Review – An Infinite Book World

REVIEW (3)

Onyx (Lux, #2) Title/Author: Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux (#2)
Release Date: August 14, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Paranormal/Sci-Fi
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

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…

This is the second installment in Jennifer L. Armentrout’s electrifying Lux series. This series is filled with intense fight scenes, kick-ass females, sexy men and everything else you could ever want from a YA novel. Add on Jennifer L. Armentrout’s emotional and humorous writing and you’ve got a masterpiece. Before you read this post, I strongly recommend reading my review on Obsidian, the first book in the Lux series. Don’t worry, it’s spoiler free. Before we get into this review, be sure to check out my old review of Onyx (CLICK HERE).

WHAT I LIKED

Onyx is the one book in this series that I didn’t LOVE when I first read it. I thought that it had too slow of a pace and seemed to stretch on endlessly! But, absurdly, each time I read this book I love it a little bit more. It’s really weird, but I’m so glad that I have finally come to love this book!

We’ve got to start this section off super strong, right? SO why not start off by talking about Daemon and Katy. Daemon’s a Luxen (an alien if you are not familiar with the series) and Katy’s a human. The two really shouldn’t mix, but they did. It was obvious in the latter chapters of Obsidian that the two characters had feelings for each other. But it wasn’t until Onyx that both characters recognized these feelings. Although their relationship was a mess for the majority of this novel, I am determined to go down with this ship!

Overall, I found that both Katy and Daemon’s characters had really changed from what we saw in Obsidian. Although Katy was still a huge, naive, book nerd, she had a bit more maturity. She could still throw out a ramble of non-sense to Daemon, but for the most part she only spoke when she was confident with what she was going to say. And Daemon had really lightened up from the douche-bag I read about in Obsidian. He truly was more caring, emotional and NICE.

I feel like we also got to REALLY meet some of the characters introduced to us in the first book. Unlike Katy, Daemon, and Dee, there were some characters who didn’t get a lot of page time in Obsidian. The stunning, blonde haired Thompson triplets had quite a bit of page time, whether it was because they were sitting with Daemon in the school cafeteria or because they were having ACTUALLY having a conversation with Katy. And even, you can’t help but love Ash’s sass! Matthew, Katy’s biology teacher and the Thompson’s and Lux’s “guardian” was also frequently in this book. I still don’t LOVE him as a character, but I do love the role he plays in this series.

I also really enjoyed having Katy’s mom appear in this novel so often. In Obsidian, we only really saw her watching over Katy whenever Daemon came walking up their steps. But literally, she is the MOST chill mom you will ever read about. Like, come on, I wish I could wave my middle finger in a hot, cocky boy’s face with my mom looking. But, although every scene Katy’s mom was in included Will (Yea, let’s not talk about Will…), it was nice to have her appear so much in this novel. Even though she is constantly working, I love knowing that Katy and her mom still maintain such as strong relationship.

Just know to keep your eyes out for two scenes in this novel when you read it: the Thanksgiving scene and the movie theatre scene. You will totally thank me later. Also the ending might have you in tears.

WHAT I LIKED (1)

For the most part, I still disliked the same things as before. The DOD and the Arum are still HORRIBLE. But, during Onyx I really found myself disliking certain characters. Some are new, while others were mentioned in the previous novel. But they were all just evil, even if they didn’t try to be.

Blake Saunders. Santa Monica native, surfer, blogger, wears nerdy shirts, cute, average boy most girls would try to go out with. Yep, and Katy actually did that last one. But the two characters seemed to have a lot in common. They both moved from a warmer place to LITERALLY THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE. They both blogged about things they were passionate about. And, they both seem to be HUGE nerds. She thought that it would be smart to go for someone normal, unlike an alien like Daemon. But really, she ran herself into the biggest problem EVER.

Will, Will, Will. I thought you had potential but really you were only in this book to ruin Katy’s life. In case you didn’t know, Will is a doctor who worked at a local hospital with Katy’s mom and later went on to start a relationship with her. I really was starting to lighten up to Will, until certain things were revealed about him. After that I just couldn’t stand him. Especially during the last 20 pages. Ugh.

WHAT I LIKED (3)

‘“Cookie?” he offered, holding a cookie full of chocolate chips.
Upset tummy or not, there was no way I could refuse that. “Sure.”
His lips tipped up one side and he leaned toward me, his mouth inches from mine. “Come and get it.”
Come and get…? Daemon placed half the cookie between those full, totally kissable lips.
Oh, holy alien babies everywhere…’

‘“Your mail could’ve waited.” Daemon followed me into the kitchen. “What is it? Just books?”
Grabbing the OJ from the fridge, I sighed. People who didn’t heart books didn’t understand.’

WHAT I LIKED (4)

I absolutely LOVED this novel and couldn’t help but give it 5 stars. If you asked me back in 2015 what I would’ve rated it, I honestly would have given it 4 stars. But with all of my re-reads throughout the years, I have managed to bump it all the way up to 5 stars! And trust me, it really does deserve it. This book (and the entire Lux series) is a must-read. So, you better drop your laundry and run to the bookstore after reading this review and pick up a copy of the first book, Obsidian. You will not regret it.

Amazon | Chapters/Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Happy Reading,
Alaina

REVIEW (2).png

Title/Author: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux (#1)
Release Date: May 8th, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Paranormal, Science-Fiction
Rating:✭✭✭✭✭

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.

I recently gave this book, yet again, another re-read and I thought it would be the perfect time to write up a new review. The previous one (CLICK HERE if you would like to check it out) was from numerous years ago and to be honest, it is really crappy. It hardly gets any views, and seeing that it is for my favorite book, it needs more recognition.

For those of you that don’t already know, Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout is the first book is a thrilling paranormal/sci-fi series. This series features aliens in high school, kick-ass females and a whole lot of smoking hot men. It is amazing and I definitely recommend giving it a shot, no matter how cliche it may sound!

This fast-paced novel took my breath away! There were never any boring scenes, nor were there any scenes that seemed to drag on forever. Within just over 300 pages, Jennifer L. Armentrout has given extraterrestrial beings another shot in the YA literature. Especially when they aren’t slimy, green midgets.

This book truly does start like any normal YA novel. Teenage book blogger, Katy Swartz and her mother move from Florida to a small town in West Virginia for a new beginning after her father’s traumatic death. However, what she doesn’t expect is to be moving in next door to a household of aliens. It’s unexpected, but definitely a thrill for us readers!

To be totally honest, my favorite part of this novel is the fact that our main character is a book blogger. If you didn’t already know, I loved the idea of book blogging so much after reading this book that it inspired me to create a blog of my own shortly after reading this book (STRONG SINCE 2015). But Katy Swartz is your average, naive teenager, spending her days suffering through trigonometry, and her nights communicating with other readers around the world through her blog “Katy’s Krazy Obsession.” If there is any character that I find myself relating to most, it is definitely Katy.

But really, this book wasn’t anything special until our swoon-worthy hottie, Daemon Black decided to make an appearance. With his tousled, dark waves, bright, green eyes and to-die-for body, this smoking hot (literally) man is destined to make it on to your book boyfriend list! Even though he definitely does come off as cocky at first, he really does lighten up. But really, what paranormal book doesn’t contain a mysterious, bad boy?

Something else that I really enjoyed about this novel is the setting. It actually isn’t often that I pick up a book set in West Virginia, let alone set in an unincorporated town. This book (mostly) takes place in Ketterman, a town that can easily found on a map, but has a population of zero. Well until the aliens and Katy decided show up. We also get a glimpse of Petersburg, a small, governed, town where Katy, Daemon and most of the other characters featured in this story go to school. But what I loved most about this setting is the fact that the author is actually from West Virginia. Although it does state in the back of the novels that she is from a totally different area of the state, there is still the possibility that she could’ve travelled to the regions mentioned. And with all of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s descriptions throughout this novel, it is obvious that she is familiar with the area.

I also really enjoyed the idea of having two different alien races. When you originally think about aliens, you think of E.T. phoning home, right? Or maybe that’s just me. But for the most part, an image comes into your mind of either Marvin the Martian or E.T.. But, Jennifer L. Armentrout has revamped aliens in her Lux series. She has created two species of aliens, Luxen and Arum, with names derived from the Latin words for light and shadow. Which is basically what they are. The Luxen are basically human-shaped beings of light, while the arum are beings of shadow. Our beloved Daemon Black and his sister Dee are Luxen and are able to manipulate light. I won’t go to much farther into the idea of aliens, but it is super unique and definitely worth reading.

Something Jennifer L. Armentrout does a really good job at is creating intense scenes. But not just any intense scenes, those scenes that have so much rising action to them that by the time you hit the climax, you are either crying or speechless. It’s amazing how she does it! These scenes helped keep up the pace of the novel AND shape this into such an amazing novel.

With all of the amazing characters, setting and scenes in this novel, there truly wasn’t a lot I disliked. With any 5 star novel, there never is anything. But there were a few characters and antagonists that I absolutely HATED in this novel.

The big antagonist of this novel, and really the whole series, is the Department of Defense, more commonly referred to as just the “DOD.” They basically keep a watchful eye on the aliens roaming across the United States and keep them in check. For Daemon and his sister, the DOD make frequent “check-in” stops at their house and have access to all of their information. Licenses, university applications, bank accounts, you name it, they know it. The DOD is the Luxen’s biggest enemy in Obsidian, and become an even bigger threat in the following books.

Simon Cutters, oh Simon Cutters how I hated you. Trust me, he really isn’t that bad at first. He was your average football jock who had a tendency to sleep through math lessons and hit up girls who’s names ended in “Y.” I was totally fine within UNTIL he decided to pick a new girl to hit on. And you know YA novels, that girl just had to be Katy. He did some unacceptable things at the Homecoming dance and after party bonfire that i will never be able to forgive him for. EVER.

The moment we were introduced to the Arum, I hated them. As they are basically made up of shadows, they can blend into darkness. Think of a creepy movie where you are in the woods on a dark night. If you were in Jennifer L. Armentrout’s world of aliens, there could easily be an Arum sneaking up behind you without you even knowing. As I am totally “Team Luxen,” these guys just really need to get lost.

‘A smile parted his lips. “You do realize I love a challenge?”
I laughed under my breath and turned back to the front door, giving him a one-fingered salute. “So do I, Daemon. So do I.”‘

I can’t help but give this book 5 stars! It really deserves all of the stars from me. I am actually typing this review up after my 5th read-through of this book, and I still love it as much as the first time I read it. This doesn’t happen with a lot of the books I read, so I just know that Obsidian is special. I will forever love and adore Daemon and Katy’s story and Jennifer L. Armentrout’s humorous and cry-worthy writing. This book is a get off your butt and run to your local bookstore type of read because you NEED to read it!

Amazon | Chapters/Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Happy Reading,
Alaina

Tag: Review

Review: Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Review: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout