I am a creature of habit so when I find an author I love I read all their books until there’s no more left and I don’t stray. I’m also pretty stuck up about the books I read. Not to say I only read classics and NY Times Bestsellers but I only read novels that I deem to be “worthy”. That being said, rarely do I ever take a chance on an author I’ve never read/heard of before. But this time since it was only $2.99 on my Kindle and I was desperate to read something new I had to take a chance and I’m very glad that I did.
I don’t know where Jennifer L. Armentrout has been hiding this whole time but I am now officially hooked on her Lux series. The series focuses on Katy Swartz, a 17 year old girl, who moves to a small town in West Virginia with her mom a few years after her dad died. Both her mom and herself are looking for a fresh start and although Katy is not at all thrilled with her mom’s choice of location she attempts to take it in stride for the sake of her mom.
That is until she meets her next door neighbor, Daemon Black, who seems to hate her from the moment she meets him, and Katy has no idea why. All she knows is he’s a douche bag that she hates but is also kind of attracted to. Talk about awkward. Daemon’s sister, Dee, is his opposite however, as she quickly befriends Katy, despite her brother’s warning. The more Katy spends time with the Blacks the more she realizes that there’s something strange about the Blacks that she can’t quite put her finger on. It’s not until Daemon saves her life that she learns the truth: they’re aliens.
By saving Katy’s life Daemon leaves an alien trace on her that puts her in danger of being found by other aliens that won’t hesitate to kill her. This forces the two to spend more time together than either of them bargained for as Daemon feels obligated to protect her and get rid of the trace that also puts himself and sister in danger. This of course leads to multiple fights, a lot of sexual tension, and the learning that they may have more in common than they originally thought.
I’ll admit the beginning started pretty slow with Katy constantly talking about how much she missed writing on her blog and me thinking, “Nobody cares; get to the good stuff!” However, the novel then quickly picks up once she meets Daemon and starts hanging out with the Blacks on a more regular basis.
What makes this novel great is although it relies on the classic “girl meets guy who turns out to not be a human” trope it differs because although we all know they’re probably going to end up falling for each other it doesn’t start off that way. Katy knows she wants Daemon sexually but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a dick to her and what’s great about Katy is she doesn’t stand for it, not even when she finds out the truth about him and what he could do. Armentrout produces a character that’s not afraid to say what she’s thinking and is willing to stand up for herself no matter how attractive and mysterious a guy is. That’s awesome.
Additionally, Armentrout is a saint and adds two chapters in Daemon’s point of view at the end of the book so we can know exactly what he was thinking in those moments. While you’re reading you’ll understand why this is such a God send. Daemon is such a hard character to read and always leaves us wondering, “Does he like her or not?” It’s frustrating but so fun to read as well.
I plan to read the whole series over my spring break so I’ll have many reviews to let you know whether the series get’s better or worse from here but I’ve read the first two chapters of the next book and I’m very excited to see what happens next.
Stars: 4 out 5. Though I think the novel is great over all, the beginning was too slow for me.
Borrow or Buy: Buy. It’s so cheap, why not? Plus it’s really good and you’ll definitely want to reread it at some point.
Zakiya N. Jamal 