Review: Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Opal (Lux #3)

By Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published December 11th 2012

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Paperback, 382 pages

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.--Goodreads

Warning: May Contain Spoliers on other Lux novels!

You have been warned!

Awesomesauce book! 5 Stars!

Review: 

I. Have. Been. Waiting. For. This. Book. For. Forever!!! (aka since I finished Onyx, which might as well have been forever ago) And now I have to wait another forever for the next novel???! 

Jennifer L. Armentrout has done it again! Opal is (so far) my favorite of the Lux series. Opal is one of those novels that makes you go ughhh, I just NEED to know what happens next! Word of advice: This novel ends on a cliff-hanger, so if you don't like cliff-hangers or if you don't like/want to wait forever for the next book, you might want to wait a few months to read Opal, since the next Lux book doesn't come out for another 6 months (July 2013; mark that on your calendars! I know I did, LOL). 

Daemon and Kat, two characters I can not get enough of! Can I just say for the 50th time of how much I love the Lux series? I LOVE the Lux series sooooo much! I may even like the Lux better than I like the Covenant series, which is saying a lot because I love the Covenant series! 

Ok so about the book... Daemon and Kat's adventures against the DOD continues! Dawson came back!!!!!! He's a little bit messed up since the DOD caught and jailed him, but he's back! All Dawson wants to do is get Beth back, so our Luxens go to get Beth back. The action(battling the bad guys) in this novel was not as intense as the action in Onyx, but there was a good amount of action. There is definitely a lot more deaths in this novel then in the others, some (most) of them were deaths of people you would not have expected to die.

You need this book! It's hard to tell you about the awesomeness of this novel, so you need to read this book!

Purchase this novel at: Amazon / B&N / TBD

Blog Tour Reviews: How to Date an Alien AND How to Break Up with an Alien by Magan Vernon Plus Giveaway

Double Reviews= Double the Fun!

How to Date an Alien (My Alien Romance #1) 

by Magan Vernon

Published: November 28th 2011 

Publisher: Calta Press

Kindle Edition, 234 pages

High school senior Alex Bianchi's estranged father gets her an internship at Circe Operations Center to pad her college applications. 

But Circe isn't your typical military base. 

It's an alien-run operation center and not all of the aliens are friendly, especially the one that tries to kill Alex on her first day. When Ace, a dark-eyed Caltian, enters and saves the day, she can't help but be drawn to him. Can these star-crossed lovers survive when they're on the brink of intergalactic war?

--Goodreads

4 Stars!

(Mini) Review: 

While the rest of the world of teens is stuck on vampires and werewolves, I'm stuck on aliens. This book was definitely interesting! I don't know whether it was because I'm new to the whole alien scene or because of the plot or something else. Most likely a mix of both! :)

Ahhh I was rooting for Alex and Ace! I really found Ace's species and home planet intriguing, hopefully in the second book it'll talk more about it! I love how Alex was rational about things, but was impulsive at the right times. At times the novel got a little slow, but not for long. There was always crazy things happening in the book sooner rather than later. 

Purchase this novel at: Amazon / B&N / TBD

How to Break Up with an Alien (My Alien Romance #2)
by Magan Vernon
Published: May 15th 2012
Publisher: Calta Press
Paperback, 272 Pages

Face it, long distance relationships in high school are hard, especially when the other one in the relationship is an alien.

Alex Bianchi may have survived an intergalactic battle, but that still doesn’t excuse her from her senior year of high school, or qualify her for any sort of scholarship. To make up for college tuition costs, she takes a job at a local coffee shop. 

If only coffee could solve all of her problems. As Alex’s senior year progresses, everything changes and she can’t figure out if it is interstellar or if it is just time to break up with an alien.--Goodreads

3 Stars

(Mini) Review:

I like this book, but not as much as I liked the first novel.

At times I found Alex and Ace to be very annoying. Alex also became a tad bit clingy. What was really annoying was the fact that Alex wasn't really standing up for herself! In the first novel she stood up for herself sometimes, but not always...so in the second book it seems like she is going backwards on standing up for herself. 

Although I have some issues with the characters, I still liked the plot, and the alien and human dynamic.

