Blog Tour: White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

White Hot Kiss 

(The Dark Elements #1) 

by 

Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Pub February 25th 2014 

by 

Harlequin Teen 

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.

Lindy's Thoughts

I'm in love with a brand new series...mark my words, The Dark Elements Series is going to become extremely popular, and I predict that it is going to be loved just as much as Jennifer Armentrout's Lux and Covenant Series'.  White Hot Kiss is a stunning, and addictive series debut that I could not put down!  The world building was amazing, the pacing was perfect, the plot twists were unpredictable, and the ending shocked me, and left me frantic for the next installment!  I completely fell in love with the main characters, Layla, Zayne, and most of all, the sexy, sensual, swoon worthy, and deliciously delectable demon, Roth!  All of you JLA fans, run, don't walk and get the this book!  Ms. Armentrout brings us her "A Game" with this new series.

Lyla is half Demon and half Warden.  Unfortunately, she is very lonely.  Many Wardens (similar to Gargoyles) fear her, or want her dead, since she is part Warden and part demon, and she cannot kiss anyone or anything with a soul, or she will take it away from them.  Lyla "craves" the really evil, and really pure souls the most, but fights against this part of herself.  Instead, she works with the Wardens, by "tagging" demons during the day, so that when the wardens go hunting at night, they can identify the demons, by killing those that were tagged.  This makes their jobs easier, and Layla's gift makes her feel as if she is doing something positive to atone for her demon half.    Lyla has been in love with Zayne, a powerful Warden, for many years.  Zayne and Lyla have a very special friendship.  He loves her very much, is nurturing, caring, and compassionate when it comes to interacting with her.  Zayne does not fear her and has complete faith and trust in Layla to always do the right thing.  Unfortunately, Layla thinks that Zayne only sees her as a little sister, and knows that he is expected to mate with another Warden for life, as Warden's are in desperate need of producing offspring, due to the fact that their kind are dying out.

Roth is an upper level demon.  He ends up saving Lyla's life when she is attacked by another demon.  After that, Roth seems to appear everywhere that Layla is, and the two of them get very close.  White Hot Kiss kept me guessing from the beginning to end of the story.  It kept me speculating as to what Roth's motives were concerning Layla.  I needed to figure out if he was really falling for Layla, or using her for his own selfish purposes.  One thing was certain, Roth was drop dead gorgeous, and sexy.  He made me swoon over and over again, and I loved his witty commentary throughout the story.  I was torn between Roth and Zayne, but by the end of the story I had a clear favorite, and fell hard for that character based off of their actions.   
     

My Rating

I give White Hot Kiss 5 Fiery Hot, Fast-Paced, Unpredictable, "Roth is so Sexy" Filled Stars!  I can't wait for the next installment in the series, Stone Cold Touch!  One thing is for certain, I will be reading this story as soon as it hits my Kindle!  Jennifer L. Armentrout never disappoints.  If you're looking for an amazing new young adult, paranormal series to begin, this one has it all; creative world building, a fast-paced, unique, and fascinating plot, and well developed characters that you will fall madly in love with.

My Favorite Quotes

"People with the purest souls are capable of the greatest evils.  No one is perfect, no matter what they are or what side they fight for."  (eARC, Loc. 1854)

~Roth

"'We demons are all alike.  We covet pretty things, corrupt what is pure and whole, take what we never can have.  You should have a whole fan club made up of demons.'  His touch was lulling, comforting.  I yawned.  'You'd be a member of my demon-horde fan club?'  Roth laughed softly.  'Oh, I think I'd be the president.'"  (eARC, Loc. 2044)

~Roth & Layla

"'Just so you know, your virtue isn't safe with me.  So when you look like you want me to devour every inch of your mouth, I will without an ounce of regret.'"

(eARC, Loc. 2075)

~Roth

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Excerpt 

“The one before you never denied what she was.” His voice then took on that soft, 

teasing quality again. “Do you know anything about her—about your heritage, Layla?” he said, 

and then his arm slipped around my waist, fitting my body against his. “Do you know anything 

about what you are?” 

 “Do you know anything about personal space?” I snapped. 

 “No.” He smirked, and then his eyes seemed to turn luminous. “But I do know that you 

really don’t mind me in your personal space.” 

 “Keep trying to convince yourself of that.” I sucked in a breath, forcing myself to meet 

his stare. “Being this close to you makes me want to shave off layers of my skin.” 

 Roth laughed softly. His head tipped down and suddenly our lips were inches apart. If he 

had a soul, he’d be entering dangerous territory. “I don’t need to do any convincing. I’m a 

demon.” 

 “Duh,” I murmured, my gaze now fixed on his mouth. 

 “Then you know that demons can smell human emotions.” 

 They could. I’d missed out on that ability, though. I could smell burnt food a mile away, 

as helpful as that was. 

 The corners of his lips tipped higher. “Fear has a sharp, bitter scent. I can smell that on 

you. Anger is like a chili pepper—it’s hot and it burns. And I can smell that, too.” Roth paused, 

and somehow, he was even closer.  So close that when he spoke next, his lips brushed the corner 

of mine. “Ah, yes… and then there’s attraction.  Sweet, tangy and heavy; it’s my favorite of 

them all.  And guess what?” 

 I strained back against the wall. “You do not smell that on me, buddy.” 

 He reclaimed the distance with little effort. “That’s the funny thing about denial. It makes 

for a really bad weapon. You can say you’re not attracted to me all you want and maybe you 

don’t even know it yet, but I know differently.” 

 My mouth dropped open. “You need to get your demon nose looked at then, because it’s 

seriously broken.” 

 Roth leaned back, tapping a long finger on the tip of my nose. “This has never lied 

before.” But he did step away. Though the smug grin remained on his face like his lips had been 

made for it, his next words were laced with seriousness. “You need to stop tagging.” 

 Grateful for the breathing room, I let out a ragged breath and clutched the edges of the 

sink. Now it made sense—this Upper Level demon showing interest in me. “What? Have I 

tagged too many of your friends?” 

 One dark brow arched. “I frankly don’t care how many demons you tag or how many the 

Wardens send back to Hell. As you can see, your glow in the dark touch doesn’t work on me.” 

 I frowned as I eyed him. Crap. He was right. And I hadn’t even noticed it until then. 

Nice. 

 “It doesn’t work on any Upper Level demon. We’re just too cool for that.” Roth folded 

muscular arms across his chest. “But back to the whole tagging thing. You need to stop.” 

 I barked out a short laugh. “Yeah, and why in the world would I do that?” 

 A bored look crept across his striking features. “I could give you one good reason. The 

Seeker last night was looking for you.”

About The Author

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. 

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. 

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

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February 26

MundieMoms-Author Interview

February 27

Vilma’s Book Blog-Character Interview (Layla)

February 28

Paranormal Reads-DreamCast

March 1

Paranormal Book Club-Excerpt

March 2

Once Upon A Twilight-Excerpt

March 3

Stuck in Books-Character Interview (Roth)

March 4

A Bookish Escape-Excerpt

March 5

Good Choice Reading-Playlist

March 6

Novel Novice-Excerpt

March 7

Reading Teen-Author Interview