Review: White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

White Hot Kiss

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Series: The Dark Elements

Pages: 400

Publisher: Harlequin teen

Amazon

Release date: 25^th February 2014

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

One kiss could be the last. 

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses. 

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever. 

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul. 

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

Review: 5  out of 5 stars

You know I can always rely on JLA to get me out of my reading funk, the moment I started reading White Hot Kiss I couldn’t put it down but I gotta say the moment I finished it I had no idea what to start on next so I’m back in that slump.

Our MC is Seventeen-year-old Layla who is half demon and half gargoyle with unique abilities no one else possesses. Layla has been raised amongst the Wardens - a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humans safe but is constantly fighting her dark urges. Layla was such a great character, she didn't feel she truly belonged in the clan since she was a half-cast but she remained loyal and dedicated to tagging demons. 

I always imagine gargoyles as creepy, grotesque looking creatures but JLA has written fascinating, smexy stone men! I was intrigued by Zayne who Lalya has crushed on for a while but because her kiss could kill and suck his soul, he is completely off limits and played more of a brotherly role in this installment, he made some decisions that grated on my nerves and it seems his loyalties are definitely more to his father and the wardens rather than to Layla.

But smexy Roth is available and certainly gives Zayne a run for his money when it comes to being a swoon-worthy love interest! Roth is an upper level Demon and sent from below to protect Layla, he knows what she is capable of and teaches her more about who and what she is; things she has always believed she is quickly finding aren’t to be true and finding out she's the reason for the violent demon uprising certainly made for interesting reading.

All of the characters were beautifully developed, JLA writes the most amazing male leads - Roth was a snarky, arrogant badass! He had the best one-liners and a creepy snake that lived on his body – Bambi was awesome!  Layla’s best-friends Stacey and Sam were both fabulous and completely oblivious to what Layla was which bought some normalcy to her life. All interactions were trademark JLA wonderful and had me giggling on numerous occassions. 

With plot twists and turns aplenty, White Hot Kiss was an action-packed, fast-paced thrill-ride that has left me eager to read the next book! The Warden and demon lore was written well and despite wanting more gargoyle detail and action I was satisfied with what we got but can’t wait to find out more.

Jennifer L. Armentrout is an auto-buy for me, her detailed writing, amazing cast of characters and superb story-telling always leaves me anxious for me.

Overall, White Hot Kiss is a great start to The Dark Elements series with awesome characters, great mythology and history; I can’t wait to read Stone Cold Touch which has an anticipated October 2014 release date.

 

About the author: # 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia. 

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true. 

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don't Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.