September 4, 2013

REVIEW: Origin (Lux #4)

Origin (Lux #4), by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published August 27, 2013
Publisher:  EntangledTeen
Format: paperback, purchased
Genre:  young adult paranormal romance
To Buy: Amazon  * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.
All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on?

And will they even be together?


Holy alien babies everywhere. If you thought Daemon was hot, amazing, incredible, and infuriating before, you haven't seen ANYTHING yet. After reading Origin, I felt turned inside out and mushy inside my head. So many amazingly good things happened in this book, I was riding a book fuzzies high like you would not believe. At the same time, so many incredibly awful things happened, I wanted to cry and scream and flail about like a crazy person. Okay, I may have actually done that last one.

Jennifer L. Armentrout is the queen of epic story arcs. When I look back at Obsidian and who Katy and Daemon were then, it's pretty incredible to see where they've come four books later. It takes a crazy amount of talent to see that about them back then - to imagine up this awesome story about beings from another planet and a government plot to use them to create the ultimate army and a transcendent love story. It kinda blows my mind.

Okay - I'll try to come down out of the clouds a little to talk about this book in real terms. So, Katy's been taken by Daedalus, the government arm that manages the Luxen and Arum. Daemon is going out of his skull trying to figure out a way to save her - a seemingly impossible task. But, nothing is impossible when Daemon sets his mind to it. Problem is, inside Daedalus or outside, it's become clear that life as Kat and Daemon and all their family and friends knew it is over.

For the first time ever in the Lux series, we get a dual POV. Good call there, Jen. I really don't know how this would've worked without it. Kat and Daemon are separated for a portion of the book, and each are dealing with some serious shit that is integral to the storyline as a whole. It was important for us to see and hear what was going on with these two. And, thankfully, even after they are reunited, the dual POV continues. Previously, the only glimpses inside Daemon's head were certain scenes that can be found on Jen's website. We see so much more now, and I gotta say that Daemon's mind is a complex and beautiful thing.
"I want to spend every second, every minute, every hour with you." Part of me couldn't believe something that cheesy had come out of my mouth, but it was also so beautifully true. "I want a year's worth of seconds and minutes with you. I want a decade's worth of hours, so many that I can't add them up."
Katy has gone from sad, angsty teenager to brave, badass hybrid. She risks her life for those she loves, and she does it willingly. But, she doesn't go quietly. She puts up a hell of a fight, and you can only admire her tenacity and general awesomeness. Even though she's with Daemon now, she still doesn't take his crap and isn't all lovey dovey all the time with him. And, that is only reason #76 why I love her.

Origin is all about the highs and lows. The highs are very, very high, and most of them involve Katy and Daemon and how they feel about each other. The lows are bottomless pits, and as you might expect, most of them directly involve Daedalus. I believe I was on page 17 the first time I felt the tears of frustration coming. Jen is not afraid to bring death to her characters, as we've already seen in the Lux series. Origin is no different. Like I said - the lows are l-o-w.

Although there isn't a cliffhanger like there was at the end of Opal, everything is still very much left wide open and many questions need answered in the final Lux book, Opposition, due out in early 2014. Do yourself a favor. If you haven't started the Lux series yet, you have time to get all caught up. This is an incredible series that is only getting better with each new book.

No comments:

Post a Comment