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.

I've only seen Kaya Scodelario act in BBC's True Love, but I think she'd play a great Katy!
Look, she's already got the moody gaze down!

Journey Through The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout With Marissa!

(Hello guys! I recently finished reading all the books that are released so far in the Lux series so I decided to just put all my reactions in to one post. These reviews are completely spoiler free even if you haven't read any of the books in the series or just the first.)

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.

Marissa's Review: I really enjoyed Obsidian! It was a very different read for me. I have never read anything that had to do with the topic of aliens before, so i found the story very original. I absolutely loved the writing style in this book. It has a perfect mix of things. This book has drama, humor, action, and even some romance. I also loved the characters. Katy was a strong protagonist and really knows how to stand up for herself when she has to but she is also relatable. I loved that she was a book blogger, I mean that alone is just awesome. Daemon was such a lovable ass. I loved his little witty retorts with Katy. They were so entertaining to read! All that aside, Daemon is also a complex character. As you read on, you get to see a whole other side to him. The action scenes in this book are great. Especially that last scene!

Review: This one is probably my favorite out of all of them so far. OH MY. I can't even formulate in to words my feelings towards this book. I felt all the emotions throughout this book, especially towards the end. I am so obsessed with this series! This one definitely had me more on my toes than the first one! I always felt so scared to turn the page because I thought I knew what was gonna happen (which didn't really work out most the time because this book is full of plot twists! ) but at the same time excited because the action, drama and romance in this book is amazing! I absolutely love Katy and Daemon. I pretty much love all the characters in this series (for the most part, but you'll find that out for yourself when you read it). I loved the humor in this book. Especially when Daemon kept calling Blake the wrong name. I could not stop laughing! This one definitely has A LOT more drama than the first and I loved it. I can't wait to continue with this series!

Review: I.... uh.... don't know what to do right now. That ending! I could barely breathe! AH.

Review: Oh man that ending, I swear! I found the pace in this one to be a bit different from the others. I can't really explain it. Sometimes I felt like things were rushed and sometimes I felt the opposite. Regardless, I still enjoyed this one a lot! I did like the fact that there were alternating POV chapters in this book. It was nice getting a different insight from Daemon, especially in the beginning. Sometimes I would get a little confused because I was so used to Katy narrating but I got used to it! That ending was insane though. I'm still too overwhelmed by it to form coherent sentences to form a typed out reaction. GAH this series drives me mad! It makes me feel almost every possible emotion from joyous happiness to profound sadness but I LOVE it! I can't wait for the last book!

I really love this series a lot. Its just so suspenseful and has everything you really could possibly want in a book. I think if you're in to science fiction and fantasy you should definitely check this series out. Definitely prepare yourself for cliffhangers, staying up to late hours of the night reading, and a little loss of sleep. :)