Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Contains spoilers for books 1-3 of the Lux series.

Oblivion
Lux: Book 1.5 
Written by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
1005 Pages
Published December 1st 2015 by Entangled: Teen
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★★★★
I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it.

And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are.

But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game.

Falling for Katy—a human—won't just place her in danger. It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen..

Okay so a little backstory here: I am reading the version which includes the first three novels told in the POV of Daemon. There's another version which only has the first novel that's like 300 some pages - but I fucking LOVE the Lux series so of course I'm going to read the version that is longest because yeah.. who wouldn't? I adore this world to shreds and just had to read it from my boyfriends POV (HAH JK BECAUSE HE'S WITH KAT *sobs*) but a girl can dream, right? So what I'm gonna do is break this review up into three little subsections. I also encourage you guys to get the ebook because it has all three books, the physical copy only has the first. Here we go, lovelies.

SHORT VERSION: (because this is a long ass review) I loved it, even when I hated it, I loved it.

Kynndra's Thoughts

BOOK ONE: OBSIDIAN

Alright, so this is the one in which Katy moves into alien territory. Also the one where Daemon (an alien) does his damndest to keep Kat out of his, and his sisters life. Unfortunately, that does not happen. When Kat is 'tagged' by some kick-ass alien power, her life is in danger. Once a human is tagged they can be used by the Arum (evil aliens who want to steal the powers of the Luxen). Daemon (who aggressively denies his feels for Kat) will do anything to keep his sister, and Kat safe. It's a battle of wills as Daemon and Katy dance around their chemistry and the bond they have formed. Meanwhile, the Arum are on the prowl - needless to say, shit happens.

Okay, I'll be honest I have adored the Lux series for a year or two now and I might be a little biased. Reading the first book from Daemon's POV was so different than reading the original which was in Kat's POV. It's been awhile, but I have to say I preferred seeing the story from Kat's eyes; however, I also adored being offered the chance to read Daemon's side of the story. It was hella corny, but it made me LAUGH SO DAMN MUCH. Daemon is an asshole, but a loveable one? I don't know. I think JLA's portrayal of a teenage boys thought process was spot on. Some parts had me blushing, others smirking. I loved every second. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You read JLA's YA novels for the fun, and snarky goodness that lies within. Also the chemistry between characters is amazing. You don't read her work for some poetic masterpiece (at least not the Lux series, I haven't read her other series).

It took me a little while to re-adjust to the Luxen world, but once I did I was entranced and fell in love with Daemon and Kat all over again. If you can ignore the fact that the book is basically all about how much Daemon likes Kat and how many times Daemon has to save Kat - then I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I certainly did. JLA is one of my all time favorite authors because she's a god at making such addicting stories and characters. SO GOOD PEOPLE. SO MUCH ASSHOLERY THAT WAS AMAZING.

"Maybe I was so good at my douchebag skills, as she called them, she had no clue how I was really starting to feel about her."

BOOK TWO: ONYX

So the second book is essentially the 'rift' between Kat and Daemon. This is where Kat, having been healed by Daemon on a molecular level mutates into basically a alien human hybrid. Whoops. So this shady kid named Blake swoops on in and says he knows what Kat is - and that he too is a mutated alihuman. Blake claims he can train Kat to hone her new alien powers. Enter Daemon, who does not trust Blake at all, but Kat wants to learn how to look after herself. Kat's decision to trust Blake instead of Daemon causes shockwaves in their relationship. But one day, Kat sees someone who should be dead which causes mayhem in the Luxen's lives. Together they must find out the truth.

I wasn't a HUGE fan of the second book. Mostly because I was annoyed at how Kat acted and how she snubbed Daemon. But it's understandable considering their past encounters where Daemon was kind of a dickweed to her. SO it is forgiven. We got there near the end which is really all that matters at this point. I just always feel that the second book always lacks something in nearly every series. This one in general got irksome because it was essentially all about Daemon's jealousy and Kat lying to herself about how she really felt.

I still loved all of Daemons good old sass and snark. Which there is never a shortage of. I couldn't get enough of it. I just wish there had been a little less of *ermahgurd Kat's body is perfect, ermahgurd Kat is hurt, emahgurd Kat lemme love you* but I really loved all the parts where he protects her and heals her. I'm a sucker for characters protecting/dying/hurting for another (sorry I'm a fictional character sadist). The feelings are so strong when that happens, I love watching How Daemon goes from a dick to lowkey falling in love with his Kitten. The ending had me is shambles, I knew what was going to happen but it hurt more seeing it come from Daemon's eyes.

“I knew right then I would burn down the whole universe for her if I had to. I would do anything to keep her safe. Kill. Heal. Die. Anything. Because she was my everything.”

BOOK THREE: OPAL

The last book of Oblivion in Daemon's POV is Opal, the one in which Dawson (Daemon's believed to be dead brother) has returned. This book consists of the Luxen scooby gang coming together to figure out how to get Dawson's girlfriend Beth back from the DOD (essentially the alien control squad). This task is harder than anyone could have imagined. With Kat now in control of her powers, she too assists much to Daemon's displeasure. Their mission means they must trust the untrustable in order to succeed. Lots of tragic shit goes down, hold on kiddos.

