White Hot Kiss By: Jennifer L. Armentrout Review

White Hot Kiss
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Pages: 400
Rating: 5/5

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.

     Like all of Jennifer Armentrout's novels, White Hot Kiss managed to hook me into a thrilling rollar coaster ride I never wanted to end!  White Hot Kiss is the beginning to a new YA series all about gargoyles, demons and wardens-- it's unique, fresh and oh so addicting!  If you haven't read one of Jennifer's novels before, now is the time to start!

     Layla, our heroine, is half warden and half demon and has struggled throughout her whole life to figure out where she belongs.  She's been raised by her best friend's dad, Abbot, amongst wardens but still finds herself feeling like an outsider; and it doesn't help that wardens and demons absolutely hate each other.  This struggle Layla experiences throughout the book made her relatable, and her wittiness made her equally adorable.

     Of course, what is a novel without a little romance....or in this case, a decent, yummy serving of it! Leading up to White Hot Kiss' release, I kept hearing about this guy named Roth that was making bookworms everywhere fan themselves.  I have to admit that within the first 100 pages, I was swooned over and he quickly made his way on to my favourite book boyfriends list.  He's sexy, has a snake tattoo named Bambi who comes to life, and has a special way with words.  For those of you who love Daemon from Jennifer's Lux series, you'll LOVE Roth....dare I say, possibly even more than Daemon *gasps*  There's another fella in Layla's life as well, and although I don't think he is even on the same level as Roth, he does mean a lot to Layla-- her best friend, Zayne.  Zayne, who's four years older than Layla, has been her crush for years and Layla tries desperately to get him to notice her in the same way.  I didn't really like how Zayne treated her towards the second half of the novel and didn't really see any spark between them that could grow into a large enough flame to compete with Layla's chemistry with Roth.  Although this situation does seem to be a little love triangle-y, I don't think (*she says hopefully*) that there's a huge question as to who Layla wants and should be with.

     In addition to the steaminess, what makes this book in particular so great is how difficult it is to determine who the good and bad guys are.  Everyone seems to want Layla for their own agendas; giving the storyline a complexity and mystery that only adds to its addicting quality! We also get an update on where Jas and Dez, the main characters from the prequel novella, Bitter Sweet Love, are now.  I hope they become larger parts of the plot in book two!

Favourite Quotes...

“You need something," he said, and when I stared at him, he added, "Your face."

"My face?"

"It's in need of my kisses.” 

~~~~~

“I lost myself the moment I found you.” 

Overall...
     Overall, White Hot Kiss more than lived up to its high praise.  The ending left me kind of going nuts for book two, Stone Cold Touch, which is set to be released this October! Have you read White Hot Kiss?  What is your favourite Jennifer Armentrout novel? Be sure to let me know in the comments below! Keep Reading!

Your Y.A. Bookworm,

Caitlin <3


White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements)


I talk briefly about my thoughts on White Hot Kiss in my February Wrap Up video below: