Book Review: Obsession by Jennifer L. Armentrout

He’s arrogant, domineering, and... To. Die. For.Hunter is a ruthless killer. And the Department of Defense has him firmly in their grasp, which usually doesn’t chafe too badly because he gets to kill bad guys. Most of the time he enjoys his job. That is, until he’s saddled with something he’s never had to do before: protect a human from his mortal enemy.
Serena Cross didn’t believe her best friend when she claimed to have seen the son of a powerful senator turn into something... unnatural. Who would? But then she witnesses her friend’s murder at the hands of what can only be an alien, thrusting her into a world that will kill to protect their secret.
Hunter stirs Serena’s temper and her lust despite their differences. Soon he’s doing the unthinkable—breaking the rules he’s lived by, going against the government to keep Serena safe. But are the aliens and the government the biggest threats to Serena’s life… or is it Hunter?

Let me start off this review by thanking the person who made me read this; Nicole from booksandstarlight because before she mentioned how good it was, I wasn't going to read it at all. Partially because I couldn't stand any more Lux series feels and partly because Jennifer Armentrout said it was a stand-alone novel about an Arum which didn't need to be read in order to understand the main books. After reading Obsession, I think it's very important to read it and I'll explain why in this review.

Before reading Obsession, I believed that Luxen were good, Arum were bad. It was as simple as that but as I made my way through this book I understood more about the entire reasoning behind why the two alien sides hate each other. Through time on earth, the lines have blurred between these two groups. I was completely surprised to discover how the war began and who the bad guys really are here yet for reasons made up by the government; Luxen are obviously favored, we know that from the other books in the series. What this novel does is show us an entirely new perspective. I definitely understand a lot more now and am a little more sympathetic towards the opposing side; the Arum.

Whilst reading this book I came to discover that not all Arum are bad, some are actually very good. Take Hunter's brother... well the ones he claims anyways, he's kept out of trouble and doesn't try to wreak havoc on innocent people. Actually, Hunter's family is the perfect way to explain how the Arum are; Lore, one of the brothers, is a wonderful person. He stays off the radar and likes it that way but he'd do anything for Hunter. Then there's Sin, aptly named, and the complete stereotype we had of the Arum in books 1, 2 and 3 of the Lux series. Cold, cruel, selfish and enjoy bringing people and Luxen pain. As I said, this family is the perfect way to explain how Arum really are, there are good ones and there are downright awful ones. We also find out that not all Luxen are sunshine and rainbows, some can be just as cruel and unforgiving as the worst Arums.

Without reading this I'd still think the Arum were the ultimate bad guys here. It shows a completely new side to them and how they live, even why they kill and feed from the Luxen. It's safe to say that I learnt a helluva lot from Obsession and not only about the Arum but it also helps me understand the circumstances behind everything that happens in Origin too. Especially the ending but I wont elaborate because I'm trying (painfully) to keep this spoiler-free. Basically, without reading this book I wouldn't fully understand the ending of Origin and why what happened, happens. Does that make sense? Maybe.

I loved the characters! Serena was lovely yet strong-willed and incredibly brave. She took the whole alien thing as if someone just told her that humans breath and although that worried me at the start, I understood at the end. She kind of keeps all the hysteria in until the dam breaks and then we see all of those emotions spill out. It was also really cool that Hunter could read auras because it gave us a sense of how Serena felt when we weren't reading her POV. She held her own, carried herself well and didn't lose hope even when she thinks it's the end. Loyalty turned out to be her strongest trait! She didn't cower from Hunter even at the beginning, she didn't let him intimidate her which I loved her for. I loved watching her fall for Hunter and vise versa, it was really beautiful and whenever she asked to see him in his true form even though it scared her a little, she was amazed rather than disgusted. It was strange to see Hunter so conscious about being in his true form too, how he thought she'd cower and hide. She always believed he was a good person inside and she was right.

Hunter was fab. I probably wanted him as much as Serena did to be honest... I was a mess when he said those three little words. I also loved his brothers, both were complete opposites of each other but they added a little something to the story - it was fun to see how Hunter interacted with them both so differently. One with pride and relaxed happiness and the other with caution and barely controlled anger.

If you've read this book, do you think it was beneficial to read it? Did it help you understand in the same way it did me?

Book Review: Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.
After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.
All Katy can do is survive.
Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?
Together, they can face anything.
But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on?
And will they even be together?

This review will contain a lot of spoilers! If you haven't read the first 4 books in the Lux series already, I advise you not to read this.

Daemon Black is ready to burn the world down to get Katy back and I think it's safe to say that is exactly what happened. Before I start the actual review let me just say this this was the best book in the Lux series yet! This review is going to be the hardest one I've ever had to write, even with all the notes I have. This is because I have a lot to say and I have a feeling that once I start to rant, it will get all jumbled up the same way it does in my mind *oops*... So just bear with me.

So, the first thing I noticed in Origin was Katy. In Obsidian she wasn't shy as such but she definitely was not up for kicking alien/government ass. Throughout this series she has become incredibly strong and brave beyond comprehension. I don't think the old Katy (pre-mutation) would have been able to handle everything that has been thrown her way and boy, she has a lot of problems especially with this fourth installment. As I said, there's a big difference between Katy in Obsidian and Katy in Origin. All of the differences are good, don't get me wrong! She's become a helluva lot more independent, she actually wants to fight alongside Daemon instead of behind him and she's matured emotionally. The things I love the most about Katy's character stayed the same though, like how even in crisis she's thinking about her abandoned blog or when she gets out of Daedalus's facility and to safety she just wants the comfort of her books. I love it when this happens, when the characters develop throughout the stories but still manage to keep a big part of themselves the entire way. In Obsidian, Kat was a nerdy book blogger with the t-shirt to prove it. In Origin she's a nerdy, kick ass book blogger alien hybrid with the t-shirt to prove it. She's still the Katy I love!

Jennifer made is easy to understand the struggle of choosing which side she would fight for if the time ever came; Katy is pretty much half alien, half human but she's been human for the majority of her life. We get to see how Katy is feeling and what she'd honestly do if the time came and it was eye opening. What would you do though? Would you fight with the humans or the aliens if the time came? Katy has people she loves on both sides, her mum is a human as is Lesa. Plus there's a whole world of humans, innocent ones at that! Katy definitely would think about that. But then there's the other half of her, she has a little family of aliens that she loves too yet she's not fully one of them. If it was my choosing I'd have a nervous break down. What about you?

We learn about what Daedalus is really trying to do and we get an inside look at the place where they're keeping the Luxen and hybrids (and the origins but we'll get to that later). What we once thought was terrible actually seems pretty normal... Until they bring in Katy, slice her back open so her spine is showing and then force Daemon to heal her. I think we've all come to the same conclusion after reading this book: these people are bat-shit CRAZY. They think what they're doing is going to better mankind, and maybe it would! But, as with all government issues, they go about it the wrong way. Also, it was super creepy to see how Nancy and the other Daedalus members thought that what they were doing was so normal and just 'helping'. No no no, you're fighting crazy with crazy. Something that Katy said really made sense - they were keeping her against her will but when she saw the Luxens who had happily agreed to give their blood for the LH-11 cause or whatever it was, she said herself that if they just asked her she'd be happy to give her blood to the cause of helping all these human diseases. WAS IT WORTH IT? REALLY?

Okay, as I said before this is the best book in the entire series so far. The action scenes were epic! Daemon pulls one of the most awesome moves ever when he slams his fist into the ground and everyone just goes flying on their asses. He also, at one point, stamps his foot on the concrete and causes a fissure to run down the road. It was like something straight out of The Avengers.

It was fascinating to learn more about the Luxens and how some of them are planning an attack. I honestly thought that the title of this book referred to us finding out more about the origin of the Luxens and how they came to Earth or why the war started between the Luxens and the Arum - and we do! Kind of. We learn about the war and how the bad guys aren't exactly who we expect. JLA should 100% make a book about this kind of thing - like Cassandra Clare did with the Shadowhunter's Codex. We've learnt so much in this book and it's pretty hard to keep track! We learnt about the origins, baby aliens, Daedalus, the war with Luxens/Arums and so much more in this one book. Maybe I just don't want this series to end:( *raises hand* I'll write the book for you *smiles angelically*

We got to experience every single moment through Katy and Daemon, all their feelings, their inner struggles and how they thought about each situation. Katy was wary all the time, never trusting and Daemon was ready to burn the world down to get Katy out of that place. He sure as hell kept his word on the whole burning the world to save her. We also got to see how they were alone and we come to realise that they are definitely stronger together, not just freaky-alien-power wise but emotionally, they have so much more will power when they're together. It was actually heart breaking seeing them suffer apart, especially Daemon who has only shown either the cocky, arrogant side of himself or the sweet, melt-your-heart side. We get to see his emotions stripped bare and it really shows the lengths he is willing to go to get back the person he loves.

