REVIEW: Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout

Pub. Date: November 29th 2011
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 361
Readership: Young adult
Genres: science fiction, aliens

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.

I finally read this book! After hearing so many things about it I finally ordered a copy and started it the second I could. At first I was a little worried that the book wouldn't live up to all the hype it was getting but I was pleased to find out that it lived up to all of that and then some.

It begins with Katy arriving at her new home in West Virginia. It's a fresh start. She knows absolutely no one but her mum. They are both trying to move on from the death of Katy's father. Then she meets one of her next door neighbours, Daemon. He's arrogant, rude, smug but also very, very hot. She immediately takes a disliking to him. I was taken from the get-go with him. I'm just a sucker for that kind of fictional guy: a complete jerk but you know there's a reason for it. You know there's walls and you just want the female lead to slowly chip away at them and inevitably tear them down. I'm a complete sucker for that. Dee came in next, Daemon's twin sister. I fell in love with her immediately. She's a light compared to her brother's thunderstorm personality. Katy immediately hits it off with her and they become quick friends.

I thought that Katy being part of the book blogging world was such a riot. It was great to see the references peppered throughout, to the vlogging weekly update of what she got, to the Waiting on Wednesdays posts, and the anxiety that giving a less than stellar review brings. I love that Katy had her own established hobbies and they didn't falter or die out as the book went on. They were still very much a part of her even when the action started to happen and the alienness started to take over her life.

The chemistry between Katy and Daemon was off the charts. Katy is sassy, if not as sassy as Daemon on a different kind of front. She doesn't take any of Daemon's shit. She may be a little shy, but she's constantly flipping him off, insulting him right back when he insults her or pisses her off and I just saw a lot of myself in Katy. That's probably one of the big reasons that I liked her so much. I finally found a girl with my mouth, sass and shyness. With the same interests. Who is quipping with a super sexy guy. Fan-freaking-tastic if you ask me. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who related to Katy so much. I think that's one of the best things about Obsidian; a lot of people will be able to relate with Katy in the best ways.

Then there's Daemon. Oh, Daemon, Daemon, Daemon. Like I said before, he's arrogant, he's rude, he's smug, he's obnoxious, he broods a lot but he's also very hot. He's the perfect bad boy. He's mysterious, with a bit of a temper and he's fiercely protective of the people that he loves but he never resorts to violence against those people if he loses his temper. Sure, he takes it out on the big bad Arum, but he has to. It's life or death when it comes to them. Daemon quickly made his way to the top of my favorite fictional boys. He's a keeper.

Aliens are not something I usually read about, or even watch in movies or on TV. I was a little hesitant at how that was going to translate onto page, and how the plot was going to work but I'm really glad I took a chance. It reminded me a lot of the TV show Roswell, a show I loved growing up. It's not exactly the same by any means, I just felt like the two had a lot in common. Obsidian humanized literal out of this world creatures. There was the perfect blend of action and adventure plus the romance and the friendships.

I have to warn you that if you start Obsidian, you'll want to clear your schedule. It captivates you from the very beginning and you'll find yourself up until 5:30 in the morning (seriously, it happened) wanting to find out what happens next even if you'll be a member of the walking dead the next day. There is romance, there is action, there is a unique plot... everything you'll want in a book. I need to go out and get book 2, stat. You won't regret picking this up.

★★★★★ 

I LOVED IT

PURCHASE

(amazon paperback) (amazon kindle) (kobo)

psst, it's only $4.99 on kindle!