Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: The Dark Elements (#1)
Page Count: 400
Publication Date: February 25, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Olivia: Hi lovely blog readers! Today Jasper and I will be doing a collab post on White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout. We will not only be discussing this book but we will both be reviewing this book, so that it is like a two person review/discussion post. We have never tried to two person review a book before but we will try and see how it turns out, so do leave your thoughts on this post ;)
White Hot Kiss is a fantasy and epic romance novel that will leave your inner fangirl die for Roth (or Zayne), the wickedly hot demon prince who falls in love with Layla, the daughter of both a demon and a Warden, the gargoyle warriors made of stone to protect humans. Even though this novel would categorize as a fantasy novel, romance is the main focus of the book. I didn't particularly care about Layla and her life, her abilities or Layla herself in general. What got me stuck to this book and trilogy was the romance, so I primarily read the book for its ship. Despite my overwhelming passion about the ship, the trilogy actually has quite a few noticeable flaws that cannot be overlooked.
Jasper: I totally agree Olivia! Layla just pisses me off so much. Its almost like, she's been crushing on this guy for her whole life then in comes another hot guy and off she goes. The good thing is that the book is only mildly romantic and didn't have that cheesy bs that makes books so predictable, and this book was anything but that.
Olivia: I want to read about a real character, who is not perfect, but slowly grows into a better character, and the problem is that Layla is a perfect character, which doesn’t leave much space for deeper character development. She’s soft, beautiful, “badass”, and she is so special, and she’s liked by TWO hot guys. HOT FREAKING HOT GUYS. HOT (and cold).
Jasper: Hahah, I see what you did there ;D Why don’t we talk about Roth for a bit? He is literally the epitome of badass. The way that JL Armentrout describes him leaves little to the imagination, and I think that Layla just feel for that, the whole “badass guy with (somewhat) good motives.” But a great thing about Roth is that he actually is human (not literally) I feel that Roth has real depth, unlike a lot of supporting characters, he actually develops into a character that you know and love. He gets you rooting for his side, even when the right choice is obviously Zayne. He’s just so...captivating.
Olivia: I guess what you're saying makes a bit of sense, but Zayne was a bit too late. If he wanted Layla, he should have made a move earlier, before Roth came in. Roth's development did develop and grow quite a bit over the two books, especially at the end of STC. His tattoos are really cool too ;)
The two love interests in the Dark Elements are actually quite similar to the boys in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices. While Roth is like Will, mysterious and hot yet loves Layla and cares for her so dearly, Zayne is like Jem, more caring and softer than badass like Roth and just a tiny bit too overprotective. They're both lovely and admirable, but I'm one for the more mysterious, sarcastic and badass dark haired guy. It annoys me slightly to have a guy so overprotective of the precious female, and unfortunately Zayne just lands in the category…
Jasper: You did not just compare Roth to Will. Will is so much better. And he is obviously the better choice. Jem is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too boring IMHO. Will is just amazing.
But I agree, the characteristics of these four characters are really similar. Zayne and Jem are both really mellow and softer people while Roth and Will are both a lot tougher and overbearing. So now I’m gonna go out on a limb here and ask you who’s team you’re on. Do you think that Layla’ll end up with Roth or Zayne?
Olivia: It’s impossible to tell with this series. This is one of the books that the guy the girl ends up isn’t obvious at all, and I even heard that some people have switched to Team Zayne after reading Stone Cold Touch. And for this one, there isn’t exactly a “better choice”, since both the first and the second book center on one guy and basically tells you how hot the guy is. I suppose choosing a guy for Layla in this series is really your personal preference, and JLA even had a poll for her readers to choose the guy Layla ends up with. I voted for Roth, of course. But I have a suspicion that many people voted for Zayne because Stone Cold Touch came out more recently than White Hot Kiss. I mean, even I almost forgot about how hot Roth could be until the end of the book...
Jasper: I voted for Roth as well. I just feel like he suits Layla more than Zayne does. It was kinda hard for me to read SCT because JLA spent all this time in the first book describing Layla and Roth together, and she had me hooked. Then all of a sudden in the second book, Layla switches teams and starts batting for Zayne. That kind of pissed me off because it’s way to sudden. There are literally days in between her loving Roth and her starting to fall hard for Zayne. Maybe that’s just my bias showing though. But even if I don’t exactly agree with the plot of the second book, they both were exceptionally written, better written than most YA supernatural romances *cough* *cough* I’m looking at you Twilight. There were no real flaws in the writing, the characters were exceptionally developed and the story really hooks you in. I really recommend that everyone check it out!
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.
Olivia: Hi lovely blog readers! Today Jasper and I will be doing a collab post on White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout. We will not only be discussing this book but we will both be reviewing this book, so that it is like a two person review/discussion post. We have never tried to two person review a book before but we will try and see how it turns out, so do leave your thoughts on this post ;)
White Hot Kiss is a fantasy and epic romance novel that will leave your inner fangirl die for Roth (or Zayne), the wickedly hot demon prince who falls in love with Layla, the daughter of both a demon and a Warden, the gargoyle warriors made of stone to protect humans. Even though this novel would categorize as a fantasy novel, romance is the main focus of the book. I didn't particularly care about Layla and her life, her abilities or Layla herself in general. What got me stuck to this book and trilogy was the romance, so I primarily read the book for its ship. Despite my overwhelming passion about the ship, the trilogy actually has quite a few noticeable flaws that cannot be overlooked.
Jasper: I totally agree Olivia! Layla just pisses me off so much. Its almost like, she's been crushing on this guy for her whole life then in comes another hot guy and off she goes. The good thing is that the book is only mildly romantic and didn't have that cheesy bs that makes books so predictable, and this book was anything but that.
Olivia: I want to read about a real character, who is not perfect, but slowly grows into a better character, and the problem is that Layla is a perfect character, which doesn’t leave much space for deeper character development. She’s soft, beautiful, “badass”, and she is so special, and she’s liked by TWO hot guys. HOT FREAKING HOT GUYS. HOT (and cold).
Jasper: Hahah, I see what you did there ;D Why don’t we talk about Roth for a bit? He is literally the epitome of badass. The way that JL Armentrout describes him leaves little to the imagination, and I think that Layla just feel for that, the whole “badass guy with (somewhat) good motives.” But a great thing about Roth is that he actually is human (not literally) I feel that Roth has real depth, unlike a lot of supporting characters, he actually develops into a character that you know and love. He gets you rooting for his side, even when the right choice is obviously Zayne. He’s just so...captivating.
Olivia: I guess what you're saying makes a bit of sense, but Zayne was a bit too late. If he wanted Layla, he should have made a move earlier, before Roth came in. Roth's development did develop and grow quite a bit over the two books, especially at the end of STC. His tattoos are really cool too ;)
The two love interests in the Dark Elements are actually quite similar to the boys in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices. While Roth is like Will, mysterious and hot yet loves Layla and cares for her so dearly, Zayne is like Jem, more caring and softer than badass like Roth and just a tiny bit too overprotective. They're both lovely and admirable, but I'm one for the more mysterious, sarcastic and badass dark haired guy. It annoys me slightly to have a guy so overprotective of the precious female, and unfortunately Zayne just lands in the category…
Jasper: You did not just compare Roth to Will. Will is so much better. And he is obviously the better choice. Jem is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too boring IMHO. Will is just amazing.
But I agree, the characteristics of these four characters are really similar. Zayne and Jem are both really mellow and softer people while Roth and Will are both a lot tougher and overbearing. So now I’m gonna go out on a limb here and ask you who’s team you’re on. Do you think that Layla’ll end up with Roth or Zayne?
Olivia: It’s impossible to tell with this series. This is one of the books that the guy the girl ends up isn’t obvious at all, and I even heard that some people have switched to Team Zayne after reading Stone Cold Touch. And for this one, there isn’t exactly a “better choice”, since both the first and the second book center on one guy and basically tells you how hot the guy is. I suppose choosing a guy for Layla in this series is really your personal preference, and JLA even had a poll for her readers to choose the guy Layla ends up with. I voted for Roth, of course. But I have a suspicion that many people voted for Zayne because Stone Cold Touch came out more recently than White Hot Kiss. I mean, even I almost forgot about how hot Roth could be until the end of the book...
Jasper: I voted for Roth as well. I just feel like he suits Layla more than Zayne does. It was kinda hard for me to read SCT because JLA spent all this time in the first book describing Layla and Roth together, and she had me hooked. Then all of a sudden in the second book, Layla switches teams and starts batting for Zayne. That kind of pissed me off because it’s way to sudden. There are literally days in between her loving Roth and her starting to fall hard for Zayne. Maybe that’s just my bias showing though. But even if I don’t exactly agree with the plot of the second book, they both were exceptionally written, better written than most YA supernatural romances *cough* *cough* I’m looking at you Twilight. There were no real flaws in the writing, the characters were exceptionally developed and the story really hooks you in. I really recommend that everyone check it out!
What team are you on? Were you as blown away with the romance in this book like we were?
Oh I love the idea of a duo review, you guys did a great job!
ReplyDeleteLayla sounds like a flake and that's my biggest pet peeve when it comes to female protags. Both the guys do sound awesome though, on principle I think I have to go with Roth.
Thanks Amber! The series is definitely worth checking out if you're into hot guys and all :)
DeleteI have read the novella.... but I haven't continued with the series as yet. I see why you are a bit annoyed with Layla, but it is good to see you enjoyed the story overall. I am looking forward to meeting all the characters though and seeing why you both picked Roth!
ReplyDeleteNaomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace
Yes! I haven't read the novella yet, but Roth is absolutely our fave <3
Delete