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A review by cassidyserhienko
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
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!
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!