Title: The Darkest Star (Origin #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publication Date: October 30, 2018
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 367
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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…
My first foray into the world of Jennifer L. Armentrout did not go well. I honestly hated The first book in the Lux series and never thought I’d read another one by her. Then I was lucky enough to receive a copy of The Darkest Star at ALA, followed by several people telling me how amazing it was! Eventually I gave in and was happy to be proven wrong.
Evie is the MC of this story and immediately finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time when it begins. Luc is a Luxen (or is he?) and the most gorgeous guy Evie has ever seen. She realizes there’s more than meets the eye about him and the club they met in and very quickly finds herself thrown into the world of the Luxen by Luc’s side.
The first thing I noticed about Evie and Luc as opposed to Damon’s story was significantly less angst. I’m not sure if that has to do with the years in which both were written, but this was much more my speed. Evie does have her fair share of angst, don’t get me wrong, but it’s manageable. Their romance was sweet and I found myself rooting for them despite some of Luc’s less flattering moments. If hate to love romance is your trope, you’ll probably enjoy this story.
I get the feeling there’s definitely a lot more I would have picked up on in this book had I read all the other books in this universe, but I don’t feel like I missed out on too much. Armentrout does a pretty good job of making sure the reader is up to speed, although I was really interested to find about about the war that apparently happened between the other book I read and this one!
This book isn’t just romance and angst though! There were twists and turns that I definitely didn’t see coming and that always makes books more enjoyable. I had an idea that something was going on, but I never pinned it down until the reveal. I also really liked the way the author touched on current issues within the world of the Luxen.
I am very pleased to say I did enjoy this book! I don’t read many paranormal romance books, so The Darkest Star was a real change of pace. I’ll never go back and read the ones before it, that’s for sure, but I will be continuing Evie’s story. If you loved this author’s previous books, you’ll probably love this one! If, like me, you’re coming into this not knowing the history, you can definitely enjoy it anyway. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
