Alien | tiffanylovesbooks

Title: Onyx (Lux#2)

Blurb: 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…

My Review: In picking up Onyx, I don’t know, the truth of it is that although I didn’t know what to expect- I had high expectations. For more than half of the book I was disappointed. The book is good, there is no doubt about that. But after reading Obsidian that was a little slow to start but after a point it was nearly nonstop action, I was disappointed with this novel’s beginning. It wasn’t so much that it has a slower pace because the story actually progresses well. It’s more that I, as the reader, could clearly see Armentrout setting up the scene and the storyline. I found this to be the case up until half way through. However, when that ceases to be the case, I was pleasantly overwhelmed by plot twists, amazing action scenes, swoon worthy romance and so much intrigue and suspense that I didn’t know what to do with myself.

The biggest and best thing about this book can be summed up in one word: Daemon. Well besides the fact that he gets ALOT of airtime (I know that’s not exactly accurate, but I know you get my point) the reader also gets to see a whole other side to him. In Onyx he is trying to prove to Katy that his interest in her is true and sincere. For those of you who haven’t read Obsidian, she thinks he’s only attracted to her because of their new alien connection. I am tempted to say that we no longer see his asshole side… But that would make me a liar. The difference between this book and Obsidian, is that it is now rarely directed at Katy. So here is disappointment number two for me in this book: the new character Blake. He becomes Katy’s BFF and Daemon doesn’t trust him one bit. To be honest, nether did I. Well back to what I was saying, Daemon is such a jerk to him and I absolutely love it! I thought it was genius that Daemon would call him any name but Blake. Always names starting with B: Ben, Brad, Bob, Bozo. Daemons treatment of Blake is mean to say the least, but I respected him for doing everything in his power to protect Katy because he thought Blake would be a danger to her. I know a dude being an a-hole is usually a negative thing… But here, I found him to be sexier. He is keeping true to himself by not denying his jerk gene and every step of the way he is proving just how much he really does like Katy. Not to mention, the kicks and laughs I got out of hearing his nicknames for Blake.

Something else I enjoyed is that both Katy and Daemon’s characters are further developed. I feel as if my review is turning into some major essay so I’ll do you guys the favor of trying to keep it short. Katy, we saw in Obsidian is trying to find some inner strength. She doesn’t want to be a push over or a weakling. Well in Onyx her moments of weakness are rare. She becomes physically and mentally strong. I loved seeing this new kick-ass Katy. However, at some point, I started to dislike her. I love that she sticks to her guns and is trying to be a better person. But she seems to be blind to everything except what she wants to see. I found her reasonings to be more and more idiotic and was seriously disappointed. Though admittedly, that didn’t last too long. Next, Daemon does a total 180 in this book. I hope it will suffice to say that he picks his priorities and sticks to them. I loved the improvement in his character and completely understand why everyone is going gaga over him.

Everyone seems to say that Onyx is better than Obisidian. At first I wasn’t entirely sure that was the case… However the second half of this book more than makes up for the slow start. I truly understand all the hype behind the Lux series and am steadily becoming a fan of Armentrout’s work.

Title: Obsidian (Lux # 1)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Synopsis: 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.

My Review: I should begin by saying that the only reason I picked this book up is because everyone and their mother was swooning over this book on Goodreads. I decided to finally pick it up and find out what all the hype was about.

When I started this book, I was already curious and by the first chapter I was intrigued. But I’ll admit that up to that point I had yet to even read Obsidian’s blurb so I had no clue what the book was about, just that Daemon is one of Goodreads favorite bad boys. So after the first chapter, I still had no clue what it was about and decided to finally read the blurb. In my About Me I describe myself as enjoying books dealing with the paranormal. This is without a doubt true. However, in my saying this, I do not include alien life forms or extraterrestrials or whatever. I have never read books dealing with them. Not because I’ve never found any, I am simply not drawn to them. Even the ones people tend to rave about don’t draw my attention. But here I am reading a book about aliens. I pride myself in seeing books through once I start them so I set out to finish it. Although I was dismayed, I was already intrigued.

The first half of the book I was mostly dragging my feet through. It wasn’t necessarily boring but it wasn’t exciting either. It was interesting and I could feel the story building up. I was quite literally waiting for the pin to drop and for the story to really start.

So here’s the story: Katy moves to a small town with her mother attempting to start fresh and move on from a terrible loss they experienced. They end up moving in next door to two teenagers Dee and Daemon. Dee and Katy have a lot in common and instantly become friends. Daemon on the other hand is truly something sexy but is a total jerk. Katy is attracted to him and all but hates him. Well truly dislikes him.

Daemon comes off as such a jerk. He is confrontational and always seems to provoke Katy. He humiliates her and belittles her. But then he turns around and is sweet, thoughtful and charming.
Which leads Katy to have mixed feelings for him. She dislikes him for the way he treats her but manages to get butterflies every time he’s near. I loved the chemistry and the anticipation I felt as the reader, waiting for them to finally admit their feelings.

Katy, I really enjoyed getting to know her character. She is strong and honest and I love how she doesn’t back down from a fight. Which led to so much bickering between her and Daemon- which I totally loved. It was funny and romantic at times but always entertaining.

I tend to stay away from alien books, if that’s what they are called, but this one I fell in love with. It is truly romantic- which I loved. Daemon and Katy are always arguing and bickering but have such chemistry… By the end of the book I was positively craving the sequel. The quick pace and action packed scenes of the second half of the book more than make up for the slow first half.

So all in all, I see what the hype is about. If you enjoy romantic, action-packed and suspenseful books; you will love this one.