Opal (Lux, #3)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

So yeah, I've read the third book already. After only starting it almost two weeks ago. I just love this series! It gets better and better with each book!

Dawson is back home where he belongs, but life hasn't got any easier. Everyone is still grieving over Adam's death. Daemon and Kat are stuck in limbo after Will's disappearance. Will the mutation hold? Will he die? Will he survive and cause more trouble? And Dawson is mentally scarred by what he has been through in the past year, what he was forced to do, and the separation from everyone he loves. Now he's safe, he's determined to rescue Bethany. No-one will let him do that on his own. They have to make a plan, and make sure everyone's safe. Then Blake appears. Before anyone has a chance to kill them, he offers them a deal; he knows where Beth is - he'll help them release her, if they help him release Chris, the Luxen he is connected to. None of them trust him, but he has the information and the contacts they need, and is blackmailing them on top. They have no choice but to accept. But when there's danger lurking around every corner, you don't know who's friend or foe.

Oh my god! The stakes go up even further in this novel! They're actually seeking out trouble, rather than having trouble come to them. Dawson is nothing like who he used to be. It's like the joy has been sucked out of him, leaving behind a shell of the fun-loving boy he used to be. All he can focus on is freeing Bethany. His love for her knows no bounds, and he can't bear sitting around when god knows what is happening to her.

Kat's relationship with Dee is pretty much dead since the death of Adam. Dee blames her and Daemon for the lies and secrets; if everyone knew what was going on, she and Adam wouldn't have rushed in like they did. Adam would still be alive. Kat can't help the guilt she feels, taking a huge amount of the blame. But no-one is happy when Blake returns. Oh my god, I do not like that guy! I don't care how much Armetrout tries to make us understand why he does what he does, I do not like him! Plus he's so freaking creepy! Some of the things he does, ugh. But they have no choice, so a plan is made with Blake to free Chris and Beth.

Because so much is going on, there isn't much alone time between Daemon and Kat. This did bother me a bit, because it was mostly tension-tension-tension the whole way through the novel. There weren't so many lighter moments. I would have preferred if they had got to hang out more, and just be boyfriend and girlfriend, rather than have every single conversation ruled by Will or Blake or Beth and Chris, or whatever else. Yet, saying that, I was getting tired of all the eyes that were being made at each other. Too many moments of her breath being took away because he looked at her, or stroked her face, or kissed her... it was all a little bit samey after a while, and some of the things said felt overly cheesy. They are still hot together, but it seems like now they're actually a couple, the hot has been turned down a bit, and the sap has been turned up. I'm partly wondering if I've read them all too close together, and that's the problem. Perhaps I need a little break. I still love these two, but it got a bit much some times.

The ending! Oh my god, the ending! Cliff hanger or what! I have no idea where things are going to go from here, there is absolutely no way to tell! It does partly make me want to pick up Origin, the fourth in the series, straight away to find out what happens next, because Jesus Christ! It's jaw-dropping! It's sooo unfair to end a book like yet, and yet so awesome! I am SO looking forward to Origin, but I will be giving myself a bit of a break before I dive into it. But such a fantastic series!