Characterize It {4}

Welcome to Characterize It, a meme held every Thursday and hosted by http://theyabookbutterfly.blogspot.com/

As usual for memes, link the meme back to the host page so that other can join in!

There's a different "theme" every week and you have to pick a character that you think best fits that theme. This week's theme is Wild Card- Any character from any book!

This is the hardest topic yet! There are just so many characters. What do I do!?!?

First of all, I want to apologize to all the characters that I could have and might have chosen but didn't. The choice was difficult and I kind of just went with my current addiction. I hope you understand. 

Here it is.

Akiva from the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series

I might be a little in love with Akiva. He's a seraphim which is very much like being an angel. I love him so much. I really do.You'll just have to read the books to understand why.

Honorable Mention:

Cole Stockton from the Everneath Series, whom I thought about only second to Akiva.

Liked This, Try That: New 2014 Series

I came across this awesome "Like This, Try That" on the Pickerington Library Tumblr and I just had to share it with you. This one features new series that start in 2014 and 4 out of 5 of these new book are already on my TBR.

 

via Pickerington Library

Also, you should follow their Tumblr because they have some awesome posts!

Which book are you most looking forward to?

Waiting On Wednesday {3}

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass

Publication Date : May 6th, 2014

  

This is the third and final book in The Selection series and I am so excited. If you haven't read this series yet, it's about a girl named America who is part of The Selection which is essentially a competition to find the next princess of this country. America gets selected for The Selection which is very The Bachelor-esque with Prince Maxon as the bachelor. It's a good series and really enjoyable. There are so many loose ends that need to be tied up in this book and a million different theories (not really a million, but you know what I mean) which always makes it exciting to read the final book and to find out what is really going to happen. 

It's kind of bitter sweet because this is one of many series that are ending this year and reading the last book in a series is almost always a bittersweet situation. I'm sure you know the feeling. I'm super excited for this book nonetheless and am looking forward to seeing what Kiera Cass will do next. If you haven't read this series definitely give it a try, especially if you are a dystopian romance fan. 

Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) : Review

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

My rating: ★★★★

The Gist:
The story is about a girl named Sophie Mercer. Sophie is a witch who, after being a bit zealous with her powers, gets sentenced to Hex Hall, a school for supernatural kids (i.e. witches, warlocks, fairies, vampires and werewolves.)

The Nitty Gritty:
Sophie doesn't know much about the supernatural world or her powers because she was raised by her human father and has had very very little contact with her warlock father. (In fact, she's never met the guy.) So you can imagine that being forced to attend a school filled with other supernaturals, all of whom were raised by their supernatural parents, can make Sophie feel a bit... lost. Throughout the course of the novel she discovers more about herself and where she comes from.

In the meantime, strange things have been happening at Hex Hall. Girls have been attacked and found dead or nearly dead and no one knows who or what is behind it. Also, there is a ghost that seems to be stalking Sophie.

The Characters:
Sophie- obviously the main character whose POV we get to experience the story from.
Elodie- the seeming leader of the school's popular girls clique. Actually, it's a coven and Elodie plus her two coven members are trying to get Sophie to join their coven.
Archer Cross- the school's token hottie that every girl is apparently crushing over, including Sophie. He starts off as a bit of a jerk but Sophie discovers a potential softer side to him. (Warning: there is no full fledged romance in this book. Just hard-core crushing). Also, Archer is the only on who gets his full name listed because it's just that cool. Archer Cross.
Jenna- Sophie's roommate and also a vampire. They become quick friends and Jenna is Sophie's one confidant in the entire school.
Mrs. Casnoff- She's the head of the school, the principal I guess. In my head she looks like a sueprmodel.
Cal- the groundskeeper. (Crap! I just spoiled something for myself looking up his name! OMG! My theory has been confirmed but still OMG!!!) Anyway, he is the groundskeeper with super healing powers. I know, it doesn't sound that interesting and Cal has three, maybe four scenes in the entire book and barely any conversation with Sophie but I thought he was worth mentioning because he is dreamy and I know there is a love triangle of sorts later on in the series and I'm thinking maybe it involves him. I don't know but I hope it involves him. I barely know the guy and I'm already Team Cal.

The Ending:
Maybe I should've expected it. Maybe I should've been able to guess. But I didn't. Not until Sophie guessed it herself anyway and even then I didn't guess all of it. I think that speaks for itself.

The Overall Opinion:
I really liked this book. I love Sophie's sarcasm, it reminds me of Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series. I thought the whole book was like Vampire Academy meets Harry Potter. Obviously, it's not exactly like either of those but it has elements from both those series that really made this book enjoyable. Some people seem to really like Archer and ship Sophie+Archer but I wasn't really into it. I'm Team Cal for this one guys. Just saying.
This is a great book to pick up if you are interested in fantasy but not high fantasy. It was a pretty quick read for me, no dull moments at all. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

Characterize It {3}

Welcome to Characterize It, a meme held every Thursday and hosted by http://theyabookbutterfly.blogspot.com/

As usual for memes, link the meme back to the host page so that other can join in!

There's a different "theme" every week and you have to pick a character that you think best fits that theme. This week's theme is The Bibliophile- Have you come across a girl character in a book that is just as bookish as you?

Easy peesy. This one has to go to Katy Swartz from the Lux Series.

Katy loves to read, has books lying on all surfaces of her house and has her own book blog on which she posts about books (including Waiting On Wednesday posts) and she makes book haul/in my mailbox videos! Is there a more bookish character in all of YA? I don't think so.

(The first four books in the series are already out. The fifth and final book, Opposition, is set to release August 5th, 2014)

Waiting On Wednesday {2}

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Alienated by Melissa Landers

Publication Date: February 4, 2014

It's a book that involves aliens  that look like humans (think Lux series). A lot of people are talking about and anticipating this book and based on the synopsis it sounds like it can be pretty good. A romance between a human and a hot alien guy who looks human (not like E.T.)? Why not?

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them. 

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class. 

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet. 

The Tyrant's Daughter : Review

The Tyrant's Daughter by J.C. Carleson

My rating: ★★★★

When her father is killed in a coup, 15-year-old Laila flees from the war-torn middle east to a life of exile and anonymity in the U.S. Gradually she adjusts to a new school, new friends, and a new culture, but while Laila sees opportunity in her new life, her mother is focused on the past. She’s conspiring with CIA operatives and rebel factions to regain the throne their family lost. Laila can’t bear to stand still as an international crisis takes shape around her, but how can one girl stop a conflict that spans generations?

Publication Date: February 11th, 2014
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Thought it felt a bit slow at times, I enjoyed it over all. Laila's character initially annoyed me because she held herself really high and acted a bit superior to everyone (even though I don't think she was doing it intentionally). As the story went on though, you come to realize why she is like that and even if it isn't okay, it does start to make sense.

Laila is the daughter of a former ruler of a middle eastern country. Her father has been assassinated and Laila, her mother, and her brother are exiled. They come to live in America where they all encounter cultural barriers. The story in its most basic form is one of a girl trying to adjust to a new culture that is so different from the one that she is used to. There are political elements added in there as well and I think the novel is very relevant to now.

It was nice to see Laila progress over the course of the story. She grew up being very sheltered from the rest of the world and having a certain impression of her family. Through her eyes, her parents were perfect and had never done anything wrong (as most of us think of our parents at a young age). The difference is that Laila is fifteen and she only starts to see her parents from the public's perspective after she moves to America. She learns about the different things her father approved of when he was in power and makes her question the man she pictured to be her father. Laila's encounters with kids at school that emphasized cultural differences were also very interesting to read about. She didn't grow up in the most religious family but she still followed certain religious customs. When she comes to America she is exposed to prejudice and discrimination against Muslims, this of course makes her question her culture but I'm glad that at the end of the day she chose to think for herself rather than give in to American norms.

