White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

One kiss could be the lastSeventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal—fit in at school, and go out on a real date with the gorgeous Zayne, whom she's crushed on since forever. Trouble is, Zayne treats Layla like a sister—and Layla is anything but normal. She's half demon, half gargoyle, with abilities 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.Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know her secrets. Though Layla knows she should stay away, it's tough when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue. Trusting Roth could ruin her chances with Zayne—and brand her a traitor to the Warden family that raised her. But as Layla discovers she's the sole reason for a violent demon uprising, kissing the enemy suddenly pales in comparison to the looming end of the world

I feel like everytime I read Jennifer L. Armentrout, I am trying to make fetch happen. By this, I mean that everyone seems to be head over heels in love with her books and her writing except for me. Do not get me wrong, I like her writing and I think that her books are fast paced, fun reads, but I just do not feel inspired to be a rabid fan girl. That stated, I am going to come right out and say that White Hot Kiss is one heck of a ride, never slowing down — instead this is a book that barrels right through to the end. I actually really enjoyed reading White Hot Kiss, even if I am still not a card carrying member of this author’s fan club. I am going to hold on to the hope that someday I will LOVE her books unabashedly, even if today is not that day.

White Hot Kiss is the first book in Jennifer L. Armentrout’s The Dark Elementals series. Layla is half-Warden (read:Gargoyle) half-demon. Demons and Wardens have an age-old hatred of each other. In fact, Wardens have been tasked with keeping humanity ignorant of demons. Layla lives with a group of Wardens and has this power where she can tag demons, who look just like people, so that the Wardens can find them later. Not everyone in the Warden household cares for Layla, given her demon blood, however, they still tolerate her. Layla finds friendship with Zayne, another of the gargoyles, yet her friendship can never go beyond to romance because if she kisses him, she will end up sucking out his soul. It’s quite the complication. So, when a demon named Roth enters Layla’s life, he holds this mysterious appeal because he seems to want to help her AND he has no soul for her to suck out, so they can kiss with impunity.

As a main character, Layla is sufficient. I found that I did care about her. She can be a bit mopey on occasion, but it’s not like you can really blame her. The poor girl can’t even kiss her crush because of the whole soul sucking thing. Also? Her heritage is quite painful to her. What I did like is how much she cares about the people in her life. She really cares about Zayne. She really cares about her friends Sam and Stacey. I also loved how she flirts with being bad and that she questions what the Wardens have told her. The little rebellion within Layla makes me like her all the more.

If you dislike love triangles, you will probably not love White Hot Kiss as there is a pretty prominent love triangle between Layla, Zayne, and Roth. I get the whole appeal of Zayne, but most of the parts with Zayne involve Layla pining over him, Zayne being nice to her but treating her like a sibling, and Layla getting all moody. Contrast this with Roth’s scenes, where there is some real chemistry between the two and actual kissing. Layla brings out a whole new side of Roth and well, honestly, he’s a lot more complex and interesting than Zayne who comes across as perfectly boring.

Jennifer L. Armentrout’s White Hot Kiss was a fun read. It’s a book that kind of takes itself seriously, but not to the point of being obnoxious. I will admit that as I was reading this a few people had comments to make about the cover and the back summary. While they poked fun, I was able to say that at first glance, the book sounds ridiculous, but it’s actually not a bad read at all. I think that if you can set aside your skepticism about gargoyles and demons and high school, you may end up really enjoying this book.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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