Book Review: Obsidian by Kimberly Loth

My Rating: 

Book: Obsidian (The Dragon Kings, Book 1)

Author: Kimberly Loth
Pages: 200

Release date: February 17th 2016

Synopsis:

Aspen---a skydiving, rock-climbing, bear-cuddling---adrenaline junkie, finds herself in real danger when she unwittingly ensnares the heart of Obsidian, the dragon king.

My Review:

I received a copy through the YA Bound Book Tour to read and review in return.

Seeing that the synopsis is one of the shortest synopsis I have ever read, I really had no idea what to truly expect from this book. One thing I did know for sure was that this book would entail way more than what the synopsis really reveals... and boy was I right! 

From the moment I read the prologue, I fell in love with this book. Ms. Loth geniusly created a fantastic world which on first glance looks to be a world you and I live in, except one big.. BIG difference... DRAGONS! Dragons are a norm in the world Aspen lives in. Luckily, they are known to be "friendly" but always keep their distance from humans. Aspen, our spunky no-nonsense protagonist of this book lives close to Yellowstone, where she gets to exert her dangerous and adventurous passions and hobbies: hiking, rock climbing and even skydiving! She is a definite daredevil, and you don't only notice this in her hobbies and talents, but also in her attitude. 

The story picks up extremely fast where we discover that Apsen shares an undeniable love for these dragons. She makes it a daily mission to capture the best pictures of these magnificent underrated creatures, and doesn't fear for any type of consequences. The story tips back and forth from narration point of views, where we also get to know our second protagonist of the story, Obsidian. We primarily get to know Obsidian in his Dragon form, but in his human form he is dark, handsome en mysterious. He is chosen to be Dragon King which means he'll need to live 10 years as a human in order to eventually wear the crown. He is sent to start off these 10 years in the same town Aspen lives in, but unfortunately their encounter does not go smooth. When Aspen bumps into Obsidian at the Purple Dragon cafe where she works, she almost has a heart attack when she sees the extreme physical similarities between Obsidian's looks and a boy from her past who makes her blood curl and haunt her deepest nightmares... someone who damaged her more than she likes to admit. 

Unknowingly, Aspen steals the heart of Obsidian in the Dragon form, not knowing what this means or what the consequences are. One thing is for sure, these consequences will be something they will both be forced to reckon with. Obsidian's future as King seems to be in jeopardy, Aspen's darkest secret seems to be surfacing and becoming reality, and what else... people are brutally being eaten alive by a mystery dragon!

In the beginning of the book, I was completely smitten by the story and its characters. Aspen is a feisty one; she immediately feels a heavy hatred for Obsidian due to his similarities with the boy she absolutely fears and hates; and she has no problem exerting this hatred towards him. Obsidian is a fun and spunky character himself and is absolutely not a push over... but his constant acceptance of brutality from Aspen left me sometimes questioning and thinking, "why do you even still bother?!". But their bond is undeniable and he knows Aspen is hiding something.


I unfortunately could not rate this book a super high rating, as I was slightly disappointed with the ending of this book. I felt that some parts were rushed, I noticed the author made some messy errors, and the emotions and actions of the characters seemed to become more and more superficial and unbelievable. I am however still looking forward to the sequel, as the reader is left with a MAJOR cliffhanger, and I absolutely need to know what will happen next...

I would definitely like to recommend this book to ANY young adult fantasy/paranormal fan out there! You will most definitely breeze through the pages as I did, due to the abundance of excitement, originality, enjoyable characters and fast paced tempo! Enjoy :)

About the Author:

Kimberly Loth can’t decide where she wants to settle down. She’s lived in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Utah, California, Oregon, and South Carolina. She finally decided to make the leap and leave the U.S. behind for a few years. Currently, she lives in Cairo, Egypt with her husband and two kids.

She is a high school math teacher by day (please don’t hold that against her) and YA author by night. She loves romantic movies, chocolate, roses, and crazy adventures. Kissed is her first novel.

Author Links:

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Giveaway:

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