Series Review: Lux by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Obsidian (Lux, #1) 

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Rating: 3 Stars 

Unless you’re a hermit, you will have no doubt heard about this series by now. Not only are the cover models on over 50% of most covers these days, the cover for this novel has also become the new ‘most popular’ profile image, not to mention the fact that there are girls all over the country swooning over Daemon Black. Thus, despite the mixed ratings, I just had to pick this one up and frankly speaking, I was quite confident that I would hate it. Yet, surprisingly enough, I wound up frantically flipping through the pages of this book, laughing, having my jaw drop, and ultimately needing the sequel immediately! Obsidian, like most paranormal novels, has its fair share of flaws, but it is also a really fun story that is bound to suck you in and force you to like it, even against your better judgment.

I suppose from the surface, Obsidian can be called ‘just another Twilight’ and that would be an accurate description – from the surface. Yes, we have our classic ‘girl meets hot guy’ and ‘hot guy is a paranormal creature’ and ‘hot guy warns girl to stay away from him’ and ‘hot guy falls in love with girl anyway’ type of story arc, but there are also some major differences that make this novel better than your average Twilight. For one, Katy is an awesome protagonist. When she moves to West Virginia and befriends her neighbor, Dee, she refuses to let Dee’s twin brother, Daemon, intimidate her into staying away from their family. Furthermore, instead of being a sparkly vampire, fallen angel, hot demon, mesmerizing mermaid, or a sweaty werewolf, Daemon and Dee are aliens! (Unfortunately, they aren’t from Gallifrey, but one day my alien in a blue box will come…even though I live in America…)

I’ve said it before and it demands to be said again: Katy is awesome. Not only is she a book blogger (Woo-hoo!), but she also stands up for herself and knows how to hold her own. She’s fiercely loyal to her friends, intelligent, witty, and quick to put together the facts in front of her and accept who Daemon and Dee really are. While Katy is an incredible protagonist, Daemon is a guy I really couldn’t warm up to in this novel. I know girls are swooning over him left, right, and center, but I didn’t see the appeal. Frankly speaking, Daemon is a jerk. He does everything in his power to break up the friendship between Dee and Katy and while we do slowly begin to understand his motives, I never truly got him until I read the prequel novella, Shadows, so when I originally read this novel, it’s safe to say I hated Daemon with a passion.

Overall though, Obsidian is a great novel. It has an awesome protagonist, wonderful bonds of friendship, creepy alien battles, and a love interest who the main character isn’t swooning over. If that isn’t enough to make you pick this one up, then I don’t know what is! ;)

Title: Onyx (Lux, #2) 

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Rating: 3.5 Stars  

So…remember how I said I hated Daemon in Obsidian? Well, I was more-or-less determined to continue to hate him and suddenly…I didn’t. Onyx, the sequel to Obsidian, focuses on the relationship between Katy and Daemon as Daemon tries to win over Katy and prove that he really does like her, despite their previous interactions. In the process, Daemon winds up winning over the few readers (like me) that he hasn’t already won over and you finish this novel utterly swooning over this green-eyed alien. Yet, even beyond the romance plot, the Department of Defense senses something suspicious with the Luxen in West Virginia and is out to investigate. While dealing with the Arum, the sworn enemies of the Lux, was bad, the DOD is even worse and what Katy and Daemon could uncover about them will be life-changing.

While Obsidian seems to follow the typical Twilight type of plot line, Onyx is a completely different novel. For one, the plot is much more dangerous, intriguing, and the stakes are much higher. If you thought Obsidian sucked you in, think again because Onyx is un-put-downable. I loved the overall plot of this one much more than the one in Obsidian and it had so many jaw-dropping moments that all I could do was flip the pages in awe. If the plot has a flaw, it’s the cliffhanger ending which makes me want to fast-forward to December when Opal releases, but either than that cruel, cruel, ending, Onyx is astounding.

Thus, while it is better than Obsidian plot-wise and Daemon improves drastically, completely winning over everyone, what Onyx lacks is the kick-ass Katy I fell in love with before. Katy is still as stubborn, witty, and intelligent as she was before, but her constant denial of her feelings for Daemon became extremely irritating after a point. Furthermore, the friendships that were prominent in Obsidian completely disappeared and I was so disappointed in Katy for forgetting about her friends in this installment. While Katy and Daemon had some truly phenomenal conversations where they really talked and grew to understand one another and even accepted their previous mistakes and errors, I was disappointed by Katy in this one. I still really like her, especially compared to other protagonists, but I hope we can see more of the Katy from Obsidian in the sequel.

Ultimately, Onyx is a sequel that is even better than its predecessor. It has a heart-pounding plot, an incredible romance, and characters that truly worm their way into your heart. If it wasn’t for Katy’s strange personality/priority shift, this book would definitely be receiving a solid 4 Stars from me, but regardless, I’d encourage you to pick it up. If you didn’t like Obsidian, chances are you’ll enjoy this one much better and if you did love Obsidian, I doubt I have to tell you to pick this one up. Now, if only December would arrive sooner… ;)

Title: Shadows (Lux, #0.5) 

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Rating: 4 Stars 

Wow! Seriously, this novella was awesome! I liked it a lot better than both Obsidian and Onyx, so that really surprised me. First and foremost, Shadows is the story of Dawson, Daemon's twin brother, and how he falls in love with Bethany. While you should chronologically read this before Obsidian, it doesn't contain too many details, so I'd recommend reading it after Obsidian or even after Onyx like I did as it shed a lot of details on some of the plot lines in Onyx. 

Ultimately though, why I loved this story so much was because of Dawson. We all know Daemon is a jerk and we hate him inObsidian and then come to love him in Onyx, but Dawson is a real sweetheart. I loved him from the start and his kindness, courage, and determination was all so sweet. Bethany too is an awesome heroine, although she isn't quite as kick-ass as Katy was. I still really liked her though and her love story with Dawson was very different from that of Katy and Daemon, which is interesting to note as both couples are perfect for each other in their own ways. 

Yet, what really made this novel so wonderful was the sibling relationship with Daemon, Dawson, and Dee. We don't really get to see much into their lives in the Lux Series, but with the multiple POVs in Shadows, we really got to understand the depth of their love for one another. Plus, Daemon's actions in Obsidian make so much more sense after reading this, so I'm glad this was able to shed some light on that as I have a new amount of respect and even more love for Daemon now than I did before. 

Overall, if you're a Lux fan, this is a must-read. If you're on the fence about this series, it's also a must-read. If you don't like the series because of Daemon, then you definitely need to check this one out as it'll change your opinions drastically. If you haven't read this series yet...then what are you waiting for? Go! You won't be disappointed - that's for sure! ;)