[amazon_link id=”1620611155″ target=”_blank” ]Shadows[/amazon_link]
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: B+
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are…well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane.
Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable.
Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in.
Captivated. Lured. Loved.
Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence…and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself.
My thoughts on the book:
[amazon_link id=”1620611155″ target=”_blank” ]Shadows[/amazon_link] is the novella that tells the story of Dawson, Daemon and Dee’s brother, and Bethany, a human girl. It takes place before [amazon_link id=”1620610078″ target=”_blank” ]Obsidian[/amazon_link], but was released after Obsidian (Confusing, I know, haha). This story is good, and I liked Dawson and Bethany just fine. However, I could not keep myself from comparing them to Daemon and Kat, and in my opinion, they just couldn’t compete. Daemon and Kat seem like the real deal to me, and Dawson and Bethany had a bit of insta-love going on. They were all syrupy sweet while Daemon and Kat are sarcastic. Because of that, I wasn’t into Shadows as much as I was into Obsidian. However, I did enjoy learning about Dawson and Bethany, and this story helped clear up why Daemon is the way he is.
Dawson is a bit more laid back than Daemon, and because of that, I can see how people would like him better. He’s more social, and he seems to like people more. He’s also not afraid to follow his heart, consequences be damned. However, he is flawed. He’s extremely selfish, and I feel that he could have been a bit less bratty when pleading his case about Bethany. I believed they should be together if they wanted to be, but I didn’t think that he needed to get all pissy about it constantly. Because of his flaws, he came across as very real and easy to relate to. I felt for Dawson, but for the life of me, I couldn’t understand his obsession with Bethany. I mean I get being attracted to someone and wanting to get to know them, but he was a bit obsessive about her. Not stalker-type obsessive, but internally obsessive… I hope that makes sense.
Don’t worry, though. Bethany, too, was obsessed with Dawson. She started painting him and daydreaming about him constantly after she spoke to him once. I expect that behavior more from a female, but I still don’t understand it. Bethany is a lot weaker than Kat, and because of that, I didn’t like her as much. She’s more of a pushover when it comes to letting people walk all over her. She is a nice girl, though, and I did like her… just not as much as Katy (see what I mean with the comparing?). Her personality went well with Dawson’s, though, and they seemed to compliment each other nicely.
This story read more like a romance than Obsidian. Basically, the plot revolves around the trials and tribulations of Dawson and Bethany’s relationship. How they have to overcome obstacles, such as being different species, and how they have to go against mean girls and angry aliens in order to be together. The threat of the DOD and Arum gave the story an underlying sense of danger. There was not a lot of action until the very end. The story, of course, ends abruptly since it’s only leading up to Obsidian, so if you haven’t read Obsidian yet, the cliffhanger may annoy you. Since I read Obsidian first, it wasn’t annoying to me. Basically, you should buy Obsidian when you buy Shadows, then you won’t have the cliffhanger problem! 😀
Overall, I recommend this novella to anyone who is a fan of the Lux series. If you haven’t heard of the Lux series, I’d recommend starting with Obsidian, then buying this novella to tide you over until Onyx is released in August. Also, Shadows fills in a lot of the gaps that were present in Obsidian. I know a lot more about Dawson and Bethany’s story now, and I also know a lot more about the reasons for Daemon’s jerkiness. Furthermore, I feel that Dawson and Bethany paved the way for other aliens to intermingle with humans more if they so desired. In the end, I admire Dawson and Bethany for standing up for their love and what they believe in. I just wish they hadn’t been so damn sappy about it.
This review is also posted at http://falln2books.blogspot.com/2012/05/shadows-by-jennifer-l-armentrout.html