Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Book Review

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.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

This was a novel I literally couldn't wait to get into! Not only had I found out about it through Sasha on Booktube, but I knew it was something that was fast-paced, sexy and had a whole bunch of romance, not to mention frustration (if you catch my drift!). The cover obviously gave a great first impression, other than what I already knew about the book. I felt like this was definitely going to be a novel that I would literally devourer and miss until I got my hands on the sequels. Thankfully I wasn't wrong and I delved into a whole new world where aliens are the new vampires and the threats are bigger than ever! I got through this book in a whole day - thanks to having all this time on my hands waiting for my partner in the car while he was at school. I got as comfortable as a could and dug into what could only be something I would never get out of. Let me just clarify, Jennifer L. Armentrout is now officially among the ranks of Sarah J. Maas in terms of literature hierarchy. I feel like she is definitely someone to consider as a goddess of all authors and in the humor department too. No matter how many jokes I came across or awkward, sexy scenes between Katy and Daemon, I could not help but crack up laughing at everything I read.

Katy is the type of girl that definitely reminded me of... well, me! Wearing tops that say, "My blog is better than your vlog"? Hell yeah she has just made it onto the epic team of "Ella's Favourite Female Heroines"! Katy is a laidback, cool and sophisticated chick who obviously can't help but realise that there are two totally gorgeous twins living next door to where she just moved to from Florida. No thanks to her mum, she is practically forced to go introduce herself to them but finds herself the target of the guy called Daemon who doesn't exactly seem to own a shirt. At all! Thankfully, his twin sister, Dee bumps into Katy at the supermarket and seems to amend the troubles that Daemon set into her head due to his rudeness. Katy definitely knows trouble when she sees it, the problem is that she doesn't see trouble when it is a supernatural matter. Because what human would, right? Apart from this I feel like she knows what she wants and she doesn't just want a quick fling with a guy that'll drop her at the sight of another good looking girl. Unfortunately she doesn't know exactly what type of guy Daemon is yet but she definitely can't resist his charming looks and his arrogance seems to set off a love/hate relationship between the two. To be honest, I don't know how I feel about Daemon. He seems to be a really understanding and caring guy one moment, and then the next he can turn straight into an unbearable asshole who will let another chick sit on his lap and let Katy be humiliated at school. I feel like Katy should have just ditched him at certain points but she did choose wisely to keep her distance emotionally until he started to realise how much he really couldn't live without her.

I absolutely loved Dee! She's the type of sister and best friend that everybody wants and needs in their life! She is positivity personified and the way that she tries to hook up Katy and Daemon is literally the cutest thing, much to her frustration when Daemon doesn't cooperate and ends up making things harder for all of them. Dee seemed to bring a smile to my face when she showed up and I always felt like she needed to be around to be everyone's personal light (no pun intended!). I really hope that in the future novels she will have a better relationship with whoever she's with and have more of a spotlight on her because I really enjoyed reading about her. If she had a spinoff series, I would definitely go buy it and read it!

The plot line kept to it's truth and never wavered or went off in a random tangent which sometimes books seem to do when there is a lot to say and sort out, especially having a lot of characters involved. The biology of how the aliens came to be, how their body chemistry worked and how they got from their home planet to Earth really stuck and sounded logical even for a fictional novel. I feel like this story was more likeable for an alien story as short little green things don't fulfil my interest as much as this novel did and I am truly grateful I read it!

Overall I have given this book a 4 out of 5 stars because it was a great novel. I wasn't as obsessed with it as I was with Throne of Glass or A Court of Thorns and Roses, but it was intriguing enough to make me love it almost as much as Sasha did. This was another novel I read for the Booktube-A-Thon and I'm grateful I sat down and read it as fast as I did.

Go add Obsidian to your Goodreads list HERE

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski: Book Review

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. 

Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

I have realised how far I've come in terms of knowing what I like in a book; what draws me to the storyline and characters. With "The Winner's Curse" I have discovered that the theme of olden day, victorian times where royalty are the hierarchy and live in mansions and castles. This book drew me in more so because I knew it was a love story and the layout of the hardcover with the bristled edges of the paper made it so much more intriguing that I had to borrow this particular story from the library. I heard about it mostly through people on Booktube and had seen it occasionally floating around Goodreads so I felt like it was worth getting, especially reading for the Booktube-A-Thon which was a definite challenge. I did manage to read the whole thing in two days and I was proud of myself for the achievement although I was quite sad to see it end so soon, particularly on the note of which it had ended on.

Kestrel, the protagonist of the novel, was a character I found hard to like. One thing I particularly did enjoy about her character was the fact that she loved music so much thanks to her mother, who had passed on prior to the current story, who had been the one to teach her how to play. Unfortunately, due to the war between the Valorian's and the Herrani, music had been reprimanded as a forbidden activity seeing as music was something Herrani highly appreciated; the war had ended up leaving the Herrani as slaves to the Valorian's and were basically not an equal in any way whatsoever to the hierarchy, including their hobbies. With Kestrel I felt like she had absolutely no reason whatsoever to buy Arin as a slave to bring home, other than the fact that he apparently could sing and was a great blacksmith. As Arin and Kestrel eventually got to know each other, their relationship (if you could call it that) was cute in a way with the fact that they seemed to have feelings for each other. However this did not resemble any sort of serious relationship material that I would have expected and I think I was a little disappointed in that aspect.

Arin seemed like he was a great leader among the Herrani and served him useful tactics later on in the novel. However I feel like at the beginning he could have been a little less cocky and more soft towards Kestrel. I don't at all expect him to feel sorry for Kestrel or relate to her in anyway due to his past, it just would have made a better plot twist later on in the novel. He could have been more sly and discreet in terms of his plans and the novel would have had more of a climax, therefore being less foreseeable for the outcome of the situation. I like how Arin was strong and he didn't let anyone tell him what to do if he didn't have to; he wasn't a push over like some of the Herrani were and reminded me a lot of the strong-hearted nature of Enai, hence why Kestrel must have fallen for him.

Some of the things that happened throughout the story didn't really have a good enough reason for why the characters acted a certain way. I feel like there wasn't enough of a reason for Kestrel to buy Arin in the first place, it was more of a impulse decision because he sounded useful - but obviously not useful enough to tell her father about or have him do anything for days on end when he was sent to her house. If anything, I feel like Lirah and Arin were a better couple as Kestrel and Arin were polar opposites and had nothing to connect them in terms of history or emotion. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed this novel. I just feel like there could have been more effort put into how it was written to ensure that the reader was so hooked that they couldn't put it down. If I hadn't of read this book for Booktube-A-Thon, it probably would have taken me about a week to finish.

Overall it was a decent novel and I am intrigued to read the next two in the trilogy but I'm worried that I'll just be let down again in terms of how the characters treat each other and end up plot wise. I am giving this book a 3 out of 5 stars because even though it was an enjoyable read, it let me down and I wasn't as satisfied with the outcome as I had been hoping. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a basic, interesting read with characters that will always have inconceivable differences.

Go add The Winner's Curse to your Goodreads list HERE

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith

Booktube-A-Thon TBR 2015 on Booktube/Youtube!

Hey everyone!

Booktube-A-Thon 2015 has officially started and so far I've only started one book on my list, "The Winner's Curse" by Marie Rutkoski! I've filmed two video's for my channel as well and I am loving how much fun this challenge is becoming, even though I may not finish my entire list in the week due to how busy I am going to be. I wish I had every day free but unfortunately that won't be possible! Have you checked out my video's on my channel yet? I'll link them down below so you can go watch!

The first challenge was real fun to film but if I had of known about the rule change beforehand I would have put so much more effort into my domino formation. At least it was still a bit of a challenge seeing as spelling out my name with books seemed to be harder than I intended it to be! The next challenge for day 2 is going to be a scene reenactment and I am still trying to figure out what I want to do but I have a feeling it'll probably be something to do with one of Sarah J. Maas' books because why not be Feyre or Celaena for fun!

Let me know whether you are doing the Booktube-A-Thon and what your TBR list is in the comments! Happy reading!

Ella Fleming-Christie

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith