Xpresso Reads

Ah! The long awaited sequel to Obsidian! Hot and spicy, Jennifer L. Armentrout's Lux series is up on top with having one of the strongest chemistry between characters, the hottest lust filled scenes, and the most infuriating beautiful being in YA. This sequel's strongest aspect, like its predecessor, is its deeply rooted characters. We have Katy--book blogger extraordinaire--who is a really fun, snippy protagonist, then we have Daemon who is… well he's a jerk face, and I say this with a smile on my face. His punch-worthy behavior can be quite amusing--though I'm sure Katy would disagree--but I was pleased to see how far his character grew in this installment. We meet the personality behind his sarcasm; letting us glimpse at who he is at his core, his emotions and his fears. In between his slap-worthy demeaner and chuckling remarks, I began to see him as not just a source of entertainment (that I would quite strongly despise in real life), but as someone who is respectable and thoughtful. On the other hand, Katy, who I clicked with immediately in Obsidian, made me feel exasperated by her completely relentless skepticism towards Daemon and their feelings for each other. I understood her hesitation and fears, but her excuses ran a little longer than I would have liked. I still enjoyed her as a character as she's easily likeable and relatable, yet I couldn't help but hope for further character development on her part. We also meet a new male character in this novel who I was afraid, at first, would amount to an unwanted love triangle; fortunately, it was handled fairly well, giving the romance some extra oomph without turning into a cliché or simply antagonizing its readers. Plus, Daemon has an infinite stash of increasingly hilarious nicknames for this new fella that became the highlight of my reading experience. For every new nickname Daemon comes up with, an angel gets its wings!The plot, although somewhat predictable in this particular novel, is starting to get a bit deeper as far as the consequential complexities of the Aliens coming to earth. I won't say this sequel brings forth immense plot progressions, but we do learn some very interesting details about the people surrounding Katy and Daemon, while showing us a glance at the bigger picture of this vast conspiracy. The bigger part of the book is spent building up the complex and often complicated relationship between our two main characters. The chemistry has not left them; they have sparks like no other, but now emotions are involved. I was greatly satisfied by the direction their story took, it's realistic and completely swoon-worthy. I did feel the book became long winded towards the end, however. The ending, itself, though not a true cliffhanger, raises a lot of questions about the upcoming novel and what will undoubtedly be some crazy interesting developments. A completely addicting and non-stop flirty read - Onyx is an enthralling sequel that is a fine addition to the Lux series. For those who haven't jumped on the Obsidian boat yet, you're missing some very sexy reading! Read my review of Obsidian here!--An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads