Reviews

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

marianaagraca's review against another edition

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3.0

My thoughts:
I guess i will be in a lot of trouble doing this review and explaining why i gave only 3,5 stars.So i start reading obsidian cause everybody in goodreads was talking about daemon and i wanted to know what was the all fuss about it.So don't kill me because i only gave 3,5 stars!I already read Onyx and it was so much better and i will be definitely struggling waiting for Opal.The thing is..the series is growing up on me so who knows if Opal gonna get my 5 stars rating.

Main Characters:
Meet Daemon:
description

“Beautiful face. Beautiful body. Horrible attitude. It was the holy trinity of hot boys.”

I don't have any problem with daemon.Sure in the begging he was a sexy douche but a douche.What can i say,i love a "good" bad boy!When you get to know daemon you just fall head over heels in love. The smirks and the sexy comments just did it for me.

Meet Katy:
description

First i really love that katy loved books more than anything and had a blog about books.i can relate to that.But then she just give me the bella vibe sometimes.

In common with bella:
-She is beautiful but thinks she is just ugly and plain.Bella,someone?
But if you pay attention most of the girls from YA books think that way.
-Insecurities. Insecurities everywhere.
-And third,how can you see a alien and not to be afraid? or how can someone tell he is vampire and not run?

Differences:
-When Daemon humiliate Katy,she fought back.The stains in his shirt can prove it.
-Katy don't admit her desire or love for him in the first book,she need time to get to know him and decide if he's worth a shot.
-Katy is a spicy girl and her thoughts about Daemon are priceless!

Sum up:My problems were about Katy being a bit like Bella that's why i don't gave 4 stars.But Katy really surprise me by being daemon independent and not give in to the Alien hot mess called Daemon Black.

Favorite Quotes:
“I've always found that the most beautiful people, truly beautiful inside and out, are the ones who are quietly unaware of their effect." His eyes searched mine intently, and for a moment we stood there toe to toe. "The ones who throw their beauty around, waste what they have? Their beauty is only passing. It's just a shell hiding nothing but shadows and emptiness.”

“The day my internet was hooked up was better than having a hot guy check out my butt and ask for my phone number.”

“If she was mine, I'd cherish every inch of her. And I wanted to. Now”

“Daemon: I checked out your blog.
Katy: Stalking me again, I see. Do I need to get a restraining order?
Daemon: In your dreams, Kitten. Oh wait, I'm already starring in those, aren't I?
Katy: Nightmares, Daemon. Nightmares.”


cassidyserhienko's review against another edition

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5.0

According to Goodreads, I originally rated these a 5/5 and I’m secure enough to admit that I pretty much stand by it.

I haven’t read these books since high school and so I found it interesting to see how Jennifer L. Armentrout’s writing has matured with her more recent releases. I know that the woman does everything and I’ve read a few of her adult romances from about the same time period and obviously those are more scandalous and “grown up” then the lux books, but I feel it’s more fair to compare this series and FBAA since they’re both YA fantasy.

The FBAA comparison is what sparked this re-read for me. I was curious to see how I would feel about Obsidian after reading FBAA and honestly, I still like them better. I think it’s a more original concept and accomplished what it set out to do more effectively. While FBAA is definitely a more mature read, I found the pacing SO slow and it took me far longer to care about the characters or the story. In fairness, I’ve only read FBAA and haven’t read the rest of the series so I reserve the right to change my fickle mind.

Side Note: I also don’t get why everyone compared these books to Twilight when they were first super popular, yeah it’s a human meeting a non-human dude but that’s pretty much where the similarities start and end.

I wouldn’t class the lux books with the likes of YA Giants such as ACOTAR or the Mortal Instruments because I don’t think that the writing or the world-building is as strong, but they’re so freakin’ FUN. Katy and Daemon have such a great dynamic that feels much more realistic to a romance between two teenagers. They obviously love each other and have some wonderful, tender, and passionate moments but they’re still silly and immature, which makes them so endearing.

I also skimmed through the next two books in the series and my old annoyance with the whole “Blame Katy for Getting Adam Killed” storyline resurged. I remember being SO frustrated with how this played out in Katy’s dynamic with Daemon and especially with Dee. As much as I appreciated the fact that people were calling Katy out on kind of being an idiot, I really don’t think that particular moment of idiocy was really her fault.

Despite moments like those, I think that Daemon and Katy are really a great book couple. They might not have the scorcher moments or the epic romances of couples like Feysand but I appreciate how the fantasy elements blend with this more contemporary-novel style of romance. Ultimately, it probably makes the world feel more real and certainly makes Katy and Daemon feel like the kind of couple you would have known in high school. Albeit overly hot.


