I did not pick this book up right away because there was some twittering of it being a big Twilight knockoff. I enjoyed Twilight when I first read it but it has worn out its welcome around my house. Needless to say, I was a bit wary.Are there similarities between Twilight and Obsidian? Let's break some of that down, shall we?~New, somewhat clumsy, bookish girl moves to a terribly small town...check.~Group of hot, stand-offish 'special' kids who all sit together in the school cafeteria...check.~Hot boy takes clumsy girl to secret spot in woods...check.~Overly sweet and stylish sister of hot guy becomes best friends with bookish girl...check.~Bookish girl becomes tool for big bad guys to use against 'special kids'...check.I won't continue, for obvious reasons. There are many more similarities and many of them triggered while I was reading through Obsidian. I didn't care. Here is why.I am huge fan of smartass and snarky dialogue and this book has it in spades. Armentrout has created some very humorous and witty banter and I loved every bit of it. I felt at home in it. Yep, I have a house full of smartasses and proud of it.Katy is no Bella. Katy is not a self-absorbed, whimperish, boy crazed girl. She's strong and determined with a trace of vulnerability which she uses to fuel a temper and snarky attitude. I kind of loved her. She's kind of who I would have liked to be at that age. Oh and she has a book blog! Awesome sauce! Daemon is no Edward. He's not a gentleman. He's not even nice most of the time, but he has reasons. He's a typical bad-boy alpha-male. He's hot, possessive and protective. He's a total ass but in the most infuriatingly sexy way possible. You know?? Oh and has green eyes...makes me a fan from the get-go!Katy and Daemon have a love/hate thing going on from the very start and as their relationship builds so does the sexual tension and the arguing. Watching these two bounce off of each other was highly entertaining. Neither of them lets the other get away with much of anything and I like the slow torturous build up of a relationship. There is no I-fell-at-first-sight-now-you-are-my-entire-world stuff here.The story here is not vamps, it's aliens. Not the little green men type. More an ethereal ball of light type. I found them unique and refreshing. They have these awesome powers reminiscent of I Am Number Four. I know, I know...another comparison. Still don't care. This book was that entertaining.The little world Armentrout built in this small town was quaint and intriguing. I found myself connecting with and caring about many of the characters. There are obstacles for them all and the struggle they go through to overcome said obstacles entranced me.Obviously, I am a fan. Is it perfect? Eh. Is it close? Yep! Sign me up for book two Onyx due out August 14th, please!
