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

Title: White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements, #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Paperback, 400 Pages
Published February 2014
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Summary: 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.

Amber has been getting on me to finally start this book for a long time, and at long last I managed to wade through enough of my TBR pile to get up to this book. And I'm so glad that I did. I'll sheepishly admit that this is my first JLA book ever, even though I met her at BookCon in 2013 and she was the sweetest thing.

This GIF from by friend Rachel at A Perfection Called Books perfectly explains Amber's reaction to finding out that I had never read a JLA book before. (And then of course, she promptly fixed that.)

At first, I figured that this book was going to be just like every other paranormal romance book in the world. But the concept of the Wardens/gargoyles versus the demons was something I've never really read before (instead of, rather, vampires versus werewolves, etc.....), so I was curious from the start.

And I'll say it right now so you don't have to wade through my review searching for it: Roth is perfect. And gorgeous. And hot. He reminds me a lot of James Stark from the House of Night series, and although that series isn't the greatest around, Stark is pretty much like Roth in the sense of the dreamy guy character. And I hate Zayne. He seems like a little rat to me, always going and telling on Layla to his father with the excuse of doing it for the "greater good"...yeah right, buddy.

As for Layla herself, although I loved this book a lot I was a bit confused about how Armentrout painted her as the shy, dainty little thing one minute and then this brave and cocky and fierce girl the next. I don't know if that was her intention, but I got mixed feelings on the mental age of Layla. (Clearly she's seventeen, which the reader finds out. But mentally, she goes from acting like she's six to acting like she's twenty six.)

The ending of this book was certainly what hit me right in the feels. (And don't worry, I promise not to spoil anything for you.) I'm not big on giving out 5/5 star reviews for just anything, but White Hot Kiss deserved the five star review it was given because I really did love it. I was crying actual tears at the end, and here's an excerpt of the text messages I barely managed to send to Amber after I closed the book:

Me: Done

Me: Tears

Me: LOTS OF TEARS

Amber: I sobbed

Me: LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF TEARS

Actual tears were rolling down my face to the point that my sister had to ask me if I was okay because it seemed pretty funny.

All in all, White Hot Kiss was a fast-paced, sexy read with lots of tears and a definitely prominent emotional rollercoaster! I'm glad that I finally started The Dark Elements and that I can at last say I am a reader of JLA. :-)

My Rating: