lynseyisreading's review against another edition
4.0
Now this is the story all about how
Katy's life got flipped, turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there
I'll tell you how she became my new favourite YA protagonist. Oh yeah.
In sunny Florida, she was born and raised
On the beach(?) was where she spent most of her days
Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool
And she didn't have to put up with her neighbour being a tool
Okay, I'm just going to stop this right here before it gets any worse. That was terrible. I will never do that again, I promise.
So yes, this is the story of a new girl (Katy) arriving in a small town where everybody knows everybody; she has a single parent who is hardly ever there; she meets a gorgeous but extremely rude boy who seems all mysterious as well as being totally hot, and he has an adorably sweet sister who wants to be her new BFF but she's sure the family is hiding something...
Sound familiar? Of course it does, it been done several
BUT! This one has something that they didn't have: a very likeable, very admirable, totally kick-ass protagonist called Katy Swartz! I loved Katy! She rescued this story for me from being just another one of those books.
Even though it's a formula we've seen many times before, with Armentrout's authentic-sounding 'teenage' voice for Katy, whom the story is told through first-person, it really, really worked. She's just so likeable, and so relateable. And more importantly, even though some of the plot devices used in this book will seem very familiar to you if you've read any of the above-mentioned series, Armentrout gets things right where those others failed miserably. Several times during the book I felt Katy was on a precipice and I was waiting breathlessly with both fingers crossed to see if she would pass the 'Stupid YA Heroine Test'. Is she going to prove to be yet another dumbass, TSTL, moron doormat? Or will we finally get a heroine where we can be all "Ha! You tell him, honey!"?
Guess which one she was. I bet you can't guess.
And of course, I would be neglectful if I didn't mention His Royal Hotness Daemon Black. He truly was just as much of a douche-bag as I'd expected him to be from reading other reviews, but I still liked him very much. I got the impression he was rude not to be malicious, but just because it amused him. He liked the back and forth bickering that happened every time he and Katy attempted to converse. And I think he liked it even more that she stood up to him, every time, without fail. He's a little tinker, but I like him anyway.
I went straight out and bought book two and will be reading it next because I hear the plot has more content than this one. Can't wait!
4 Stars ★★★★
librarycutie's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, WOW! I started this book on a whim, finally picking it up after hearing nothing but good things about this series and Daemon Black. It seems I have a thing for black haired muscular guys with names that sound like Damon... ahem, The Vampire Diaries' Damon Salvatore?. This was amazing, seriously, making my favorites, recommended, and book-boyfriend list immediately after finishing.
I love how Katy, the main character, is a book blogger just like us, except she is fortunate enough to live directly beside the Blacks. She moved from florida to this tiny town in West Virginia right before her senior year started and everything that seemed stranded started with the Blacks, Daemon and Dee, and their triplet friends. I love Dee, I love how bubbly she normally is.
This book was much more than I expected and I loved that it's bringing me out of my book slump, although more than likely when I finish this series I might be in yet another slump missing these characters.
Can we talk about the nickname Daemon gives Katy? Kitty! Seriously, Can I get a cute nickname like that?
Daemon Black is bae, I understand why everyone loves this series and I understand why Daemon is talked about so much, although his arrogant and cocky attitude got so frustrating that I wanted to slap him, and then kiss him... I bet you'd agree ;) I can't with how protective he is and how sometimes when his soft side is shown, ahh it drives me crazy. I seriously wanted to cry with how it ended and the proceeded t buy Onyx on my kindle and that is where I'll be for the next day or two.
I love how Katy, the main character, is a book blogger just like us, except she is fortunate enough to live directly beside the Blacks. She moved from florida to this tiny town in West Virginia right before her senior year started and everything that seemed stranded started with the Blacks, Daemon and Dee, and their triplet friends. I love Dee, I love how bubbly she normally is.
This book was much more than I expected and I loved that it's bringing me out of my book slump, although more than likely when I finish this series I might be in yet another slump missing these characters.
Can we talk about the nickname Daemon gives Katy? Kitty! Seriously, Can I get a cute nickname like that?
Daemon Black is bae, I understand why everyone loves this series and I understand why Daemon is talked about so much, although his arrogant and cocky attitude got so frustrating that I wanted to slap him, and then kiss him... I bet you'd agree ;) I can't with how protective he is and how sometimes when his soft side is shown, ahh it drives me crazy. I seriously wanted to cry with how it ended and the proceeded t buy Onyx on my kindle and that is where I'll be for the next day or two.
geo_ix's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Damn that slow burn was amazing. I couldn’t give it a five star because I found some of the thoughts (how the girls think about themselves and others, all the ‘hoe’ stuff etc) off putting but other than that I really enjoyed it. I stayed up all night reading it, and I started it super late. It was a super easy and quick read (about 5 hours) and if I’d read this back when it came out it probably would have been an instant 5 star because it’s totally what I was reading back then. I have many theories at this point, can’t wait to read on to see if any happen!
Damn that slow burn was amazing. I couldn’t give it a five star because I found some of the thoughts (how the girls think about themselves and others, all the ‘hoe’ stuff etc) off putting but other than that I really enjoyed it. I stayed up all night reading it, and I started it super late. It was a super easy and quick read (about 5 hours) and if I’d read this back when it came out it probably would have been an instant 5 star because it’s totally what I was reading back then. I have many theories at this point, can’t wait to read on to see if any happen!
shewhocooksandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
nikischokolade's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jessicatamm92's review against another edition
4.0
So I was told way before starting this book that it was going to have a TON of Twilight parallels and BOY DID IT.
If I hadn't been warned, I may have been irritated, but since I was, I didn't think it was so bad.
