Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Yes
Finished or ARC: Finished, ebook
Source: Bought
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.
Review:
I’ve only read this book and the Lux series by JLA. My
friend that has read her series about gods says I need to read that one soon,
too. Eventually I will. But if you want to skip a few of her books and read
something out of the ordinary, read White Hot Kiss.
No, it is not about an actually white hot kiss. It has
nothing to do with that except that Layla can’t kiss anyone that has soul. But
it makes the romance part of the book interesting. More on that later.
The plot of the book involves these warriors that go
around fighting demons from Hell. Theses warriors are called Wardens, which are
basically gargoyles that can change into human form to blend in. Layla is stuck
between two worlds since she is half demon and half Warden. Yes, there is some
crap about her being between the two and struggling with her place in the
world, but that just leads to the bigger picture. The bigger picture involves
raising a bunch of really evil demons, and to do so, Layla’s blood is needed.
Enter Roth. Higher level demon and a kickass hottie.
Note: Roth can be caring and a smartass too. His job is odd for a demon, but it
involves Layla. What is crazy about this book is the fact on why Layla actually
exists. It’s crazy, but oddly, romantic, if it didn’t involve something bad
happening to Layla. Anyway, Roth’s and Layla’s adventure together is what you
may expect from a demon and a half demon: they become friends and try to stop
the world from imploding.
Now, the romance part is a bit…annoying, but at the same
time, you aren’t rooting for a side. There is a stupid love triangle. In fact,
there are two. I know! Stupid right. But in one, there is already a clear
winner (or at least I think there is). There is: Danika, Zayne, and Layla. Both
Danika and Zayne are expected to mate, but Zayne likes Layla and she him, but
she can’t be with him because of the whole soul sucking thing. And then there
is Layla, Zayne, and Roth. Roth likes Layla, and Layla likes both boys, but I
was rooting for Roth. Fortunately, the love triangles are highlighted to an
extreme. It more like Zayne is overprotective of Layla and Roth loves insulting
Zayne, but only to Layla (though he did once to Zayne’s face). Anyway, the
romance isn’t cheesy, but it still is annoying to have a love triangle.
Layla, despite being a totally girl (I’m one too, but I’m
not that cry-babyish about it) about her place among the Wardens, is a girl
with spunk and willing to take risks to find out who she is. But I was happy
when she started rebelling. The kicker in finding out who her parents are was
mind-blowing. Seriously, it was the one thing in the book you wouldn’t see
coming. Roth I already talked about. He is sweet, kickass, and a smartass. End
of story. Zayne is a bit annoying. He’s one of those characters you want to
strangle and slap over the head because they can’t see what is going on in
front of them, but at the same time, he’s like the boy next door every girl
wants. I still root for Roth.
The ending was okay. Not what I wished would have happened, but the
summary of the next book makes me feel better. Now, go out and read this book!
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