White Hot Kiss - Review

White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1)

By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published: February 25, 2014 by Harlequin Teen

400 pages

Source: Personal Kindle Library (and after purchasing it I was also approved a little late, for an ARC from the publisher)

(Goodreads / Amazon)

Summary:

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.

MY REVIEW:
I'm officially in love with a gargoyle and a demon.  That's my final conclusion after reading this book and it's precursor, Bitter Sweet Love.

Layla is half gargoyle and half demon. Being raised by Warden's she has learned to hate the demon side of herself, to view it as bad. But she's beginning to see that not everything is so black and white. At 17 years old, she's never been kissed, never allowed herself to be close enough to boys. Her demon side won't allow her that kind of closeness without giving in to it as their souls call for her to taste them. Most of the other Warden's want nothing or very little to do with her. Some even want her dead. They fear the unknown of her abilities and the danger her demon side presents. Zayne however, 4 years older, is close like a brother, his father having taken her in and raised her. Zayne has been the only one to really treat her kindly and affectionately, and she trusts him more than any other, but she has feelings for him now that she knows she shouldn't. It's nothing she could ever act on without putting him in danger. His father would never allow it anyway, as he has already chosen the mate for Zayne.

Then Layla meets Roth. An upper level demon, not to mention a really hot looking one. She knows she should despise him for what he is and alert the other Warden's of his interaction with her. But no guy has ever shown her attention, let alone be attracted to her. She's drawn to him, even though she denies the attraction. Best of all, because he has no soul there's nothing stopping her with him.

One teensy irritation. This is very unusual for Armentrout's writing, but she does a good bit of modern product name dropping: Twilight, Assassin's Creed are two that come to mind mentioned early on. It's not a deterrent for me when reading but I think it ages a story to where 10, 15 years from now people may not relate to what's being talked about.

This book has it all. There's action, as the battle between the Warden's and the Demon's grows stronger. There's lust and love and emotion. There's witty and fun moments. It's all just awesomeness.

Favorite Quotes:
Double crap on a cracker the size of my butt.

He was attractive. Very attractive. Mind-bendingly beautiful, actually.

"He's the awesome sauce with extra sauce."

"Where did you pick him up last night, somewhere between the Big Mac and fries? And why didn't I get an order of him?"

"I lost myself the moment I found you."

Final Rating - 4.5 stars!

This post is part of the ARC Thursday feature on Words Fueled by Love.