I gave this book 4 stars because I really liked it, and for half a second almost considered giving it 5. The only reason why I was going to do that was because how much I enjoyed reading this book. Just like Twilight, it pulls you in and you can't stop reading. (Which is why it took me two sittings within two days to finish this book.) I'm not going to call it a "guilty pleasure" book, but it was definitely addicting.
I didn't give it 5 stars for a few different reasons...
One reason was because there were times that the writing style kind of bugged me. I'm not saying that Jennifer Armentrout isn't a good writer by any means.. but at times I found her writing a little.. hard to swallow? I distinctly remember one quote from Katy where she described Daemon's face as "his face looked awesome." That was it. No other descriptions or anything. I'm someone that really, really enjoys hearing those "pointless" but not pointless to me descriptions about character descriptions. Basically we just heard about how hot Daemon was the whole time. Her friends at school and other classmates were hardly noticed by the author and described to us in great detail. This is just my opinion though. I can understand why many people like that Jennifer Armentrout just jumped right into the "good parts."
One thing that I'm happy about is I don't feel like she made the aliens too corny which I was very worried about.
Another reason why I couldn't give it 5 starts is because I didn't feel like it was original enough. There were just too many parallels to Twilight. The main character and Bella, the near fatal car accidents in both that almost killed the main character, Daemon saving Katy from drunk Simon/Edward saving Bella from the drunk jerks, Ash hating Katy/Rosaline hating Bella, Daemon's "family" saying that Katy is a risk and will expose them/Edward's family saying the same thing, the new character living with just one parent, the main character going to a new school and dreading it, the main character not realizing how beautiful she really is and Daemon has to spell it out for her. Ya. There's way more too.
There were many parts that I loved though (I mean obviously, I did give it 4 starts after all.) I like how Katy doesn't let Daemon push her around. I LOVED it when she dumped the spaghetti on him and Ash. (You go girl!) Although Bella and Katy have many similarities, I felt like AT LEAST Edward and Daemon are very different. Daemon reminds me of Damon from the Vampire Diaries. He's so badass and blunt and cocky. Definitely not a 100 year old virgin...
This was a very long review. Why? I don't know. It's late... Did I mention that I love that Katy loves to read? And she blogs!? So cool!
Okay that's enough for now. (Possibly?) More to come!
If I hadn't been warned, I may have been irritated, but since I was, I didn't think it was so bad.
I gave this book 4 stars because I really liked it, and for half a second almost considered giving it 5. The only reason why I was going to do that was because how much I enjoyed reading this book. Just like Twilight, it pulls you in and you can't stop reading. (Which is why it took me two sittings within two days to finish this book.) I'm not going to call it a "guilty pleasure" book, but it was definitely addicting.
I didn't give it 5 stars for a few different reasons...
One reason was because there were times that the writing style kind of bugged me. I'm not saying that Jennifer Armentrout isn't a good writer by any means.. but at times I found her writing a little.. hard to swallow? I distinctly remember one quote from Katy where she described Daemon's face as "his face looked awesome." That was it. No other descriptions or anything. I'm someone that really, really enjoys hearing those "pointless" but not pointless to me descriptions about character descriptions. Basically we just heard about how hot Daemon was the whole time. Her friends at school and other classmates were hardly noticed by the author and described to us in great detail. This is just my opinion though. I can understand why many people like that Jennifer Armentrout just jumped right into the "good parts."
One thing that I'm happy about is I don't feel like she made the aliens too corny which I was very worried about.
Another reason why I couldn't give it 5 starts is because I didn't feel like it was original enough. There were just too many parallels to Twilight. The main character and Bella, the near fatal car accidents in both that almost killed the main character, Daemon saving Katy from drunk Simon/Edward saving Bella from the drunk jerks, Ash hating Katy/Rosaline hating Bella, Daemon's "family" saying that Katy is a risk and will expose them/Edward's family saying the same thing, the new character living with just one parent, the main character going to a new school and dreading it, the main character not realizing how beautiful she really is and Daemon has to spell it out for her. Ya. There's way more too.
There were many parts that I loved though (I mean obviously, I did give it 4 starts after all.) I like how Katy doesn't let Daemon push her around. I LOVED it when she dumped the spaghetti on him and Ash. (You go girl!) Although Bella and Katy have many similarities, I felt like AT LEAST Edward and Daemon are very different. Daemon reminds me of Damon from the Vampire Diaries. He's so badass and blunt and cocky. Definitely not a 100 year old virgin...
This was a very long review. Why? I don't know. It's late... Did I mention that I love that Katy loves to read? And she blogs!? So cool!
Okay that's enough for now. (Possibly?) More to come!
marie101's review against another edition
4.0
In re-reading for Apollycon- I completely forgot everything that happened in this series. Also I still love it. The teenage angst and the building of the relationship *chefs kiss* it’s everything I adore in an JLA book.
tessachb's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. The protagonist is not at all annoying, she's actually pretty cool. It reminded me a little bit of Twilight, but at the same time, it's VERY VERY different, and very good.
The romance is so frustrating at times, but in very good way. Daemon and Katy have a lot of tension going on and it's very interesting to read.
The action scenes were so good, and I gasped and held my breath several times.
Dee (Daemon's sister) was such a highlight. I really liked her.
I am so exited for Onyx!
4.7 stars!
The romance is so frustrating at times, but in very good way. Daemon and Katy have a lot of tension going on and it's very interesting to read.
The action scenes were so good, and I gasped and held my breath several times.
Dee (Daemon's sister) was such a highlight. I really liked her.
I am so exited for Onyx!
4.7 stars!