There are also several commentaries on American culture. It's not direct so much as Laila's observations of American culture and how to her certain things seem so strange to her. For example, she talks about food. One of the things she mentions is how the thing that excited her and her brother most when they moved to America was seeing an entire aisle of cereal which to them, in their country, was a luxury imported from Europe. The scene that stands our to me the most though is when someone calls in a bomb threat to the school and all the kids are excited because they know school is going to be cancelled (apparently a fake bomb threat is an annual prank at the school). Laila of course is shocked and even disgusted by it because she grew up in a country at war and bombs were a very real thing. Her view on the students' reactions really made me see things differently. I know that when we had safety drills at school all the students would be excited because it meant missing class. Fire Alarm? YAY, we get to miss class! Earthquake drill? Woohoo, less class time. I was one of those kids getting excited and I never really thought about what that drill really was for. There were so many moments throughout the book that just made me stop and think.

I love that J.C. Carleson did not clearly explain Laila's background from the beginning because it allowed me to picture Laila as being from any part of the world. Initially, she didn't have to be a certain religion or nationality she could have just been whatever you imagined her to be. I think this made it possible for me to relate to her more. I appreciate the author's approach to the somewhat touchy subject and I think she does it flawlessly.

The Tyrant's Daughter is a novel that will make you think. It is a well written story about identity that everyone can relate to, no matter what your background.

[Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Children's and J.C. Carleson for this ARC)

Lucky #14 Reading Challenge

Period of the Challenge: January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014

Yep, we almost welcome 2014, the year of anticipation. There will be the World Cup in Brazil, Presidential Election in Indonesia – and tons of great books to be published (and read) for sure!

This challenge will require you to read 14 books (or more) from 14 categories below. You can combine the books you read with other challenges, but can not use the same book for different categories in this challenge.

Try to match the categories from your TBR piles  But if you don’t have any suitable books in your TBR – and want to find an excuse to buy a book for this challenge, that’s totally fine too!

Here are the 14 categories:

1. Visit The Country: Read a book that has setting in a country that you really want to visit in real life. Make sure the setting has a big role in the book and it can make you know a little bit more about your dream destination.

2. Cover Lust: Pick a book from your shelf that you bought because you fell in love with the cover. Is the content as good as the cover?

3. Blame it on Bloggers: Read a book because you’ve read the sparkling reviews from other bloggers. Don’t forget to mention the blogger’s names too!

 Ruby Red- Kerstin Gier

(Precious Stone Trilogy #1)

4. Bargain All The Way: Ever buying a book because it’s so cheap you don’t really care about the content? Now it’s time to open the book and find out whether it’s really worth your cents.

5. (Not So) Fresh From the Oven: Do you remember you bought/got a new released book last year but never had a chance to read it? Dig it from your pile and bring back the 2013.

6. First Letter’s Rule: Read a book which title begins with the same letter as your name (for me, Astrid means A, and I can read anything that started with the letter A). Remember: Articles like “a”, “an” or “the” doesn’t count 

7. Once Upon a Time: Choose a book that’s been published for the first time before you were born (not necessarily has to be a classic book, just something a little bit older than you is okay. You can read the most recent edition if you want to)

8. Chunky Brick: Take a deep breath, and read a book that has more than 500 pages. Yep, the one that you’ve always been afraid of!

9.  Favorite Author: You like their books, but there are too many titles. This is your chance, choose a book that’s been written by your fave author but you haven’t got time to read it before.

10. It’s Been There Forever: Pick up a book that has been there on your shelf for more than a year, clean up the dust and start to read it now 

11. Movies vs Books: You’ve seen the movie adaptation (or planned to see it soon) but never had time to read the book. It’s time to read it now, so you can compare the book vs the movie.

