The Burning Shadow (Origin, #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout ARC Review

The Burning Shadow (Origin, #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Synopsis: 

#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the world of the Lux with The Burning Shadow, the steamy, shocking second installment of the Origin series that will leave readers reeling.

When Evelyn Dasher crossed paths with Luc, she was thrown headfirst into the world of the Lux―only to discover that she was already far more involved in their world than she ever suspected.

Because the Luxen aren’t the only ones with a hidden past. There’s a gap in Evie’s memory, lost months of her life and a lingering sense that something happened, something she can’t remember and nobody is willing to tell her. She needs to find out the truth about who she is―and who she was. But every answer she finds only brings up more questions.

Her search for the truth brings her ever closer to Luc, the Origin at the center of it all. He’s powerful, arrogant, inhumanly beautiful, extremely dangerous…and possibly in love with her. But even as Evie falls for him, she can’t help but wonder if his attraction is to her, or to the memory of a girl who no longer exists.

And all the while, a new threat looms: reports of a flu-like, fatal virus that the government insists is being spread by Luxen. A horrifying illness that changes whoever it touches, spreading panic across a country already at its breaking point.

Expected Publication: October 8th, 2019.

My Rating:     

My Favourite Quote: *subject to change*

“Nadia.” His voice cracked.

Links: Goodreads, Amazon


My Review: 

*ARC provided  kindly by publisher via Edelweiss. Thank you so much for the opportunity! The opinions stated below are in my own and in no way influenced.*

The Burning Shadow was frankly nothing like The Darkest Star. It was so very very much more. The whole story seemed to be perfectly streamlined and every single chapter was crafted with something essential occurring in it. No part of this book–be it a word, paragraph or chapter–was…untrimmed or unnecessary.

The issues I faced in The Darkest Star, that I had mentioned in my review was that it had felt like half a book  to those who’ve followed the Lux series and I also explained that the reason for that was that the Origin series was meant to be a standalone, so I got it. But JLA more than makes up for it in this book; because this book fills in the necessary gaps and creates the necessary spaces for bigger, harder questions that turn up. The book is un-put-downable. There is no two ways about it. I was constantly sending the time-estimator on my Kindle into spiralling shock; because this book is big and I was breaking all known time and space rules while reading it.

The book spills straight into the juicy centre of the plot and I swear at one point I thought I’d start gnawing on my Kindle because I was devouring the book. The sketching of the characters started to grow clearer, finer and we start noticing more about them–and given Luc and all that we know about him, the more that we find out is well-fitting to his…personality. The boy can be a little extra. *chuckles* 

We get to see a lot more of the secondary characters as well, without removing the time that the main characters are seen. There was a strange kind of beauty seeing the relationships that Luc shares with them; the duality of it–of respectful fear and jovial snark that Luc can muster in/share with others.

Another aspect of this book that I feel The Darkest Star doesn’t match up to (and mind you it was my favourite and most awaited book of last year) is the emotional quotient. JLA turns it up and she keeps it there. Every single thing Luc does is drenched with romance and the kind of love the book-lovers dream of feeling.

The plot twists are both a little expected and also completely shocking–similar to The Darkest Star–and this is especially true to those who’ve stuck to the Lux series since the beginning. But that doesn’t take away from the story even a little bit because the book is revetting, enthralling, romantic, aggressively showing us the way that differences and fear of anything unknown is handled and so very worth the wait.

Five stars (and if I could give more, I would have). Congratulations JLA, you’ve brought your  A-Game to the field. I highly recommend this book!