Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout Published by Entangled Publishing, LLC on 2012
Genres: Paranormal, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 335
Format: eBook
Goodreads
When seventeen-year-old Katy Swartz moved to West Virginia right before her senior year, she’d pretty much resigned herself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring, but then she spotted her hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up…until he opened his mouth. Daemon Black is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. It’s hate at first sight, but when a stranger attacks her and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens. The hot guy next door? Well, he’s an alien. Turns out that Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities and Katy is caught in the crosshairs. Daemon’s touch has lit her up like the Vegas Strip and the only way she’s getting out of this alive is by sticking close to him until her alien mojo fades. That is if she doesn’t kill him first.
Lynn’s Review:
Katy is a teenage book-blogger (yay book bloggers!). She and her mother have moved to a small town in West Virginia from Florida. Here personal motto is: Katy’s personal motto: “Come on, Kittycat, don’t be a bystander.” Being the new girl in town, she needs to make some friends. And right next door is Dee and her twin brother Daemon. Katy and Dee become fast friends. But Katy and Daemon become fast frenemies. Daemon is super hot, has piercing green eyes, and a bad attitude towards Katy. If you didn’t guess by now, yes, there is something “super-natural” about Daemon and his sister Dee.
Argh. This book was very frustrating for me to read. I think I liked it and loathed it at the same time.
Parts I liked: the sexual tension and arguments between Katy and Daemon. And yes, I am a believer in the prelude to the relationship. The build up is usually way more interesting than when they actually get together. Here’s an example from their very first meeting.
“Now that’s not very ladylike, Kittycat.”
I whipped around. “Don’t ever call me that,” I snapped.
“It’s better than calling someone a douchebag, isn’t it?” He pushed out the door. “This has been a stimulating visit. I’ll cherish it for a long time to come.”
I did also really like the extra chapters at the end of the book (at least my ebook version) from Daemon’s point of view. Reading his thoughts was actually more interesting to me than Katy’s.
Parts I didn’t like: all of the similarities with Twilight. I know I shouldn’t compare books to one another, but I really could not help it with Obsidian. Daemon is hot and cold, an emotional roller coaster. And I always felt that Edward was the same, especially at the beginning of the series. There are hints of the super-natural. The slow reveal while Katy and Dee and Daemon are getting to know each other, similar to Bella and Edward. Katy even at one point asks if Daemon sparkles. There are even some very similar scenes between the two books. I won’t spoil them for you, but I’m sure you’ll recognize the scenes right away.
There are quite a few books in this series. And to be completely honest, I don’t know if I care enough about what will happen between Katy and Daemon to read them. Maybe the series gets better? And less Twilight-y.
….
I was very surprised that I liked this book as much as I did. But I completely agree that it was very similar to Twilight…but a lot better.
Michelle recently posted…Christina’s Review: All the Light We Cannot See
Michelle, I’m glad you liked the book. Thanks for commenting!
Oh yay, I love getting to comment when I’ve read the book! 😉 I liked Obsidian but I did see the similarities with Twilight. I also read this about 3 years ago and that’s before I’d read a bunch of books similar to Twilight. So… I agree that JLA does sexual tension really well. I really liked the snarky banter. I think the story does continue to have its similarities to Twilight but I’ve read the second book and I still enjoyed it despite those similarities. (again, about 3 years ago) I’m hoping to finish the series this summer, so I’ll let you know Lynn. 🙂
Bookworm Brandee recently posted…Review ~ Meet Me In The Dark ~ JA Huss
JLA is good with thr snark, Brandee. And yes, please let me know how the rest of the series goes. Maybe if enough people I know like the other books, I’ll read them.
As a person who loves the series,I can totally see where you’re coming from, the twilight parallels irked me also when reading the first book but thankfully, they disappear in the next few books and the series takes on a different kind of vibe (in my opinion) and gets far more badass as the books continue, going down a completely different road from Twilight
Scarlett recently posted…Scarlett’s Sporadic Return to the Blogosphere
Good to know, Scarlett. The blurbs looked good. And now that I know the Twilight issue gets better, I might check them out.
You know what Lynn, I felt exactly the same about this book. I loved the snark, the romantic development and Katy as a character but couldn’t stand just how similar it was to Twilight. In fact, I refuse to read any of the author’s books because of this. I hear the Covenant series is the same, but similar to Vampire Academy. Great review!
Jeann @ Happy Indulgence recently posted…Burying Water by K.A. Tucker Review: A Book Which Spoils Itself
I haven’t read Vampire Academy, so maybe the Covenant books would be ok for me to read. I will say that Wicked was really good, if you want to try that out, you can read my review of that book here: https://chapterbreak.net/2015/03/20/book-review-wicked/
Interesting review, confirming what I managed to glean from reading of this series, which boils down to … probably not a good fit for me. Really good post. Have a happy weekend!
Ramona recently posted…The Walls Around Us
Thanks, Ramona. And I’m glad I could help you eliminate some books from your TBR list.
Ok since the whole world seems obsessed with this series, I’m happy to hear a realistic sounding review! Yes, too many similarities to another very popular book is a real turn off. I’m with you though, the build up to them getting together, especially going from an enemy like state first, love it. Apparently so does this author…
I agree, Julie. Everyone is obsessed with this series. So maybe it gets better? Hopefully someone else who’s read the books can tell me before I commit to reading them.