Series: The Dark Elements #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: February 1st 2014
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):
One kiss could be the last
Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.
Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.
Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.
But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world>
You know what I love? When an author shows me again and again why I love their work and why I can trust them. Armentrout is pretty much on my "forever buy" list. I remember when the news about this new, exciting series came out and I was so happy. I mean, GARGOYLES. I've never read anything with gargoyles and the only time I saw gargoyles and liked them was in the animated series Gargoyles. I'm ignoring the funny companions in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I wanted hot gargoyles.
I loved White Hot Kiss. It definitely wasn't what I expected, at least not based on the prequel, Bitter Sweet Love. I can always trust Armentrout to write sassy, funny characters. Just as I can trust her to write creepy bad guys. The other thing that I can trust about her is that she'll write about "good" guys that are rotten to the core and "bad" guys who can make the right thing. I love that. I hate it when the guys on Team Evil are always bad and same goes for Team Good.
Layla was an interesting character. She was sheltered growing up, but what really made me love her was her struggle with her self image. She was brought up to hate the "bad" half of her, as if somehow she was responsible for who her parents were. I really wanted to punch some of the people in her family (if I dare call some of them that). I don't know if she's more reckless at times or more brave than anyone around her thinks, but I do like that she stands up for herself when she needs to. And I like that by the end of the book she's starting to accept that part of her that everyone fears. Not completely, but a little each day is all that matters, right?
Zayne is the boy our heroine grew up with. She's kind of in love with and he really doesn't notice her. At all. And that part kind of pissed me off. Let's be honest here, how blind do you have to be to not notice that this girl has a crush on you? It wasn't as if she was that great at hiding it.
Which brings me to Roth. Oh man. I am obsessed with him. The one thing that I absolutely love him for is that, unlike Zayne, he accepted her other half (in this case, her Warden half). He didn't make her feel like she was at fault for her parents' relationship, just like he didn't make her seem like a freak for being able to suck someones soul out. Of course, I will be honest and say that I was kind of weary of him at first. Yes, he was hot, really dangerous, flirty and a smart-ass, but at the beginning I was expecting for him to show his colors so to speak. He was a demon, so he had to be one of the bad guys. But then he does something for her, something that completely blew my mind and made me realize he really wasn't the enemy here. Which is probably why the ending crushed me so much. Oh, and let's not forget about the tattoos, shall we? He has awesome tattoos. And great names for both of them.. *swoon*
The ending blew me away and made me want to curl up in bed and cry. I did not see that one coming. I am sad that this is only a trilogy. Of course, you might wonder how many times can the world be in danger in this series, but I am so not ready for "The End". Anyway, this book was amazing and I really am keeping my fingers crossed for my boy Roth to win the girl.