12. Freebies Time: What’s the LAST free book you’ve got? Whether it’s from giveaway, a birthday gift or a surprise from someone special, don’t hold back any longer. Open the book and start reading it now 

The Tyrant's Daughter - J.C. Carleson

13. Not My Cup of Tea: Reach out to a genre that you’ve never tried (or probably just disliked) before. Whether it’s a romance, horror or non fiction, maybe you will find a hidden gem!

14. Walking Down Memory Lane: Ever had a book that you loved so much as a kid? Or a book that you wish you could read when you were just a child? Grab it now and prepare for a wonderful journey to the past  Comic books or graphic novels are allowed!

Cover Reveal : Mean Boys by Barbie Hall

Mean Boys by Barbie Hall

Release Date: 05/2014

Summary from Goodreads:

“So...you're forcing me to be your slave?” I  inhaled deeply even though my body had calmed. “Is that what you're telling me?”

A reformed bully. Two damaged boys. Bound by blackmail.

The only thing Bianca Wilbur wanted was to forget her past and sail through her first and only year at the prestigious Battle St. John Preparatory, by making new friends and maintaining perfect grades. That is until one scandalous raunchy night of Truth or Dare with two of the school's most infamous bad boys, the peculiar Judas and the reckless Zeus, aka The St. John Gods, leads to the unthinkable.

She's intrigued by one and despises the other.

As Bianca is forcibly dragged into their troubled world secrets spill and dirty lies come out.

What happens when the bully becomes the prey?

Mature YA/New Adult. Excessive swearing, sensitive subject matter, and  sexual situations.

About the Author

Barbie Hall is a typical girl in her early twenties except she has a deep passion for writing. Particularly young adult! Barbie got her first taste of writing in the sixth grade and has never stopped ever since. She's into Japanese pop culture: including manga, fashion, and dramas. She's also addicted to Youtube (with a Youtube channel of her own), make up, and blogging. 

Author Links:

  

Characterize It {2}

Welcome to Characterize It, a meme held every Thursday and hosted by http://theyabookbutterfly.blogspot.com/

As usual for memes, link the meme back to the host page so that other can join in!

There's a different "theme" every week and you have to pick a character that you think best fits that theme. This week's theme is Wicked Witch of the West- Favorite Villian.

I have to give this one to Leah Smith from the Love Me With Lies Series!

Leah is vicious, vengeful, conniving thing of evil. I've never loved to hate any character more than I do with Leah. She's made me want to scream and shout and straight up slap her across the face for the things she's done. She seems to always be getting in the way of Caleb and Olivia's relationship. Just when you think things might be okay with two something happens and Leah is always involved one way or another. Dirty Red (book 2 in the series) might have made me sympathize with her and understand her a bit more but just when I started thinking "ok, she's not so bad" things explode and she turns out to be worse than ever. Tarryn Fisher created perfection with this series. It is easily one of my favorites (definitely top 3) and now I kind of want to go read them all over again. 

Opal (Lux #3) : Review

Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My rating: ★★★½

No one is like Daemon Black.
When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.
But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.
After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.
Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

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This book was closer to the first book than the second book was. I think Obsidian just set my standards so high that Onyx just seemed okay to me though it was not a bad book at all. Opal, on the other had, was much closer to meeting those standards. 

Katy is feeling all this guilt and is constantly being reminded of how much her life has changed since she came to West Virginia(?). Daemon and Katy are finally in a full fledged, official relationship and we get to see much more of Daemon's softer side. (Worry not, he is still just as cocky and just as much of a bad boy as before. He just happens to express his love a little more... hey, that rhymed!)Did I mention Blake is back? He was as annoying and unwanted as he was at the end of Onyx, actually, maybe even more so. Scratch that. Definitely more so. There was just something always off about him and that creeper move he was pulling was just ick! At the very end, I honestly felt like throwing my kindle at the wall or at least banging it against something really hard. Not because I don't like my kindle. I love my kindle. I was just so pissed at Blake though and I needed a way to release that agression and my kindle happened to be in my hands. (Thankfully, I held off on that venting process so my baby is safe and sound.)

Now let's talk about the not so great parts. Similar to Onyx, I felt like this book dragged on at parts. I was waiting for the story to move and... well... this is how it goes: It starts off with the story progressing slowly and then it kind of flat lines where nothing is really happening to move the plot forward and then it suddenly shoots up with a steep slope around half way when a lot happens all of a sudden, then it pretty much flat lines again with only some minor progressions until it gets to the very ending when we reach the climax. Yes, I did a bit of skimming through on the flat line parts because this:

The other major thing I didn't like so much was that the book mainly focuses on Katy and Daemon's relationship. It's like Katy has ignored pretty much everyone else in her life now that she has a boyfriend which seemed weird since she kept thinking about her relationship with Dee and her mom and even Lesa and Carissa. She thought about it but she didn't really do much about it. All the other relationships in Katy's life take a back seat and her relationship with Daemon is placed front and center. You would think, then, that this relationship would then see a lot of development but it didn't really. It wasn't completely static. They did develop and reach some major milestones but it wasn't all that different from the beginning to the end. Maybe they just became a bit more expressive.

Also, I really wanted to know more about Dawson and what he's like but this also took a back seat to Daemon. Initially, Katy seems to be developing some kind of relationship with Dawson and plays a big part and helping him readjust to life now that he's back but then that completely fizzles out. After the half way point, it's almost like it never happened.

The good news is that the ending might just make up for all the faults. Maybe. It was a cliff hanger and my heart broke a little bit and a part of me is too scared to read the Origin (Lux#4) because I'm dreading what might happen next.

Maybe I've just set really high expectations for this book or maybe I'm just being too critical. Overall, I did enjoy the book and was not disappointed in it (this is always important in a series).

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Waiting On Wednesday {1}

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Evertrue by Brodi Ashton

Publication Date: January 21, 2014

This is my first Waiting on Wednesday post and I might as well use Evertrue as my book this week because come next week I will no longer need to wait for it. (Woohoo!)

This is the finale to the Everneath series and, if you haven't already, you shouldn't definitely add this to your TBR shelf.

Normally, people add the synopsis but I'll skip that this week because I don't want to spoil the first two books for those who haven't read them yet.

Feature and Follow {1}

 

Rules

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
6. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

This Week's Question:

What books are you looking forward to reading in 2014?

The books I'm most looking forward to are part of series I'm currently in the middle of reading or new books from authors that I love. 

  

• The One (Selection #3) by Kiera Cass
• Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher
• Evertrue (Everneath #3) by Brodi Ashton
• Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3) by Laini Taylor
• Whats Left of Us by Ari Tucker

Okay, I lied. I've never read anything written by Ari Tucker except for the teaser to this book (her debut novel) and it was just so good that I wanted to read the whole thing.

Days of Blood and Starlight (DOSAM #2) : Review

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

My rating: ★★★★★

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

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Oh my God! I thought the first book was good but this one was freaking phenomenal. I've said it before and I will say it again, Laini Taylor's writing is AMAZING. Every page turn brought something new and great and exciting.  The structure of the story was perfect. The characters were perfect. Everything that happens was unexpected and shocking and made the story that much better. I literally had moments where I had to stop and process because it was just too much to handle. At moments, the book was so overwhelmingly great that I would sacrifice five seconds of reading so I could tell whoever was in the room "This book is so good! You have no idea" or "You seriously need to read this book right now" or "OMG!... OMG!" I've never been so enraptured or mesmerized by anything before.