Purchase this novel at: Amazon / B&N / TBD

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Review: Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx (Lux #2)

By Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published: August 14, 2012

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Paperback, 366 pages

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

5 Stars!!!

Review

Let's just say that this series is one of the best paranormal series out there. I totally mean it. This series takes all of the clichés that paranormal books have and toys with them to create a totally epic sexy alien mojo ride. Although I found the first book, Obsidian, to be a slow, but fascinating, Onyx was just so enrapturing.

While I was reading this, I was experiencing a reading slump, and this book was the perfect book to bring me out of my slump. Katy and Daemon are such a perfectly quirky couple! OMG! I cannot describe how great their chemistry is. Watching their relationship go through kinks and its ups and downs is such a roller-coaster ride! Not for a single second was there a dull moment to bring down the amazingness of this book.

In this book, Katy and Daemon are faced with even more disaster than they would ever imagine. The Department of Defense reveal their sinister side (well, they already had one, but they're so frikkin' evil that it's bound to cause nightmares. I mean seriously, they're the DoD!), more weirdos decide to move into Katy's life as Katy finds herself conflicted in love, life and new revelations that threaten everything dear to her and Daemon. As this is all coming down on our favorite couple in history, we watch the hilarious antics between the two and a third party, whose name I refuse to mention, not even acknowledge his existence.

Onyx is just one of those reads that starts out in the first 20 pages rather slow, but immediately picks up and keeps the reader engaged through its entirety. Each event delivered something that connected to the epic finale of an end (and it's cliffhanger too, unfortunately), so there wasn't ever a dragging moment, or a page without Katy's snark. There's not much I can say honestly about this book because well, I just loved every little thing about it! It was just that perfect.

If you're one of those people who try to avoid going along with the hype, stop doing it! I mean for this book, anything else I can deal with. Onyx is such a perfectly paced adventure with tons of laughs! I think I laughed so much when reading this that my parents now think I'm possessed. Everything about this book just melds together to create a seamless romantic adventure full of alien mojo and Daemon-ness.

Purchase this book: Amazon/ Barnes&Nobles/ The Book Depository

Cover Reveal: Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

GUYS, IT IS FINALLY HERE!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this series!!! Ahhhh...

Opal (Lux #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Release Date: December 11th 2012 by Entangled Publishing

Excerpt Reveal:

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.

Pre-Order Opal at: Amazon / Barnes&Noble / The Book Depository

Bookmark this page for an EPIC giveaway: (begins Oct 1)

http://jenniferarmentrout.blogspot.com/p/october-1-2012.html

USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.

Find JLA at: Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Website / Blog

Cover Reveal: How to Marry an Alien by Magan Vernon

How to Marry an Alien (My Alien Romance Series #3) 

by Magan Vernon

Release Date: January 2, 2013

Cover Designer: Steven Novak at Novak Illustration

Event Host: AToMR Tours

Alex’s interstellar relationship has finally been sealed in the eyes of the human world, so now she can move on to her next step: college.

With Ace by her side and a new piece of jewelry on her finger, she thinks she is ready for anything. Well, almost anything.

Her new roommate holds a dangerous link to her past that Alex isn't sure if she can handle. Then there is the whole alien fiancé thing. Every time she tries to get closer to Ace, he seems to pull further away. Top that off with a full summer class load and a few more alien attacks and it’s just another day for Alex.

Except this time she isn’t sure if marrying an alien will be the happy ending she’s hoping for.                  

Review: Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal

Mothership (Ever-Expanding Universe #1)

by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal

Published: July 10, 2012

Publisher: Simon&Schuster Books for Young Readers

Hardcover, 320 Pages

Teen pregnancy is never easy—especially not when extraterrestrials are involved. The first in a new trilogy.

Elvie Nara was doing just fine in the year 2074. She had a great best friend, a dad she adored, and bright future working on the Ares Project on Mars. But then she had to get involved with sweet, gorgeous, dumb-as-a-brick Cole—and now she’s pregnant.

Getting shipped off to the Hanover School for Expecting Teen Mothers was not how Elvie imagined spending her junior year, but she can go with the flow. That is, until a team of hot commandos hijacks the ship—and one of them turns out to be Cole. She hasn’t seen him since she told him she’s pregnant, and now he’s bursting into her new home to tell her that her teachers are aliens and want to use her unborn baby to repopulate their species? Nice try, buddy. You could have just called.

