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nic_readsbooks's review against another edition
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?
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
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. 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 , 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.
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)Spoiler
by stopping time5. 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
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.
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
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
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
itsbookaryn's review against another edition
3.0
Contra todo pronóstico, lo terminé, tres veces dije que no podía más y seguí, por qué? Por masoquista. Porque me negaba a dejar este libro inconcluso siendo que en su momento le tuve muchas ganas. La Karyn de hace 10 años hubiera caído rendida por Daemon, pero la Karyn de 25 no podía más con su carácter. La verdad seguí leyendo porque quería saber como se iba a desarrollar el tema de extraterrestres, y esta medio enredado la neta, a la mina solo se le pegaba la energía de Daemon, siendo que a Dee se le escapa la energía de vez en cuando, entonces no me quedo del todo claro el uso y adherencia de la energía, y me parece estúpido que no supieran como quitar el rastro, la neta.
Ganó puntos extra con el final, me gusto mucho la actitud de la mina xd ya era hora
Ganó puntos extra con el final, me gusto mucho la actitud de la mina xd ya era hora
brigii's review against another edition
I remember how popular this book was but I won't rate it because I don't really remember how much I liked it or not. But god, my young self would freak out if she would know the alien books I read now.
smuttea_matcha's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book way more than the Covenant series Armentrout has. I loved the chemistry between the two characters and that was the one thing that kept me hooked. The story line kept me entertained enough, but it didn't wow me. I look forward to the second book.
hurrikanekathrina's review against another edition
4.0
If I had to sum up this book in one word it would be this: Too.Much.Fun (Well, that's actually three words, but whatever.)
This book isn't like Twilight. It is Twilight. Only meaner, sexier, snarkier. It's Twilight, if the Cullen's were assholes. Twilight, if Edward was a hot douchebag.
And when I say it's Twilight, I say the book is that way, with a sly ironic half grin in the direction of Twilight.
While Obsidian certainly is its own book and does not merely function as a parody of Twilight, it does seem to me like Jennifer L. Armentrout wrote this goldie with more than just one loving side blow to its vampire counterpiece.
Katy, our 17 year old protagonist, moves with her single mother from her sunny home statePhoenix Florida to a small, gray town in West Virginia, where she meets her too hot to be true neighbour, Daemon and his quirly, nice, always overly excited sister Alice Dee.
When school starts, she soon finds out it's not just the two of them. There's a whole Cullen clan. The one that doesn't like her for what she is (human) : Ash (aka. Rosalie). The fatherly figure, who works as a doctor teacher: Mr. Garrison.
And somethings weird with them. Her new human friends, Jessica and Angela -wait, no, what was their names? Well, one of them is a nerd and the other a partygirl - tell her, that although the clan is not blood-related, they seem to be like a family and mostly stick to themselves. And they're all so beautiful.
I could go on and on about it like this, but honestly, read the book and experience it for yourself. And like I said, I'm sure Armentrout is well aware of those parallels and added them for a reasons. That reason being entertainment. And that I got from it.
"What are you? A vampire?"
He rolled his eyes. "Are you serious?"
Now, when I said the book is Twilight, I was exaggerating.
Because our non-humans aren't vampires, they're aliens. And I gotta say the whole alien thing is pretty cool. Once you let go of logic or reason and just emmerse yourself with a fun story (which can be very freeing from time to time) you will be granted with lots of entertainment and lots of hotness.
Which leads me to my favorite part about this book: Daemon
He easily ranks number 1 on the list of douchebag, asshole, jerk male protagonists, but other than most occupants of that title, the book is well aware of that and doesn't portray his mean behaviour as something "good". Well, it certainly serves the purpose of fulfilling all our jerk-complexes, but at least it flat-out tells you so. Yeah, he's an ass, but he's also pretty hot. And he is.
He's probably one of the meanest, hot and cold, annoying, see-through male characters ever, but he has great lines and I couldn't help but like him.
"Like him" yeah right. Okay, I'll admit it. He's smoking. I love him. God, I love him :D
Katy is a fun character as well. As the 1st POV narrator of this story, Armentrout gets across most of the irony and humour through her voice. Katy certainly fulfills her damsel-in-distress, teenage girl- cliches, but she does it in a fun way, openly referring to her moodswings as someone flipping her "Bitch-switch" or simply admitting that, jerk or not, she'd probably tap that.
And the fact that she's a book lover isn't just mentioned for the sake of relatability, but actually picked up throughout the book and makes up a part of her personality.
"Beautiful Face. Beautiful Body. Horrible Attitude. It was the holy trinity of hot boys."
“ 'I checked out your blog.'
Oh. Dear. Baby. Jesus. How did he find it? Wait. More importantly was the fact he HAD found it. Was my blog now googleable? That was awesomesauce with an extra heaping of sauce.”
Katy cracks me up.
The book is fun and entertaining, and I had a blast reading it. Apart from that, once I laid back and stopped thinking about Twilight comparisons and logic, I actually found the story itself rather interesting and want to know more about these characters.
I recommend this to people that are in a post-book mourning period, (former) Twilight fans, paranormal romance lovers and people that just enjoy a fun, entertaining story and don't take things too seriously.
You are reading a book to have fun. It doesn't always have to be the most original, clever, unexpected masterpiece in the world. This book is just to enjoy. And I did.
I am absolutely going to read the next books and I'm looking forward to it!
This book isn't like Twilight. It is Twilight. Only meaner, sexier, snarkier. It's Twilight, if the Cullen's were assholes. Twilight, if Edward was a hot douchebag.
And when I say it's Twilight, I say the book is that way, with a sly ironic half grin in the direction of Twilight.
While Obsidian certainly is its own book and does not merely function as a parody of Twilight, it does seem to me like Jennifer L. Armentrout wrote this goldie with more than just one loving side blow to its vampire counterpiece.
Katy, our 17 year old protagonist, moves with her single mother from her sunny home state
When school starts, she soon finds out it's not just the two of them. There's a whole
And somethings weird with them. Her new human friends, Jessica and Angela -wait, no, what was their names? Well, one of them is a nerd and the other a partygirl - tell her, that although the clan is not blood-related, they seem to be like a family and mostly stick to themselves. And they're all so beautiful.
I could go on and on about it like this, but honestly, read the book and experience it for yourself. And like I said, I'm sure Armentrout is well aware of those parallels and added them for a reasons. That reason being entertainment. And that I got from it.
"What are you? A vampire?"
He rolled his eyes. "Are you serious?"
Now, when I said the book is Twilight, I was exaggerating.
Because our non-humans aren't vampires, they're aliens. And I gotta say the whole alien thing is pretty cool. Once you let go of logic or reason and just emmerse yourself with a fun story (which can be very freeing from time to time) you will be granted with lots of entertainment and lots of hotness.
Which leads me to my favorite part about this book: Daemon
He easily ranks number 1 on the list of douchebag, asshole, jerk male protagonists, but other than most occupants of that title, the book is well aware of that and doesn't portray his mean behaviour as something "good". Well, it certainly serves the purpose of fulfilling all our jerk-complexes, but at least it flat-out tells you so. Yeah, he's an ass, but he's also pretty hot. And he is.
He's probably one of the meanest, hot and cold, annoying, see-through male characters ever, but he has great lines and I couldn't help but like him.
"Like him" yeah right. Okay, I'll admit it. He's smoking. I love him. God, I love him :D
Katy is a fun character as well. As the 1st POV narrator of this story, Armentrout gets across most of the irony and humour through her voice. Katy certainly fulfills her damsel-in-distress, teenage girl- cliches, but she does it in a fun way, openly referring to her moodswings as someone flipping her "Bitch-switch" or simply admitting that, jerk or not, she'd probably tap that.
And the fact that she's a book lover isn't just mentioned for the sake of relatability, but actually picked up throughout the book and makes up a part of her personality.
"Beautiful Face. Beautiful Body. Horrible Attitude. It was the holy trinity of hot boys."
“ 'I checked out your blog.'
Oh. Dear. Baby. Jesus. How did he find it? Wait. More importantly was the fact he HAD found it. Was my blog now googleable? That was awesomesauce with an extra heaping of sauce.”
Katy cracks me up.
The book is fun and entertaining, and I had a blast reading it. Apart from that, once I laid back and stopped thinking about Twilight comparisons and logic, I actually found the story itself rather interesting and want to know more about these characters.
I recommend this to people that are in a post-book mourning period, (former) Twilight fans, paranormal romance lovers and people that just enjoy a fun, entertaining story and don't take things too seriously.
You are reading a book to have fun. It doesn't always have to be the most original, clever, unexpected masterpiece in the world. This book is just to enjoy. And I did.
I am absolutely going to read the next books and I'm looking forward to it!
kristinhzta90's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this story. Very unique and compelling. I couldn't put this book down and wound up reading it in one marathon session. Kat was a very likeable heroine, because she was such a strong person. I loved the verbal sparring between Kat and Daeman, some of it was LOL funny and some made me angry on her behalf. This type of paranormal story isn't my usual fare, but I will definitely be back for the second installment. In fact, I can hardly wait for it.