Every book is getting better and better, the writing becomes more descriptive and the pictures become clearer. I liked how the book was split between two POVs. We usually only get to read about how Katy is feeling and we have to kind of guess about Daemon, we never got to see his inner feelings like this. It did funny things to my heart.

The new characters and the big change of scenery was refreshing. I really liked all the new faces, Luc and Paris (sobs) and even Hunter who I hear will be making an appearance in Opposition! I really liked Paris, it was sad to see him go but major respect for the guy. He got infront of Daemon, Kat and Luc to take the hit. *applause*
My favourite character in this book was Luc. He had the child-like charm and contentedness about him but his sarcasm and wit were sharp as a whip! It was fun watching his banter with Daemon and I always knew he was going to be a good guy, I just hope he keeps it up in Opposition. I also really liked Archer and I'm so happy about this thing he has with Dee. She deserves this, you all know I love her character! He's one of the good guys. I didn't suspect he was an origin but I did know he was Luc's inside man, being an origin was just an awesome twist!

Even with everything going on Daemon still manages to be cocky and... well just Daemon. I really liked hearing his inner thoughts - even they were sarcastic! This also goes along with what I said about Katy not losing herself as she matured. The same can be said for Daemon, he's still how he was in Obsidian but the growth he has gone through since meeting Katy is phenomenal.

Now for the world building: It was amazing! I had high expectations when I realised that this book would be in a completely new area which meant that JLA would have some serious world building to do throughout the entire book and hell if she didn't deliver! I'll never get over how well the author can create this whole new place and give me such a clear image in my mind. She didn't just say they were in a new place. Every room, tile, reflection and colour was described to build the government facility - I could actually picture the rooms with the black dots in the ceilings and the shiny, black doors rigged with onyx.


THEY EXPOSED THEMSELVES. I absolutely did not expect this. It knocked me flat on my ass when Daemon came up with the idea. I didn't even dare put the book down from then on because all they wanted to do was create a diversion... Well they certainly did that. I am constantly in awe of the author's imagination, she obliterated the Vegas Strip and it. Was. Awesome. It kind of changed the book genre a little, because now this is an AU where everyone knows about aliens. I just cannot get enough of these crazy-ass stories so keep 'em coming!

And for the finale *drumroll* There's gonna be a baby alien! Well, a baby origin because Dawson is a Luxen and Beth is a hybrid. I didn't suspect pregnancy at all which I probably should have as soon as Beth got 'sick'. I'm so relieved that it wasn't Katy that got preggers because it just seems a lot less cliche for one of the supporting characters to go through the whole baby situation. This also means Katy will not be getting knocked up in Oppostion, I just know that JLA wont have 2 of the characters pregnant at the same time. It would totally take the focus away from the story I've been waiting for; the war! So... We may have a little mind-reading, brain melting origin on our hands pretty soon. I really don't think the kid will be as bad as the ones in the Daedalus facility, I mean those were creepy as hell. That Micah kid? He sounded like he'd stepped right out of a horror movie, you know, the ones where the kid is possessed by another kid and all they wanted was the play. *shudders* I think, with actual parents, the origins wouldn't be so bad - so fingers crossed for Dawson and Beth!

Now for the cons of this book - which aren't many compared to the pros! First and foremost:
THEY GOT MARRIED?!?!?!? I mean, I understand why they did it - because they don't even know if they'll have tomorrow so they're seizing the moment and whatever but it felt kind of... wrong. It just felt too rushed and it sucks that they had to do it under false names and different identities and in Vegas. I totally get the whole reason they did it but I wish this had been left for the epilogue. A proper wedding. I don't mean a big, fancy event, just a real wedding under real names. But Daemon did say it wasn't a real wedding because of the whole name thing which is redeeming. He's also totally adorable when he's all glowy and happy.

And finally; there was so much death, I still want to cry about who we lost in Origin. Ash and Andrew and Paris. All gone in one fell swoop. A whole family is now gone! Ash and Andrew were complete douches most of the time but they didn't deserve to die like that and they definitely did not deserve to have their bodies left behind in the chaos of what happened. They were left as just one of many bodies, one of the many innocent people killed because the government didn't want anyone to know about the Luxen. Without Ash, Beth wouldn't be alive and neither would her baby. Paris grew on me over the course of the book and just as I came to really like him, BAM, dead. I remember just kind of sitting there, staring after that chapter ended. I'm still not over it.

Now for my favourite part of reviews - the quotes I loved!

