Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout

Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout
Release Date – November 23, 2011
Publisher Website -  Entangled
Publisher Social Media -  Twitter
Pages -  361 pages
My Rating- 4/5
**borrowed from fellow blogger**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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.

I resisted reading anything by Jennifer L Armentrout for a long time. I figured there was no way the book could live up to the hype. I was terrified of being the only one to not LOVE this book. Luckily, my fears were unfounded. Obsidian is a fun, page turning read that left me wanting more.

Jennifer Armentrout's storytelling is addictive. There are some books that you simply can not stop reading, and Obsidian has this. It's the narrative, and the way the story comes together more than the writing. It's a tried and true formula that captivates and pulls you in. The story itself compels and overtakes the writing, but you're so engrossed in what's happening that the pages fly by.

Daemon and Katy's banter is electric. You feel the sexual tension. It was refreshing to have this be a sexual attraction/lust type of connection. Katy sure isn't thinking love, and Daemon is barely civil to her most of the time. This type of rude bad boy normally isn't appealing but mixing Daemon's obvious softer underneath with Katy's ability to dish it right back made for an interesting dynamic. Their fun, snappy dialog provided some humorous moments, and plenty of quotable lines for fans to freak out over.

I instantly liked Katy. I could relate to Katy. She's very much a typical girl. She's resourceful, fun, and stands up for herself. She doesn't back down, even against the prettiest, meanest girl in school. There was something about her that was 'every gir'. I think part of her appeal is it's so easy to 'walk in her shoes'. The only part of her that sometimes felt forced was the fact that she was a book blogger. I loved the cute little nods to bloggers, but felt non bloggers may not get them, and it didn't mesh with her personality some of the time.

Daemon's a fascinating character. He has secrets and these secrets cause him to push way people. He uses the familiar tactic of rudeness and hurtful words to drive the wedge. Katy claws her way in, even if she isn't realizing she's doing it. The reader can see those walls slowly starting to come down, but Katy often remains clueless. Daemon's relationship with his sister shines a little bit of light on the true Daemon. He's fiercely protective, and will do anything to keep her safe. It's noble, and rather endearing. He made me want to discover all his secrets, and what's behind that cocky, infuriating grin.

The alien mythology is just started to be unraveled. I didn't get as much information about them as I would have liked, but it works for this series. I sense that we are going to unravel it slowly, and allow the alien backstory to take center stage in the plot. I can accept this if the answers are coming, and it would appear that they will be given.

Exceptionally addictive storytelling combined with some entertaining characters made this a quick read that I can easily see becoming an obsession. I am eager to dive into the subsequent novels in this series, and dive further into the alien mythology. If you've held off on reading this like I did... it's time to finally give in.