Double Feature: Obsidian and Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
May 2012, Entangled Teen
361 pages (read on Kindle)
Good Reads + Amazon
5/5 stars

"Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to think 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."

-Good Reads

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
August 2012, Entangled Teen
366 pages (read on Kindle)
Good Reads + Amazon
4/5 stars

"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 is here. If they ever found 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..."

-Good Reads

As per usual, my Double Feature reviews discuss two books in a series/universe and assumes that you have already read the first. Please do not read if you don't want to be spoiled - I don't actively spoil books but in my discussion, I may reveal minor plot points! 

I picked up (er, bought on my Kindle) Obsidian only because Amazon was selling it for $1.99 as a Daily Deal about a month ago. I had heard so many wonderful things about the series... and everyone seemed to be going crazy over Daemon Black (think: Edward/Jacob type craze) so I figured, why not? At best, this book will be an entertaining Twilight-esque paranormal romance... and at worst, I've only wasted $1.99.

Holy freaking crap was I wrong - I loved this book! Almost* everything about it pulled me in... because it had everything that I always found lacking in YA paranormal romance:

1. The main character acts her age - Katy is a typical high school student. Her behavior, her interests, and her internal dialogue reflect that. At several parts in the story, Katy acted incredibly immature when she was ticked off and I was totally okay with that. Why? Because she is seventeen years old. I often find that many YA main characters are adults trapped in the bodies of high school students and, while I do very much appreciate maturity in teenagers, it was a breath of fresh air to see Katy acting her age.
2. The romance felt real - Katy didn't lay eyes on Daemon and immediately offer herself to him. Heck, (SPOILER) they didn't even get together by the end of Obsidian. Although she felt attracted to him, he was also a serious ass to her... and she didn't let that go just because he was hot and started paying attention to her. 
3. There was no love triangle. Obsidian should get a gold medal for this fact alone. There were bigger plot points at play during Obsidian and Katy didn't let herself become too distracted by one hot guy... let alone two. (Before you say it - no, I'm not forgetting about Simon... but would you actually consider him a love triangle? I don't!)

All in all, Obsidian was a really fun read. I often found myself laughing out loud at the interactions between Katy and Daemon, and also at Katy's internal dialogue. It was the type of book that I would tell myself, "Okay, one more chapter..." and end up reading five. If you're a fan of paranormal romances (or books along the lines of Twilight) definitely check it out. I don't think that you'll be disappointed. 

As far as Onyx goes, though? Eh. I usually have a hard time with the second book in a series. Jennifer L. Armentrout had to use it to begin building up the stage for what will come next in the series. I hate to continue using the Twilight series as a comparison but it works - think New Moon. New Moon wasn't necessarily bad per say, but it had that "in between" feeling. Do you get what I mean? Eh, alright. I still enjoyed it but didn't feel as captivated by the plot... mostly because I knew that bigger things were going to begin happening in the third book, Opal. 

*The two major problems that I had with Obsidian:

1. Daemon using "Kitten" as a pet name for Katy. I. Hated. That. I hated it more than Anastasia Steele calling her subconscious "my inner goddess." 
2. Katy's name. Is it pronounced Katie? Because she was often referred to as Kat... I don't know! This wasn't a "major problem" but it really bugged me.

Okay, that's all for now guys. Let me know if you've read Obsidian and what you thought of it! Also, if you have any suggestions for paranormal romances along the lines of this series, leave them down below!

Happy reading!

-Alyssa