The Darkest Star is a romantic read featuring star-crossed lovers, family secrets, and otherworldly intrigue. Jennifer L. Armentrout's prose comes alive in your mind. The words dance off the page. Prepare to root for the protagonist as she tackles many perils. However, choppy pacing and some cliched scenes plague the book. Other than that, it was an enjoyable read.

This book is full of SO MUCH YUMMY GOODNESS!!!! Yes, Luc is as Yummy as Daemon!!!! Except Luc has that quirky, weird thing he had going on when we met him in the Lux Series. There are some really great swoon-worthy romance moments too!! But it also has the good and bad aliens, the action, the suspense and the shock factor! The Darkest Star is definitely a great start to another of JLA’s promising new SciFi/Romance Series!

The Darkest Star is a spirited jaunt through a post-apocalyptic world that feels anything but. Four years after an alien invasion that killed millions of people, humans are living in peace with the remaining Lux.

Seventeen year old Evie lost her dad to the invasion and her badass mom, a scientist for the US government, is often away at work. When one of her best friends Heidi suggests Evie joins her on a trip to a scandalous nightclub to meet Heidi's crush, she takes a fake ID and heads over there. As the character herself admits late in the novel, one misjudged decision can have a massive impact on your life!

Especially when there's a super hot alien at the club. Luc reminds me so much of the YA bad boys I remember reading years ago and this book really brought me back in time to the kinds of YA around when I was seventeen. It was both familiar and new in that sense; The Darkest Star had a different vibe to a lot of the books out at the moment and that was really refreshing.

At first the growing closeness between Luc and Evie felt like it was getting close to being instalove but this is avoided, with the addition of secrets that Luc is really reluctant to share. Luc grew on me as the book went on and quickly I went from thinking he was overly arrogant to actually quite enjoying his sarcastic wit. Some of the twists and turns of the novel were quite predictable from the start, but that didn't take away from the chaos and drama of the book's ending at all. This was a really fun read.

Armentrout deserves praise for the tactful way in which contemporary issues regarding the treatment of those who are different in our society are included. The scenes in which some characters hold an anti-alien protest are unsettling, but a clear reminder of the challenges of the society we live in today.

The revelations towards the end of the novel, and the questions left open, make me really excited for the sequels. In the meantime, I'm going to go and check out the original Lux trilogy... If it's anything like this, I'm in for a rollercoaster ride.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Teen and Jennifer L. Armentrout for the opportunity to read The Darkest Star.

The Lux society is still thriving! This book takes the character of Luc and leads the reader deeper into his world. Very little was shared about him in the original Lux series and we definitely never got to know him beyond the weird super powered teen persona. He has grown up in this new series and he is definitely a dark star! While Dameon will always be my favorite Luxen, Luc will be my favorite Origin! This book is a fascinating, engaging introduction to the world after the Luxen invasion. A lot of questions still remain. Who is loyal and can be trusted? What happened to the Arum? Are the people of earth really safe? Who is the real enemy? I loved the new characters, except for maybe April.......Regardless, this book is obvious the first in a new series. Many problem remain unresolved so clearly there is more to come! I can’t wait! As a long time Jennifer Armentrout fan, this book is an outstanding addition to my library! YA/Sci-fi readers will not be disappointed. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this story in exchange for my honest opinion!

A young woman discovers there is more to her world - and herself - in this continuation to the popular young adult Lux series.

Man oh man, this book is hard for me to rate. On one hand, I disliked the relationship between Evie and Luc. Luc is an egotistical asshole. Not only is he rude to Evie, he disrespects her boundaries multiple times. When she attempts to reassert herself, he essentially bulldozes over her. Their relationship bordered on toxic for most of the novel.

Now all that said, I devoured this story. JLA has a way of reeling you into a narrative, making you care about the characters and the world. Evie's awakening to the events going on around her were fun, if a little eye rolling. The pace meandered a bit, but the ending climax felt rewarding and earned. If you enjoyed the first series, most likely you're going to enjoy this book.

tl;dr JLA manages to weave together a problematic romance with entertaining action that fed my trashy side.

Struggled a bit at first but then it picked up. The author does a great job of portraying the emotions of uncertainty and confusion for the teenage characters. I would definitely pick up a sequel if the character's stories continued.

I can honestly say I enjoyed everything about this book. Evie was relatable, her friends were great I background characters and Luc was totally swoon worthy. She was like so many others who see injustice but sit quietly and don’t say anything until she realized that it makes you complicit in a way. We watched her grow slowly and it was slow paced but that’s the way these things work in real life. I loved this book and can’t wait until the next is written!

