Ah, yes, "Obsidian." Or as I like to call it, "Daemon saves Katy's life again and again because she's an idiot." Other preferable name: "Katy calls Daemon a jerk as she simultaneously daydreams of boning him again and again because she's an idiot." Seriously, I started bookmarking the times Katy calls Daemon a jerk because it's such a frequent occurrence. Don't believe me? 
 "Daemon was hot, but he was a jerk." 
 "He was trouble. Maybe the fun kind of trouble, but he was also a jerk." 
 "Daemon might be the most physically flawless male I'd ever seen... no light reflected badly off him. But he could also be the biggest jerk on the planet." 
 "I didn't like him. He was a jerk." 
 "I wasn't sure what was worse: him not knowing he'd been a jerk or fully aware of what he'd been doing to me." 
 UGHHHHHH. 
 For the record, I went into "Obsidian" with full confidence that it would be nothing but excellent. It came highly recommended by a friend, and despite the small echo of complaints that it too closely reminisced "Twilight," I still held out that it'd be a new favorite. Instead I'm thoroughly confused as to how a book like this could be so hyped - and no, it isn't because it's a "Twilight" carbon copy. 
 The story follows Katy, a high school senior who has just moved with her widowed mother to The-Middle-of-Nowhere, West Virginia. She discovers that she lives next door to gorgeous twin teenagers Daemon and Dee. Dee becomes her new best friend while jerk Daemon is quick to express his outrageous dislike for Katy. As Katy gets to know them more, she discovers that they are actually aliens from the planet Lux, and her association with them puts her in a lot of trouble. 
 Let's first talk about Katy. Oh Katy, I so very much wanted to like you. I mean, what reader doesn't want to love a main character that adores books and runs her own book blog? Well, I spotted trouble as soon as she met Daemon for the first time (shirtless, of course) and honed in on perfect shape of his abs. From that point forward, we are "treated" with countless descriptions of Daemon's brilliant, intense green eyes (we get it, they're unnaturally green because he's an alien) and his dark hooded lashes and his perfectly messy hair. When she's not busy swooning, she's going on about how much of a jerk Daemon is (which he is, but once again, we get it). It's uncomfortable how one moment they're hanging out like good friends, and the next Katy makes an off-handed comment about how much they hate/want to kill each other. 
 I understand that their relationship dynamic is centered on how Daemon seemingly has two personalities, but this lasted the entire novel without any noticeable progression. From the moment they meet, Katy and Daemon are either brutally insulting each other or having some random "deep, physical connection." It made me sick. There's absolutely ZERO foundation for their relationship. And we're supposed to root for these two to get together? Sorry, no. 
 The girl is also a complete idiot when it comes to common sense. The only reason she's a liability to Daemon and Dee is because she somehow always finds herself in danger and needs rescuing. She also tries to validate her stupid decisions by citing her empathy. Sorry hun, but if you are in a dark parking lot by yourself and choose to help a strange man with a flat tire, that doesn't make you empathetic. That just makes you stupid. It's also infuriating that she ultimately chooses to always crawl back to Daemon even when he's treated her like shit. 
 Which brings me to the topic of Daemon himself. To summarize, Daemon wins the award for douchiest douchebag in a male lead for all YA books. I've read my fair share of YA men with cocky, asshole attitudes, but this guy takes the cake. When he says something mean to Katy, it's legitimately mean, and it stays that way for the entire book. I ultimately found myself having to take other characters' word for it that he was into Katy at all, because he certainly could've fooled me. He also makes multiple sexual innuendoes, which is fine when they are funny or subtle, but his were just so forward and creepy. For instance: 
 "Very civilized, Kitten. I'm sure you have a wide array of interesting names and gestures for me, but I'm not interested." 
 "I'm gardening. You get dirty when you do that." "There are a lot more fun ways to get... dirty. Not that I'd ever show you." 
 Don't even get me started on how his nickname for Katy is "Kitten." KITTEN. Every time he called her this, I actually cringed. 
 The other characters in this book suffer from one-dimensionality. Of course I like Dee, who's beautiful and charming and funny and sweet and a good sister and friend. But that's just the point: there's no one who wouldn't like Dee because she's simply that perfect kind of girl. She doesn't have depth, and she doesn't get involved with much of anything aside from instantly becoming Katy's best friend. The rest of the Luxens (aliens) are flat and serve only to express their outrageous amount of hatred for Katy and make her life a living hell. I honestly can't recount to you half of their names because they are that forgettable. 
 Honestly, this whole book is forgettable. And disgusting. Don't be anticipating me reading any of the other installments.