'Oblivion' by Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Polly
- Jun 21, 2021
- 4 min read
Goodreads Blurb
Experience the epic love story of OBSIDIAN as told by its hero, Daemon Black…
I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it.
And trouble's the last thing I need, since I'm not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there's one thing I know, it's that humans can't be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. 'Cuz they are.
But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her--or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I'm the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy--the Arum, and I need to stay on my game.
Falling for Katy--a human--won't just place her in danger. It could get us all killed, and that's one thing I'll never let happen...
Rating: 8 out of 10
Author: http://jenniferarmentrout.com
FTC disclaimer: I was not sent this product. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned. All opinions are my own.
Review written on 18/06/2021
Firstly, please don’t let the abominable cover art of the entire ‘Lux’ series put you off from reading it; the characters are so incredible.
Secondly, it took a serious amount of willpower to put my kindle down and write this review instead of devouring the sequels, so I’m just going to give myself a little pat on the back. The last time I tried to review a whole series at once (with the ‘Curse of the Gods’ series), it did not go well. So here’s to writing reviews when you are supposed to.
Never before have I so enjoyed re-reading a book from another character’s perspective. Reading ‘Oblivion’ got me much more invested in Kat’s brave and funny character (the original ‘Obsidian’ was told from her POV), and the fact that Armentrout has since gone on to write the WHOLE SERIES from Daemon’s POV is amazing! I know some say it’s a money-grabbing scheme, but they clearly don’t understand the hunger reader’s have for a new angle on one of their favourite stories. Can we all just make a collective prayer that Stephanie Meyer will do the same for the ‘Twilight’ series, because ‘Midnight Sun’ alone from Edward’s POV was nowhere near enough!
Obviously I already knew the plot and all the characters when I read ‘Oblivion’, so there’s nothing much to add there. However, despite knowing everything that was coming, I still found myself reading ‘oblivion’ till 1:30am… for several nights in a row. Always a good sign. The opening of the book literally embodies and the summer holidays in the best way, and actually got me excited about my own summer holiday. I was just so transported to Daemon’s street, and the lake, and I am SO JEALOUS of Kat!
Of course, the possibilities for new material in a novel like this are limited, but Armentrout managed to add several unseen interactions between Daemon and Dee (and some of the other Luxen). That said, my favourite additions were actually his little acts of kindness throughout the novel that Kat was totally unaware of (and therefore could have only be delved into in ‘Obsidian’ if it was written in third person). For example, when he “stayed out there, in the trees, […] and helped her carry in box after box without her even knowing” (when Kat first moves in next door to Daemon). Also, please tell me it’s not just me that likes it when the love interest pretty much stalks the main character (like Daemon did) without them knowing… it’snotmyfaultStephanieMeyerdidthistome!
One thing I am suspicious of is how the other rewrites will continue to hook my attention. Once Daemon is no longer, as Kat says, “a douche”, the unexpectedness and hilarity of the novels may suffer a decline. I could compare it to how one always thinks they cannot wait for a couple to get together in a book, but once they do, its kind of boring.
The reasons I gave this book an 8 are perhaps petty, but very serious. Firstly Daemon Black “rins[es] […] plates before placing them in the dishwasher” and has “tea” in a “jug”. I mean who does that? Even for an alien, that’s clearly some psychopathic behaviour. Secondly, he uses the phrase “True dat” which was just too cringeworthy. Finally, the number of times that Armentrout says he “clutched” something so hard it almost “crack[s]” was overkill -we know he has anger issues!
Quotations
“Kat lifted her head. ‘What happened?’ Oh, you know, shot a pure bolt of energy at a bear and you wilted like a delicate flower at my feet. Then I carried you back like a true gentleman and sat here for God knows how long and just stared at you. Yep, so not going there.”
“I liked her hair down. It was long and a little wild-looking, like her hair was constantly in a state of rebellion. I really needed to stop thinking of her hair as if it had a personality.”
“I glanced down at our hands. It struck me then that I’d been tracing the alphabet on her hand. I had no idea.”
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