Wow! Mrs. Armentrout did it again! When I saw that a spin off of the Lux series was coming out, I was thrilled, and this book did not disappoint!! We are introduced to Luc and a mention or of his "mystery" woman in the Lux series, but I was left wanting to know more. This book answered some of those questions, but left me wanting more. I hope this is the start to a new series. :)

The book is Luc and Evie's story. Evie is a high school senior whose friend, Heidi drags to a scandalous club one night. There she sees a gorgeous guy, but she doesn't really like him....he is kinda a jerk. But he won't leave her alone, and things start to happen that she doesn't quite understand. It's been 4 years since the alien invasion, and Evie knows all about the aliens.....or does she?

I loved that I was able to pick up hints of what was to come, because I could NOT put this book down! I have such a book hangover this morning, after reading it all night in 1 sitting!! Every time I thought, I better get to bed, there was something exciting happening and I thought, just 10 more minutes. And the twists, some that I saw coming....and some that were out of nowhere!

Thank you to Mrs. Armentrout, Macmillan-Tor/Forge -Tor Teen., and Netgalley for the ARC for my voluntary and honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this book. I am a huge fan of the Lux series so when I had the opportunity to request this book, I jumped on it. I have to admit, I was a little bit hesitant because some of her recent works have been slightly underwhelming. That being said, this one was not disappointing.

This book throws us back into the Luxen world 4 years post-invasion. There are quite a few appearances and interactions from our favorite alien and origin, Daemon and Archer, respectively and many references to past encounters or situations with them that made me laugh. It made me feel like there were little inside jokes for those of us who have read the Lux series prior to reading this one. That being said, you do NOT need to read the Lux series to understand this one. There will be lots of missed jokes and in depth descriptions, but you will be able to follow this one just fine without having read it. There's also one other person that pops up in this book and you just go WTF!!! But, you'll have to find that out on your own.

Luc was exactly what I was hoping for in a 19 year old version of the boy we first met. He was just as snarky and bad ass as he was previously, just even more dangerous. I absolutely loved him and how protective he was of Evie. Their chemistry was on point and their banter was quintessential JLA humor. I seriously loved it.

Evie was fantastic, as well. In some ways thinking about these characters they are very, very similar to Daemon and Kat. I'd say pretty identical, actually, but Luc and Daemon have always had very similar personalities so that's not really a big deal.

Evie's reactions to the secrets she learned were very genuine. I feel like anyone in that situation would have freaked out like she did. I thought her character was very well written and very multi-dimensional. I liked both her strengths and her weaknesses and her candidness with her friends.

The story line itself flowed really well. It was easy to follow along while simultaneously throwing mass amounts of information at you. There were a lot of characters who I can see playing big roles in future books.

Overall, I 100% recommend this book. Because holy alien babies, I cannot wait to see where the rest of this series takes us. Excellent job on the continuation of the Lux series Ms. Armentrout.

I got this book as an ARC from #Netgalley. I first came across this book on bookishfirst. I'm not usually a science fiction person, but I enjoyed this book. It did have some of the standard YA themes of girl meets guy, guy not what he seems, but that did not detract from the story. I found the story overall enjoyable and original. I did not realize this author wrote so many books that share a few characters with this book. After reading this book, I am interested in reading more of her work..

I really enjoyed the Darkest Star and the cover is just stunning. Now Evie was a blast. In all these situations that she encountered I loved her brand of humor. When her Mom started pulling out all of the guns Evies reaction was hilarious. Armentrout has a way with world building that makes you feel like you are right there in the scene with the characters. There is an instance where trees are being pulled out of the ground and being thrown. When those trees landed I swear I could feel the vibrations Evie felt. I know it’s weird but it feels real. I was drawn in from the get go trying to figure out what was going on. How did Luc know Evie, why was he so adamant on keeping her. Then just like her I was frustrated that no one was giving her all the answers. They were just bread crumbs and then boom we have the answers. Then you’re like wow. Once you get the whole story that’s when we begin to see Evie finally give in to her feelings with Luc. Their relationship through the whole story is fun as well and the way they banter and carry on is so refreshing. One thing that really kept me going is that I thought maybe Evie would have something special going on with her. I kept waiting for the ball to drop and she would throw out some kind of superpower.

Arc provided by the publishter via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I tend to love everything by Jennifer Armentrout, and this book was not different. i loved the building narrative, all the characters and honestly I cant wait for the next book! And I really really loved Luc and Evie, probably one of my favorite book couples ever.