Chima Book Reviews: Katy Swartz Appreciation Post

Contrary to what this
picture suggests, the girl
is actually the main character.

You may or may not have read Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. You may have been wary of the (rather ridiculous) cover and average-sounding synopsis. On the other hand, you may be one of the many people who have read it and loved it. I'm in the latter group. Not only is the story unique while defying many cliche tropes; Armentrout has written one of the most extraordinarily relatable female protagonists yet.

Her name is Katy Swartz. She's stubborn and quick to anger. She flips off people who are rude to her. She has a book blog and she nerds out every time she checks the mailbox to find a book waiting for her. She doesn't wear a bra around the house and her clothes have strawberries on them. She scorns insta-love.

I loved her from the moment she started to garden.

I don't think I've truly understood how relatable characters can be until Katy came along. Sure, I've said in about a million reviews: this character is so relatable! but Katy takes it to another level.

Maybe it's the fact that Armentrout knows her audience. Then again, she could have taken Katy in another route and made her hobbies overly nerdy and odd. But she didn't. She made Katy one of us, which is one of many reasons why I love her (and want to be her.) Armentrout made Katy average in a book about aliens.

Katy welcomes Dee into her life with such warmth that I wanted to hug her. In a book about paranormal activity, she doesn't forget the humans and makes meaningful friends out of Lesa and Carissa. These relationships aren't treated as flimsy or transitory. They're developed and live as people do, when they spend time together they're full of happiness, and when they're neglected they whither. Everything in this series has a life of its own including the relationships.

Moving onto arguably the central part of the book (I mean, it is a paranormal romance.) Daemon Black: the hot and rude alien. In their first meeting, he calls Katy 'kid' and says that she looks like she's twelve. You wouldn't think that this is the start of an epic romance. She proceeds to call him a douchebag, then a dickhead, before flipping him off and going home. Why is this so amazing to me? Because even though she's embarrassed and rightfully pissed off, she held her own. She continues to hold her own throughout the book and their dynamic is not one of a cat and mouse, but more like two very pissed off cats.

Armentrout drew a line between lust and love. Katy acknowledges that the former is there and that it's just natural chemistry. In my opinion, this is what I believe that a lot of books lack. Lust doesn't have to be developed. It's there or it's not. Love has to be developed and nurtured else that dreaded insta-love comes into play. I mean, I'm not against the idea of love at first sight. But I'm against love at first word when it comes to the books I read.

Daemon almost put me off the entire series when I was reading Obsidian. He was exceptionally controlling and always needed to be put down a peg. I wanted to punch him for trying to control his sister's relationships and being a dickhead to Katy. I was afraid of this book turning into another boy-meets-girl-and-becomes-her-entire-reason-for-existence tale. There were underlying reasons for his negative attitude which are later explained, but that doesn't justify his actions. Katy swoops into save the day because doesn't let him get away with it. She holds him accountable for his actions while still allowing herself to be vulnerable and get to know him. Neither character is one dimensional.

What's important about Daemon and Katy? That they're equals. That they recognize what's between them and understand it. As I write this, I'm only on the second book, Onyx, and my two favorite idiots are, of course, struggling with their relationship. Katy is working on herself and making sure that she can protect herself if things come to pass.

"I have to be able to defend myself and the people I care about. Because I can't expect you to always be there to protect me. It's not right or fair to either of us"

(Armentrout 594).

What's important to Katy is staying true to herself. She's living in a world where aliens exist and live next door. She still finds time to blog and pick up her mail at the post office, and I absolutely love her for that.