Monday, December 23, 2013

Divergent Trilogy | Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.





Fighting for survival in a shattered world… the truth is her only hope.

The thrillingly dark sequel to No. 1 New York Times bestseller, DIVERGENT.


I have done bad things. I can’t take them back, and they are part of who I am.


Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.


Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever… because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.




The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. 

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love. 

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.


Spoiler-Filled Review

Warning: This series will play with your emotions excessively.

In my opinion, Divergent was definitely the best one. The whole plot progressed smoothly and logically. Even though the ending was a bit rushed, everything was adequately explained. In no way could this have been a stand alone book, but it served as a really good foundation book or the rest of the series. Unfortunately, for me, it all went downhill from here.

I thought Insurgent was mediocre at best. The one thing that really bothered me about this book was Tobias's and Tris's relationship. From my perspective, Tobias really seemed like a hypocrite. He continually forced Tris to tell her everything that was going on with her while Tobias refused to share anything. For some reason, that I don't understand, people seem to blame Tris a lot for constantly lying to Tobias, but he was lying just the same. The only difference between them was that Tris understood the need to keep some information private, while Tobias couldn't discern the line. Another thing that was immensely unclear was Caleb's loyalty. First, he transfer to Erudite: act of betrayal. Then he drops out of Erudite initiation: act of loyalty. Then he sides with Jeanine again and practically delivers Tris to her execution: act of betrayal. Then he tries to convince everyone that he didn't mean it: act of...I don't even know what. Tris working with Marcus for a completely different cause really highlighted the ideas that nothing was black and white, rather multiple groups that wanted slightly different things. This idea is developed further in Allegiant.

I finished reading Allegiant this morning and I'm still extremely conflicted about how I feel. I think that this book was ridiculously filled with information, to the point where it was overwhelming. First they found that the Edith Prior video was untrue, and then they found out that the Bureau of Genetic Welfare was lying and then Nita, who was against the Bureau, was also lying. But even though so many people are lying, most of the characters continue to believe every piece of information they are told. Everyone except Tris, who is always skeptical. The whole plot regarding the genetically pure and the genetically damaged seems so horrific but reflects our society to such an extent its frightening. Now regarding Tobias and Tris's relationship. Both of them have definitely grown since the previous book and are finally beginning to uphold the promise they made to each other. The only thing that seemed childish was the fact that Tris would be jealous over Nita with regards to Tobias. It's completely understandable for her to feel that way but for Tobias to throw that in her face in order to lessen her credibility was a jerk move. Finally I'm going to talk about the ending that had me in tears. Before I had read it, the ending was ruined for me, which is why I was able to see so many clues leading up to it. Are there rules that main characters shouldn't die? Of course, no reader wants to read about the main character dying, but I personally thought it worked. Looking back on it, this was being built up and foreshadowed, not just throughout the book, but also throughout the entire series. When Tris's parents died for her, she was exposed to the idea of self-sacrifice for the first time and continues to contemplate it. In the second book, she tries to implement this idea when she decides to go to the Erudite headquarters in order to spare the lives of her fellow Dauntless. Finally in the last book, she understands the idea of self-sacrifice and when it's necessary and is finally able to successfully execute it. There is also a major theme of family. No matter what Caleb does, he's her brother and when it comes down to it, she'd give her life for him. No conditions. By the end, I admit the character I was the most upset for was Christina. Earlier in the story she had mentioned how she was slowly losing each of her friends and by the end of the book did it hit me how true that was, how lonely her life is and will be.

I think one of the major things that hit me hard in this book was the interactions between Tobias and Tris in the first book and then after she died.
Tobias said to Tris: "I'd only go to your funeral if there was cake."
At Tris's funeral, there wasn't cake. But he still showed up.
A quote that was meant to be a joke turned into a horrific reality.


Saturday, November 9, 2013

Just One Day | Gayle Forman


"Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase: planned, packed and ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European Tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she's not, and when he invites he to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: twenty-four hours that will transform Allyson's life.

A book about love, heartbreak, travel, identity and the "accidents" of fate, Just One Day shows us how sometimes in order to get found, you first have to get lost... and how often the people we are seeking are much closer than we know." 

I'm just going to be blunt about it. I hated this book. It had a mediocre, at best, plot, along with predictable and unlikable characters. I understand that this is fiction, but its realistic fiction. Honestly, what are the chances of this happening in real life? I feel as though the main audience of this book will be thirteen and up girls. Most of them are naive and after reading books like these, will accept any offer they receive, believing they have found "the one." Am I saying that this will never happen? No. But the chances are so close to none, its worthless to believe that's your fate. 

The characters were extremely predictable. Allyson was the "good girl" who broke the rules once and now finds that freedom so tempting that its seeping into everything that she does. I can somewhat relate to her, I am a good girl. Maybe I haven't "broken from my shell" yet but the change from good girl to rebel was too dramatic and too sudden, almost to the point where it was impossible. Willem. To be completely honest, I don't understand what's so captivating about him. If you look at him in a completely detached manner, he sounds like every scumbag that enticed a girl into a one-night stand. Just because it's a book, he's going to end up as the good guy, and there swoons every teenage girl. Melanie just annoyed me. She claims to be a good friend then dumps Allyson. Not that I can blame her. 

Even though every aspect of this book annoyed me so much, it did have some good messages concerning identity. I am able to connect with her slightly regarding her "good girl" status. Although I'd never head to Paris with some random guy. Overall I thought this book was overdone and overrated. I'd give it 2.5 out of 5 stars. 

Sunday, November 3, 2013

House of Hades | Rick Riordan



"Hazel stands at a crossroads. She and the remaining crew of the Argo II could return home with the Athena Parthenos statue and try to stop Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter from going to war. Or they could continue their quest to find the House of Hades, where they might be able to open the Doors of Death, rescue their friends Percy and Annabeth from Tartarus, and prevent monsters from being reincarnated in the mortal world. Whichever road they decide to take, they have to hurry, because time is running out. Gaea, the bloodthirsty Earth Mother, has set the date of August 1 for her rise to power. 

Annabeth and Percy are overwhelmed. How will the two of them make it through Tartarus? Starving, thirsty, and in pain, they are barely able to stumble on in the dark and poisonous landscape that holds new horrors at every turn. They have no way of locating the Doors of Death. Even if they did, a legion of Gaea's strongest monsters guards the Doors on the Tartarus side. Annabeth and Percy can't exactly launch a frontal assault. 

Despite the terrible odds, Hazel, Annabeth, Percy and the other demigods of the prophecy know that there is only one choice: to attempt the impossible. Not just for themselves, but for everyone they love. Even though love can be the riskiest choice of all." 

This book just has all of the feels. From Percy to Bob to Nico to Leo. It makes you cry and laugh and everything in between. Props to Rick Riordan for the writing in this. I don't know if it evoked this much feeling in me primarily because I am so invested in this series or just the fact that the book was written so well. The only problem I have is the fact that each character has their own personalized backstory and problems which is somewhat difficult to keep track of. 

I've been a Percabeth shipper since the very beginning, since the first encounter "You drool in your sleep". So seeing them progress through their relationship is just such a journey to watch. Annabeth hating him in the first book to loving him in this one. Watching them go through tartarus together and make it out alive, along with all the small dialogues in between. Even in the deepest and darkest pits of hell, Percy can still make Annabeth smile. 

Moving on to the new breakthrough characters: Leo, Bob and Nico. Ever since Caleo happened, I can't stop loving him. He is so perfect. I literally have nothing else to say about him except GO TEAM LEO! Nico. Oh god Nico. Why Rick why must you torture me? Everyone saw it coming, I couldn't believe it. But it all makes sense. Even then, you have to feel some kind of pity for the guy. He just doesn't belong, in any world. Some will argue it's because he doesn't try others will completely disagree with me, but it's true. He's not from this time period, he's gay (spoiler) and he's a son of hades. As for the whole 'loving-percy-and-not-being-able-to-have-him' I completely understand (except for me he's not real). He saved Percy so many times, in so many ways but Percy will never feel the same way. I can feel the hurt he feels whenever he sees percabeth together and its so heartbreaking.

