Obsidian
I’ve been hesitant to read this book right from the moment I’ve discovered it back in 2013, like Aliens? Really? Nah. That time I haven’t read anything by Jennifer L. Armentrout, so I absolutely have no idea how good she is at this business. When I finally took the plunge and invaded the world of Lux, YES, I TOTALLY REGRETTED WHY I HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK SOONER. I know. I’m a walking cliché.
So Obsidian is totally not what I expected, and I liked it more than I’d hoped. You’d think it’ll be too much drama to have a very stubborn heroine and an overly self-confident hero, but it’s actually a very enjoyable read. I didn’t even think of aliens so much, except for the frequent reminders about them. I’ve never thought in my bookworm life that I’ll read a story about aliens, but then I did and even fell in love with it. Go figure.
Katy Swartz is a typical Armentout heroine—sassy, stubborn and I’ll-cut-a-bitch-when-one-gets-in-my-way girl. She’s got a sense of humor, which is a very important trait I’m looking for in a character. She’s got a huge dose of hormones in that little body of hers, or maybe that’s just the effect of being in Daemon’s vicinity. Still, sometimes this girl feels like a walking hormone that will spew off lust auras when it comes to Daemon. Is that an alien effect?
Daemon Black is one heck of an overly confident male specie. He’s almost irritating, except he’s totally adorable because anything arrogant he says is laced with humor that makes him forgivable. He’s the kind of hero that makes you want to know what he’s thinking—the one who makes you want to be inside his head. Plus, he makes everything look hot. Who knew aliens could be so hot?
The structure of Obsidian is light—the you-know-there’s-going-to-be-a-sequel-and-this-is-just-easing-you-to-it-slowly kind of light. It’s the, shall we say, introduction of things. You know there’s going to be bigger things to happen and this book makes you anticipate it so much.
I’m not giving it a perfect rating because I there are some things that I feel lacking. Like Dee. I understand that she needed to spend time with Daemon because of the mess they’ve gotten themselves into, and I understand that this is their story—the two of them—but I would’ve liked to see more of Dee or just more of Katy spending time with her friends. If Daemon is a medicine, I think I’ll overdose because he’s everywhere. I didn’t get a break from him, which made him somewhat easily tired of.
The characters’ chemistry is undeniable, but both are not willing to give in to it or even admit it even to themselves. You can feel the sexual tension between them spiking up in unbelievable measures. Seeing them together everytime is a little too much, even for my romance tastes. I don’t like overly romantic things because then it’s just cheesy.
I think, for a couple of days, I’ll be burrowed deep in this series. It has its claws on me, and there is no way I’ll be getting out of it anytime soon—or maybe never until I’ve known all there is to know. Until I’ve finished the whole series. *winks*
Onyx
So this book did not give me the same high I got from the first book, but I still liked it. Although my feelings are sixty per cent frustrated, twenty per cent annoyed and twenty per cent happy about what was happening.
Sixty per cent frustration went to Katy Swartz. I want to crawl inside the book and get in her face to demand, What happened to your judgment, girlie? It seemed like she’s too dense to read too much into Blake’s business. All the clues were there, but then she passed it as normal since they were the same and all that. Ugh. Since many chapters contain Katy and Blake, my frustration is right with them.
Twenty per cent annoyance goes to all of the characters and the climax.
First, the characters, especially the Daemon, knew they were being watched by the DOD, but they seemed to not take that into consideration before they do something. They knew someone was watching, but they still appeared to be too careless. The aliens didn’t want the DOD knowing about Kat being aware that they’re aliens, but they’re showing off their abilities nonstop around her. They didn’t want the DOD to know about her mutation, but they didn’t give enough warning about her practicing out in the open. Ugh.
Second, the climax. It’s not much of a climax for me. It’s too simple, too dull to be called a climax considering the intense rising action. It’s like the two elements have switched places.
The last twenty per cent goes to happiness about what’s happening. Katy is finally spending a lot of time with other friends, and with Blake her Daemon time has lessened, too. It’s not that I don’t want some Daemon-Katy time—I do—but lessening it has also lessened the cheesy factor and the overly romantic feels. Lessening it added to my anticipation of their time together. Did I say that right? I hope I did.
I like this book, but I’m not very fond of many occurrences.
PS—Yes, a PS in a review. LOL. I really want to see Katy’s blog and I FRICKING WANT TO WATCH THE VLOG WITH DAEMON IN IT!
~ Zee
