Review & Waiting on Wednesday - Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My Waiting on Wednesday post has been combined with my review of Opal because they are so related... I think you can probably figure out what I'm waiting for, but scroll down to the bottom to see for sure...

Title: Opal

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release Date: December 11, 2012

Pages: 382, Paperback
Goodreads Rating: 4.49 stars
My Rating: 5/5 stars
Content Rating: PG-16? (My made-up rating to mean something between PG-13 and R, Some near-sex scenes and one sex scene which is definitely described, but not in physical detail.)

Summary from Goodreads: 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.

MY TAKE

Okay, Jennifer L. Armentrout, you win.  You have totally won me over and I am now an official Lux fan. Those of you who have read my reviews of books one and two of the series know that I wasn't instantly in love with the Lux world (or its people).  In fact, I really didn't like Daemon AT ALL in the first book and I just barely like Katy.  Still, I had heard that Daemon improved a lot in the second book, so I thought I'd give it a chance.  By the end of Onyx, I was convinced that this was a series worth pursuing.  And now, after Opal, I am HOOKED!  (WARNING: If you haven't read the first two books, stop here and go read them because there will be some spoilers here.)

This story revolves around the gang trying to rescue Beth, Dawson's hybrid girlfriend from the DOD.  In order to do this, they find themselves teaming up with an unlikely (and perhaps untrustworthy?) ally.  Meanwhile, Katy and Daemon have finally gotten past pushing each other away and are busy solidifying their relationship (in more ways than one).

What I loved:

• Daemon.  Yep, you read that correctly - I am now a bona-fide Daemon fan.  Sure, he's still a bit rough around the edges, but that makes him exciting.  But, in this book, he's grown, he realizes that he's a jerk sometimes and he's trying to be better (see my Teaser Tuesday quote for evidence).   Most importantly, he isn't a jerk at all when it comes to Katy anymore.  In fact, it's obvious that he adores her and he's incredibly sweet to her.  Add that to the fact that he's extremely sexy and you have a VERY swoon-worthy book boyfriend.  I'm SO glad I stuck around to get to know him better!  :-)
• Tension.  A lot happened in the last two books and none of the characters got past all of those events scot-free.  I liked that Armentrout didn't let everyone patch everything up quickly and easily in Opal.  Instead, all of the characters are dealing with the ramifications of what has happened to them and they are not all dealing with things well.  Dawson has to get past a year of torture and his fears over what has happened to Beth to become human again (okay, Luxen).  Dee is traumatized by Adam's death and doesn't know if she can forgive Daemon and Katy for the lies that helped lead to it.  Katy suffers from guilt, but is also experiencing love for the first time.  It all makes for great and honest storytelling and I loved it!
• The rescue storyline.  I was definitely on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen when they went to rescue Beth.  I don't want to spoil anything, but it was exciting!

What I didn't love:

• Not much.  Honestly, anything that I put here is going to be nitpicking. I did roll my eyes a few times at Daemon and Katy's interrupted attempts at their "first time".  I mean, for what teen does a computer trump losing your virginity (I mean, once that teen has already decided they were ready and  especially once things have already gotten hot and heavy)?  Um, no.  Didn't believe it for a second.  (Again, I'm avoiding giving any details about this, so I don't spoil it - but this part just made me laugh).  And, I do have to say that it seemed like Armentrout's editor went on vacation or something because the grammar seemed worse to me in this book than in her others.  It wasn't horrible (I'm picky about grammar and I HATE it when a good book is spoiled by horrible grammar), and I get that these books are written in the vernacular and so things like sentence fragments are completely allowable, but there were enough little instances of bad grammar to make me take note and I didn't really notice this in the other books.  Of course, I'm also in the middle of editing a book right now, so I might just be more sensitive to it.  Like I said, the things I didn't love were nitpicky details, not show-stoppers.  (I always like to list something - I mean, no book is perfect, right?)

This book made me a true Lux believer.  I am very glad that I'm reading this series now and I just hope that the next book continues the positive trend!  5/5 Stars.

Speaking of the next book...

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights the upcoming releases that we're most looking forward to.  It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what my pick for this week is.  Luckily, I don't have to wait for long!

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release Date: August 27th, 2013

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything. 

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? 

And will they even be together?