The Darkest Star

5 Stars Review by Sasha Late Night Reviewer Up All Night w/ Books Blog Evie Dasher’s entire world changed when she decided to walk into the club Foretoken one night. She knew that this club was a place where people who didn’t fit in could attend. This was a safe place for any Luxen, a new alien species that had invaded earth a couple years ago. They could come to blow off some steam and not be afraid of getting taken away. Evie had thought that it would be a night filled with dancing and laughing with her best friend and meeting her best friend’s crush. What she didn’t expect was for a devastatingly handsome but outrageously rude guy named Luc to declare that she shouldn’t be there. From her first encounter with Luc, the world around her decides to get turned upside down. Suddenly Evie finds that the world she has come to know, and the life that she had been told was hers, wasn’t what it seemed to be. There is nothing that Evie would like more than to forget about that night at Foretoken, but Luc seems to be popping up everywhere she goes. He insults her when they first meet, leaves her with nothing but a couple lines of cryptic dialogue and then begins appearing all around her like some guardian angel. Despite the annoyance that Luc brings into her life, Evie finds herself drawn to him. He holds the answers to the questions that she begins searching for. The closer she gets to Luc, the more she finds herself wondering who she can trust and who is actually the person they say there are. God, I loved this book. It was the perfect young adult novel for any reader who is looking for something similar to the Divergent series. The witty banter between all the characters, especially Luc and Evie, gives the story that youthful tone and vibe. The back and forth nature between Luc and Evie is too funny and it makes the slow burn of their relationship almost bearable. Evie stands up and fights for herself, which gives the young girls reading this another great character to look up to. The fact that it’s a spin-off of another one of Armentrout’s popular series and doesn’t rely on the reader having extensive knowledge of the previous series is a comfort to new readers who are picking up the new series. I’m definitely a fan of Armentrout’s writing after reading this book. I can’t wait to get my hands no only on the next book in this series but also her other books. Between the dramatic discoveries and the slow burn between Luc and Evie, I was on the edge of my seat reading this novel.

There is really only one word you need to know in order for you to read The Darkest Star - LUC!!!!! If like myself, you are a huge fan of the Lux series (Daemon and Kat will always hold a special place in my heart) then I am sure you were also chomping for further information about our intrepid youthful leader of the resistance - Luc.  Did you wonder what happened after the invasion? How did humans and luxen cope with the sudden integration of their species? What happened to Daedalus? How did the Origin children grow-up? These were just some of the questions that wandered my mind before I opened the pages of The Darkest Star. While these questions were answered in the story, there were plenty more questions that arose as a result opening up a whole new can of worms so to speak. What I didn't expect from the narrative was how much I would empathise with Luc, how his loneliness would permeate through the pages and straight into my heart. In all honesty, I cannot give details of the plot because it is so cleverly interwoven even the smallest detail may spoil the whole thing.  While I adored getting to know Luc and the events that shaped his identity, I will say the surprising undercurrent of the story was unsettling - a harsh reflection of the hate-driven society we currently occupy. It was a very poignant representation of the political climate especially that within the United States 😢 As I have already stated The Darkest Star opens up a new line of questions that we have to wait an entire year to have answered - hence the deduction of half a point in my rating 😉 I only hope I remember the questions by the time I get to read The Burning Shadow. 

It wasn't a heavy read so I really like it. The fact that I have a complicated working style, Im glad that I could come home to read this. I haven't read the main series. Perhaps when I do have a break I'll jump into them.