Name: The Darkest Star
ISBN: 9781250175731

Jennifer L. Armentrout

In the world of the Lux, secrets thrive, lies shatter, and love is undeniable. #1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout brings her trademark drama and intrigue to a new romantic YA science fiction series with The Darkest Star. A girl pulled into in a world she doesn't understand finds herself confronted by long buried secrets, a betrayal that could tear her life apart...and Armentrout's most swoonworthy book boyfriend yet. Seventeen-year-old Evie Dasher knows firsthand the devastating consequences of humanity's war with the aliens. When she's caught up in a raid at a notorious club known as one of the few places where humans and the surviving Luxen can mingle freely, she meets Luc, an unnaturally beautiful guy she initially assumes is a Luxen...but he is in fact something much more powerful. Her growing attraction for Luc will lead her deeper and deeper into a world she'd only heard about, a world where everything she thought she knew will be turned on its head...

The Darkest Star

Lacy W

Find this review and others like it at aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com

 tw: bullying, child death, death, blood, kidnapping, and grief

I am going to preface this review by saying I absolutely adored this book! I’m going to be honest, when I read the synopsis and saw that it was about aliens, I was a bit hesitant. I haven’t read a lot of books about aliens. The last one I can recall is The 5th Wave. I don’t even watch movies about them. I’ve only enjoyed one alien movie and I can’t quite recall what it was called. What I’m trying to say is I haven’t delved into the alien world a lot. But because of this book, I would like to change that. 

What surprised me about this book was how modern it was. I didn’t expect there to be mentions of Snapchat and other social media. Evie was a normal teenager and she did every day normal teenager things. It actually worked quite well with the story as normally, when one tries to insert modernism into stories like these, it doesn’t always quite work out. 

One thing that did bother me was the dialogue. Evie was a bit cringy with the way she talked. Of course, I really have no room to talk as I say things like “what the higgity heck” or “that’s the bee’s knees' '. Evie did get better in her dialogue at the end, it just took a little bit. She reminded me of a middle aged woman trying to sound hip and modern. I had to really force myself to read her dialogue. 

What really kept me reading through Evie’s cringy dialogue was the absolutely scorching scenes of intensity between Luc and Evie. I LIVED for their banter. Evie was so snarky toward Luc and he was such a smart ass. Their chemistry was on point and I couldn’t help but smile with glee every time they interacted. My heart swooned. 

Overall, this was not what I expected it to be but I did not mind one bit. Turns out I might be a fan of alien books. Who knew? It was a good introduction to Jennifer Armentrout as I own one of her books although it’s not the next book in this series unfortunately. I am most definitely going to be continuing with this series.

‘The Darkest Star’ is het eerste deel in de Origin-serie van Jennifer L. Armentrout, die zich afspeelt in hetzelfde universum als de Lux-serie. In ‘The Darkest Star’ komt de jonge Evie in contact met de buitenaards knappe Luc. Bij die ontmoeting denkt Evie in eerste instantie dat Luc ‘gewoon’ een Luxen is. Maar al snel komt ze erachter dat hij nog veel machtiger, invloedrijker en gevaarlijker is dan dat. En... ze valt als een blok voor hem. ‘The Darkest Star’ is een fantasyverhaal vol romance en suspense, met ook nog die heerlijke Armentrout-humor. ‘Lux is absoluut een van mijn favo series aller tijden! Stiekem zou het van mij nog wel een vervolg mogen krijgen...’ KwanteinWonderland.com

Annabella

Leonor Ribeiro 

Sven Test

Hell is empty every devils are hire 

Po prostu trzeba to przeczytać i tyle nie ma że nie

Lloré y sufrí por Luc pero después me llevé una gran y feliz sorpresa, GRACIAS JEN, TE AMO LUC KING

Allie Herrington

Librarian: Okay Teen/School librarians listen up, if you've got girls in your library who grab all the fantasy romances and the dystopia romances and the science fiction romances and then come to the desk to chat about how sexy The Darkling/Edward Cullen/Gale/Jace is (and I know you do, we've all got 'em) than grab up this book. Because those girls are going to be all over this one. Seriously, Luc is JUST the kind of dark/edgy/sexy/heart-of-gold guy that those girls love to read about. Plus, this book actually has a good story, so unlike, say, Twilight, you won't mind discussing it for hours on end. (Always a bonus.)
Reader: I never read the Lux novels, though now I kind of feel like I have to. While this book does a good job filling in the blanks, so it doesn't feel like your missing large chunks of the plot, but I still felt like there were somethings that I would understand better if I read those. Still, I really enjoyed the book, and I'm definitely picking up the next one.

Jennifer

Candyce Kirk

Reread December 2020: I actually enjoyed this even more the second time around. I don't know if it was my mood or a buddyread, but it was good. Can't wait to start the sequel!

I have to start off by saying you can read this book if you haven't read LUX yet! If you've read LUX though, you do read about some familiar characters and you will recognize some events!

The Darkest Star takes place a few years after the Luxen tried taking over Earth. Things are kind of peaceful, but it's still there's still a lot of tension between some humans and Luxen. This starts growing when a few people go missing and turn up dead. It's clear something is going on and I have a feeling we will build up to the main event of this trilogy.

Evie is our main character in this book and she's more of a laid back and relaxed character. She enjoys sitting around reading, taking pictures and hanging out with friends. Except one night she ends up at a club she wasn't supposed to be at and meets Luc. There's an instant connection that neither of them will admit.

The Darkest Star started out a bit slower for me than I expected. I can understand that though. It's the first book of a new storyline and things have to build up. Even though it was a bit slower, I did love learning more about Evie and Luc. He was the mysterious one in LUX and knowing we were getting to know him more was one of the reasons I needed this book!

That being said, this book takes off about halway through! There are so many different plot twists that you do not see coming!! I was actually pretty shocked how things turned out! I couldn't put it down after that and was really sad it's over and angry I didn't have the next book!

The Darkest Star is a lot of fun for LUX fans, because some characters we come to love make an appearance in this story! Even though it's a different story, this world definitely feels the same. I remember Jennifer saying Luke could kick Daemon off his throne, but I have to disagree. I love Luc, but Daemon is still my number one in this world!

I did love learning more about Luc though. In LUX he's rather arrogant, but this book makes you understand him so much more. He's even more than that! He's definitely sweet, sarcastic and just may come in a close second to Daemon!

If you're looking for a new paranormal/fantasy series with great worldbuilding, fun characters, humor, hot aliens and a little romance, The Darkest Star is for you!

Luna

this story was so good objectively but knowing all of the characters and how they were before ,, just made it too painful to enjoy 90% of the time. i definitely would not still be crying if i hadn’t read the lux series first but i just wanted to see my babies happy but nooooo we have to screw them over again :( also i felt like most of the evie/luc scenes were exact replicas of daemon/katy scenes and it just really annoyed me. like there weren’t any new relationship-y scenes, the dialogue and events were exactly the same as the lux series and it was just ,,, old.

Kelly Casey

Wow at first I wasn't loving this book as much as the lux series, but the characters grew on me and I thoroughly enjoyed the plot. I guessed a couple of the big twists, and I have suspicions about the next book. I really loved luc and evie's dynamics, and I'm excited for more.

Jelke Lenaerts

This book has a content warning for self-harm.

I've got a new Jennifer L Armentrout book. Luc was my favourite character from the Lux-series and I was thrilled to read a book that had him as the love interest. It definetly didn't dissapoint. The main character was a bit infuriating at times, like Katy was, but that's the only bad thing I could say about it. This is one of those books that I would love a switched perspective version from because that must be so painful yet so interesting to see. So yeah, needless to say I loved this book. I loved the expansion of the world that we got. The story had me completely hooked and just an absolute page turner for me, impossible to put down. The plot was constantly moving and interesting. It also just kept me guessing. Eventually, was this the most original? No. Did I guess most of what would happen? Yes. Did I care? NOT AT ALL!!! The relationship between the two main characters just had my heart roaring from the first moment they met until the very last page. I absolutely can't wait to continue on into this series.

(can you tell I wrote this right after finishing this book, because I feel like none of it made sense)

Daria

Honestly, I was excited to start reading the book, seeing so many fans of this author. And, well… I couldn’t even finish it because it was so BORING. 

The world building was a mess, everything was simply explained through monologue or dialogue (basically nothing was shown through the characters’ actions), the MC was so boring: her only personality trait was taking photos AND fantasising about taking photos of Luc’s abs. 

Speaking of Luc, I continued to read the book only to try to understand why everyone loves him, and I still don’t fucking know why. He really tried to be a bad boy with troubled past but that just didn’t work out. 

