Review: White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Publication Date: February 25, 2014

White Hot Kiss turned out to be a fun and romantic ride! I liked the mythology of the Wardens and the demons and I thought the action scenes were very exciting. I didn’t love the book as much as the Lux series, but it was still a solid start to the series.

Layla was an interesting character since her heritage is half-Warden and half-demon. The Wardens are gargoyles that can shift into human form and they are appointed guardians of mankind against demons. Layla was taken in as a child by the Wardens and has to suppress her demon side. She is very conflicted about her heritage once she meets demon Roth.

I really liked both of the potential love interests Roth and Zayne, but I really wished there wasn’t a love triangle. Sometimes love triangles work for me, but this one just seemed unnecessary. I almost wished Zayne had been cast in a big brother role and have Roth as the sole love interest. Roth is a bad *ss demon, but I liked his protective side and also his funny little quirks like naming his snake Bambi.

The plot moved at a good clip as Layla and Roth try to figure out who is trying to release hell on earth. Layla also finds out more about her past with a few revelations that caught me by surprise. The author is a talented writer and I could feel the tension during the suspenseful scenes and the heat during the romantic parts.

I’m looking forward to the next installment especially after the surprise ending. I would highly recommend the book to fans of teen paranormal romance novels.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!