Review: Shadows by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Yes, I finally decided to continue with the Lux series after finishing Origin in January. Shadows is actually a prequel novella, and it focuses on two different characters. If you haven't read the first three Lux books yet, I would suggest finishing them before reading this and continuing with this review.
Reading this as the beginning of the series is just a bad idea because it contains spoilers and will dampen your experience with these books.
Publication Date: February 2, 2012
Synopsis:
Dawson Black is an alien. Well, a Luxen, really. He has lived his life in secret, along with his siblings, in West Virginia. And he has everything under control...until Bethany Williams shows up.
Thoughts:
If you guys remember, I read Origin back in January. After finishing it, I decided that I needed a bit of a break from the world because it was getting too repetitive for my liking. I wanted to get into some other books before delving back into this series and finishing it.
When I started this, I felt like it was a bit of a repetition of Obsidian. If you've read this, then you'll know what I mean. It's not an exact replication of what happened in Obsidian, but there's enough resemblance to it that I felt like the only reason why I would see this as a necessary part of the story is if you're interested in Dawson and Bethany's story.
Dawson and Bethany kind of felt like Katy and Daemon, without the sarcasm, constant sexual tension, and swearing at each other. This was actually nicer, the relationship was sweeter and felt more like something that could actually happen, it felt more genuine. It was actually imaginable and felt like something I could hope for in reality, minus the alien aspect.
I was surprised at how long this novella was, what with it having actual chapters and switching POVs. Interestingly, this was told entirely in third person, unlike the first 4 books, which were told in first person.
However, I felt kind of bored while reading this. Don't get me wrong, the books are easy to read and don't require a lot of attention to get through, but I think I was just bored with the series after books 2-4 felt like a repetition of Obsidian. But, I'm determined to finish the series, and then I'll put up an overall series review for all 5 books.
I think it took me about a month and a half to finish this 179 page novella, which is ridiculous because it's really not that long. And yet, I was just so disinterested that I couldn't bring myself to continue reading. Yes, I did consider DNF-ing this, but I still wanted to understand more of Dawson and Bethany's backstory. It was just that it felt so much like Daemon and Katy that I grew really bored really quickly.
I actually thought that the way that Bethany found out about Dawson was pretty stupid. And his reaction to it was also pretty lame. It was just like "Yeah, I'm an alien and I glow," followed by an "Oh cool, still attracted to you" from Bethany. I mean, I get that this is a novella and that it was already known that Bethany and Dawson's relationship began and escalated at a much faster rate than Katy and Daemon's did, but I still thought it was a little ridiculous that Bethany was so calm about it. If I had found out that a guy I liked, or even a close guy friend, was an alien, I'd probably freak out, flail around a little, have a fit, maybe yell at them a bit, hit them, and then possibly repeat the process a couple of times before going into denial. Yeah, it's fiction, but I thought that Bethany's reaction was a little too unrealistic, especially when compared to Katy's.
I ended up pushing myself through the second half of the book, basically forcing myself to finish it. Does that mean I regret reading it? No, because I understand more about the overall storyline and how certain things play into the rest of the books in the series. It also gives me a much better understanding of Daemon, Dawson, and Dee.
Characters:
I like Dawson better than Daemon. There, I said it. I think he's a nicer guy and a better person in general. He doesn't speak much or do a whole lot in Opal and Origin, but he does play a decent sized role in those two books. And here, he just seems like a nicer person that Daemon is or will ever be. At the end of the book, I came to the conclusion that I much prefer Dawson over Daemon, and that if it came down to choosing, I'd prefer Dawson as my boyfriend instead of Daemon.
I don't really know how I feel about Bethany. I don't dislike her, but I can't really say that I like her either. I feel more neutral than anything else. The only thing that I really noticed about Bethany was that she was really innocent and naïve about everything after she had found out about the Luxen.
Overall:
3 stars. I wouldn't say it's absolutely necessary to read this book, but I think that it gives some good insight into the overall plot of the series and helps you understand the characters better. I would recommend picking this up after either Opal or Origin, just because it won't spoil anything if you read it like that.
