have a home. They are force to be with other members of their race simply because there isn’t many of them and are strictly prohibited by the government to move and even talk to whomever they want. This is obvious to me, but the main character doesn’t seem to understand their feelings which means that if the reader doesn’t catch the subtle hints then they will miss them too.
I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend this book for those who wants a neasy but entertaining read for a couple of hours. It has a modern style of writing that makes it able to convey its plot to all ages and has some darker subjects, such as death and grief, that it touches upon for those who want a bit more substance. The only thing that I could warn about is that this is about the relationship between a girl and a “bad” boy and I have noticed some being hateful towards the book because of it and I would agree if it wasn’t for the unusual ending. True that it might be changed in the future, but for this book I found it acceptable.
I would rate it a 9 out of 10. That removal of one point is simply because of all the tropes. It falls a bit heavy on them in the beginning but it was still a solid Paranormal YA with a intriguing plot that left me wanting more.
With Kind Regards
Senefer.
Read with Senefer 