Armentrout, Jennifer L. Obsidian: A Lux Novel. Fort Collins, Colo: Entangled Teen, 2012. Print. ISBN-13: 9781620610077.
Formats available: paperback, ebook, audiobook. Paperback $9.63. Kindle #5.99

Author: Jennifer Armentrout
Published: May 8, 2012
Genre: YA Sci-Fi – Alien/Human Romance
Themes: Love, Aliens, Friendship
Rating: 3 stars (or, it ranges from ok to good enough)
Why’d I read it?: I’ve been on an alien/sci-fi kick lately and this one came highly recommended.

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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.

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My Thoughts:

I read this book because it is so highly reviewed and recommended and a lot of people I know on the blogosphere have read and enjoyed it. Also I’ve been on a real sci-fi/alien kick lately so I figured Id give it a try. I have to admit that I was not blown away by it. It actually reminds me a lot of Twilight, especially in the romance department, and that is the part of twilight I disliked the most. This is simply a personal opinion, however. The book itself is well written, the characters seem real (i.e. not perfect, have flaws and more than one dimension), and the pacing of the story is good. I’m personally just not a big fan of the stories where the male love interest treats the female character so horribly. I mean, he insults her, embarrasses her, and is just cruel. And I don’t really respect the fact that she keeps hanging out with him after that, apparently just because he is extremely attractive and once in a while is not a complete jerk. Ugh, I don’t like that. I don’t mind when two characters don’t like each other and then eventually fall in love, but I don’t understand why the girl would keep hanging out with someone who was this much of a jerk. We also have a lot of tropes in this book that a lot of YA are known for, including: the “missing” or “absent” parents, the insta-attraction, the “plain” girl who doesn’t know she’s stunningly beautiful, and the attractive “cool” guy who acts like a jerk but is really “a good guy at heart.”

Anyway, the book is well written and the characters are not one dimensional. The author is obviously skilled. The suspense is pretty good and the alien mythology is pretty unique, though I don’t think it is explored fully enough. I believe this is because its the first book in a series, however, so in the following books there is probably more exploration of those aspects of the story. Be warned that this particular plot and love story reads a bit like a steamier rip-off of Twilight, I’m sorry to say!

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Liked it? Loved it? Gotta have more of it?
The next book in the series is Onyx.

You also might enjoy:

• Alienated by Melissa Landers
• Goodreads.com has other recommendations for you!

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Extras:

• Find a copy of Obsidian at your local library through worldcat.org

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About the Author:
Find Jennifer Armentrout online on:

• Her website
• twitter @jlarmentrout
• her blog