Total Book Geek: The Dark Elements

Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…

*Do not read this review if you haven't read the previous book.*

The last thing we read was Roth going down to hell, literally. They managed to stop Lilith from rising, but in exchange they lost Roth. Layla was of course heart broken, though she tries not to give in to those sad feelings too much. When weird things start happening at school her attention gets directed and when Roth suddenly reappears, you know things are bad.

Roth is still hot and bad ass, but something has changed between him and Layla while he was gone. When Zayne starts stepping up more, Layla is torn between the two boys. I believe she belongs with Roth. While Zayne might be a good guy, I feel it's a bit too little too late. Though for Layla it isn't that easy. Zayne has always been there for her, her only friend in the house and she's had a crush on him for so long that it makes things more difficult. Roth is behaving weirdly and thus the distance between him and Layla grows bigger, giving Zayne a chance to sweep in. Very high school drama honestly this part and Layla was often very naive when it came to these two boys. It was so clear for everyone around her how these boys feel about her, and she herself was constantly torn, though honestly her thoughts mostly drifted towards Roth. At least that is how I see it.

So besides all the love drama, there is still that other tiny problem of people dying and turning into wraiths. While the Lilith is still captive, it seems a little part of her did escape and is now causing havoc. With Layla's powers changing, it makes things even more difficult to find out who did it. She even starts doubting herself, and slowly the people around her start to. I was also led astray by this and honestly did not see it coming who was causing all of this.

Then that last quarter of the book really turns things upside down. I knew Layla never really felt at home with the Wardens, but what happens here just takes the cake. Pissed does begin to describe how mad I was, though it definitely was an epic Roth scene. In the end though we are left with another cliff hanger. I admit this one sucked, because it didn't really feel like some kind of end, rather than "let's cut this chapter in half".

I am curious of course how everything will play out in the end and who Layla will choose to have her happy ending with. This was another fun installment and there are a lot of new creatures introduced, which is always interesting. I do feel like I'm a bit over the whole love triangle thing and all the drama and insecurities that it creates. Still plenty of action, romance and humor to make this an entertaining series.

3.5

The Dark Elements - Reading order and purchase links

Bitter Sweet Love: Amazon

White Hot Kiss: My review - Amazon - Book Depository

Stone Cold Touch: Amazon - Book Depository

The Author

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don't Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Connect with Jennifer L. Armentrout:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

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.

Review

*I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

When it comes to love triangles, I want to own the t-shirt; 'been there, done that, no more please.' Lately it has been less present in novels and if someone gives it an original twist I might try it. In this case it seems to be a love triangle, but really the choice was pretty much clear from the beginning, by all parties involved. Let's not forget that Layla can not have a physical relationship with anyone that has a soul. Therefor leaving her dating pool very small. Did I mention demons have no soul? And that hunky Roth is a demon? I think you get the picture.

Demons are supposed to be this total evil beings, bent on destroying human lives, at least that is what Layla has been told pretty much all her life. You get to understand why she is not very fond of her demon side. Constantly fighting the urge to suck out people's souls can become a drag. So wanting to fight her 'darker' side, she has helped the Warden kill demons.

Which went fine until she needed to be saved by Roth from another demon. A Demon protecting a half Warden from another demon is really the strangest thing Layla has come across. Do not mistake the fact that he saved make him a good guy. Demon means demon and while Roth might not torture kittens for fun, he has his orders when it comes to Layla. Though I don't think they expected the attraction between these two.

While Layla fights those feelings, Roth seems glad to give into them. He is constantly pushing her buttons, it is adorable to watch her frustrations. Slowly this delicious, tattooed piece of demon gets under her skin. Besides adding some humour and sexual tension to the story, Roth has got an interesting place in the story. His whole reason for existing is actually quite tragic. I also love how sometimes he shows his good sides, proving the Warden's theory of 'all demons are evil' wrong.

Besides the hot romance and sizzling chemistry, there is also the whole plot of upcoming apocalypse, which I enjoyed. It seems that when Layla turned seventeen, demons started popping up on Earth way more and a lot of them are after her. Somehow Roth sees it as his mission to protect and aid her in preventing that doom scenario. Meanwhile the Warden a.k.a. the scary fierce gargoyles are also very much about preventing the apocalypse, it is their sole mission to destroy demons. So a lot of action and I liked it.

What really spoke to me when it comes to Layla is how conflicted she feels. Being half gargoyle, half demon, has never made her feel really welcome on either sides. Her existence is considered an abomination, making her often wonder why they have kept her around for so long. When she finds out the Wardens have been lying to her, she gets even more confused. She no longer knows who to trust anymore. So for now she just goes with her gut and that says she can trust Roth.

White Hot Kiss has plenty of tension, humour, action, mystery and romance to keep you interested. I have not come across gargoyles in a very long time and never quite like this. That aspect was definitely original. Also I did not expect the humour from Roth, I thought he would be more serious and focused. I really likes that I thought wrong. That boy often makes sure things don't get too serious. Overall a great YA read!