 | Title: Hot White Kiss Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout Pages: 400 Published: February 25, 2014 Publisher: Harlequin Teen Review Copy: Yes Why did I want this book? Actually I wanted to pick up another book, when visiting Harlequin at the Frankfurt Book Fair. But they convinced me to read Hot White Kiss as well. After they told me, it is urban fantasy, I couldn't resist: I also gave the ARC of Stone Cold touch a new home. |
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.
Cover:
OMG, the cover image looks so sappy! To be honest, this was the main reason for me to refuse to read this book, when it came out. I though it was a crappy love story.
Title:
I like the title, it sounds quit nice, but I still have no clue, what it is referring to. So if you know, please enlighten me.
Writing style:
Of course, the writing style is as awesome as expected! This women has so much talent, that you could get jealous. I don't know how often I was grinning like an idiot while sitting in a train on my way to college. I almost missed my stop because I was so captured by it. It is really funny!
The book is written in first perspective from Layla's point of view. She knows, that she is half gargoyle and half demon, but what she doesn't know is, what this could mean to the world. On her journey to figure this out, she gets to meet Roth, who is responsible for me laughing all the time.
Characters:
We do have three main characters in this book. There is Layla, who got adopted by the wardens. They made her hate her demon-half, so she is refusing this part and thinks that she is a gargoyle, despite the fact that she can't shift. But one day, she meets the demon-boy Roth wo lets her question everything she has learned so far. In her eyes, he is everything but a monster.
Well, Roth ... to be honest, I have no idea how to describe that boy. Truly bad-boy-material! I loved they way, he threatens Layla and how they get together. What bothered me was the fact that he was like Patch (Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick). Turn the fallen angel into a demon and you'll get Roth.
But I'll get to that later, because like always this is the main issue I have with this author.
Let's talk about Zayne first. He is Layla's adoptive-brother and is supposed to turn the mess into a love-triangle. Layla has a crush on him since forever, but she can't kiss him without stealing his soul. Therefore he is pretty much out of the loop and unfortunately, this affects the whole story. While Roth's character development is close to awesome, Zayne's is not. He lacks depth and acts weird. So, no surprise that Layla totally falls for Roth. Not that it bothered me, I am so team Roth!
Even though Roth and Patch are similar, Jennifer L. Armentrout gave him some characteristics of his own. As an example, he loves the song Paradise City and that's a thump up since I am a Guns N' Roses fan!
Noteworthy:
Probably the funniest book she has ever written!
Stuck in my Head:
“For the love of all unholy things, why must you be so difficult? I apologized for calling you a prude. I'll even apologize for yesterday. I scared you. I threw your cell in a toilet. See, I was raised in Hell. You could say I'm socially awkward.” (p. 90)What I didn't like:
The author is known for borrowing ideas from other books. The worst she ever did was copying the whole storyline from Vampire Academy while writing Half Blood. I am still surprised, that this is even legal. When I started reading Hot White Kiss, I realized pretty soon that Roth is like Patch. Not that bad, since I am totally into guys like him. The rest was new, so I thought "Finally, she is writing something on her own, that belongs to her."
Okay, so far, so good. But getting deeper into the book, I've got some OMG-feelings during some scenes. Where does she meet Roth? Right biologly-class at high school. Then there was one sentence during that scene in the restroom where she asks that demon something like "What's up with you and the girls-bathroom." YES! That's exactly what Nora asked Patch after he stalked her. By there it was clear, that she copied some ideas. I told myself, that it would be okay if the showdown doesn't take place in the gym of her school. Yep, take a guess... you are probably right. Honestly, I am mad. Why does she do that to us?! She was on a good way to create something on her own and then... well, it's like she does it on purpose!
Quick and dirty:
A funny book with a great idea and unfortunately some plagiarism like always. But not as much, as usual, so maybe one day, it will get better.
Since I also have Stone Cold Touch and because I liked the story, I'll continue reading. There were a lot of ideas in Hot White Kiss, that were her own, so I still have hope for the sequel. However, only four stars because of her idea-stealing-hobby which really annoys me.
Oh, and since I'm team Patch... ahhhm Roth, I already vote for him! You should visit her homepage because it is up to you, with whom Layla will end up in the third book.
So, I'll continue reading Stone Cold Touch now. We'll see, if I ever get rid of the humming of Paradise City in my head...
... Harlequin, who gave me this review copy in exchange of a honest review!
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