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Review

4.5 fantastic stars!

The first book in JLA’s Origin series and… wow! I’m a mad fan of the Lux series, and have been so excited to get my hands on this spin-off, trusting that Armentrout wouldn’t let me down, and she absolutely nailed it! JLA writes the most amazing paranormal books, but there is so much more to this story than I was expecting. Yes, it’s fun, exciting, slightly suspenseful and romantic, but there is so much heart to it! With twists and turns that kept me madly flipping pages I read this book in a day – and it’s not a short read. I absolutely loved it!

As I said, this series is a spin-off from the Lux series. If you’re a Daemon and Katy fan, you’ll be thrilled to dive back into their world for Luc’s story – he was such an intriguing part of all of the Luc action, and a wonderfully complex character that I was so happy to get to know better. If you haven’t read the Lux books (you should, because they’re awesome) you’ll easily be able to pick up the story with enough background given to get you up to speed on everything and invested in this new and exciting world.

It’s been four years since the events of Opposition, which finished off the Lux series. There are aliens among us, and after a war which saw a large proportion of the population wiped out, there is a tentative peace among humans and the luxen, though tensions still run high. Evie is a 17-year-old girl who is living what you would call a ‘normal’ life. She goes to high school, she has a great group of friends, she accepts the presence of the luxen though doesn’t really know any, and though she has experienced loss, she has a good life and dreams of a future just like any normal person. She’s brave, smart, sensible and delightfully witty, and I love her!

That was what I wanted at some point in my life, for someone to look at me like I looked at tacos.

But everything changes for her when she sneaks into a club with one of her friends. It’s a club where aliens are known to hang out, and it’s where she meets Luc. Luc is neither human nor luxen, he is an Origin, and his powers are way beyond those that she is used to. He takes an interest in her, for reasons that Evie does not understand, and though she wants to ignore him, she feels a pull to him that sparks a fantastically fun, snarky, banter-filled ‘friendship’ that sizzles with chemistry and the promise of so much to come.

“Why are you being so difficult? Just give me my phone and you’ll never have to see me again.”
… “But what if I want to see you again?”
I swallowed as my eyes narrowed. “But I don’t want to see your face ever again.”
The almost teasing smile began to fade. “Well, that’s rude.”

JLA writes such fantastic heroes, especially when they have that arrogant, sarcastic wittiness about them, and Luc is that and so much more!

“Nothing is impossible…when you’re me.”

He was introduced in the Lux series as a smartass 14 year old, and now he’s all grown up – still a smartass, but with a flirtatious, protective streak and epic romantic hero potential. I love him!

“So damn beautiful that it sometimes kills me a little each time I look at you.”

The romance isn’t a focus of the story just yet, but it’s definitely simmering. There’s a connection there that is undeniable and every moment between them simmers with potential, creating a fantastic sense of anticipation as everything builds between them.

Luc was, well, he was Luc. He wasn’t even really human. As I stared up at him, I had to admit to myself that I’d stopped caring about the whole not-being-human thing after the first time I’d seen him shirtless.
I was that shallow.
I fully accepted that.
Whatever.

We see glimpses of what is going to be an amazing love story, and I was squeeing with glee as it builds beautifully.

“What do you want?” he asked, his gaze holding mine.
“You,” I whispered, cheeks burning.
“You have me.” His thumb dragged along my lower lip. “You’ve always had me. Always.”

But there is so much more going on in this story than romance. Students at school are disappearing, people are dying, tensions between humans and luxen are rising, and there is a mysterious threat hanging around that seems to have his eye on Evie. And when secrets are revealed, everything will change, twisting the story off into a direction I wasn’t expecting and setting the stage for the rest of this series, and oh my damn, I cannot wait!

This is such a great read. I was sucked right back into the Lux world that I love so much, I loved Evie, Luc blew me away as a romantic hero, and there’s even cameos of Daemon and Archer FTW! This book is exciting, funny, romantic, absolutely captivating and such a fun read, I loved it.

4.5 stars.

An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Origin series

 

The Lux series

 

Check out our Jennifer L. Armentrout / J. Lynn Author Spotlight page
for more great reads from this author.