Friday 28 December 2012

Review: Onyx (Lux, #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx (Lux, #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publication Date: August 14, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 366
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Paranormal Romance
Source: Bought it

Book Description from Goodreads: 
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…


Review:

     After the explosive events of Obsidian, Katy finds herself inexplicably attached to Daemon with an invisible tether; making their attraction undeniably hard to resist. But Katy fights him off - thinking that Daemon's feelings are just a result of the connection. It just makes Daemon more determined to show her that his feelings are true - which makes him all the more alluring. But as their connection morphs into something more - weird things start to happen to Katy and with the Department of Defense closing in on the site of their fireworks show in Obsidian and some new characters appearing in their dreamy little town the lines become blurred on who Katy can trust and what monumental secrets people are hiding. 

     I'm loving that Armentrout has continued with the Pepe and Sztella featured cover models and that these two have become the hallmark images for Daemon and Katy! 

     In keeping with Armentrout's trademark ability to create sexual tension between Katy and Daemon like no other we get a lot of teasing, a little smidgen of a reward and then we're left hanging with mouths open going that's it?! 

     Katy is still a bit miffed from how badly Daemon treated her in Obsidian, and that's fair - he was a major jerk, so she makes him work for it this time. The tension builds and builds until you just want to take Katy and push her and Daemon into a closet and have them just get it over with! But alas Armentrout keeps us on a roller coaster, and while it creates entertaining scenes and allows Katy to build a true relationship with Daemon I felt like it got dragged out a bit too long. 

     This indecision about Daemon made Katy a bit annoying and whiny, but she does eventually grow into this incredibly strong character later on that's going to be incredible to see in Opal

      Daemon in his determination to win Katy over is still at times a bit irritating, then a bit stalkerish and then it finally clicks in his head and he turns into this super adorable guy that will have you "aww"-ing and sighing. 

     I'm still loving Armentrout's upbeat writing filled with snarky humor, physics defying action and twists on seemingly innocuous characters that I couldn't see coming! We also get a little bit more insight into Daemon and the  collective Luxen's past as it catches up to them in the form of ghosts. The biggest thing was [HOLY SMOKES] what a cliffhanger ending, good thing the third book Opal is already out because I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!

Overall: 4/5 Hot Cups of Tea
Delicious sexual tension meshed with the high stakes gamble of living a secret alien life in a town where nothing is as it appears - Onyx is a great sequel to Obsidian with Armentrout's highly addictive storytelling. If you haven't read the Lux series, or anything by Armentrout - do it! You'll become 'one of us...one of us...'

Thursday 27 December 2012

Tea Time Thursday: Oolong Tea: Happy Kombucha



Oolong Tea: Happy Kombucha

Ingredients: Oolong tea, pineapple cubes, mango cubes, mango, pineapple, Kombucha Powder, safflower petals, artificial flavouring.



     After a long hiatus I'm finally back to doing Tea Time Thursday, and I was lucky enough to get a few DAVIDsTea samples in the mail from Karen at For What It's Worth reviews and this first one that I decided to try was the perfect mid winter pick me up (it's been -30C/-22F for the past week *burrrr*). 

     I had no idea what Kombucha is...so I Googled it and came up with this explanation: a symbiotic relationship of Yeast and Bacteria that ferments in a sweetened tea - could be slightly alcoholic but then I came up with this conflicting search that it might actually be dried kelp which makes just as much sense. Either way I think these might turn normal people off this tea, but the good news is that it's DELICIOUS! If there is yeast/bacteria (which is likely probiotic and good for you anyways) or kelp I couldn't even tell that it was in there. 

     The Oolong's earthy bitter flavor is prominent but tempered by the sweetness of all the dried fruit. Together it kind of tastes like the Trident Wild Strawberry and Tangy Citrus Layers gum (I don't know why all these teas taste like some kind of gum to me, I chew a lot of gum apparently). No sugar is required (it's too sweet if you do) and it's much better hot than cold. Just be sure not too over-steep this tea or it will become bitter and leave that weird coating in your mouth from the tannins. 


Overall: 4/5 Hot Cups of Tea
This is delicious sipping tea that I don't think I'd ever get tired of, right up there with Pineapple Oolong.
David's Tea markets this as a hippy/hipster resurgence tea so...mellow out dudes?

     

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Teaser Tuesday (26): Release


Teaser Tuesday: Release
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
·Grab your current read 
·
Open to a random page 
·
Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page 
·
Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.


Author: M.R. Merrick
Publication Date: December 10, 2012
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
Description from Goodreads:
After uniting the shifters and calling in reinforcements, Chase has to face his toughest challenge yet: learning to control his emotions. But as tensions rise and his powers grow, controlling his emotions becomes the least of his problems.

Terrorized by a multi-shifter who is hell-bent on turning him, Chase questions just how far he’s willing to go to stop his father. Meanwhile, Tiki’s virtuous nature has placed him in the middle of Vincent’s past, leaving Chase to oppose a senate of vampires and defend a demon he hates.

Trying to balance his friends, his enemies, and his inner demons, Chase is left searching for answers about the Mark, his destiny, and where he can find the next soul piece. Stopping Riley is his top priority, but as more obstacles arise, he finds himself doubting all the decisions he’s made - especially regarding Rayna.

One thing is for certain: Chase has finally realized that he doesn’t know anything. The light doesn’t always quell the darkness, the monsters don’t always stay in the shadows, and the past doesn’t always stay in the past - sometimes, the demons inside are the hardest to fight.



Teaser:

     " "He wasn't going easy on me. He's kidding."
       Rayna nodded. "Sure."
       "No really, he was kidding, right?"
        Rayna laughed and followed after Marcus.
        "Rayna, don't play with me. Tell me he was joking." " (1% kindle ed.)


HEY EVERYONE! I'm back from Mexico! It was kind of a temperature shock going from +30C to -30C *burr* but I'm in full finals swing now, hopefully I can get back onto blogging track after that :D 

What'd you guys read this week? I feel so out of the loop, anything bookishly awesome happen? I'm still wading through a mountain of emails. Leave me a link in the comments so I can stop by!

And I still have a copy of Ghost Planet to give away - enter HERE
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