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Review
HOLY FREAKING ARUM HOTNESS!
Well, well, it appears that not all is as it seems! As a massive fan of Jennifer Armentrout’s Lux series, I thought I had a handle on all that was going on in the world of Luxen and Arum. It turns out I was wrong. While I am still very much a fan of Daemon and his alien friends and family, my eyes have now been opened. We may consider the Arum to be the bad guys, turns out they’re not all bad. Just like not all Luxen are good. There is an age-old battle underway, and I think I may have just switched sides!!
Serena encounters the Arum/Luxen world when her best friend tells her the story of her encounter with a guy who turned into a “light bulb”. Not too sure whether she believes the story, Serena’s eyes are opened when she sees said best friend brutally murdered right in front of her by the very creature she described. Having seen something she shouldn’t have seen, and possibly in possession of dangerous information about goings on in the Luxen world, Serena instantly becomes a target. And so the DOD (the branch of the government that ‘oversees’ the alien population on earth), sends in a ruthless assassin to protect her. Enter Hunter, the Arum.
OMG! Tall and built, with dark hair, blue eyes and a six pack, Hunter is an arrogant bad boy with a snarky, sarcastic attitude *swooooooooooooooon*, and, of course, he has no time for humans at all. Put him in confined quarters with our feisty heroine, and you have the perfect blend! The chemistry between Serena and Hunter is explosive, and the banter is sensational!
“Are you done acting like a psychotic, cracked-out Muppet baby?” he asked, and I could tell by the way his fingers spasmed around my wrists, he really wanted to shake me.
“Or do you need a couple more moments to return to sanity? I have all day. And you actually feel kind of good under me, so take your time.”
Plus! There is the added element of insta-lust…
Even with all the crazy stuff happening recently, beneath the sorrow and the anger, I was still a re-blooded, twenty-three-year-old woman sitting in front of a man, who may not be a hundred-percent human but had to have caused a panty-dropping crisis across the universe.
And although confused by his feelings, Hunter feels the same…
Maybe I just needed to fuck her out of my system.
That sounded like the best plan ever.
As the UST builds to epic proportions, Hunter has to protect Serena from those who are out to get her, while the two of them try to figure out what the big secret is, and exactly why so many people want her dead.
I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. It’s such a fun read! Hunter and Serena are great characters, and they are fantastic together! I loved watching all of their interactions – from the snarky fighting at the beginning, to the smutty flirting and all of the hotness that followed (and damn, these two are HOT together!).
“I want to hear you call my name when you come.” His voice was thick, smoky; his lips moving against my breast. “I want to hear you scream my name.”
While there is a bit of external action that goes on, the focus is very much on the developing romance – in particular, Hunter’s transition. His Arum nature makes him cold, and he has no idea how to deal with the very human-like emotion that he experiences around her.
“This is not your problem.”
“You are my problem.”
Now she stared at me like I asked to hump her leg. Perhaps I was saying the wrong things and should shut the fuck up.
Added to that – he is a killer, and he is a threat to Serena when he gets too close, and watching him fight that and learn how to let go and feel, is absolutely gorgeous!
Somehow, in the relatively short time I’d known Serena, she had wiggled her way into my cold body. She was my light, my warmth, and I wasn’t ready to let her go.
And when the action all came to a climax for the big finish, Hunter goes all badass to save his girl.
It wasn’t about the age-old battle of Arum versus Luxen. I wasn’t fighting to feed or to work off aggression. I wasn’t fighting because I was told or was obligated.
I was fighting for Serena.
She meant everything to me.
Knowing that, fully understanding what that mean, I was on a motherfucking warpath.
WOOHOO!!!
The book links in beautifully with the Lux series, and yes, Daemon Black makes an appearance, but it is very small, and it is for that reason that – YOU SHOULD NOT READ THIS BOOK UNTIL YOU HAVE READ Opal, the third book in the Lux series, as this book takes place after that and will give away a pretty major spoiler. There is also a very nice tie in to what I expect will become a big part of the rest of the Lux series as well.
Told with JLA’s usual blend of humour, romance and action, this is a great-paced, exciting read. I love how she has given us another side to the story, and a different perspective on her fantastic paranormal world, and I’m eagerly awaiting more for the rest of this series.
4.5 stars.
And on a side note – it’s been well advertised that this is not a YA book, and I’d just like to reiterate that. There is some serious sexy time in this book, definitely not one for the younger readers hoping for Daemon/Katy-level romance!