BOOK REVIEW | ONYX – JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT

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… – Goodreads description

I should have known better. I did know better. Obsidian was underwhelming, and Onyx… well, it wasn’t exactly worse… but it wasn’t better, either.

The alien storyline continues in this book, but with some new twists. Katy now has powers, transferred to her when Daemon healed her. Repeatedly. This causes the DOD to be even more interested in them. And Katy’s mom has a new boyfriend – Will – whose presence makes things even more awkward.

On the plus side, in this book Katy and Daemon seem to finally start to admit that they have feelings for each other. But then they don’t. But then they do. But then they hate each other. But then they make out. But then Katy starts dating another guy. But then Daemon gets jealous. OMG the whiplash. I seriously wanted to murder them both dead by the end of this book.

The plot is engagingly written, just like the first book, and easy to get into and read through quickly. But the rules of how the alien powers work get even more convoluted. 

The biggest thing that made me go, “Yeah, right,” was when Blake, Katy’s new beau/alien power trainer reveals that not only are the powers of hybrids like he and Katy pretty intense, but that they’re actually stronger than the aliens who created them. Say what? That doesn’t even make any sense. And there’s no explanation for it. 

We also encounter alien kryptonite, which, okay, fine, but how did the aliens not know about this? At some point wouldn’t one of them have accidentally figured it out? Totally unbelievable. And it goes on from there. Lots of unbelievable bits and a whole lot of the Katy-Daemon-Blake love triangle/denial.

I hadn’t expected a lot after the first book. But I was still a bit disappointed. On top of which, I know a lot of the ladies are all *swoon* over Daemon, but I don’t find him attractive. Between the random asshole attacks, incredible arrogance, controlling stalkerish behaviour and complete inability to acknowledge his feelings (which is the most annoying part of Katy’s personality, too) I just want to smack the dude 90% of the time. I don’t find it sexy when a guy is so protective that he refuses to listen. I also don’t find it romantic if he pushes the girl he supposedly likes away all the time, even if it’s supposedly “for her own good.” So he didn’t work for me.

This is feeling like Twilight, possibly (if you can believe it) even more annoying. But I still want to know what happens. Just like I did with Twilight. Grrrr. THIS IS TIME I WILL NEVER GET BACK, PEOPLE. I have the same feeling I get when I consume an entire bag of potato chips in one sitting.

Give me a couple of days, though, and I’ll probably do it all over again and be back with a review of Opal. I hate myself.