The Darkest Star

What fabulously written tale!! This is such a beautiful story,when evie and her best friend heidi go to the night club foretoken her life and all she knows will change when she meets luc. At first evie thinks he’s One of the luxen who are aliens who once tried to take over the world,but their’s something more different about luc then just his purple eyes,theirs the feeling of a connection when their eyes meet and though evie is drawn to luc, something inside her is warning her to leave and forget about this strange and beautiful boy. So very well written,I enjoyed this book so much. Their was everything I love in a epic read,from romance to witty banter to funny great lines,dark secret’s and even a few bad guy’s!! The main characters are nicely layered and intriguing and even the secondary characters are interesting and great as well. I hope to read more about luc and evie they were great characters and want to see more of their story!!
Thank you Bookish firsts for the arc! It did not influence my review

Love diving back into the Lux world. Armentrout’s world building is amazing. I want to stay in the world and never leave.

Rating:
Loved the story first and second times!

10-24-2020 – 2nd Read:

I liked the book even more the second time. I just love paranormal books where the protagonist is a normal human without any powers or abilities and he/she ends up surrounded by supernatural beings. That was the one thing I really liked about Twilight (Yes I admit I liked the Twilight series). It seems like the majority of the paranormal books are set in a completely paranormal world where it is nothing new to the protagonist.

In romance, I love the whole first meeting of the couple and the finding out new things, I think that is why I like this type of thing. Now in this one, it takes place a few years after the invasion of earth and war, so Evie isn’t completely naive about alien men, but it is new as well. Jennifer Armentrout did a great job at world building and character development and I just loved the humor.

Review from 1st read (January 2019).

I read the first Lux book a while ago and liked it but never got around to reading any others in the series. This one is a spin-off series and can be read without reading any of the others. The plot is intricate and well written. I liked all the mystery surrounding Evie’s life even though some of it is fairly obvious pretty early on.

Luc is a great guy all around, he is protective of Evie, he is sweet to her and he wants to spend time with her, even if she doesn’t invite him. The one thing I wish was demonstrated a bit better was the fact that the book said that Origins are more powerful than Luxen and that Luc is the most powerful of all the Origins, but the only real power he displays is healing and a bit at the end. I would have liked to see his strength and power more. Though there were some very hot and descriptive shirtless scenes that put some awesome pictures in my head!

“His jeans were zipped but unbuttoned, and they hung indecently low—like, so low, they had to be held up by alien superpowers. He had those muscles on either side of his hips, the kind that formed indents. I didn’t even know what they were called, but boy, oh boy, did he ever have them. There was a faint dusting of hair that disappeared below the jeans. A flush of warmth hit my cheeks as I dragged my gaze up, over his abs—he had abs for days, each one cut and defined. His chest was sculpted, and as he lifted an arm, clapping his hand over the doorframe above him, I watched, sort of dazed, as the muscles along his ribs moved and flexed in interesting ways. Luc was … holy crap, he was ripped.”

When I first read this book I was in a weird mood and I ended up not liking it as much. So now there are a few months ( almost a year lol) in between and I’m in a better overall place thought I try this book again since I like all her other books, and see what I think the second time around.
And yes I liked it much better this time, maybe because I knew what to expect in some areas. I still thought Evie was annoying most of the time and felt overly trying to be funny, though some parts I did feel a tad bad for her. Some of her stuff with Luc still seemed a bit too immature even for YA. Even Luc himself which made no sense in the overall story given his character what he does and his past.
I think last time my mood and annoyance with Evie made skim a lot of parts and with that the overall story was washed out. I’m so glad I re-read this book because I really enjoyed the story and can’t wait to read the second book. I’m hoping Evie and Luc , but mostly Evie will grow a bit next book. I can’t wait to figure out what is happening, I have some ideas but we shall see.
Overall… I’m happy with it and give it 4 this time around.

Initial Review
I love Jennifer L. Armentrout’s work and I loved the Lux series. So this book was a must read for me. I was super excited excited to dive back into the lux world.
You don’t have to have read the Lux books in order to read this one but I would recommend it, not only are they great but it will help you with past events and or people. But again, it is not necessary in order to read this book.

That being said, sadly I didn’t love as much as I thought I would, it was not horrible by any means, but it also was not the best she has written.