I’ll probably never read a Jennifer L. Armentrout novel ever again. And I won’t recommend wasting your time on this predictable and cliche tale

Monri

Review/Reseña en Español/English 


  Español


El primer libro de esta saga trata del misterioso y poderoso Luc, a quien conocimos en la saga Lux siendo esta nueva saga un spin-off. Desde que leí el último libro de la saga Lux estaba esperando con ansias un libro de Luc tratando de los origin y claro aún espero uno de Lotho de los arums, pero eso es para después. 
Esta nueva entrega nos trae como enfoque a Evie una joven algo sarcástica que tiene un pasado que no recuerda (la verdad lo esperaba), ella está tratando de adaptarse y vivir un mundo post-apocalíptico (?), aquí es cuando les recomiendo que lean previamente la saga lux, porque los eventos de este libro se llevan a cabo en el mundo como quedo después de opposition, donde ahora los humanos saben que hay aliens y obviamente no los aceptan y los discriminan, ya saben nada nuevo. 
Ambos se conocen en un club clandestino que es muy Luc, su relación me recordó bastante a Katy y Daemon, que si bien no me molesta esperaba una dinámica diferente, me agrado que los personajes se sintieron más maduros, también algo que no ha cambiado es los secretos que mantiene Luc, lo cual me estresa un poco. El final me pareció algo dramático y apresurado, aunque considero que es un buen inicio de saga, ya que fue introductorio y claro me puedo hacer una idea de a donde ira el resto de la saga. 
Los personajes secundarios también me gustaron, conocimos gente nueva y tuvimos apariciones de personajes pasados que me encantaron, así que esta saga la puede leer cualquiera no tiene escenas fuertes y es muy entretenida trata de Aliens, así que la súper recomiendo. 


  English


The first book in this saga deals with the mysterious and powerful Luc, whom we met in the Lux saga, this new saga being a spin-off. Since I read the last book in the Lux saga I have been looking forward to a book about Luc dealing with the origins and of course I am still waiting for one by Lotho of the arums, but that's for later.
This new installment brings us the history of Evie a sarcastic young woman who has a past that she does not remember (I really expected it), she is trying to adapt and live in an post-apocalyptic world(?), this is when I recommend that you read previously the lux saga, because the events of this book take place in the world as it is after opposition, where now humans know that there are aliens and obviously they do not accept and discriminate them, nothing new.
They both know each other in a clandestine club, that is very Luc, their relationship reminded me a lot of Katy and Daemon, that although it doesn't bother me, I expected a different dynamic, I like that the characters felt more mature, also something that has not changed is the secrets Luc keeps, which stresses me out a bit. The end seemed somewhat dramatic and rushed, although I consider it a good start to the saga, since it was introductory and of course I can get an idea of where the rest of the saga will go.
I also liked the secondary characters, we met new people and had appearances of past characters that I loved, so this saga can be read by anyone, it does not have strong scenes and it is very entertaining, like it has Aliens, so I highly recommend it.

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


I loved JLA's Lux series. When I heard she was going back with The Darkest Star and new Origin series, I was thrilled. I couldn't get my hands on it soon enough. I couldn't even binge read it, because I wanted to savor it. Now that I've finished, I just want more.

I have to be honest, I find it very difficult to review non-contemporary books because it's far too easy to give important things away. I'm going to keep my review pretty short and sweet — and vague — because I don't want to run the risk of that. If you've read and enjoyed the Lux series, you will undoubtedly want to read The Darkest Star. That said, I'm also confident those who haven't read the Lux series could still get into this one. (But they might not be as excited about certain cameos as those of us who read and loved Lux were.)

The Darkest Star has all those things I've come to expect from Jen's books — a great heroine, swoony (even unexpectedly so) hero, sass and sarcasm, humor and plenty of twists and turns. While I was falling for the characters, I was trying to put the pieces together to figure out what was going on. But for real, y'all, no way I was figuring it out on my own this time. The story is SO FREAKING GOOD and the further I got into the story, the harder I found it to savor it. I just wanted answers and kissing and all the good stuff. 

The Origin series is off to an amazing start with The Darkest Star. I'm in love with Luc. Evie is pretty amazing in her own right. I have a lot of questions and I'm totally intrigued by the storyline overall. I'm not sure when we'll get more, but I know I'll be waiting with grabby hands until I do.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FAVORITE QUOTES

That was what I wanted at some point in my life, for someone to look at me like I looked at tacos.

Deep down I knew that whispered words were going to turn into actions, and things would escalate. Fear would turn to hatred, and that was a deadly combination. The school was a powder keg, and it wasn't a matter of if it would blow. It was only a matter of when.

"If I had to do it all over, I would. Without a fucking doubt, I would do it again, because the only other option would be that you wouldn't be standing in front of me—pissed off, but breathing. Alive and so damn beautiful that it sometimes kills me a little each time I look at you.

"There's nothing we can do other than live with the promise of tomorrow while knowing it may not come."

Kaele Perkins 

I read this book a few months ago in August. I didn’t write a review, but its November and I just reread it before the sequel came out so it’s time to review. I LOVE LUC!!!! He is the best. I love Daemon, but Luc is the sweetest and would literally do anything for Evie. This book was crazy. It’s insane to see the Lux world four years later. How life is after the alien species has been revealed to the public. This book had one heck of a plot twist. I don’t even know how I didn’t see this coming. I love the direction JLA went with this spin-off. I am so sad that she’s making Micah the bad guy, I was so rooting for him in Origin to be trained by Luc and be on their side. I’m hoping it’s another twist and he comes back in the next book. I love that JLA has her female characters save the male protagonists. Kat saved Daemon at the end of book 1, and then here Evie saved Luc from Micah’s attack. This was such an amazing story and I am ecstatic to see the Lux world and series continue. I still have questions that I need answered. So this next book better deliver. I have no doubt it will. JLA is one of my favorite authors and she hasn’t let me down. Now on to reading the second book. I can’t get enough of Luc and Evie. My new favorite OTP. 😍

Ariella

Contiene spoiler, sobre la Saga Lux.
La Estrella Más Oscura, el spin off de la saga Lux, QUE NO SABÍA QUE IBA A EXISTIR, pero de la que ME ENAMORÉ COMPLETAMENTE.
¿Porqué? varias razones.
1- Jennifer L. Armentrout es mi autora favorita, es una genia, es increíble (no solo porque creó a Daemon) todo lo que escribe, todas las historias, que arma, y las piezas que deja en los libros para resolverlos parte por parte.
2- El Personaje Luc en la Saga Lux, ME ENCANTÓ, supe desde que apareció que tenia una increíble historia, y que merecía su propio libro, en la Saga Lux, solo podemos saber sobre él, por historias que se cuentan en segundo plano.
3- Algo sumamente importante de este libro, es como se va relatando los hechos del "después" de la invasión, aquí toca un tema muy trascendental, ¿cómo es la sociedad después de la invasión? ¿cómo volvieron a empezar? y ¿cómo es la convivencia? Jennifer pudo plasmarlo perfectamente, demostrando que no todo es color de rosas, que siempre habrá perjuicio y críticas por parte de la sociedad, dividiéndolos en bandos y creando confrontaciones, en vez de preocuparse por crear una mejor forma de vida. 
Esta es la parte que más me ha gustado, porque con el ultimo libro de la Saga Lux, la importancia recaía en sobrevivir y no dejar que la humanidad caiga ante los pies de estos seres de luces, y con este libro, vemos, lo que sucede después, cuando creías que la guerra se ganó, solo dejó una brecha abierta para una nueva batalla, la batalla de pertenecer a un lugar.
4- Los Personajes que una vez fueron los protagonistas, pasan a un segundo plano, aunque no se sabe muchos de ellos, (a algunos solo se les nombra) amo amo amo que sigan apareciendo.
5- Evie Dasher, la protagonista de esta historia que recién comienza, me ha gustado mucho, no al nivel de Kat, pero me ha parecido muy agradable, y entiendo por completo su forma de pensar y reaccionar, (algunas veces debemos de recordar de que las protagonistas son humanas, o sea, que también tienen derecho a cometer errores) al contrario de varias opiniones que he leído sobre Evie siendo lenta para juntar las piezas, a mi me ha encantado y me ha parecido de lo más normal y REALISTA, es cuestión de ponerse en sus zapatos, y comprender por el gran embrollo en lo que se ha convertido su vida.
6- El Antagonista, aunque no fue el catalizador para la trama (como estaba esperando que lo sea), sé que es la puerta para lo que será la nueva aventura de esta (no sé si será una trilogia, saga,... espero que sea Saga).
7- Los Nuevos personajes, que sé que tienen mucho potencial, me han cautivado, y dejado con las ganas de queres saber más de ellos.
8- El mundo que ha creado Jennifer, con cada libro se hace más fuerte y ahora, ha llegado el momento de ver la verdadera cara de la moneda, en la Saga Lux era un secreto, en esta historia, es la consecuencia.
9-10-11-12--13-14-15-HASTA-EL-INFINITO- ¡¡¡¡EL ROMANCE!!!! Jennifer no sabe lo que significa el insta love, ella construye una hermosa relación donde te ves envuelta tan profunda que hasta llegas a sentir lo que el protagonista siente, cada vez que Evie y Luc estaban en la misma habitación, yo ya me preparaba mentalmente. Amo a Luc con todo mi corazón, tanto, que puede que haya alcanzado (y pasado) al único Daemon Black, su forma de proteger a los que ama, y su interés en ayudar a los que realmente necesitan, (y aunque a Luc le guste recolectar favores, por dentro, lo hace sin esperar una retribución vacía y falsa)




