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.(From GoodReads)
My Review
There are a few authors that I know I can always count on, my "Old Faithfuls". I can always count on their books leaving me satisfied, thrilled and usually wanting for more. I'm talking about authors such as Cassandra Clare, Jeri Smith-Ready, and a few others. Now, I am without a doubt adding Jennifer Armentrout to that list. I loved the first book of hers that I read, Half-Blood. And to be honest, I went into Obsidian expecting another good book from Armentrout. What I didn't expect was for Obsidian to completely rock my world!
I don't even know how to start explaining my love for this book. Maybe the story. New girl in town meets hot, snarky guy. Sparks fly. Literally. Their being together is bad news. Like, deadly bad news. Seriously, in Obsidian, the author has taken the teen alien story and given it the coolest, most unique spin. I always strive for spoiler-free reviews. I love for the reader to be able to discover the intricate details of the story for themselves. So I'm not going into the nitty-gritty of the story. Just trust me when I say that as far as these books go, Obsidian is, to me, heads and shoulders above books such "I Am Number Four", which I really liked.
The characters in Obsidian are so vivid, alive. Katy, the main character, is...wait for it....A BLOGGER! Katy loves to read and blog. She checks her comments, her follower count and films IMM vlogs! That just felt like a huge shout-out to the book bloggers of the world and made me totally love Katy. But that's not all I loved about her. She is independent, self-reliant and does not take any crap off of people (or aliens!). She's quick to call Daemon out on his crap and flip him the bird as she's walking away. What's more, she is a loyal friend. Katy holds the fates of her new friends and never once considers giving them up, even when her own life is at risk.
One of Katy's new friends is Dee, the girl next door and sister to Daemon. Dee is completely,
squish-ably, adorable. She is like a breath of fresh, drama-free air. Especially when compared to her brother.
Daemon. Where to begin. Okay. You know those hot, sarcastic, can-be-a-real-jerk guys that we all know and love? For example, Jace from The Mortal Instruments series, or Adrian from Vampire Academy. Take everything you love, and what drives you crazy about those guys, and multiply that by 10. Or 20. Possibly 100. Are you picking up on what I'm saying here? For real. Daemon made me bonkers. Take a look at the cover of Obsidian. He's hot, right. Devastating. Who wouldn't want some of that? I wanted to like him. And he did have some nice moments in the first half of the book. But then he would do or say something that made me want to scream. He comes across as an arrogant, rude... ass hat. I actually tweeted Jennifer Armentrout at one point and said that "I want to punch Daemon in the throat and make out with him, simultaneously". Her response was, he would probably like that. I swear, I felt everything that Katy was feeling about him. I honestly wondered if there was any coming back for Daemon.
There was. Like many tortured heroes, Daemon's startling behavior is explained by a look at his past. Once you know why Daemon is so guarded and hostile, you can start to understand his actions. And why he is so desperate to hang on to what's left, especially his sister. The sibling love between Daemon and Dee was so beautiful, it just broke my heart.
Obsidian left me emotionally exhausted. I'm still reeling. And the ending? Evil. A good evil, for sure. But I
want need more, soon. I have no idea when book two is even planned to be released. Or if Armentrout has even started writing it yet. But you better believe, with the track record she is building for herself, the next book will be fantastic. I will be stalking the Internet for news in the meantime.
Favorite Quote:
I bookmarked seven quotes that I loved. It was hard to choose only one.
"Daemon's stare was so concentrated I took an unintentional step back, but we didn't break eye
contact. A craving unfurled deep in my stomach, shooting through me like heated lightning, and that-
that was the kind of feeling you couldn't force, couldn't even replicate if you wanted."
Paperback, First, 266 pages
Expected publication: December 6th 2011 by Entangled Publishing
Find Jennifer Armentrout at
her blog.
I've decided to have a giveaway of Obsidian in mid to late November. Be sure to come back and enter.
*I received an eARC of Obsidian from Entangled Publishing, in exchange for an honest review.*