The good, it had plenty of action and humor, we get from her books. Loved the banter we got between Luc and Evie, most of the time, there were a few times it just seemed forced or over the top. It also had its suspense and defiantly kept you asking for more and wanting to find out, who ,what and why….And of course there is the romance, which also had its up and downs.
We see some lovely and familiar faces again and it was great. But also meet some pretty great new people.

Luc, it has been a few years since we saw him last but he is still the funny dude we met way back when. Just all grown up. Or well almost …….
And for the most part I liked him, funny, cocky and willing protect those around him. Now that includes Evie. Sometime now with Evie he had his moments, that more than anything made me roll my eye, not so much him as them together.
Evie, it is clear from the beginning that there is more to her and it takes a bit before we get there but I must say I was just like “ oh okay…..” not shocked or anything it was just hmm okay. Maybe that was because, I was not her biggest fan and she annoyed me a lot of times. She often just came over as whiny more than anything.
The romance sometimes seemed to be taking over the story but it all came back around.

For me, the whole narrative came over as very young or naiveish ?! IF that is a word lol. I know it is YA, but so was the Lux series but that by any means did not seem that young/ and or teen angst written as this book.

So overall, we get a teen angst insta love/lust teen drama but that is also wonderfully connected to the world we read and loved.
In a weird way I couldn’t quit. I was often annoyed with it but also couldn’t put it down.

So the verdict. I give it 3, I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate, it was just in the middle somewhere. That being said though I most likely will get book two to see how it continues.

Daemon Black is one of my all time favorite, #1 book boyfriends. This book continues in his world that we read about and loved in the Lux series. It was nice to have Daemon pop in a few times to this story, but it was also great getting to really know some of the smaller characters from that earlier series, and seeing them get their own stories. As it has been a bit since I finished those books though, I was still left a little bit guessing at just who Evie really was, and where she’d been as part of the original series. But all of that was filled in as I read, in perfect moments, with still enough left to surprise me and keep me on my toes wondering what was around the next corner, as I turned each page.

There is so much more to learn about those like Luc, just what all are they able to do? And then there is Evie, who we find out is even more than might be originally thought when she learns who she really is from before. I am so glad this means there will be more books in this series, and more to read and learn about these characters. I liked visiting the world after the big Luxen invasion. There was so much to the story that even fits in with current events in the real world. I loved how JLA wove our favorite characters from the past throughout the story in seamless arcs, adding both comedic relief at times it was needed, as well as drama and suspense in other situations.

If you’ve read any of my reviews of this author’s books, I’m pretty sure I say something about how mad I am at myself for taking so long to read this book. This time I’m trying to make myself remember next time I get one of her books, especially an advanced copy, to not wait until close to the publishing date, to go ahead and start it right away, because I know I won’t be able to put it down. I mean I want to kick myself for waiting clear from June until now to read it! Once again Jennifer L. Armentrout has blown me away with how addictive her writing is, and how lovable her characters are.

4.25-4.5 STARS

There’s little doubt that die-hard fans of author Jennifer Armentrout’s Lux series will be thrilled to delve back into that realm, where the weirdly endearing Luc takes center stage in this author’s new spin off Origin series, “The Darkest Star.” I, for one, have been longing for Luc’s story with eager anticipation for quite some time. And while Luc’s quirky persona has matured along with his character, I couldn’t hold back the smile that spread across my face each time Luc let loose his trademark sardonic comments that first endeared him to me several years ago.

This first installment to the Origin series introduces us to 17 year-old Evie Dasha, who gets swept up into a world she is unfamiliar with—a world that Luc easily controls and commands. From the very moment that Evie steps into Luc’s domain, she sets a cascade of events into motion that unfurls secrets and lies that will ultimately turn her entire life upside down. And all the while, Luc acts as the puppet master, trying to protect Evie from the truth while furtively doling out clues that just might reveal it all.

With cameo appearances by some familiar and beloved characters, reading “The Darkest Star” felt a lot like coming home. That said, my expectations going into this new series were really quite high. So, as much as I enjoyed Luc and Evie’s story, it did fall a bit short. Still, I have a feeling that the next installment in this Origin series might just blow me away. Because as history has proven, Jennifer Armentrout knows how to draw readers in, hold them captive, and then take them on the ride of their lives. As for me, I’m buckled up and ready to go wherever this series takes me.

“I could do a lot of things. I have done a lot of things, and sometimes, I do hurt people,” he said quietly, softly. “But I could never hurt you.”