I’d also like to shout-out the brilliant idea of having Katy be a reader and book blogger. It was something that was integral to Katy as a character, but not so much the storyline and so not only made her a more well-rounded character but was a nice shout-out to fandom culture.


For more reviews check out @theperusingsociety on instagram!

madisoncameryn's review against another edition

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5.0

My absolute favorite series in the world. It's almost embarrassing how many times I've read this book. Daemon and Katy are my absolute favorite book couple and I've literally yet to find a series that captured my attention like this one did. 5 amazing stars!

bookishraquel's review against another edition

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4.5

Star Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐
Heat Rating: 1/5 🌶️

Obsidian is book one in the Lux series. In celebration of the re-release of this book, I participated in a readalong. This is my first read by Jennifer L. Armentrout (affectionately known as JLA), and this won't be my last. I enjoyed this story so much. This is my first time reading an alien or paranormal romance, and I loved every second of it. This story pulled me in from the start, and I was completely invested in Katy and Daemon's journey. I loved the tension, angst, witty banter, and their chemistry. I could not put this book down. I am excited to have been introduced to this author and can't wait to read the rest of this series.

NARRATION:
I love audiobooks and couldn't resist pairing my reading with the audio for Obsidian. Justine Eyre did a wonderful job narrating this story and providing a voice for both male and female characters. It was easy for me to distinguish between them all. The only issue I had was her mispronunciation of MMC's name. This audiobook would be awesome if performed as dual narration.

_isabella_reads_'s review against another edition

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I am a little disappointed in myself right now. WHY DO I KEEP READING BOOKS LIKE THIS? Obsidian was pretty bad. I knew it would be before I started it, but I read it anyway. Bad idea. It was poorly written and the plot seemed kind of confused.

Things that annoyed me about this book:
-The main character's name is Katy Swartz. Katy is an I-can't-think-of-a-better-name name. And Swartz? Really?

-Katy's nickname is "Kitten". Oh my god. I can't handle it. Every time I saw it in the book I got a little mad.

-The relationships weren't very believable. Probably because they weren't very developed. For example,Katy first meets her neighbor, Dee(another annoying name), at a grocery store after Dee stalks her and admits to it and they are immediately best friends. Why?I have no idea.

-Katy has a blog about books, mostly cheesy Fabio-type romance novels, called "Katy's Krazy Obsession". She barely read at all in the book, so how could she review them?

-There was no reason or explanation given about Katy's feeling towards
the main male character, Daemon, besides his looks. He is incredibly annoying and rude and calls her "Kitten" for Christ's sake!

-The cover. It's just awful. I don't even know who this girl is. Is it supposed to be Katy? I don't know. That's definitely not how she was described (she was barely described at all).


Things that I liked about this book:
-I honestly can't think of a single thing right now.


I think this book is officially the end of ya paranormal for me. Finally.

P.S- Sorry Jennifer L. Armentrout.

nic_readsbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is simply amazing.

There are a number of distinct similarities to Twilight but it was better written. with more likeable characters and more chemistry (and I say that as someone who quite liked Twilight).

There is something addictive about the way this is written and I just couldn't put it down - once I started there was no stopping me and I finished this in one sitting.

Let's start with the characters - Katie is so relatable - especially to a book lover so what's not to love? Daemon is the brooding hot guy and exactly how I like my male main characters to be written. The chemistry between them is tense and so hot - the building up between them is well written and despite Daemon not always treating her well, I couldn't help but root for them. Katie's no pushover and I loved it when she would give Daemon as good as he gave. 

My only issue was that despite me knowing he wasn't one, I couldn't help picturing Daemon as a vampire throughout this book.

The plot is action packed, there's great chemistry and characters and it's a well written book - what more could you want?

sashapasha's review against another edition

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3.0

Okay, here is what I thought after reading the first half:

Have you ever watched a movie trailer and thought it looked kinda cool, only to go to the movie and find it is the cheesiest, most ridiculous, thing you've ever seen? That's what reading this book is like. I'll admit, I was drawn to the plot summary. I mean, I like sexy, infuriating, bad boys as much as any girl. But the actual book is so, so disappointing.

Let me try to explain. You know how you'll sometimes let yourself dream up the perfect situation or reality? And you know how with each new addendum to your fantasy it becomes more and more comically, perfectly, convenient that you just want to laugh because it's so ridiculous? Well, welcome to Obsidian.

