OBSIDIAN BY JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT

Obsidian (Lux Series #1)

By Jennifer L. Armentrout

Goodreads Summary:
             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.

Taylor’s Review:

           This book was actually pretty good. It was very fast paced and not at all difficult to read. The main character, Katy has plenty of spit, which is a must have for me. She is constantly being called Kitten and Kitty cat by her outrageously hot next door neighbor, who, might I add, is a fricken amazing alien. Daemon is basically described as a modern day Adonis. Pretty typical, but he has major character flaws, mostly him being a major jerk.
           I really only liked the book because of the characters and the constant witty banter between the two main ones. I won’t lie, some of it made me laugh right out loud, drawing a few stares. You don’t really know why Daemon is a jerk, but it’s hinted at, so as long as the reader doesn’t need in your face explanations, it works. Unfortunately the book brings in Dee and then kind of puts her off to the side, having Kat focus on Dee’s brother, Daemon, did I mention they were twins?
          There was a lot of tension and angst throughout the whole book, right from the start, which I really liked. That aside, I thought it lacked a strong plot, which had many holes. The Aliens are super powerful and have to hide the powers, but they go about and do this and that and don’t do a great job of being secretive, yet no one notices anything. I found this wholly unrealistic.

                                     I would say this was a good book, earning 3.5 out of the 5 stars.

Sisters of Blood and Spirit

Sisters of Blood and Spirit

By Kady Cross

Goodreads Summary: Wren Noble is dead—she was born that way. Vibrant, unlike other dead things, she craves those rare moments when her twin sister allows her to step inside her body and experience the world of the living.

             Lark Noble is alive but often feels she belongs in the muted Shadow Lands—the realm of the dead. Known as the crazy girl who talks to her dead sister, she doesn’t exactly fit in with the living, though a recent suicide attempt and time in a psych ward have proved to her she’s not ready to join her sister in the afterlife.

            Now the guy who saved Lark’s life needs her to repay the favor. He and his friends have been marked for death by the malevolent spirit of a vicious and long-dead serial killer, and the twins—who should know better than to mess with the dead—may be their only hope of staying alive.


Gabrielle's Review:

            This is the first book I read by Kady Cross and it was good enough for me to be intrigued enough to read more by her but there seemed to be a lot of background information left out. I didn't realize (until I  looked it up on the author's website) that this was going to be a series. Even though there will be more books, I still felt like too much was left open ended.

           Lark and Wren are twin sisters but Wren was a still born, but that wasn't the end of her. She grew up along side her twin, Lark, but as a ghost. As a child, people thought it was "cute" that Lark played with her "imaginary dead twin" which I found disturbing people thought it was cute. But Wren wasn't imaginary, she is real. The author didn't give much information on HOW it was possible for a ghost to grow up with her sister, or who raised her. They questioned everything but never found the answers.

           The book begins with Lark returning to her old school after she was home schooled for a while. She attempted suicide but Wren yelled out to any alive human who could hear her, which ended up to be Kevin, a "medium". He called Mace, his friend who lived next door to Lark and saved her.

           Now, cue the what feels like a hundred people in their group of friends. There is Kevin (who is in college and didn't even get into trouble but was along for the scary ride), Gage, Mace, Ben, Sarah, and Roxie. There are no personality differences between Mace and Ben and they were both really attractive and flawless. The group of kids go to an old asylum and get marked by an angry and psycho ghost so they ask the only person who could truly help them: Lark.

           The story had a unique plot line that I enjoyed. I read the book within 12 hours of starting it. I loved the strong bond between Lark and Wren and how they both stood up for each other. Even though there were plenty of flaws, I still wanted to find out what happened. It was really fast paced and kept you on the edge of your seat. It is definitely worth the read but don't be surprised if you stumble upon all its flaws.

 

Overall, I give Sisters of Blood and Spirit 3.5 stars.