Origin
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Age Group: Teen
Source: Amazon
Good Reads | Amazon
Rating: 4 out of 5
Summary from Amazon:
Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.
After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.
All Katy can do is survive.
Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?
Together, they can face anything.
But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on?
And will they even be together?
Rating
My Thoughts
So, yeah, I’m a total Jennifer L. Armentrout fangirl, especially regarding her Lux series. And after that terrible cliff-hanger at the end of Opal, I was just dying to get my hands on Origin. And luck would have it that I am on vacation (staycation!!!!) this week, so right when I work up on Tuesday (Origin’s release day), I started reading Origin. And I didn’t stop until I was finished.
Origin is the fourth book in the Lux series, and I think it’s my second favorite of the series so far (Obsidian is my favorite). There’s a lot that has happened in the last few Lux books, so I might have to talk about spoilers from the previous books. So if you haven’t read them, you might want to skip this review until you’ve read them.
Okay, warnings out of the way, let’s talk about Origin. Origin is a bit different from the previous Lux books, in that it’s told in alternate POVs. We get to follow the story through Katy’s POV, but also Daemon’s POV. I really liked this change. Getting inside Daemon’s head was pretty awesome. Plus, it let’s us keep following Daemon when he isn’t with Katy, which is a good thing because . . .
At the end of Opal, Daemon and Katy are separated, and poor Katy has been captured by Daedelus. It was incredibly nerve-wracking to read about Katy in the hands of the DOD. It’s not a happy place, Katy is being as strong as she can be. And Daemon is going a little nuts, naturally, with Katy gone. I don’t want to give too much away, but Daemon and Katy are reunited fairly early on, thank goodness. Not that things are all perfect, because they aren’t.
Katy and Daemon learn some seriously freaky stuff that Daedelus has been up to, and it definitely changes things. But of course, they still care about each other so much. I loved seeing them be there for each other, even in such terrible circumstances.
Katy has a lot to deal with, obviously. She’s more focused on surviving than anything else. In the last two Lux books, Onyx and Opal, sometimes Katy got on my nerves because she made some pretty stupid mistakes. I mean, I still liked her, but she frustrated me a bit. Not so in Origin. She’s tough, in a way, but in other ways, she’s a bit broken. Nothing like Beth, but still, it’s normal for Katy to be a bit different after everything. But she’s still strong, and she doesn’t ever completely lose hope.
Daemon is still his snarky self, which definitely added a little levity to the story. But mostly, Daemon is focused on saving Katy. That’s his primary goal. I love Daemon more and more with every book. His devotion to those he loves is amazing, even if he can be a bit of an ass to everyone else. That’s what I love the most about him – his loyalty. Sure his snarkiness, and good-looks are awesome, but his loyalty is what really gets to me.
We meet some new characters in this book, most notably Archer, who’s working for the baddies. He was an interesting character, and I’m very curious to see where his story goes next.
The story flows quickly, and the pacing is great. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. JLA knows how to keep the tension high, that’s for sure. However, there are some bits of the plot that I totally saw coming. I wasn’t disappointed that I figured out certain things, though. There isn’t a terrible cliff-hanger at the end of Origin, certainly nothing like the ending of Opal, but it still left me wishing the last Lux book was out. JLA, why do you do this to us!?
I’ve really been enjoying the Lux series. I’ll sort of be sad when the series comes to a close next year. Anyway, I wasn’t disappointed at all with Origin, and fans of the series will love it. And if you haven’t read the Lux series, but you like paranormal YA, snarky guys, and pretty stubborn girls, then seriously you should check out these books.
Life Tidbits
- As I mentioned above, I’m taking a little time off from work. My staycation. And wow, I didn’t realize quite how much I needed some time away. I’ve been really relaxing, and reading, and just being plan-free. But I’ve also been slacking a bit on the blog. I have read all my comments, but I haven’t really responded to any. I will, though!
- So far, it’s been five days since I’ve been on vacation from work. And I’ve read four books! So yay! I’ve read Enthusiasm, Close to Famous, Origin (obviously), and My Soul to Take. I’ve got five days left, and I’m hoping to read at least three more books. Hopefully, more!
- I went to the movies by myself for the first time ever. I went to see City of Bones for a second time. And I loved being at the movies by myself. I didn’t have to worry about if the person I was with was enjoying the movie or anything. I just got to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. I think I will go to the movies alone more often.
