Review – White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements, Book 1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1335009197
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Dark Elements series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Layla just wants to be normal—fit in at school, go out on real dates and do other typical teenager things. Trouble is, Layla is anything but normal and her longtime crush, Zayne, treats her like a little sister. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities that no one else possesses. And even though Zayne is a Warden, part of the race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe, Layla’s kiss will kill anything with a soul—including him.
Enter Roth—a smart-mouthed demon who claims to know her deepest, most dangerous secrets. Though Layla knows she should stay away, it’s tough when that whole soul thing isn’t an issue. Trusting Roth could brand her a traitor to the Warden family that raised her and destroy her relationship with Zayne. But with a violent demon uprising looming in the distance, kissing the enemy suddenly pales in comparison to the end of the world.”
This is the first book in The Dark Elements series. This was a fun YA urban fantasy read (although I struggled to get around the awful cover, I was happy to see the cover has been redone recently). While I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Storm and Fury, I am enjoying learning the background of the characters from that book (Roth, Layla, Zayne).
Layla is unique because of her half Warden, half demon heritage. The Wardens have been using her unique ability to see souls to have her tag demons which the Wardens then hunt down and destroy. For years Zayne has been her friend and guardian, but when demons start actively hunting Layla things start to shift. Then Roth enters the picture, he seems to be trying to protect Layla but is a demon himself. Now the end of the world might be looming and Layla needs to figure out who to trust.
There’s a lot of action here, a neat world, and some romance. I really love the shapeshifting gargoyles and demons. I also enjoyed the whole “trying to prevent Armageddon” plotline.
The story is fast paced and easy to read. The dialogue is witty and fun. I am not huge on the love triangle thing going on between Roth, Layla, and Zayne (especially since I already know how things turn out from reading “Storm and Fury”). However, the story is fun and I plan on continuing with the series.
I am happy that this series got some new book covers, the old ones were not very representative of the story and looked more like straight-up romance covers.
Overall this was a fun YA urban fantasy read with a lot of action and some romance. I enjoy the creative world, engaging characters, and well done action scenes. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!