"Did you love her, Luc?"
"With every breath I take"

Angel Myers

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'd like to start by saying, while I've read this author's books before, I had not previously read the Lux series, so I wasn't fully aware of how much awesome I was in store for with this world! I am now in the process of reading the entire Lux series but I can definitely say you don't need to have read it to love this new series in the same world!
This was such a great story and I love the premise of aliens living among us. The Luxen are such a unique take on alien species that this feels entirely fresh and new, not like I'm just reading yet another alien YA paranormal romance in a flooded market.
It's hard to say too much about Evie and Luc's adventures in this story without giving away some jaw-dropping spoilers, but I loved the almost non-stop action and both Evie and Luc are extremely likable characters that don't fall flat in any way. Their emotions and reactions feel very real in the context of the story. I can't wait for the next book in this series, meanwhile, I need to get back to reading the Lux series now!

Lacey

Despite how long it took me to finish this book, I did love being back in the Lux world. Luc was a character I was so intrigued with when he was first introduced, and I'm so glad we get his story with Evie now. This was a fantastic start to the Origin series and I can't wait to see where JLA will take us next!

Review to come!

Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.

Ashlee

OH MY GOSH, FOLKS. This book! I stayed up until 3am to finish this book (on a worknight!), it had me THAT hooked.

  
    "Our stares connected, and the effect was instantaneous. Everything around us faded, and there was just us, and this … this sensation of falling. I couldn't look away as the feeling surfaced, rushing to the top."
  

I was totally new to Jennifer L. Armentrout when I received this book to review, so I promptly jumped into listening to her Lux series on audio so I could prepare myself for this read. For those that don't know, that series is a sort of prequel to this new series. Do you need to read them first? No. But reading them will give you a much better understanding of the world in The Darkest Star, particularly things that have happened in the past - plus it will introduce you to Daemon Black and there is no going wrong with that.

The Darkest Star was full of angst, secrets and action. It was so swoony and I absolutely could not put it down. It follows much of the same path as Obsidian - in that, girl meets beautiful, broody boy with a secret, and stuff happens. BUT this was so much more than that too. I really mean it! There are some really explosive secrets in this that I did not see coming in the least bit. I cannot say much there because it will absolutely spoil it, but you'll likely feel the foreshadowing and have an inkling about what is coming before it hits you.

This book follows Evie Dasher (*cough*), a high school student who encounters Luc one evening at a club. To Evie, it is clear that Luc is one of the Luxen, due to his unnatural beauty and the energy that seems to radiate off him. Except Luc insists that he is not Luxen. After a startling first encounter, Evie knows Luc is bad news but as fate (or just Luc) would have it they keep crossing paths. With every meeting, Evie begins to suspect that perhaps Luc knows more about her than he lets on - something about him is strangely familiar, though she has no recollection of ever meeting him before.

  
    "We were all dark stars, but Luc … he was the darkest."
  

Luc, oh Luc. Yes, this is the same Luc we meet in the later Luxen series books. I have a terrible weakness for characters like him and he really drove this story for me. I could not get enough of his character and just drank in everything he did and every single secret he held. And those secrets drilled a hole straight into my heart. How I feel for everything he has been through and the torment his actions have caused him over the years. I want him to finally be happy!

Finally, I just LOVED Evie and Luc in this. *fans self* Their chemistry was through the roof and dare I say it, I think I love them more than even Katy and Daemon. Speaking of - we DO get a glimpse of Lux series characters Daemon and Archer, plus mention of characters such as Katy, Dee and Paris. It was great to see them again!

This was a fantastic continuation of the Luxen universe and I am DYING to get my hands on the next book. After reading these books, I am so ready to dive headfirst into everything Jennifer L. Armentrout has written. I can understand why she has such a huge following!

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

View this review and others on my blog, Library in the Country

Haley Puryear

I was very excited to read this book, and it lived up to the expectation! I adored Luc in the Lux series and always wanted more! His ending in the Lux series was not enough and this book gives you a better look into what happened to him. in the Darkest Star, he is currently a lot more guarded and sarcastic subdued than he was in the Lux series but I'm attributing that to the circumstance he is in with Evie and I can't wait to see how he opens up!

The Darkest Star

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