Scan barcode
A review by sashapasha
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
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.