So fine, finding a way off this ship is priority number one, but first Elvie has to figure out how Cole ended up as a commando, work together with her arch-nemesis, and figure out if she even wants to be a mother—assuming they get back to Earth in one piece. --Goodreads

4.5 Stars

Review

I would have never read this book if I hadn't won this in a giveaway because I honestly think that I would've never picked up this book for myself otherwise. When I read the Goodreads summary of Mothership, it sounded like The Secret Life of the American Teenager, a TV show about a pregnant teen and her life, a show I dislike so very much, in space, but I decided to give this book a chance anyway and boy am I glad that I did. 

In no way are Secret Life and Mothership similar. First, the protagonist saved people from evil alien invaders and in my book that makes said person a kick-butt protagonist. Elvie, the only thing I didn't like about her was her name, is hilarious. From the beginning of the book her sarcasm had me laughing. Also she is really smart, but what do you except from someone who fixed a toaster when she was six? One of my favorite scenes of Elvie is when she hijacks a vending machine into giving her ice-cream. 

Aside from the protagonist, I think my favorite character would have to be Ducky. He's Elvie's best friend who is always there for her no matter what. He's also a total nerd, but I found his nerdiness so endearing. 

As the Goodreads summary says, Cole is "dumb-as-a-brick." My first impression of him was that he's just your average, clueless jock. I never really cared for Cole as a character, but the more I read, the more he grew on me. Due to Cole's stupidity, he had some really funny lines. 

Ever thought that your teachers were aliens? Well at the Hanover School, they really are. But like all the alien books I've read so far, there are good aliens and there are bad aliens. The teachers are the bad aliens (of course) and Cole and Captain Bob, the people trying to save Elvie and the other girls, are the good aliens. As always the good and the bad fight, giving this book a lot more action and fighting than I had expected from this book. 

I liked this book much more than I thought I would :)

Purchase this book here: Amazon / Barnes&Noble / The Book Depository

Review: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Obsidian (Lux #1) 

By Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Published: May 8, 2012 

Publisher: Entangled Teen 

Paperback, 335 Pages 

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. --Goodreads

5 Stars

Review 

I love the Covenant series, aka Jennifer L Armentrout's awesome Half-Blood series, so I thought to myself "There is no way I'll dislike Obsidian" and I was right I loved Obsidian just like I loved Half-Blood. 

If you haven't noticed, there is a lot of hype about Obsidian and the sequel to it, Onyx. Maybe it's because it's that great of a series or because there was a tour for the series or because the trailer for Onyx just came out, either way there is a lot of hype over this series and after reading it myself I totally understand why. Now I'll start my gushing review of this book... 

Katy is just pure awesomeness! Katy is a book blogger, how awesome is that? That one detail alone should make her an awesome protagonist right? Katy also has a good head on her shoulders. If a guy is attractive, but is a jerk, just because he has good looks doesn't mean you should look the other way of his jerkiness; he is still a jerk. Now Katy know this, which is great because many times in YA books the female protagonist looks the other way on a guy's jerkiness if he's attractive. She also calls him out on his jerkiness, so more points for Katy! I like when a character is funny and sarcastic, lucky for me Katy was both. 

Daemon is...Daemon is Daemon, let's just say. He's extremely rude to Katy in the beginning, but eventually he gets a bit nicer, but he is still a jerk to her, but he sort of has a good reason. He and his sister are aliens and so are their friends, but Daemon is the strongest of all of them, so he must protect them and their secret. In order to protect the secret, they can't get close to humans. This obviously fails because Katy gets into trouble and Daemon used his alien powers to save her from being crushed by a truck. How do you explain away stopping a two/three ton truck, you can't, so that is when Katy finds out that he's an alien. 

I really enjoyed reading about the alien aspect of this book. It's not what one would typically imagine aliens to be like. I honestly loved that they had cool powers, such as shape shifting or stoping time. So what is the problem the characters have to face? The characters have to face the Arums, the evil aliens who do not have the powers Daemon and his alien friends have, so they want to drain them of their powers. The Arums made the book have more action and be more thrilling. If you have ever read Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout, the Arums are like the evil daimons.

Overall, Obsidian was a great book and I can't wait to read Onyx!

Purchase this book: Amazon / Barnes&Noble / The Book Depository