This book is about aliens. Nice, super-hot aliens. Nice, super-hot aliens that can stop time, turn invisible, change shape, heal people, see auras, move at the speed of light, and manipulate light. That are made of light, actually. Oh, and they conveniently live right next door. And let's not forget that they're nearly indestructible, or that they sometimes glow like mini suns. And they don't need to breathe. That too.

If the idea of sexy, benevolent aliens that can call up thunderstorms and wield lightning doesn't make you want to chuckle, then this review probably is not for you. I mean, I haven't even started on the quality of the writing yet.

Okay, here's a list of some of the things that bothered me about Obsidian:
1. There are so many similarities to Twilight, I wouldn't be surprised if the characters started off named Edward and Bella.
2. The writing pretty much flat out sucks. It reads like it's been written by a amateur, in particular, a 15 year old girl who likes making up stories in her spiral notebook. The entire thing sounds contrived, and often just plain doesn't make sense. For example, sometimes the story jumps from one scene to the next, and you're left feeling like there should've been something in between. The dialogue is the same way. The characters will be following one train of conversation, and then all of a sudden will be talking about something else. And the dialogue itself is ridiculous, contrived, and very rarely witty, which is a bigger crime in my book than any sort of crappy writing. I tend to be very forgiving about the quality of the writing, plot line, and even whether the book makes logical sense, if it makes me laugh.
3. In Obsidian the government knows about the aliens. But do they A) Hold them for observation, B) Try to find out how they got to Earth, or C) Try to figure out what they are, what they can do, or even whether they are dangerous? No. Instead, we're supposed to believe that the government basically just says to the aliens, "Welcome to Earth. Here, let us set you up in some nice condos." That doesn't sound like our government at all. Humans are nosy creatures, and our government is the nosiest branch of humans. It's in our nature to be curious and paranoid, and to pry. The idea of our government pretty much just leaving the aliens be and putting them in the equivalent of a foster care program is ridiculous.
4. Daemon reveals what he is in order to rescue Katy from a certain situation
Spoiler(she steps out in front of a truck)
. What I don't understand is why he didn't just zip over there (remember, he can move at the speed of light) and push her out of the way? He certainly didn't need to make such a huge scene
Spoilerby stopping time
, and he could've blown it off (like Edward did in Twilight) by saying he had been standing right next to her, thereby circumventing the whole 'What the hell are you?' conversation.
5. There are tons of little gaps in logic and inconsistencies like in 4. which I could go on and on about, but I'm going to stop here because I'm no doubt boring you.

1 star.

...annd here is what I thought after the second half:

Hmmph. It's not as bad as I thought. Either the writing is smoothing out or I'm getting used to it, because it's not so noticeable anymore. And the ending is pretty exciting. There is however a giant gap in logic that has something to do with the fact that Daemon is supposed to be able to travel at the speed of light. Which means he should be able to run across town in 1/1000 of a second. He should be able to run across the entire goddamn country in like a second. Come on, people. What, did he stop to use the restroom and clip his toenails before making his way over?!? You know what scene I'm talking about.

I do like this quote:
Why are you such an ass?
Everyone has to excel at something, right?
Well, you're doing a great job.

Seems to me like it got funnier in the second half.
3.5 stars.

Which I'm going to say equals a total of 3 stars.

ohtrisarahtops's review against another edition

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5.0

This review can also be found here

I should probably start off by saying that I had my doubts about this book. I tend to dislike books everyone raves about and the hype surrounding this book (and the entire series thus far) has been insane. The hype almost scared me off from reading this and I'm actually really glad that I picked it up because I absolutely loved it.

It was nice to see a book about aliens in YA instead of the usual vampires/werewolves/faeries which make up the stories for a lot of the genre. Really how many alien young adult books are out there? I can't think of many. And the fact that there were good aliens and bad aliens just made the story even better.

I loved the plot. Also the story behind the aliens was extremely well thought out and didn't sound ridiculous and was completely original. I loved the fact that different aliens had different powers and no two had the same level of power. Yet even with this they all blended into human society quite well.

I loved Katy. She was obsessed with books, had a book review blog and didn't put up with any of Daemon's crap. Because trust me there was a ton of crap from him. That boy seriously got on my nerves in the beginning, to the point where I wanted to smack him. He eventually grew on me when the other, nicer side of him made appearances.

When I finished this book I went out and ordered Onyx, the second book in the series. I can't wait to start it and I hope this series just gets better and better.

erinfrances04's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

adavila97's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0