This first one was when Katy saw the Luxen who wanted to kill all of those humans. It was probably the MOST powerful quote I've come across in a long time - “You can’t judge an entire race based on a few individuals.” 
So true and I'm not sure if Jennifer meant it to have underlying tones but it clearly does. It's a very powerful sentence.

"Was I totally against the idea of having kids with Kat one day? Other than breaking out in hives at the thought of that, the idea wasn’t too horrible." Oh Daemon you charmer, you. This is what I meant when I said I liked seeing Daemon's inner thoughts, we got to see how much Daemon truly cares about Katy and how he wants a future with her.

"Spending the rest of my life with Kat was something I planned on. There was no question or doubt when it came to that. I saw her—only her—in my future."

"Luc let out a strangled, hoarse laugh. “Oh shit. ET so phoned home, kids.”" THIS IS WHY I LOVED LUC.


Okay, so the review is pretty much over. I'm still waiting for the fifth and final book to arrive at my door and I'm pretty sure I'm about to go into full breakdown mode where I just sleep until I get my grabby little hands on it because I need to know what happens! It's very bittersweet though, I obviously don't want to let Katy and Daemon go but I can't wait to see how everything ends.

What do you think of the Lux series? Are you sad to see it come to an end? We'll survive this together *group hug*

Happy reading!

Book Review: Tangled by Emma Chase

Format: Ebook

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed? He’ll tell you he has the flu.But we all know that’s not really true.Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything - or anyone - derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating. Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life? Can Drew Evans win at love?  

This review going to be easy-peasy to write because I absolutely adored this book. So, so much! I usually do a favourite quote towards the end of my review but, seriously, I could not pick just one. So I'm going to pepper them through the review - there still won't be enough because literally every single line was gold!

First of all - the cover of this book is fab. I don't need to explain why, just look at it.

The characters were fantastic. I easily invested in the lives of Drew and Kate and got sucked into feeling how they felt and seeing what they saw. Of course, the constant imagery from Drew's narration helped in that aspect. I loved how he would stop the story for a second, as if he were a real person recounting a story to a friend, and he would either give us some kind of crackpot analogy that somehow (once he finished the analogy) would connect with what we were about to read. He also appears to have a real vendetta against Disney princesses, I loved reading those parts and genuinely laughing out loud.

“For God's sake, don't let her watch Cinderella. What kind of example is that? A mindless twit who can't even remember where she left her damn shoe, so she has to wait for some douchebag in tights to bring it to her? Give me a frigging break!” 

Basically, Drew was bloody hilarious. Which makes Emma Chase hilarious because... well she wrote his lines. I usually don't like it when a book is completely in the male protagonist's POV but this story may just have changed my mind completely. It was enlightening to see how guys really think. For one; I didn't know guys talked to eachother about sex, I mean yeah they may mention that they hooked up with someone but other than that I thought they kind of just grunted at each other and did that weird man-hug-pat-on-the-back thing.

“Newsflash, ladies: We can’t read your thoughts. And frankly, I’m not entirely sure I’d want to. The female mind is a scary place to be.” 

I always love the whole chase part of the story. It's more exciting and when the two finally get together I'd prefer for that to be close to the end, in the last quarter of the story, because if your story's plot is mainly about these two characters trying to fight their attraction to each other the story is pretty much over the second they're together. They got what the wanted, then there may be an epilogue, but if your story is going to have another 10 chapters whilst they're together I'm gonna get bored very quickly.

“Old women have a thing for me. And I don't mean a pinch-my-cheek, pat-my-head kind of thing. I mean a grab-my-ass, rub-my-junk, why-don't-you-push-my-wheelchair-into-the-broom-closet-so-we-can-get-nasty kind of thing.

It's f*cking disturbing.” 

Tangled made me wait till the last second to see Drew get Kate and I loved that. The last quarter of the book was my favourite, the whole challenge that Drew took on and him trying to 'woo' her was hilarious. A thousand balloons, a skywriter, dozens and dozens of roses and a three-man band who followed her everywhere she went at work. I don't think I've ever laughed so much whilst reading!

“F*ck you!” 

She stalks back around my desk toward the door. 

“Here? Now?” I look up at the ceiling, like I’m debating the prospect. “Well…okay. But be gentle. My couch is a virgin.” 

I have an endless number of favourite scenes but there is one ULTIMATE favourite. The scene where Drew's 4-year-old niece repeats a word she heard him say... I'll just share the entire scene with you:

"We eat in silence for a few minutes, and then Alexandra says, “That reminds me. Matthew, could you escort me to a charity dinner the second Saturday in December? Steven is going to be out of town.” She looks toward me. “I would ask my darling brother to do it, but we all know he spends his Saturday nights with the city slu—” she glances at her daughter “—undesirables.”

