Oct 22, 2018

ARC Review--The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout

When seventeen-year-old Evie Dasher is caught up in a raid at a notorious club known as one of the few places where humans and the surviving Luxen can mingle freely, she meets Luc, an unnaturally beautiful guy she initially assumes is a Luxen...but he is in fact something much more powerful. Her growing attraction for Luc will lead her deeper and deeper into a world she'd only heard about, a world where everything she thought she knew will be turned on its head...

#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the universe of the Lux in this brand new series, featuring beloved characters both new and old.
 





I borrowed this ARC from one of my most amazing blogger friends. My review is completely honest and voluntary and I received no compensation for this review.

I was a huge fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Lux series and when she announced a spinoff, I was over the moon! The Darkest Star is the first book in the new series of undetermined length! What we do know is that it takes place in the Lux world about four years after the events of Opposition! And wow, has it been a long time since I read that one! Though, other than not remembering certain people when the appeared, I’d say that this one is pretty easy to follow if you don’t have time for a series re-read.

Evie lives in a world that is now inhabited by Luxen. After the invasion and war that took place afterwards, four years have gone by and things suddenly seem to be at peace. All Evie wanted to do was go out with her friend and have some fun at Foretoken, but the evening didn’t quite start off pleasantly when she meets Luc. Luc comes off as arrogant and annoying (much like the Luc we all know and love) and just as she’s getting ready to tell him off, the club is raided. But the raid was only one of the things that happened that night. During the chaos that ensued afterwards, a girl from Evie’s school goes missing.

Evie continues to have chance encounters with Luc over the next few days and he is rather familiar with her. She notices odd looks and sometimes he lets things slip out in conversation. She continues to have feelings of deja vu. Something very odd is happening when it comes to Luc. And soon, Evie will become more immersed with the world of the Luxen and the other “aliens” that came to earth.

Amid this new revelation when it comes to the Luxen, we also have what looks like a series of murders happening. Bodies being found with their eyes burned out, in a very Luxen fashion. This soon causes strife with the Luxen who are in society and the high school as well. It’s very clear that these murders were done by a Luxen or someone who wants everyone to think it was a Luxen.

The mystery element to The Darkest Star was by far greater than I expected! There’s definitely a lot more going on than what gets discussed or shown. More fodder for future books I expect. And then there’s the whole mystery that is Luc…well, mystery for Evie that is. It seems like everyone in the story knows what’s going on except for Evie and you can’t help but feel bad for her. Though since my memory is terrible, I was right with her in the clueless department! Lol! But in a way, it was kind of fun that way. I’d have to ask someone with a better memory or who’s a faster reader and can re-read the Lux series if they knew what was going on while I was in the dark.

Like every JLA book I read, I have to say that she does romance incredibly well! I really liked how different Evie and Luc’s relationship was. Luc was head over heels for Evie long before she was, and I felt like his way of going about expressing his feelings was a lot different than another alien boy we all know! Evie and Luc had chemistry that was for sure, even though there wasn’t many romantic interludes between them, their chemistry more than made up for that! But since this is Jennifer writing, you know there will be some kissing!

I was also very happy that a familiar face made an appearance in this one! I mean, it wouldn’t quite be a Lux world book without him! It’s nice to see that not much changes in four years! Lol!! Totally made my day that he was there every now and then too!

We get a nice conclusion in this one! One that is satisfying for a first in series book, but still leaves you with enough fodder for more storytelling to come! While not everything is answered and we’re left with a few pretty big questions left dangling, I can safely say that I am not screaming in agony like I did after Opal! It’s definitely not an Opal kind of ending which is relieving to say the least. Then again, we’re only at book one and who’s to say what torture Jennifer might put us through over the next few years! As always, I am totally game!!

The Darkest Star was by far one of my most favorite reads of the year! This is a book that Lux fans will not want to be without! I love when there’s a spinoff series to an already loved series because it always has that familiarity in a world you already love, yet it takes you to new places with sometimes new characters! This will be a most delightful series indeed and I cannot wait to see where Jennifer will take it!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars



The Darkest Star releases October 30, 2018 







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