Friday, April 19, 2013

REVIEW: ONYX ~ JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT


*SPOILER ALERT* CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM BOOK 1 – OBSIDIAN, AND MILD SPOILERS OF THE ONYX STORYLINE.

Following Daemon using his alien powers to heal her and bring her back from the brink of death, Katy finds herself mentally and physically linked with Daemon Black, the guy she’s convinced herself she can’t stand.  Even though Daemon claims to have only pushed Katy away to keep everyone safe, and now very much wants to be with her, Katy is convinced that he doesn’t really want her – he didn’t before their weird connection; but now that their hearts beat as one, Katy believes that Daemon wants her only as a product of their bizarre connection.  Because of this, and because she has finally had enough of his hot and cold routine, Katy swears him off.

Ignoring Daemon isn’t easy, especially when he gets serious about proving his feelings for Katy are real.  But Katy is still hurt by Daemon’s earlier behaviour towards her and stubbornly refuses to admit her feelings for him.  Silently, secretly, Katy is falling for Daemon – hard; but their romance soon becomes the least of their problems when the Department of Defense comes to town, showing an unnatural amount of interest in Katy.  Having to hide their abilities, all of the aliens are on edge, and things go from bad to worse and the stakes get even higher when Katy unexpectedly develops abilities of her own.   It seems that Daemon’s healing not only linked them together, but mutated Katy’s cells, giving her alien powers while remaining technically human.  If the DOD discovers that Katy knows about the aliens, or worse, that she possesses powers of her own, Katy is sure to disappear to like Bethany did.

Things get even more complicated for Katy and Daemon when a new guy moves into town.  Blake has set his sights on Katy, and Daemon doesn’t seem to scare him off.  Feeling a distraction from Daemon might do her good, Katy starts spending time with Blake.  When she accidentally uses her powers in front of him, Katy is terrified of the repercussions; but she needn’t have worried.  Somehow Blake is not surprised by what Katy can do – he claims to know what happened to her, and he can help her learn to control it; but she has to stay away from Daemon and Dee.  Needing to be strong so that she can stand beside Daemon and not behind him, Katy agrees, believing that Daemon will eventually forgive her once he understands her motivations.  If she can become strong enough to help fight the Arum, she won’t be just one more burden on Daemon’s shoulders - it’s the only way they could ever truly be partners.

But then Katy sees someone who is supposed to be dead and everything else ceases to matter.  Secrets are uncovered, traitors are unmasked and allegiances are questioned.  What can this mean for the Luxen?  For the Blacks, in particular?  What is the DOD really doing in town?  What is Blake’s agenda, and where does Katy fit in?  And despite her reasoning, can Daemon ever forgive Katy for the consequences of her choices? 


Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout is the second book in the Lux series.  It picks up one day after Obsidian’s conclusion.  Onyx has much less of a Twilight influence than Obsidian did, but light Twilight bashing is still present.  Sadly we see a little less of Dee this time around, but Daemon’s new attitude and his scenes with Katy are well worth it. 

What I like about the Lux series, is that Daemon and Katy’s chemistry is very believable.  I like them as individuals, and I like them as a couple.  Katy is very stubborn this time around, while Daemon is very sweet – which makes you kind of want slap Katy.  Daemon is obviously trying very hard to make his earlier behaviour up to her, but she won’t let him.  At first, at least.

The plot thickens with the DOD in town, the ever present threat of the Arum, questions over Dawson and Bethany’s deaths and a rival for Katy’s affections (though I was never too concerned over Katy’s feelings for Blake – even she knows she isn’t into him – but Daemon doesn’t, and that’s what makes this angle work).  Katy’s new abilities and her attempt to control them takes the series in a whole new direction, and the possibilities where Lux can go from here are vast.

With unexpected events, surprise revelations and tragedies impossible to undo, Onyx is a satisfying sequel to Obsidian, and a very enjoyable second chapter of the Lux series.



Product Information:
Title: Onyx (Lux Series #2)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Pages: 366
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Year: 2012
ISBN: 978-1-62061-011-4

Related post:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Followers

Twitter

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...