Lovin' los libros

Origin (Lux #4)
   by: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publication Date: Aug. 27, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Paranormal
Age Group: Mature Young Adult
Source: Purchased
Page Count: 364 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Ok. Let's not bring out the firing squad, but I had the hardest time getting through this book. Which is CRAZY, considering I did a reread of the first 3 books in the series before tackling this one. I reread Obsidian, Onyx, and Opal in the span of a day and a half. It took me 4 days to read this one. That makes me a sadface panda. I found myself bored for a good majority of the book. I honestly don't know why because all the new information concerning Daedalus was really interesting to me!

Opal ended with a hell of a cliffhanger and I was desperate to find out what happened next. We know from the previous books how devastating being in captivity can be- ask Beth and Dawson. Those two have been through the ringer and have come back as completely different people. Their captivity has taken a great emotional toll on them and we don't really get much insight as to what they were forced to endure. We finally get to see firsthand what Daedalus is about and what their endgame is. And it's freaking scary. Armentrout introduces us to a lot of new information concerning not only the Luxen race, but another one as well. (Which I think will play a HUGE role in the final book.) So why did I have so much trouble getting through the first half of the book?! I was interested, but just not engaged.

I do love that we get Daemon's POV in this book. As you all know, I HATED Daemon in Obsidian. I know he has come a long way since then, and I realize he said and did things because he felt he needed to- not just to protect his family, but to also protect Katy from getting involved in their world. However, it never sat right with me how he could be so cruel to her and make her feel the way he did in that first book. Of course, Armentrout won me over and I am a huge Daemon fan NOW, but being able to get inside his head and see how much he truly loves Katy and would do ANYTHING for her really made their romance even more believable to me. If you had any doubts prior to this book that he loved her, you will not have them in this book, that's for sure. They have some really great scenes together that had me swooning like crazy and I loved how Armentrout made their scenes together sexy but still appropriate for a younger audience at the same time.

Besides sexy scenes, I like that we have some new additions in the book as well. Archer is by far my favorite newbie. I could tell right away that he would be so much more than meets the eye. And he was... tenfold! He doesn't say much, but actions speak louder than words folks.

Luc also plays a significant role in this book and I am eager to see how his character will develop in the final novel.

I ended up rating this one 4 stars because I loved the Katy-Daemon scenes, really loved Archer, and the last 1/4 of the book rocked my socks off. It definitely made up for the slow pace I felt the book had for the first half.

I can't end my review without saying how much I admire Katy. She is such a strong character and we really see that strength in this novel. However, she's not a machine. She has her vulnerabilities and her weak moments, but hell if she'll show them in front of Daedalus. They are determined to break her and she won't be broken. She survives their 'stress tests' and even when one of them goes wrong- she still won't cave to them. To say that she isn't impacted is a lie. We see her break down with Daemon and it really killed me because she has been through so much and forced to do things that are completely out of character for her. She will live with guilt for the rest of her life because some assholes treated her like a lab rat, instead of a freaking human being.

Yes, I need to talk about Daemon too. Damn that boy is NOT playing around. He will do whatever it takes to save Katy and he doesn't give a crap about the possible repercussions. I love his fierce determination when it comes to her and when the two are reunited, his protectiveness of her is really sweet. There is also this level of respect between them in this book and we really see him start to treat her more as an equal. This is huge because Katy does not want to be seen as the weak link and I think Daemon really starts to get that. As I said before, with his POV we really get to see just how much love he has for her and the lengths he would go to for her. It's beautiful and sometimes crazy, but it's Daemon and we love it. While this is a more serious book, we do have our token Daemon cockiness and swagger, which I felt were interjected at just the right moments. Daemon definitely does something crazy beautiful in regards to his and Katy's relationship and OMFG I fangirled like... a fangirl!

The book does not end on a cliffhanger, but it does leave you rocking in anticipation for the final book in the series. After everything Daemon, Katy, and crew have been through I am nervous as to where Armentrout will take the final book. All actions have consequences and our friends are about to see that in a big way.