From Goodreads:
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 Defence 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…
I’m beginning to develop a love/hate relationship with this series. It is a guilty pleasure – I am drawn to the trashy Mills & Boon-esque love story, the teen angst, the drama, the all-stakes action (with some sci-fi thrown in for good measure). I definitely enjoyed this book more than the debut Obsidian. Daemon Black still has me melting into a pool of my own making. Although I am periodically pulled from the narrative with the writing style when Jennifer L Armentrout attempts ‘teen-speak’ – it comes of off as trite on occasions. But then again it is her target market – not an ol’ bitty of my vintage.
A plus for the story telling typical in this genre – the protagonists weren’t so two dimensional, and in addition to the plot twists, you were never entirely sure who they were. I liked how I was kept guessing at their underlying motivations. It created some great tension.
The biggest failing for me was the repetition of our main character (Katy’s) inner lamenting. Although her mental dialogue was sufficiently angsty, at times became frustrating and boring, as it had only been described ten pages before. So too were her, (and the love interest – Daemon’s) behavioural patterns. As much as I love the uncertainty of their reasoning, at times felt a little too drawn out.
The last little niggling thing that kept pulling me from the narrative were some of the long-winded kissing scenes… don’t get me wrong, I love a great hot and steamy snog-fest, but Onyx had me squirming at times, like I’d just walked in on my parents playing tonsil hockey.
One the whole, I enjoyed this second instalment in Jennifer Armentrout’s Lux series, the pacing was superior to its predecessor. As was the predictability of the storyline, it had me guessing at aspects of the plot. There are still some glaringly obvious forecomings, but that did not distract from the experience.
There were some definite laugh out loud moments in this book, but overall seemed few and far between than in Obsidian, but we’ll worth the wait. I miss Katy’s goofs, clumsiness and one liners.
I liked Daemon a lot more at the end of this novel, upon completing Obsidian, I really felt him to be a little too contrite and nearly blew my interest in the series; but totally redeems himself in Onyx. Katy grows up a little more in this edition, but as stated earlier I felt her narration annoying at times. She’s always had a backbone (which I like) but wasn’t given the opportunity to let her sass shine as much here. Also the great relationship she had with Dee (Daemon’s Sister) fell by the wayside for much of the book. That disappointed me – great girlfriends are hard to come by, and Katy and Dee have been my favourite lit gal-pal pairing to date.
Whether Jennifer’s writing is improving, or the storylines becoming more intricate and realistic, Onyx is definitely a fun read. I’m a sucker for a bit of romance and a bit of science fiction with a side of teen angst. I’d recommend this series to anyone who is a sap for gorgeous brooding men, aliens, and some heavy petting.
The Third book, Opal, is in this months T,B,R pile… so stay turned for a review of that one 🙂
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Casey Carlisle 