Review: Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…
Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…
The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…
I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Pages: 366
Published by: Entangled Teens (August 14, 2012)
Genre: YA science fiction/romance

My rating for Onyx (Lux, #2):

At the end of Obsidian, I was really proud that Kat was sticking to her guns, telling Daemon that she wanted a real relationship from Daemon and she wasn't going to accept anything else. Daemon spends this book first trying to get Kat to give in and admit her attraction to him, to goad her into kissing him. That was a lot of the book and there was a lot of tension between the two of them that made the book exciting. Daemon changes during the book, but by the time that Kat realizes how much he does care for her and how much he should trust him, its too late. That was frustrating to read about because Kat was making some seriously stupid decisions that landed them in baaad situations. It was really heart breaking to see Daemon accuse Kat of not trusting him, of seeing how hurt he was because of her decisions. BUT the romance in this book was lovely to read! I know this review is quite mixed, but I did like the romance just as much as I did in Obsidian, even if it was frustrating at times.

The story was pretty systematic. Nothing really shocked me. The typical conflicts that move a story were there and I guessed them all. I still enjoyed the book, it just wasn't anything amazingly creative.

I loved and hated this book because of the decisions that characters made, but I'll definitely be reading the third book to see where Kat and Daemon go next. I'm kind of afraid Daemon is going to be a big ol' softy in this next book, but I guess we'll see.

Recommended to readers who like: Jennifer L. Armentrout, science fiction, aliens, romance, young adult books, typical story plot lines.

Sexual content: medium (sexual tension and an "almost" situation)

~

Apart from the Lux series, Jennifer L. Armentrout has another series called the Covenant series, a couple stand-alone novels, and she recently began writing new adult novels under the name J. Lynn. Find out more about Armentrout and her books on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads! 

Here are my reviews for the books of hers I've read so far:

Obsidian (Lux, #1)

Half-Blood (Covenant, #1)

Daimon (Covenant, #0.5)

Pure (Covenant, #2)

Add Onyx on Goodreads.

Buy on Amazon and B&N.

Review: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Starting over sucks.
When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.
Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. 

The hot alien living next door marks me.
You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 

If I don't kill him first, that is.

Genre: YA science fiction/romance

My rating for Obsidian (Lux, #1):

This was another book a friend suggested that I read and whenever a friend suggests a book, I typically go in blindly, not knowing a thing about the novel other than it is GOOD. 

Needless to say, I was surprised to find that I was reading a book about aliens. I didn't realize that right off the bat, but when it became clear that their was definitely something up with Kat's next door neighbors, and then when it was revealed, I was like "Woah!"

Now don't let that scare you! I know a lot of people seem to be skeptical when it comes to an alien book. I understand the hesitation because when someone says, "I just read this really good book; it was about aliens!", you kind of do a double take. But fear not! This book about aliens is original and the concept of these aliens made a HUGE contribution to my liking to Obsidian.

Without giving away spoilers, the type of aliens Jennifer L. Armentrout created for the Lux series (hint, hint) are, by far, one of the most unique concepts I've ever read! As you may or may not know, we do not have the technology or means on earth to travel to any of the planets outside our solar system because they are just that far away and it would take many many many life times to reach them. So any alien who travels through space to Earth (theoretically) would presumably have to follow the same laws of science. 

The aliens Armentrout created are ones that make one think that the logic behind them does seem kind of true! I'll admit that it wasn't a flawless idea, but what was explained in the book made sense! I cannot get over how cool of a concept it was--I loved it! Anything that didn't quite piece together--well, you can just write that off as a side effect of fiction! :)

Besides the characters, which I'll get to in a couple seconds, the other thing I liked about Obsidian is the writing. When I read Armentrout's work, I feel like her writing is effortless. It's comfortable to read and I enjoy everything from the pacing to when their is description vs. when there is dialogue...it flows really easily and this basic, but rare feature makes me fly through the pages.

