Review: Obsession (Lux Spin-Off)

• Title: Obsession

• Author: Jennifer L Armentrout

• Series: Lux world spin-off

• Genre: Fantasy Romance / Paranormal

• Rating: ☆☆☆☆

𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐈'𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞.

This spin-off is a fantastic addition to the Lux/Origin series. Although we met both Serena and Hunter in Lux briefly and gained some insight into the Arum then, I thoroughly enjoyed getting a different viewpoint of Arum and Luxen in Obsession.

Hunter was amazingly created by the author, someone who wasn't initially ruled by human morals and emotions, which I found refreshing. I loved how morally grey he appeared, and how honest he was that he wasn't the good guy in this world. His battles with the darker side to him were well placed, and accompanied his personal growth the further invested he became in Serena. At the end of the book, he's still not the good guy, and the use of the "I will destroy the world for her" trope was one I enjoyed in this. Knowing Hunter would throw down anyone in their path and protect Serena made me swoon for him. JLA men sure are a different breed, and whilst I saw repeating traits in Hunter that I've found in other JLA men, I really liked his character a great deal. Serena was also a great, albeit typical female lead in a JLA novel. Whilst I didn't find anything about her that was unique away from the usual formula of leading ladies in this author's books, I still enjoyed her POV during this novel. Their chemistry was instant and naturally quite passionate. I loved that despite the multiple sex scenes, they were all done tastefully. I also liked that Hunter wasn't ashamed that his libido was hard to satisfy and didn't hold back for too long from trying to quench that hunger.

I was grateful that Obsession was told in dual perspective, though I would have liked it more if there were some markers to indicate when it changed from Hunter to Serena or vice versa. When I first started reading and it swapped to Hunter's POV, I was a little confused. This is a small gripe, and once I got into the swing of things, I wasn't too fussed by it as their voices became distinctive. If anything, my biggest issue with this book was that their romance quickly evolved. On one hand, this is something that JLA has done in multiple books I've read and am somewhat used to the ILYs being said in a much shorter timeframe than believable. On the other, I guess when you're faced with your life teetering on the edge, survival and experiencing everything you can becomes prominent.

All in all, I loved this book that gave further insight into this world, especially as I plan to pick up the Origin series this year. Which, by the way, the Luc scenes in this novel were top tier, and I was so glad to see him as the connecting link between Lux and this spinoff.