Before Matthew can answer, Mackenzie puts her two cents in. “I don’t think Uncle Matthew can come, Momma. He been too busy bein’ pussy whipped. Wha’s pussy whipped, Daddy?”

As soon as the words leave her angelic little lips, a horrendous chain reaction is set off:

Matthew chokes on the black olive in his mouth, which flies out and nails Steven right in the eye.

Steven doubles over, holding his eye and yelling, “I’m hit! I’m hit!” and then goes on about how the salt from the olive juice is eating away at his cornea.

My father starts coughing. George stands up and begins pounding on his back while asking no one in particular if he should perform the Heimlich.

Estelle knocks over her glass of red wine, which quickly seeps into my mother’s lace tablecloth. She makes no move to clean up the mess, but instead chants, “Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.”

My mother runs around the dining room like a chicken with its head cut off, searching for non-cloth napkins to wipe up the stain, all the while assuring Estelle that everything’s fine.

And Frank…well…Frank just keeps eating."

My favourite scene in the history of forever.

And that, ladies and gents, is why Mackenzie was my favourite character in this book. She was just a brilliant idea and amazingly fun to read about. I love how she was so innocent yet said the best things (and most traumatising for her mother). When Drew stuck his middle finger up at Matthew, Mackenzie tried to copy him so instead he showed her Spock’s Vulcan salute.

THAT'S ANOTHER THING - the scenes with Drew and Mackenzie were so damn adorable. Guys who are good with children are my all time weakness.

“Mackenzie raises her hand proudly. “I have a bagina.” 

I smirk. “Yes, you do sweetheart. And someday, it’s gonna help you rule the world.” 

There are sex scenes in this book and they were well done - not tacky and I didn't cringe once (which is a record). I definitely recommend this book to anyone over 18, there are many, many swear words and quite a lot of adult content too. I enjoyed it thoroughly and can't wait to read the next book! There were so many quotes I loved, you should read the book just for the quality humor:D

Happy Birthday Week to The Page Girls!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEEK, THE PAGE GIRLS! 

Before we get into the wonderful things they have planned for the next five days I just wanted to thank Cecily from The Page Girls for asking me to help her celebrate this event. I've been speaking to her on Twitter and through email, fangirling about books and just generally chatting. She also answered any questions I had about this (which were many) with the patience of a saint. So, without further ado... Let's help The Page Girls celebrate!

Who are The Page Girls?

I'm sure many of you know of this page and all it's fabulousness but for those who haven't had the pleasure; The Page Girls (www.thepagegirls.com) is a new online mag with an emphasis on books, cocktails, and female friendships. Each week, they publish a themed issue containing short stories, book reviews, personal and funny essays, videos, cocktail recipes, and more. Some sample issues include The Craziest Thing I Did For Love and LYLAS (Love You Like a Sister).

Sign up for The Page Girls’ weekly newsletter to get notified about new issues, and be sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

From July 21-25, The Page Girls is celebrating its first official “birthday week,” which means a giveaway every day plus other goodies. 

Sounds awesome, right?!

So, let's kick off the week with a giveaway! Remember; the more entries you have the more chance you have of winning some of those awesome prizes. 

Rules

• Do not cheat. I will be checking all of the entries!
• Please check you're sending the right information, it would suck if you won and I didn't have the right information to contact you.
• Void where prohibited by law.
• This giveaway is both international and US only. (Read below!)

The Page Girls have kindly given me 1 eBook copy of Normal is the Watchword and two sets of their very own personalised coasters which look great! The eBook is the first prize and an international giveaway: 

There are days that you can't believe, and then there days that are unbelievable.

Juniper has been on the edge of social circles all her life, skirting the line between being a normal teenage girl and an all-too-aware young adult. Always armed with a camera, Juni expresses herself through her photos, with her current favorite subjects being Carrie, her best friend, and Darius, a mysteriously charming boy on the soccer team.

When she accidentally stumbles across something that wasn't meant to be photographed, her once somewhat normal life is suddenly ripped from her. Now, fitting in with the crowd is a matter of survival.

And when Carrie goes missing, Juni turns to Darius for help. But as they grow closer, a bigger mystery starts to unfold - one involving conspiracy, the paranormal, and an impending war for the souls of everyone she knows.

And the sets of coasters will be given to 2 runner ups but these are only for US residents.

Thank you for reading and good luck!:)