We begin The Darkest Star following Evie as she visits a club called Foretoken, where she encounters Luc. Evie keeps feeling like she’s having deja vu even though she has never met Luc. The more time she spends around him, the stranger things become, leading to some revelations that end up rocking Evie’s world and causing her to question everything.

I cannot even begin to describe how excited I was to go back into the world of Lux with this spinoff. Lux is one of my favorite series that Jen has written so when I found out that she was going to write a spinoff series that centered around Luc, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

I loved meeting the new characters in this book and Evie is such a great character. She’s stronger than she knows and that helps when she finds out some life altering information that throws her for a loop. It causes Evie to go through a journey to figure out who she is and how to deal with it. I also really liked getting to know Luc better in this book. We know a little bit about him from the Lux series but I always wanted to know more. Luc is a little older now and I absolutely love him. He’s funny and sarcastic and would do absolutely anything for Evie. Luc is probably tied with Daemon in my ranking of JLA guys, if not little bit ahead of him. Speaking of Daemon, it was fun getting to see a few of the characters from the Lux series and it made me so happy that I may have squealed like a fan girl.

Going back into an established world for a spinoff isn’t always easy to pull off but I feel like Jen rocked it. It was an interesting concept and I can’t wait to see where she ends up taking it. The story was engaging and fun to read and I totally loved the banter between Evie and Luc. Bring on the next book!

“If I had to do it all over, I would. Without a fucking doubt, I would do it again, because the only other option would be that you wouldn’t be standing in front of me – pissed off but breathing. Alive and so damn beautiful that it sometimes kills me a little each time I look at you.”

I love every single book of this awesome author and obviously, The Darkest Star didn’t disappoint. This was one of my most anticipated books back in 2018. I still remember that I lost my shit when Jen announced that Luc was getting his own book. I was like “My prayers have been answered!!!!!” *insert fangirl scream*

I loved being back in this world. I truly believe TDS is an extraordinary book. This is such a beautiful and breathtaking story. I got all emotional and sad reading about all that Luc went through. All those twists and turns, though. Holy guacamole! Expect the unexpected!

“There’s nothing we can do other than living with the promise of tomorrow while knowing it may not come.”

I have to say it… it was kind of weird at the beginning to read about Luc being all this sexy grown-up guy when back in the Lux series we met him as a young kid (who freaked the hell out of me) But he was everything I ever wanted and needed.

Evie was an okay character, she definitely grew on me in the second book

Go and read it!!!!

The first book in this saga deals with the mysterious and powerful Luc, whom we met in the Lux saga, this new saga being a spin-off. Since I read the last book in the Lux saga I have been looking forward to a book about Luc dealing with the origins and of course I am still waiting for one by Lotho of the arums, but that’s for later.
This new installment brings us the history of Evie a sarcastic young woman who has a past that she does not remember (I really expected it), she is trying to adapt and live in an post-apocalyptic world(?), this is when I recommend that you read previously the lux saga, because the events of this book take place in the world as it is after opposition, where now humans know that there are aliens and obviously they do not accept and discriminate them, nothing new.
They both know each other in a clandestine club, that is very Luc, their relationship reminded me a lot of Katy and Daemon, that although it doesn’t bother me, I expected a different dynamic, I like that the characters felt more mature, also something that has not changed is the secrets Luc keeps, which stresses me out a bit. The end seemed somewhat dramatic and rushed, although I consider it a good start to the saga, since it was introductory and of course I can get an idea of where the rest of the saga will go.
I also liked the secondary characters, we met new people and had appearances of past characters that I loved, so this saga can be read by anyone, it does not have strong scenes and it is very entertaining, like it has Aliens, so I highly recommend it.

If you have read my past recommendations then you know that I LOVE Jennifer Armentrout! Her Lux series was the first of her work that I ever read, so I was really excited when she returned to the world of her super hot aliens! You don’t have to have read the Lux books to enjoy this book, but if you have, you will love the cameos made by some familiar faces!!! (Daemon, squeeeeee!!!) The Darkest Star tells Luke’s story, and wow, has he grown up nicely!!! His story with Evie is full of twist and turns, mixed with some unresolved sexual tension that is part super hot, and part painful (but it hurts so good). I wouldn’t call this one young adult, but I will warn you that there’s no instant falling into bed here! Still, if you love a good paranormal world as much as I do, you definitely have to read this one!!!