Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is

(Goodreads)

Genre: supernatural; romance

Rating: 4/5 

The Good:

• I honestly really liked this as a well written romance. Katy is a tough, smart girl who can keep up with Daemon, no matter how cranky and hard to get along with he is. She's also sympathetic and doesn't just sit around expecting the male character to save her. She actually saves him on occasion and does so not accidentally, but by actually risking herself.
• I appreciated that there wasn't too much stupidity going on with the characters. Katy wasn't willfully dense when it came to the fact that Daemon was different. She picks up on it pretty quickly and finds him odd, just can't figure out what exactly he is until he explains (which is understandable since he isn't your run of the mill supernatural creature). 
• Daemon is hot. I'll just put that out there. He and Katy have good chemistry even though they hate each other. He's also part of the problem with the book for me, but I like him in spite of myself.  

The Bad:

• Daemon falls in the "jerk that still gets the girl" category. He's never really overtly nice to Katy before she starts liking him. That has always bothered me with books as I don't understand WHY someone would fall for a mean jerk. A jerk that apologizes I get, but one that is that way to be broody and mysterious I just am not too wild about. I say this but would like to add that I still liked Daemon for some reason. Normally this type grates me like no other, but Daemon somehow actually manages to be this type and still likable. I can't explain it. 

The Verdict:
This was a good paranormal romance. It may be a little risque for some younger readers (they never actually sleep together, but they push the line), but it has a good action story line and a lot of romance that actually feels like it works.