Review: 4 Stars
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 25, 2014
I'm a huge fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout's Lux series so I was excited to see that she was doing an adult spin-off. The fact that it was going to feature the Arum species was even better. While I did not enjoy this one as much as the Lux books, I still found it entertaining, romantic, and full of great sci-fi action.Obsession starts off with a bang when Serena Cross meets up with her best friend and learns that she is being threatened by something supernatural. Things continue to spiral out of control from there with her friend being murdered to learning about the existence of aliens. Serena quickly figures out that she is in just as much danger after seeing the Luxen in action and must rely on the protection of a mysterious, and hot, stranger who claims to be Arum, an alien species that is in direct conflict with the Luxen.One of my favorite parts of the Lux series (and this book) is the complicated world that JLA has created with the Luxen and the Arum. They are species that have been at war with each other for ages and have brought their issues to Earth upon the destruction of their home worlds. The young adult series focuses on a group of Luxen in West Virginia and the Arum are always depicted as the villains. But, Obsession provides readers with a different view on things by having Hunter (Serena's protector) being an Arum. Things are never black and white in JLA's writing and this book shows that in a great way.I liked Serena and Hunter as individual characters and as a couple. Serena was appropriately disturbed by her experiences, but resisted doing anything too stupid once she realized what danger she was in. She is also just a good person who strives to find something admirable in everyone including stoic, snarky Hunter. JLA is amazing at creating sexy heroes for readers to fall in love with and she succeeds again with Hunter. His arrogance is a little jarring at first, but I quickly learned how difficult his life has been and that he is willing to change especially once he gains feelings for Serena.I don't want to say much more about the plot and the world in order to avoid spoiling both Obsession and the Lux series. But, I also want to make sure that potential readers know that this book is written in such a way that it can be read as a stand-alone. She does a great job of explaining the Luxen/Arum conflict without alienating new readers or boring devoted fans. I continue to be impressed with JLA's writing skills and her ability to bring such a fascinating world to life.