Onyx (Lux #2)

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: Aug 14, 2012
Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi
Source: Publisher/Netgalley

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarre connection. I’ve sworn him off even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But against all common sense, I’m falling for him. Hard.

Our relationship issues aren’t out biggest problem…

The Department of Defense is here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we’re linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And when a new boy shows up a school with a secret of his own, things get complicated fast. I need to choose between my own instincts and Daemon’s.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. Daemon’s never going to stop searching until 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.

Goodreads Summary

Katy and Daemon are recovering in the aftermath of their epic battle with the Arum, and dealing with the repercussions of their sudden connection that has irrevocably tied them together. Daemon has realized that time is limited, and has given up fighting to stay away from Katy. But Katy is having a hard time letting go of her hurt from his rude behavior of the last three months. Then a new boy shows up. A normal boy that’s interested in blogging and surfing. A boy that Katy feels comfortable with, even if the level of heat is non-existent compared to Daemon’s touch.

But this boy isn’t as normal as he appears to be, and he has answers that Katy desperately needs. It seems that a heartbeat isn’t all that Katy and Daemon share now, and Katy needs to figure out this new version of herself before she brings on the unwanted attention of the Department of Defense. With the arrival of Blake, the relationship between Daemon and Katy deteriorates even further as Katy chooses to trust Blake, despite Daemon’s instincts screaming that something is off with the guy.

Then, someone who should be dead pops up around town and throws their world completely off kilter. Katy and Daemon won’t rest until they discover the truth, even while the net their enemies have cast closes tighter around them.

I am bloody obsessed with Obsidian. Still am, even several months after it’s release. I read it at least once a month, if not more, and it somehow gets better every time. The gods were definitely smiling on me the day Entangled sent me an ARC of Onyx (thank you Entangled!). We watched a lot of Dora the Explorer the day I received my copy, because there was no way I could wait until after bedtime. Yeah, I probably won’t be winning any Mother of the Year awards any time soon. I reconciled myself to that fact long ago.

The first 75-80% of Onyx was painful. Not nails-on-a-chalkboard painful, but in an I’m-watching-someone-I-love-make-the-worst-mistake-of-their-life-and-there’s-nothing-I-can-do-about-it level of painful. Katy. Oh, my dear Katy. In Obsidian, Katy was confident and unafraid to face the truth about herself, the people around her or how much her life was changing. Heck, she even raced off to a certain death in order to save Dee. In Onyx Katy just.. snapped. Daemon finally decided that he was tired of pushing away his feelings for Katy, and she kept making up these lame excuses and telling him that he didn’t really feel that way. Yes, he was a total “douche-canoe,” in Katy’s words, and he didn’t deserve an easy road. But the guy sincerely apologized over and over again, and Katy kept running away. Then she blatantly uses Blake against him, even going so far as to pick Blake over Daemon. Not in a romantic way, but Daemon was convinced that Blake was hiding something and was frustrated and worried about Katy, so he gave her an ultimatum of sorts. Katy was determined to do things her own way though, and it completely and utterly blows up in her face.

It was so disappointing. She was so disappointing. I kept wondering where the confident girl had gone, the one that completely awed me in Obsidian. Because she was afraid of the love she felt for Daemon, she put her faith in completely the wrong person and they lose another member of their little Lux family. After that, Katy finally pulls her head out of her ass and realizes that even though she may have had good intentions, she went about it all the wrong way.

Daemon is going on every single one of my Top 10 lists at the end of the year. I thought the jerk version of Daemon was amazing and addicting, but that’s nothing compared to the sweet and loving Daemon in Onyx. He’s truly magnificent. If there ever was a hero that deserves the title of swoon worthy, it’s Daemon. I really loved the way he handled Katy after her major screw-up. He was royally pissed at her, but he didn’t hold it over her head and ultimately forgave her. You could tell that he was still madly in love with her, despite Katy continually running away from him. And Daemon doesn’t do patience, so that says something right there.

The last 20% or so was my favorite part of the book, even though the horrific events didn’t end with Katy’s awakening. JLA is clearly not the kind of author that is going to keep her characters is a nice little bubble, safe from the world. Katy and Daemon are really going to have to fight for their happily ever after. And I will definitely be there every step of the way.

My Summary: Onyx was definitely a “growing” book. Katy had a lot to figure out and deal with. Not only with her relationship with Daemon and finally admitting her feelings, but dealing with how entrenched she’s become in the Lux world now. Her nice, normal life will never be the same and Katy had to adjust to that idea. Despite how painful it was, I can see how necessary it was for the rest of the series. I cried, I laughed, I swooned, I grieved… JLA managed to wring every emotion possible out of me while reading Onyx. That, folks, is true talent.

My Rating: A+