Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Synopsis:
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…

My Thoughts:
I can't begin to tell you how much I love these books.  I had heard so much about Obsidian last year, and I was so curious because everybody was gushing about how great the book was and how hot Daemon was.  First of all, if there's a hot guy in any book, I need to read it--asap.  And secondly, the book's about aliens.  While I may not have been very familiar about aliens in books, the concept sounded very interesting.  Plus, the aliens in these books--the men--are hot.  So, yes.  I needed to read this book and every other book that came after it.

I really related to Katy, especially since she's a lover of books and reviews them on her blog.  In this book, her problem was that she wanted to prove to not only Daemon and the others, but herself that she was able to protect and defend herself ably.  While this is a problem common in YA novels with female protagonists, I felt that Katy's was more believable.  I feel that female characters with this problem quickly overcome the hurtle with barely an effort, but being that Katy is a bookworm that wants to protect herself, the struggle was hard--as it should be--and took a while.  Katy's determination was admirable and that fiery passion is what really made me like her and respect her as a character.

And oh, boy, was I not let down with Daemon and Katy's relationship.  Ughh!  I can't even tell you how much I loved it.  The sexual tension was off the charts and I gladly fell for Daemon once again in this book.  He was such a complex character, and that's what I loved.  He wasn't just the stereotypical bad boy love interest.  He did have depth.  He cared.  And he was a decent human (uhh, alien) being, but he learned that being a jackass to outsiders prevented him from caring for others.  (I'm pretty sure I just described what a bad boy is, but hopefulling if you've read these books, you understand what I'm getting at.)

In this book, we're introduced to a few more characters and get more acquainted with others.  The character development of each of them and how they played a certain role in the story was magnificent.  It didn't matter if the character just said one line throughout the book, but each one was important in one way or another.  Yet again, I am astounded and wonderfully surprised at Armentrout's talent to do this without the story being busy.  I loved every moment of it.

The story, while not full of much adventure or action, kept me captivated all throughout.  It was evenly paced (I read it in under one day) and when there was action, it was awesome.  The alien business and government secrecy thickened in this one.  When one answer would come, ten more questions would be raised.  And here, I also have to give some praise to Armentrout for masterfully plotting this story out.  I couldn't even predict what would happen because everything was so unpredictable and plot-twisting!  I loved it!

Onyx exeeded my expectations for the second book in the sequel.  The plot thickened and was filled to the brim with alien hotness and palpable sexual tension.  I loved each and every character.  They were dimensional and each had unique personalities.  I can't wait to see what will happen next in the third--not final--book in the series.  Fans of the supernatural, a hot romance, and a thrilling plot will enjoy this book.