Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

Review:

This was my first Armentrout book. And frankly, I have no idea why it has taken me so long to read books by this author. I read this one practically in one sitting. And kind of like how Katy and Daemon have love/hate relationship with each other, I had a lot of love/hate moments with this book. Keep in mind, I already put an order in for the rest of the series, so (like with Katy), I guess I was feeling the love more than the hate.

I loved the relationship between Katy and Daemon. They had so much building tension that everyone could see. I loved that Katy didn’t put up with his lies or let him get away with too much. Though, frankly, I’m not sure I would have stuck around as long as she did after certain moments/comments. I did like that she recognized his dick-headed-ness and knew that she shouldn’t be attracted to him. She stood up for herself, she did what she thought was right, and she refused to listen to his lies. Go Katy!

I also loved Katy’s relationship with Dee. I liked watching her make friends outside of Dee’s friends. I absolutely loved the fact that Katy was a blogger (with Waiting on Wednesday posts and everything!) I totally agree that getting a box of new releases to review can be the deal breaker for any given day.

I’m not sure how I felt about the similarities this book shared with both Twilight and Roswell. I like that Katy was at least more intelligent than Bella. And I like that Katy bonded with her new friends over important things like loss and family. But, this really kind of was the alien version of Twilight. The similarities were super strong –everything down to the alien friends being matched up (like the vampire family), and the scene where Daemon shows Katy what he can do just like Edward. Also, there’s the whole new girl in town getting the one guy who’s never been interested in humans before. Add that to some serious Roswell-type powers and Roswell-type romance, and well you see what I’m talking about.

On the plus side, I’ve never seen aliens with these kinds of abilities. And I loved the action-packed parts of the plot with the dark aliens and the missing teens. I’m also apparently a sucker for a good sci-fi romance, and this definitely fit the part. I loved the ending. I loved watching Katy prove her worth. And I’m anxious to read more about her connection to Daemon.

It’s another one of those books where the teens seem to have unrealistic amounts of un-supervised freedom. I get that Katy’s mom was a nurse, but really… So much went down in that house…Also, I get that the aliens don’t have parents, but still no one questions this, ever? I also feel like more is coming with the new man in Katy’s mom’s life. I feel like he’s going to be connected somehow.

All in all, my enjoyment did seem to outweigh everything else. I finished it and immediately needed to purchase the rest of the series. I read it super quickly. The romance was sizzling. It did read a little too similarly to Twilight; however, I do think both the main character and the romance were written much better. I give it an 8/10. And I’m definitely going to be reading the rest.