Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Bitter Sweet Love (Dark Elements #0.5)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Release Date: December 1, 2013

Source: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon / Indigo

In a sizzling prequel novella to her new series THE DARK ELEMENTS, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout draws readers into the extraordinary, irresistible world of Wardens and demons.

Dez wasn't just Jasmine's crush. A gargoyle Warden like Jas, he helped her come to terms with her destiny--fending off demons and maintaining balance between good and evil. He was her everything…right until the moment he disappeared without a trace. It didn't help that Jas's father had just announced that she and Dez would one day be mated. Hard not to take that personally. 

And now he's back, three years older, ten times hotter, ready to pick up exactly where they left off. But Jas isn't taking that risk again. Dez has seven days to meet all her conditions and earn back her trust. Seven days filled with terrifying danger and sweet temptation. Seven days to win her heart--or shatter it all over again…

By this point, I will read anything that Jennifer L. Armentrout writes. In my personal opinion, she can do no wrong, and unless she somehow starts doing wrong, I will keep reading her books. As predicted, Bitter Sweet Love was a great introduction to her new Dark Elements series, and I loved reading it.

Jasmine has spent the last three years trying to move on from her best friend, Dez. Right when she things she might finally be over him abandoning her with no explanation, Dez walks right back into her life. And on top of it all, he wants Jasmine to be his mate. All the feelings Jas thought had disappeared come rushing back. But this time around, she's not taking any risks: Jas is giving Dez seven days to meet all of her conditions. At the end of those seven days, maybe Jas will be ready to risk it all and say yes to Dez.

I'm not usually one for novellas, but every so often I decide to give one a shot. Add to that the fact that this particular novella was written by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and that's all the push I needed. Bitter Sweet Love was a great introduction to Armentrout's new series, The Dark Elements. As I could have predicted before I even started reading, I knew that this particular story would get me hooked on this new world. Gargoyles is definitely something that hasn't been done before in YA, and it has me completely intrigued. This novella helped set the stage. It introduced us to the world of Wardens, giving readers a small glimpse of what's to come in this new series. 

Some of the characters were also intro ducted. Granted Bitter Sweet Love focused on Jasmine and Dez, but we did get to see Layla and Zayne, the two main characters of the upcoming White Hot Kiss. Ann though the rest of the story won't be focused on them, I hope we'll still be able to catch glimpses of Jasmine and Dez. Despite how brief it was, I loved getting to know them and I got a little attached. But judging from what I saw in Bitter Sweet Love, I should still be able to see them in future books.

Jennifer L. Armentrout's Bitter Sweet Love did what it was supposed to do: it set the stage for the rest of the sees and got me excited about the future Dark Elements books. If you are eagerly awaiting the release of White Hot Kiss, I recommend you read Bitter Sweet Love to get a taste of what's to come.