Karou. Poor Karou. She's dealing with so much in this book and she blames Akiva for a lot that. She feels like she should hate Akiva but she can't deny the connection that is there. The entire book she struggles with her feelings for Akiva and I totally understand her. A part of me wants them to be together and have a happily ever after but at the same time I completely get why Karou is so resistant and why she's fighting her feelings. I think if I had been in her place I might have done the same thing. But being in her place is really an unfathomable thing because who knows what it's like to have all your people murdered and killed and to know that it was all possible because of that boy you loved. That's crazy, heavy stuff and I can't even begin to even try and understand what that is like. My heart went out to Karou and she struggled to figure out what it is that she should be doing and what she believed was right or wrong.

Akiva. I felt so bad for Akiva. Like I said, I really want them to have their happily ever after but I understood Karou and poor Akiva was carrying all this guilt around and trying to do what little he could to fix what was already done, the whole time knowing that it would never be enough. He's pretty much accepted that Karou is going to hate him forever and yet he still tries.

Zuzana and Mik were hilarious. I love the two of them together. They're just perfect and loveable. Speaking of lovable, Ziri! I don't even know what to say about him and what happens to him. He was the one likable chimaera in the camp and then BAM! Laini Taylor throws that twist in the end which I NEVER would've seen coming. I don't even know what's going to happen with him. There's also Rath. I really like Rath despite the very small time he is in the story. I hope he makes it into the next one. He was this vicious looking chimaera who was immediately assumed to be bad but he had honor and I liked that about him.

Don't even get me started on Thiago. I just wanted to punch his face. I wish I was powerful enough to punch his face and knock him around because... he's freaking Thiago! Same with Jael.

(On a side note, someone made a post on Tumblr saying that they imagine Jael playing this song while he commanded his army and I thought it was hilarious yet perfect so I'm going to share it.)






I love this book so much! I couldn't put it down and it was just too good. There is so much that happens in those 500 pages that if I talked about even just the major things I could go on for quiet a while. (This post would be 10x as long as it already is)

The point is, I was absolutely captivated. If I had been sitting in a chair while reading this book, I would have been at the absolute edge of that chair or fallen on the floor the entire time. Laini Taylor is a genius. Enough said.

If you haven't read this series, you definitely should.

Onyx (Lux #2) : Review

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My rating: ★★★½

The story continues off from where the Obsidian left off. Katy suddenly falls ill and soon after develops new abilities that neither her or Daemon can make sense of. A new boy, Blake, moves to town and soon becomes friends with Katy. She clings to him for a sense of normality in her life even though all the aliens around her seem to be suspicious and distrusting of Blake. The DOD is also in town and Katy, Daemon, Dee and the rest have to careful not to draw suspicion. Katy soon finds out more about what is going on with her and Blake turns out not to be who she thought. Meanwhile, Katy and Daemon's relationship moves like a crazy roller coaster ride as they deal with all kinds of stresses... and they aren't even together.

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I didn't find this one to be as good or as exciting as Obisidian. There were moments where Katy annoyed me like none other and I just wanted to grab her and shake her and knock some sense into her. The tension between Katy and Daemon was insane. There was just so much of it and just when you think maybe things will work out they don't (I think I said the same thing in my review of Obsidian). I love Daemon even though he annoyed me at times as well. Blake was just so frustrating. In the beginning he was like the Jacob Black of this series. I liked him and I though he was great but I absolutely did not want him to be with Katy. By the end of the book though I really hated him. I was so frustrated with what was happening and so frustrated with all of the antagonists in this book but props to Jennifer Armentrout for establishing pretty legit motivations for each of them. As much as I hated them I could still kind of understand why they were doing what they were doing. That ending though (the very very ending) was just so cruel on Jennifer Armentrout's part. She rips your heart out and then puts it back in place but leaves you wondering if it really is back or not.

I'm not sure what rating to give this book. Four stars seems to high because I didn't like it as much as the first one and I did feel like it dragged on at parts but 3 also seems too low. So I'll stick with an overall 3.5/5 stars. I'm excited to read the next book in the series and figure out what is going on with the cliff-hanger-ish ending.

Stacking the Shelves {1}

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

All books added to my Goodreads TBR shelf as a result of one week of Booktube binging.