Obsidian: The Lux Series Book 1

     
    
 Title: Obsidian
Author: Jennifer Armentrout
Published: May 2012 by Entangled Teen
Book 1 of the Lux Series

“He was probably the hottest guy I’d ever seen in real life, and he was a total douche. Go figure.”  

One of the most blogged about books recently and widely recommended, Obsidian is an out of this world piece of work that is filled with danger, excitement, and a fascinating group of extra-terrestrial beings known as Luxen. Jennifer Armentrout, author of the popular Covenant Series, has done it again with Obsidian!

Katy Swartz does not have long to mourn the move to West Virginia before she finds a reason to celebrate….the gorgeous boy next door- Daemon Black. But when her first meeting with him leaves her fuming and nearly in tears, she swears off Daemon and all that boys like him have to offer. Ironically, the next person she meets is Dee, Daemon’s sweet and friendly twin sister, eager to make friends with the new girl. Determined to be friends with Dee, while ignoring the protests of Daemon and their established friends, Katy begins to fall into the routines of a typical high school senior. That is until the extraordinary happens: Katy is attacked by a lunatic and Daemon shows up and literally freezes time with a wave of his hand. Katy is left in awe of her rescuer; that is until he opens his mouth and ruins the moment. Daemon reluctantly explains that he is a Luxen, a being from another planet and he has “marked” her by saving her. Now she has to stay close by him so that he can protect her from the Arum (evil aliens) who will come looking for her to get to him and other Luxen like him. Armed with the extraordinary knowledge that other worldly beings walk among us, Katy must navigate high school while trying to avoid stepping into the middle of an all out alien war amongst the Luxen (who are classmates and teachers alike) and the Arum, the evil aliens that have hunted their kind here to extinct them. To make matters worse, Katy’s new situation has made her a new enemy at school, Daemon’s crazy ex-Luxen girlfriend, who is determined to put an end to her without a second thought.

Katy is a gem of a protagonist. For as much crap as she takes from Daemon, she is able to give it right back. She is witty and snarky, the perfect match to Daemon’s full blown sarcastic personality. I like that she is a book blogger and is constantly trying to take control of her life. Or at the very least, keep Daemon from controlling her. Daemon is incredible. Incredibly…moody and judgmental. He is fiercely protective of his sister and sweetly indulgent when he wants to be. Daemon’s character and behavior are very deliberate. The best part of Obsidian is the witty banter that takes place between Katy and Daemon. While they are constantly at each other’s throats, they are really funny about it, providing several laugh out loud moments. Not to mention the serious sexual tension laced in-between the intended jabs. Daemon and Dee’s interactions were just as interesting to watch because you get to see a different side of him compared to how he normally interacts with Katy. Dee was just a big ball of sunshine; you can’t help love her for her excitement and friendship.

Jennifer Armentrout weaves large quantities of sarcasm, with heavy amounts of sexual tension, and a dose of Sci-Fi to create this amazing read. I would recommend this to any Sci-Fi, paranormal- loving YA readers anywhere! Be on the lookout for book 2 in the Lux series, Onyx, out in August 2012.