The third book within Oblivion was my favorite. It was more exciting and had a larger view on the plot instead of constantly focusing on Kat and Daemon's banter. Which, don't get me wrong - I love their banter, but it does get hella repetitive after awhile. I think I enjoyed this one more because Kat could finally hold her own a bit more. Also, because I absolutely adore Dawson. He was so broken though, but I just adored the scenes where he would smile and kind of be that little ray of sunshine despite the year or so of torture he had to endure.

I can't express how much I love JLA's way of making a book seem as if it's merely pages and not an entire novel. I flew through this one not only because of the amazing characters but because of how many damn cliffhangers she can pull out of her hat. Seriously, Daemon and Kat could be having dinner and the next second they would be clutching each other as the other lay dying. IT HAD ME STRESSING EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THE OUTCOME ALREADY. Again, at the end there's a huge cliffhanger which had made me nose my way through the original fourth book just to refresh my mind on what happens.

In Conclusion

I'm a huge fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout, I think she's iconic in the YA paranormal romance department. I adored the Lux series when I read it back in 2014, and I love it now having relived it through the eyes of one (loveable) asshole of an alien named Daemon Black. I will admit that I loved it more when I first read it in its original format, but it was still extremely fun being able to go through the emotions and read more content from the Lux world. If you're a fan of this series, and are wondering if it's worth reading it - I will tell you it is. If you've never read this series before, and enjoy a fun, yet cheesy YA PNR series then start with the original series first. Also I can not wait for the Obsidian movie, which I REALLY hope happens (read more on that here).

Kynndra is currently (slowly) reading A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin and wondering what the new year will bring, hopefully good stuff.


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13 comments

  1. I absolutely can't wait till I have this one in my hands :D Daemon is my favorite character from the Lux series and I didn't know she was writing this until it came out. I also love how the cover is so strikingly different from the others.

    Alex @ The Book's Buzz

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    1. Daemon is my favorite too. It was incredibly fun to read the books from his POV! I'm not usually a fan of JLA's covers, but I actually don't mind this one! Can't wait for you to read it, Alex c:

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  2. Daemon's name reminds me so much of His Dark Materials, ahaha. This seems really cool and intense -- I mean, those quotes *fans self*! Will definitely put this series on the TBR.

    How are you finding A Clash of Kings? ;)

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    1. I haven't read His Dark Materials yet, lmao! Ugh, it is so intense, Alyssa. Especially the later books. Can't wait until you get a chance to read this one!

      Err... It's alright, I haven't picked it up for awhile. It's taking me ages. It's slow, very slow. Painfully slow.

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  3. It’s been ages ago since I was in Lux world. Happy to hear you loved Daemon’s POV, Kynndra!

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    1. It was fun to return after a year of reading the original series. Thanks, Ksenia! I hope you pick this one up too!

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  4. I still have to finish the Lux series, but I loved the first three books. I ordered Oblivion, and I think I'm going to read the retelling of Obsidian before continuing on with the series. (I'm so excited to see what Damon's POV is like). It definitely sounds entertaining ;)

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    1. Gahh! You totally have to finish this series, Montana. It's extremely entertaining (some parts are annoying, but I could deal). I cannot wait to see what you think, bub! c:

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  5. I have Lux: The Beginnings, (you know the bind up) but I haven't picked it up yet because I'm so apprehensive about reading another Armentrout book. I read one of her new adult novels called Wait For You and girl it was TERRIBLE! Like, I despised the hell out of it, and every since then I said I wouldn't pick up anything else written by her lol. A little rude, but I was angry ;D Anywho, so many people love the Lux series, and hearing you gush about it, really makes me want to pick it up. Maybe I'll read the first book in Jan or Feb, so I can finally meet this " Daemon " everyone speaks so highly of :)

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    1. BUT TIKA YOU HAVE TO. I've never read any of her new adult books, I really don't want to tbh (mainly because I'm not all that into NA). Honestly, Lux is cheesy and cliche as hell but I'm okay with that when it comes to Lux. Totally understandable if you find that JLA isn't your thing. But I hope you at least try it and if you hate it that's okay too c;

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  6. I SO AGREE WITH YOUR ASSESSMENT HERE KYNNDRA! OMIGOSH I just love how well JLA is able to turn her world int something that done even seem like it's a book anymore! It's just all pages and the characters ARE REAL. I don't care what anyone says! I pre-ordered this book a while back and (don't kill me) but I still haven't had the chance to read it yet... I know. I know.. but..LIFE. That is all.

    Fab Review K! <3 xoxo Happy Holidays chica! <3

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    1. YAAAAAAAS KEIONDA ANOTHER LUX FAN. I totally agree with what you said. JLA is amazing at making books last only a day (or a few hours). The characters are BRILLIANT and without a doubt what makes the story as great as it is. Bahah! I understand. There's only so much time in a day, you'll get to it eventually. I can't wait until you do <3

      Thank you hun, happy holidays to you as well! c:

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  7. I've read the first one and I liked Daemon's assholey character who was hilarious but yes, there was just so much angst and it was so cheesy at times. Glad to hear you enjoyed this series though Kynndra! Lovely reviews!

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