Now to the actual story and characters:

Katy is a lovable girl who moved for a fresh start three years after he father died from cancer. She loves reading and blogging (which I found highly appropriate to be included in this series :)) and she just wants everything to work out. She moves to a small town where everyone knows each other, and she ends up right next door to Daemon and his sister Dee.

Although Katy befriended Dee first, douchebag Daemon became the main focus of this story quickly and he all but consumed the entire novel. He's hot and he's a complete asshole.

"Beautiful body. Beautiful face. Horrible attitude. It was the holy trinity of hot boys."

Katy and Daemon are so attracted to each other the whole time, but Daemon is such an ass that he's constantly trying to hide his feelings, hurt Katy (or Kat, as Daemon calls her), or just downright embarrass her. This had to be the most frustrating dynamic between characters I've ever read! Their bicker and bitching lasted the entire book and although I found it funny, I just wanted to scream, "WOULD YOU QUIT IT!!?!"

"Why are you such an ass?" The words came out before I could think twice.

"Everyone has to excel at something, right?"

"Well, you're doing a great job."

I love Kat and Daemon so much! I just want them to be this awesome passionate couple because they're both such passionate, awesome people that it hurts me to see them treat each other the way they do. I suppose this is what sequels are for...

When Daemon did bring down his guard and show compassion to Kat, OMG I think my heart burst every single time! Just like Kat, I like the Daemon who watches over her, protects her, and cares for her. The one who shows that he cares more about her than to just kiss her or have sex with her. That's the guy I cannot wait to see more of in Onyx and the following sequels. (I hope I DO get to see more of that Daemon!) I love Kat and Daemon so so much!!

Two aspects of Obsidian that I didn't enjoy:

• The Native American legend: although I understood how it pertained to the story and to the aliens, I get bored when long legends are told in books. In this book, I didn't like how it was used. It didn't flow flawlessly with the rest of the story, for me at least.
• The end fight scene: The ending was just kind of jumbled and I wish there had been more to it. Although, it was pretty cool what happened in the fight scene...

Some of my love-factors about Obsidian: 

• Kat wasn't a skinny mini girl. I know that looks are not everything, but as girls and especially when we read romance books, so many times do we think, "Well, they're skinny and beautiful so of course the guy was attractive to her instantaneously!" (Or, at least, that's what I sometimes think anyway.) Kat definitely has some hips on her and is no way close to a model's size. I really like how Armentrout made that one of her features.
• The bonus scenes from Daemon's POV that were added to the end of the book--LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Daemon!!! <3
• (SPOILER ALERT): Instead of Kat giving 100% into her attraction for Daemon, she stuck by her guns and told him that she wanted a real, committed relationship. And that is he couldn't give her that, then they weren't going to have one at all. I could bow to Armentrout for writing this part! Armentrout made the perfect point by having Kat state that they really didn't know each other that well and she made Kat ask herself is there was any real substance that would hold her and Daemon together. One that completely excluded sexual attraction. Honestly, I LOVED this. SPOILER QUOTE: “No. Sorry. You have spent months being the biggest jerk to me. You don't get to decide to like me one day and think I will forget that. I want someone to care for me like my dad cared for my mom. And you aren't him.” 

There are so many appealing assets to this book it's crazy! If you decide to give it a try, which I HIGHLY recommend you do, then I hope you let me know how you liked it, and if you've already read Obsidian, then please comment below to tell me your thoughts! 

Apart from the Lux series, Jennifer L. Armentrout has another series called the Covenant series, a couple stand-alone novels, and she recently began writing new adult novels under the name J. Lynn. Check out my review for her first book in the Covenant series called "Half-Blood" and then let me know in the comments if that sounds like something you'd read. Find out more about Armentrout and her books on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads! 

EDIT: I'd like to note that since reading Obsidian, I have read some reviews stating that Obsidian is comparable to Twilight because of character content. Never ONCE did Twilight come to my mind while reading this book. I freaking liked this book on its own account. Now, after reading those reviews and having read Obsidian, I can say that the only now notable comparison is the number of characters and some of their involvements in the book. But let me remind you that just because one author had one idea, that doesn't mean another didn't have a similar one. That is all.