Mini Review | Onyx by Jennifer L Armentrout

Onyx by Jennifer L Armentrout
Series: Lux #2
Published On: June 3, 2012
Published By: Entangled Teen
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 366
Format: eBook
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★

Amazon | 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 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…

Not as good as book one.
I quite enjoyed the first book in the series, but for me this second book just wasn't as good. It felt very similar to the first book and I didn't feel that the story developed as much as I would have liked.

To be honest, I was a little bored.
I didn't feel that this book was as exciting as the first. There wasn't as much happening, in my opinion, and the major plot points that were meant to be the big exciting parts of the story just weren't that exciting. I found it pretty boring, hence why it took me a good month and a half to finish.

Pretty predictable.
With all of the big plot twists and mystery reveals throughout this book, I don't think anything particularly surprised me. I seen almost everything coming. I think that may be another reason I was a bit bored when reading this.

Katy and Daemon couldn't get more annoying.
I was all for this romance and the 'will they get together or not?' aspect of the first book, however by this one I was just fed up of it. They spent yet another whole book debating whether or not they like each other and should get together. I just didn't care anymore, it was annoying.

Oh wait, let's add in a love triangle!
Yes, the one way to make Katy and Daemon more annoying, add in another love interest. As if this series isn't compared to Twilight enough, Jennifer L Armentrout felt the need to add in an unnecessary love triangle. It just wasn't needed, there were other ways to introduce new characters and involve them in Katy's life without making him the next Jacob Black.

I think my relationship with this series is over.
As much as I enjoyed the first book, I didn't enjoy this book enough to want to read more of this story. I don't think I will be picking up the rest of the books in this series, mainly as I don't really care enough anymore.

Overall, while I enjoyed the first book in this series, the second was just an average read for me. There were more things that annoyed me about this book than things I particularly enjoyed and, to be honest, I'm already starting to forget things that happened. I don't think I will be picking up the next book in this series, at least not for a good while.

Mini Review | Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Frostbite by Richelle Mead
Series: Vampire Academy #2
Published On: April 10, 2008
Published By: Penguin
Genre: Paranormal
Pages: 327
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★½

Amazon | Goodreads

A massive vampire attack has put St Vladimir's Academy on high alert. With the deadly creatures closing in, this year's trip to the wintery peaks of Idaho has just become mandatory. 
But Rose Hathaway can't escape her (guy) troubles. Her relationship with gorgeous tutor Dmitri can never be and her closest friend has just confessed his huge crush on her ... 
The Glittering Winter Landscape May Seem Like The Perfect Hideaway - But Rose, And Her Heart, Are In More Danger Than She Ever Imagined.

Better than book one.
I enjoyed the first book in the Vampire Academy series but I think I liked this one just a little bit more. It was a fun, quick read and 'I really enjoyed revisiting the characters I grew to really like in the first book.

Interesting plot.
I thought the main plot of this instalment was very interesting and enjoyable. I found the attacks to be particularly interesting, especially seeing how they happened and how the characters chose to respond. It was quite different to the first book in that we got to see more of the vampire world outwith the school and were given more of an insight into the Strigoi.

Rose and Dimitri. Rose and Dimitri. Rose and Dimitri!!
Basically I needed more Rose and Dimitri. Can you tell I'm a fan? For me there wasn't nearly enough of their sexual tension and forbidden connection. Rose had too many other love interests in this book that she just didn't have time for Dimitri and that frustrated me a little.

Rose and Lissa!
Again, there wasn't enough Rose and Lissa for me either. I really loved their friendship in the first book but they both seemed to be too busy with other people, once again Rose's many love interests, to be spending time together. Their friendship is really adorable so I definitely hope to see more of it in the next book.

Great character introductions.
Speaking of Rose's many love interests, I really loved the introduction of Adrian. He seems a little bit shady but I thought he was hilarious and he did make me swoon just a little. I definitely want to see more of him in the future. I also really liked the introduction of Rose's mother. Rose's issues surrounding her mother made for an interesting addition to the story and I thought they explained a lot of things about her character.

Really great setting.
As much as I absolutely love the boarding school setting, I really loved the ski lodge setting in this book. Not only did I find it quite nostalgic of my own past skiing trips, I thought it made a great backdrop for everything that went on. It did remind me a little bit of a One Tree Hill episode at times, which made for an interesting reading experience. Though I really enjoyed it, I missed having the school as the main setting and am hoping to return to the school setting in the next book.

Overall, I think this series is improving with each book but it is still not up there with my favourite series. It's a fun series and I can fly through the books but there's something missing from me. There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about this book but definitely things I hope are different in the next book. I am interested in seeing how this series improves so I know I want to pick up the next book soon.

Mini Review | Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout

Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout
Series: Lux #1
Published On: November 29, 2011
Published By: Entangled Teen
Genre: Paranormal
Pages: 299
Format: eBook/Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★

Amazon | Goodreads

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.

I can't believe it has taken me this long.
I've been wanting to start this series for years now and even owned the bind up of the first two books for 2 years, but for some reason never picked it up until now. I was slightly wary of reading it due to all the hype, as I didn't want to be disappointed, but that didn't end up being an issue.

Fun and fast-paced.
Every time this book gets mentioned it is described as fun and fast-paced and I would say that it pretty accurate. I flew through the majority of this book, at least when I found the time to actually read I did, and found it to be a very fun story. I can see the similarities to Twilight, which it is often compared to. This added a nostalgia factor, however they are definitely different stories.

I want to be best friends with these characters.
I absolutely loved Katy, Daemon and Dee, they made the book for me. They are such fun characters, all completely different but all great, well-written characters. I loved seeing Katy's character develop to become more confident and I'm sure that will continue as the series progresses. I really just want these characters to be real so I can befriend them all.

Katy & Daemon give me life.
I mentioned in a Top Ten Tuesday post a while ago that hate-to-love romance is one of the things that instantly makes me want to read a book. I love the snarky comments and sexual tension and this book was full of them. Daemon is the kind of guy I always fall for in books, he is arrogant and rude but his love for his sister shows a glimpse of a softer side. I completely fell for him and his sarcastic comments.

Katy's a book blogger.
So this isn't exactly a fundamental aspect to the story but I absolutely loved that Katy is a book lover and runs a blog. As well as making her incredibly relatable as a character, I loved the mentions of blog related things, like memes for example. It just added a little something extra to the story and made me love Katy even more.

My one tiny little issue - the whole alien thing.
I feel like the whole alien aspect just needs to be explained a little more. I don't really understand everything that was explained to us. I don't know if things maybe get explained in more detail in the next books in the series, or maybe I just need to concentrate a bit more.

Overall, this was a great first book in the series. It was great fun with an intriguing plot that makes me want to know more. I'm interested to see where the story will go now and can't wait to find out, and get more of these great characters, in the rest of the series.