AND BOB. OHMIGOD DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HIM. I was legitimately sobbing when Bob stayed back to let Percy and Annabeth go. He is so innocent and adorable. He made Percy look like a complete jerk, who forgot to visit him. And the last line "Bob says hello." had been sobbing. He and Leo need to get their own spinoff series so I can fangirl some more, like I haven't enough already. 

So Rick Riordan this is what I need in the Blood of Olympus
1. More Percabeth in front of Nico.
2. Bob to be alive and say hello to the stars himself
3. More Percabeth 
4. Caleo 
5. Reyna finding someone
6. Nico coming out of the closet to Percy
7. Percabeth
8. Percabeth
9. Percabeth
10. If they beat Gaea along the way that'd be cool to 
11. Did I mention Percabeth? 

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Premeditated | Josin L. Mcquein


"A WEEK AGO
Dinah's cousin, Claire, cut her wrists.

FIVE DAYS AGO
Dinah found Claire's diary and discovered why

THREE DAYS AGO
Dinah stopped crying and came up with a plan

TWO DAYS AGO
She ditched her piercings and bleached the black dye from her hair

YESTERDAY
Knee socks and a plaid uniform became a predator's camouflage

TODAY
Dinah will find the boy who broke Claire

BY TOMORROW
He'll wish he were dead" 

I had extremely mixed feelings about this book. First of all, the plot itself was slightly dramatized. Maybe it's just me personally but there would definitely have been better ways to get her revenge than doing it herself, if she had done her research properly, she would have understood and known it was (spoiler alert!) Dex all along. She acted rashly and basically almost ruined a perfectly good guy's life. Anyways once you get over the initial feeling of 'oh this is kinda stupid' you get really into the book. 

Now for the characters. To be completely honest, there was nothing that special about Dinah. She is the typical heroine from every book. The 'misunderstood' girl who 'still hasn't found herself.' But I have to admit, she's pretty ingenious at times. She can leave people speechless and utterly confuse them. You can like her and hate her at the same time. Other than that she's pretty typical, as is Tabs and Brucey, her 'posse'. Now let's talk about Dex. I have very strong emotions about him. Of course, like every other reader I was taken in by his charm, but of course every character I like either a) turns out to be bad or b) dies. For most of the book I thought he was pretty freaking awesome, but then of course he turns out to be Claire's raper....sigh.... Now Brooks. I can't be more happier that he's good. I actually started liking him in the middle of the book and his personality didn't at all reflect the accusations Dinah had put against him. By the end of the book, I was so emotionally exhausted, from Claire dying to Chandi not harming herself. 



Overall, even though I was extremely emotional after the book, I still feel as though the general plot was overdone way too many times. Other than that it was a really good read. 

Friday, October 4, 2013

The Infinite Moment of Us | Lauren Myracle


"For eighteen years Wren Grey has been the model daughter, which in her family means all As, zero boyfriends, and early acceptance into a pre-med program. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization. Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now...not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn't even know what they are? 

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, knows exactly what he wants. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie- at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.

And yet certain things are written in the stars. In the summer after high school, Wren's and Charlie's souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that them...

With all the sweetness-- and steaminess-- of first romance, this gorgeous novel, from one of young adult literature's most distinctive voices, explores that time between high school and college when life seems to be just beginning, and everything-- including true love-- is possible." 

This book connects with me so much, it absolutely terrifies me. I'm being completely and utterly honest when I say that Wren is me. I am Wren. I am that girl who spends all of her time doing homework to try and get ahead and whose had zero boyfriends. Rather than focusing on the romance (which was really adorable), I was more focused on Wren and her struggle with her parents. This book makes me rethink my entire life and all of my choices up until now, whether they were my choices or theirs. I want to believe they were mine...but I have no idea anymore. 

Ok now onto the actual book. I have to say, I really liked the way Charlie was portrayed. He wasn't the perfect male, which is what made him perfect. He made mistakes throughout the book, which made him even more likable. His entire family story was extremely touching. His childhood was terrible and so was everything that happened with his brother was so sad and painful to even imagine. But regarding his entire situation I would feel the same way as Wren, sheltered, not ever being to fully understand how he felt. 

Starrla was an interesting character. She's completely crazy but completely realistic. She's had probably the worst childhood and things aren't getting better for her. She's getting caught up in the wrong crowd and the readers know that eventually she's going to crack. She has no one motivating her to do better, to be better and it's all going to end badly for her. 

Overall I really liked this book, and I need another book like it. Like now. 

Monday, September 30, 2013

Somebody Up There Hates You | Hollis Seamon


"Chemo, radiation, a zillion surgeries, watching my mom age twenty years in twenty months; if that's part of the Big Dude's plan, then it's pretty obvious, isn't it? 

SOMEBODY UP THERE HATES YOU

SUTHY has landed me here in this hospice, where we- that's me and Sylvie- are the only people under thirty in the whole place, sweartogod. We need to keep things interesting. I mean, we're kids, hospice hostages or not. We freak out visitors; I get my uncle to sneak me out for one insane Halloween night. Stuff like that. And Sylvie wants to make things even more interesting. 
That girl's got big plans. 

Only Sylvie's father is so nuclear-blasted by what's happened to his little girl, he glows orange, I swear. So we got a major family feud going on, right here in the hospice. DO NOT CROSS line running down the middle of the hall it's crazy.

In the middle of all of this, really, there's just me and Sylvie, a guy and a girl. And we want to live, in our way, by our own rules, for whatever time we've got. So let's get to it. "

This book is a very typical cancer book, much like The Fault in Our Stars, the two main teenage characters just want to live a normal life, no matter the cost. Of course at the ripe age of fifteen and seventeen the foremost thing in their minds is getting laid, unfortunately achieving that goal may take a lot more than just one night alone. 

Sylvie is a strong female character; she makes her own rules and she expects others to follow them. She doesn't let anything, not even cancer, break her down. Before getting sick she was perfect: popular, smart, pretty. After getting sick she's been stuck in the hospice and meets no one other than Richard. 

Richard is at a much more advanced level of his cancer, he can barely walk: most of the time he uses a wheelchair, his eyesight is almost completely gone, he doesn't eat, from here it's all pretty much downhill. Then one night his uncle takes him out and he gets a taste of the real world, one somewhat normal night. No one knew about his cancer and no one judged him. Then he gets an offer from Sylvie and everything becomes about her, fulfilling her wish, but then living with the consequences that come after. 

I thought this was a pretty good book, although it didn't impact me as much as the TFIOS did. It's not so much emotional as it is just watching the rite of passage for a seventeen year old with cancer, and his hurry to do it. 

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Shadows | Jennifer L. Armentrout


"The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are...well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane. 

Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable. 

Bethany can't deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren't a complication she wants, she can't stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she's drawn in. 

Captivated. Lured. Loved. 

Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence...and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can't stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself." 

This story is a prequel of the entire Lux series and it gives us an insight to more of the Lux community. In context with the rest of the series, it fits very well but as a stand-alone book, I thought it was incredibly disappointing compared to the rest of the series. Personally I think this is mainly because of the couple. Through many of the books I have liked and haven't liked, I came to the conclusion the the love-hate relationship is crucial factor in my opinion of the book. Katy and Daemon (Kaemon) hated each other at first and it took them at least two books to even admit their like, much less their love for each other. However Bethany and Dawson fell for each other within a day of meeting each other. It was too cliché for my liking. 

I think the best part about this entire book was getting more of an insight into Daemon's personality before he was smitten with Katy. Strangely it made me love him even more. Reading about when he was with Ash made me feel jealous for Katy, which is ridiculous I know, but I have to live my life somewhere. 

Personally I think this book or novella should be made more available. I'm not sure if it was just me but the entire book took me forever to find. It didn't have it at my library, I couldn't order it from Amazon or Barnes and Nobles because there is apparently no paperback edition. Then I tried to get a digital version or an audiobook. But audiobooks are mad expensive and then I found a free kindle version on Amazon and finally read it on my computer. So instead of doing my homework, I spent the day looking for and reading this book. Glad I have my priorities straight! 



Friday, September 20, 2013

Saving June | Hannah Harrington


"If she'd waited less than two weeks, she'd have been June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn't consider that.""When Harper Scott's Sister, June, commits suicide just before her high school graduation and Harper's divorcing parents decide to split the ashes, Harper steals June's urn and embarks on a journey with her best friend, Laney, and the mysterious and aggravating Jake Tolan to take her sister to the one place she always wanted to go- California. An intense and romantic debut novel. " 


I have to say I wasn't too impressed with this book, I've felt like I've read it before in Ordinary People by Judith Guest and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. All of them consist of the same main elements. The book begins with the sibling/ close friend committing suicide while the rest of the book follows the protagonist as they attempt to acquire closure. This book in particular had many of the clichéd and overused character personalities.
  • The protagonist who hates everything and feels like a complete failure. Harper was this girl. She never expected anything of herself and did whatever she wanted, regardless of the environment or situation. Even though I found qualities of myself in her, I found her extremely unlikable throughout the book.
  • The perfect sibling. The one who was also considered better, more successful and perfect. These characters end up being the ones who commit suicide. Throughout the book, everyone looked down on Harper and considered June as the better sibling, but of course she killed herself, so that just shows how much they know. 
  • The "wild and free" best friend. There's always that one friend that is more outgoing than the main character but has deep problems that the reader doesn't get to see since the book isn't focused on them.Throughout the book, Laney was known for doing careless things and of course that resulted in her pregnancy. But we also discover she has some problems with her family, which I definitely would have liked to learn a little more about. 
  • The mysterious hot guy/girl. In every book there's a hot guy/girl whom the main character knows nothing about then they find out how awesome that person is and end up hooking up with them. I wasn't too fond of Jake, he was too "I'm better than most guys" for lack of better words. 
  • The divorce. In every book, just to make the protagonist's life harder, there is always a divorce or some kind of rift in the marriage of the parents. I personally didn't like either the mom or the dad. The mom was somewhat of a hypocrite, she blamed Harper for not being there for her when she herself was leaving Harper alone. The father was just a jerk. People like him make me hate mankind. He has absolutely no right to walk out on his family but claim he had a right on June's ashes.
I'm not saying that I hated this book, but while I was  reading I did feel a sense of deja-vu, as if I'd read so many books like this before, which I have. Did I cry during this book? Yes, of course. But other than the whole death aspect, this book didn't connect with me as a lot of other books have. 

Friday, September 13, 2013

Origin | Jennifer Armentrout


First thing first: the cover. I'm a teenage girl...so I didn't exactly mind the shirtless guy on the cover. But the cover was definitely overdramatized. "He'll burn the world to save her." It makes it sound like Kat is a weak damsel in distress like Bella. She's not. At all. It also just makes it seem like the entire book is revolving around him saving her, when really he gets to her in the middle of the book.

I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed with this book, but that's only because the first two books were mostly the brewing romance between Katy and Daemon, while at this point the real plot is beginning to thicken. And in fact it's this plot that brought the book back to the high standards I had. The entire system the DOD had of testing the human DNA with the Luxen DNA in order to create a near perfect society is just intriguing, very much sparking the science geek inside me. Then there was the whole revealing of the Luxen species to the human population. Thankfully though, the cliffhanger wasn't as bad as it was in Opal.


Now for the characters...I absolutely love Kat, which is really strange considering I usually don't like the female characters of novels. But Kat is strong, she's independent, she absolutely refuses Daemon to treat her like a princess, she's a fellow book nerd. And through all of this she's stayed so strong except for one night, which is completely understandable. She's also grown so much throughout the books, she's learning from everything that happens to her. But unlike her, Beth is completely weak, at least that's how it seems to me. She constantly needs Dawson by her side, reassuring her which I guess is fine, considering all she's gone through and whatever but I still love the character of Kat. Now Daemon...I love him too. I've loved him from the beginning. He is arrogant and a complete jerk and (call me crazy) this just makes me love him even more. Especially now that we get a little look into his brain we know he's not a complete jerk, he's ridiculously arrogant but has a soft mushy center. Finally the person I pitied the most was Kat's mom. I know she's barely mentioned in the book, but I can't help but think "How is she getting through all of this?" I know my mom would completely freak if I disappeared one day. But to have your husband die of cancer and they a few years later have your only daughter disappear, that's gotta be rough. I'm really hoping that in Opposition, Kat and her mom have a happy reunion, otherwise it would be kind of upsetting.


I can't believe I have to wait a whole other year for the next one to come out...



Friday, September 6, 2013

Opal | Jennifer Armentrout


So just read this book…I have such conflicting emotions I’m not even sure how to react. 
First there’s the cover. To be honest, the cover doesn’t do justice to any part of the book. It shows the girl (presumably Katy) leaning against or holding onto the male (presumably Daemon) as though she is heavily dependent on him, which she is obviously not. 
Then the actual book. I have to admit, my expectations for this book for really really high. I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I have to admit I didn’t like the fact that Katy and Daemon got together. I think their entire love-hate relationship is what made them so atypical to the normal couple (of course besides the whole alien thing). This book wasn’t as action-packed nor was it full or romance. It was lacking a certain quality. 
Now moving to the characters. Can we all just agree that Katy needs to get a lock for her door? First Daemon continually walks into her house, I guess that’s acceptable since he’s her boyfriend and all. But Carissa, Will and Blake are just mad creepy. Especially Blake. I think it’s accepted that if a you like a girl the best way to get her NOT to date you is to climb into her bed and sleep with her in the middle of the night. 
AND THE ENDING OMG. I think I would have imploded if I didn’t have Origin (the fourth book) right next to me. Thankfully I did. So I’ll be reviewing that soon. 

Obsidian and Onyx | Jennifer Armentrout




















Let’s be real, any cover with an extremely hot guy is bound to hook any teenage girl. When the book begins with him being shirtless on his front porch, we’re bound to continue reading. I thought both of these books, Obsidian and Onyx were pretty good, and by pretty good I mean I couldn’t put them down until like 4 in the morning. 
The first one begins with Katy, a seventeen year old book blogger, moving in next door to the Blacks (Daemon and Dee). Upon first impression, Daemon is the douchebag overprotective older brother while Dee is the enthusiastic little sister. Around them Katy notices strange things happening (time stopping, being underwater for over 10 minutes, random storms, your usual run of the mill). Of course she finds out they’re not humans, they’re aliens. But not the typical green blobs we find in movies, they can move and bend light. Of course, no one can know about them, they have enemies, a lot of them. First you have the Arum who just want their powers, then you have the DOD (Department of Defense) a part of the government that wants to discover more about these aliens and finally there’s the general population who just don’t like change. 
Of course there’s also something about the increasing sexual tension between Daemon and Katy. They are constantly fighting, arguing, but we all know they should be together. Daemon's a jerk, Katy fights back. It's not the most typical relationship and I absolutely love it. In other words I ship them. 
I think the only probably with this book was how close it resembled Twilight. I’m not a huge Twilight fan, in fact I’m not really a fan at all. Anyways, here’s just a list of them. 
1. First there’s the obvious one of the last name. Daemon Black vs. Jacob Black…probably just a coincidence since Sirius from Harry Potter also shared the last name.
2. The whole concept of ‘you shouldn’t be friends with me but I’m gonna keep talking to you’ The male, some strange nonhuman creature, will take the female, typically a human, into a wooded area, basically forcing them to “talk a walk” with them. In the woods, they then proceed to tell the female that she shouldn’t be there with him…what kind of logic is that? And I thought females were complicated. 
3. The lack of shirts. For some reason, hot guys in books don’t seem to own shirts…not that I have a problem with it…
I do recommend this book for mainly girls who enjoy fangirling, like moi.