Review: Obsession (An Arum Novel)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: 3/5

He’s arrogant, domineering, and... To. Die. For. Hunter is a ruthless killer. And the Department of Defense has him firmly in their grasp, which usually doesn’t chafe too badly because he gets to kill bad guys. Most of the time he enjoys his job. That is, until he’s saddled with something he’s never had to do before: protect a human from his mortal enemy. Serena Cross didn’t believe her best friend when she claimed to have seen the son of a powerful senator turn into something... unnatural. Who would? But then she witnesses her friend’s murder at the hands of what can only be an alien, thrusting her into a world that will kill to protect their secret. Hunter stirs Serena’s temper and her lust despite their differences. Soon he’s doing the unthinkable—breaking the rules he’s lived by, going against the government to keep Serena safe. But are the aliens and the government the biggest threats to Serena’s life… or is it Hunter?

Another week another book called Obsession, apparently. This one is by Jennifer Lynn Armentrout and set in the world established in her YA Lux series. Obsession is a romance and definitely not YA; it is closer in “heat” to her New Adult novel Wait For You (as J. Lynn) than her other romances, but that’s the only concession here. This book flips the perspective and gives us the POV of the Arum, the bad guys from the Lux series.

I liked how fair Armentrout was to the Arum as a whole. Hunter our hero is not some special renegade Arum sworn not to kill. In fact in being fair to the Arum as a whole she very much adds to the increasing suspicions I had over the Luxen rulers. Lux ≠ good and Arum ≠ bad. This doesn’t magically make Hunter or the Arum good or the Luxen all bad. It does add some greatly appreciated shades of grey to the conflict.

Hunter lives in West Virginia and the beginning of Serena and Hunter’s relationship felt way too much like a rehash of Daemon and Katy. Hunter’s a dick and Serena resists until he stops. In its favour at least Obsession get the story over in one book. I liked Hunter’s view of the Lux/Arum conflict that neither of them could win the way they were going. I also loved how much of a marshmallow inside he was for Serena. Serena really didn’t have much actual personality. She’s established as the friend who likes to read to Mel’s party girl and she’s blonde. Arum like pretty things so Hunter’s attracted to Serena’s hair. There isn’t a lot of depth to their relationship, it’s mostly feelings. Obsession does a good job of making you think about the world and feel things with/for the main couple.

I truly liked the sense of scale this gives the Arum/Lux/DoD conflict. Serena is marked for death because she saw her friend Mel killed by a Luxen. This Luxen was paid by a Luxen senator, meaning they have infiltrated the American senate. The DoD only want Hunter to save Serena because Senator Vanderson went behind their backs, not because they want to save human lives. The problem with this scale is it is so large it leaves me asking, why are the American Department of Defence the only ones who know about the Luxen and Arum? No, really Europe didn’t notice at ALL? Also why are the DoD so conciliatory to an alien species over their own? What special technology did they give us that we’re kissing their ass that much?

The other problem is this, the Arum are basically the perfect predator for the Luxen, a police for to keep otherwise Apex predators inline, weak to the Lux for the same reasons. Why do the Lux feel above the Arum? We, as humans fear Lions and Sharks and other ‘man-eaters’ because they hunt us, even though statistically catching a plane is more dangerous. People fear what hunts them, they don’t feel superior to it except for how much more advanced we are. The Arum and Luxen are no more advanced than each other, shouldn’t they be a little more afraid of each other? Except maybe for the fact Onyx can’t kill a Luxen, which seems unfair considering Obsidian is so kryptonite-y to the Arum.

I didn’t like how there was no suggestion on how to corral the power hungry Luxen and the dangerous Arum. It didn’t have to be a realistic one, just a suggestion. This book half-heartedly sets up for an ‘Adult’ romance Arum series, not leaving sequel hooks but definitely leaving it open. Why doesn’t Armentrout just commit one way or the other instead of waiting to see how sales for this go?

I liked this book, despite its flaws, but I wouldn’t read a sequel about a strange couple or about Hunter and Serena again.

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