Book Review - Onyx

I have this thing about reading books on my Kindle. If I start something, I really want to finish it. I know, I shouldn't. Aren't I always the one telling you guys that life's too short to read crap books? ... yeah. I am. But I started this in the height of my reading slump and a few weeks ago, I got out of it so I decided to try again.

The second book in the Lux series, Katy finds herself linked to Daemon Black, thanks to his alien mojo. And now, because of this, Daemon wants to prove his feelings for her are real. But Katy's not so sure.

If only their feelings for each other was the only problems. The Department of Defense is in town and if they find out about their connection, both Katy and Daemon are in trouble. And with a new kid in town who knows too much about Lux and Daemon beginning to wonder what happened to his brother...

The truth could get someone killed and not everyone will survive the lies...

Oh, Onyx. Where did it go wrong?

Ok, let me rephrase that. If I had read this immediately after I had read the first book in the series, Obsidian (which I read 2-ish years ago - review for that is here), I would have devoured it. It would have been addictive reading.

But. reading this now, I have problems. I'm not sure if I would have seen these problems if I read this back in 2013, but I see them now, and that made my reading pleasure less so.

I found the plot slightly predictable. Which isn't a bad thing, folks. But I expected more from this. I thought there would be more twists and a few things I wouldn't see coming. But I guessed them fairly quickly and when I was proven right, I thought "Oh, is that it?". And because of that, Onyx came across like an info-dump book.

Also, there were a few chapters in the middle of the book that annoyed me. It's stupid, I know, but I felt that they were repeating themselves. Repeating why Katy was doing the things she was doing, why she was telling/not telling Daemon about them, repeating information we knew. It felt like the book hadn't hit a certain word/chapter count so padding was needed.

Also, was it me, but were there several moments in this book where we had slut-shaming? Sorry, nope. I get why this topic is reference in YA books - because it happens in real life - but no, I don't want to read about that. Nope. Am going to make a small rule to self over if I see this in future reads from now on...

I feel like I am being really negative on this book. I don't want to be. There are elements of this book I really liked. I liked Katy's and Daemon's relationship and how it evolved throughout the book. I liked the snarky dialogue between Katy and Daemon. It's one of the things I liked the most about this book - their dialogue sizzled. I liked how easy it was the read and how there wasn't a dull moment - there was always something that pushed the story forward.

While I am not giving up with this author - I have Oblivion and Obsession on my kindle and both have connections to this series - I felt a bit let down with this book.

GoodRead - Shadows

So, while I was away on my Mini-RSM, I read the first book in the Lux series, Obsidian (review for that is here), and, before I left, I download the eNovella prequel, Shadows, onto my kindle. When I told people this, nearly everyone on Twitter went "Read that AFTER Obsidian! Trust me on this one! Read AFTER!". And because so many people said this, I went "Ok, this has to be important."

I am now going to say the same time to you. If you are going to read this, READ THIS AFTER OBSIDIAN! I know this is a prequel, but there are reasons and I will get into those a little further into the review!

Shadows takes place a year prior to Obsidian and it follows Dawson, an alien who falls hard for Bethany, a human. And if you have read Obsidian, you are aware that Dawson isn't there. So, it answers the question "What really happened to Dawson and Beth?"

Now, I said that if you're were thinking of reading this then reading Obsidian afterwards, you shouldn't. You should read Obsidian first then Shadows. There are loads of reasons: explaining why characters behave the way they do in Obsidian (mainly Dawson's brother, Daemon), foreshadowing for Obsidian and its sequel, Onyx, and showing the deep connection between the Black triplets (which was hinted at but wasn't examined in depth).

While Katy's relationship with Daemon is very "I hate your guts but I'm lusting after you", Dawson and Bethany is sweeter. Sparks flew off them from their first meeting but they took their time to get to know each other. They stay on the phone to each other till they both fell asleep - that's how sweet and romantic this is compared to Katy and Daemon who want to rip each other's clothes off.

But this relationship difference shows us how different Dawson is from Daemon. Daemon is dark, moody, quick to anger whereas Dawson is laid-back, smiles and would put his heart on the line for love in an instant.

If you're a fan of the series and you haven't read this, READ THIS! And if you want to dip your toe in, this will do you just fine. But remember, Dawson and Bethany aren't the main characters in the series so don't get too attached to them...

(PS - I do have Oynx on my kindle. Not sure when am going to read this but I hope to read it sooner rather than later...)

GoodRead - Obsidian

I had this lurking on my kindle for a while. Everyone who has read this in the book blogging/vlogging community who have read this has RAVED over this series and, of course, after the last few reads (thanks Lake Thirteen for making me go near a "reading slump"), and because I was going out of the country, I decided to take my kindle and, after looking over several books, I decided on Obsidian.

Katy runs a book blog (geez, I wonder why all us book bloggers love this series...) and when her mom moves her to West Virginia, Katy just resigns herself to her new boring fate until she meets her hot next door neighbour. That is, until he opens his mouth. Daemon Black is arrogant, cocky, self-absorbed. It's hate at first sight. So when Katy gets attacked into a car park and Daemon saves her, Katy realises that there's something weird about Daemon and his twin sister, Dee. Something otherworldly. And Katy wants to find out. That is if she doesn't stab Daemon first...

Ok, am going to say something that will make half of you guys run away from the hills from this book and this series and the other half of you go "Ok, this sounds like my cup of tea". But, here it is: This feels very Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

NO! WAIT! COME BACK!!!

I think, with any paranormal YA novels, you'll find similar between the book and Twilight. This is the same with all those magic books and compare it to Harry Potter or any dystopian novel can be compare to The Hunger Games. It's because they fit into the genre. If they come under the same umbrella and you are determined to find links, you will. For example, once I started comparing Twilight to Obsidian, I kept going "Oh, Katy is Bella, Daemon is Edward, Dee is Alice, Ash is Rosalie, etc".

And this can be annoying to a reader. So, maybe we should stop doing this.

Anyway, the story. It was fun read and I enjoyed reading it. I enjoyed that this wasn't a typical YA read. Katy and Daemon are strongly attracted to each other and yet they hate each other. It's not instant-love. It's Lust At First Sight! Do you know how refreshing this is? And how it ended was, again, refreshing as it wasn't what the reader would expect and will make reading the next book in the series, Onyx, very interesting as this is new territory.

And the snarky one liners! THANK YOU! I love Katy's and Daemon's relationship and you saw it through their snarky back-and-forth and this was refreshing and great! It felt like two teenagers bickering that we was great! Plus, there are things that Jennifer chats about in Obsidian that happens in other books and puts them right. For example, Katy wakes up to find her best friend, Dee, watching her sleep. Katy's instant reaction: "That's creepy! STOP IT!"

This has potential. I can see this series becoming a very addictive series, but this is the first book in the series so this was laying down the foundations. The real proof will be in reading the second book in the series or the eNovella prequel, Shadows. I was told to read Shadows after Obsidian by fellow book bloggers so am going to attack that in a week or two and my love for the Lux might be kicked up a gear but, yes, this series could be one interesting read (and with the film rights of this book being bought), so if this interests you, go for it!