Phew! I just barely finished on time - 11:30 pm! But let me tell you, those last 200 pages were intense! I'm so glad y'all picked Onyx for me this month, it was a great read.
What Worked:
- I really loved the plot of Onyx. From reading my review of Obsidian, I know that I felt it was somewhat predictable. While there were elements that I felt were predictable in Onyx, I would say it definitely wasn't overly so. There were plenty of moments that shocked me. And stuck a dagger in my heart. Major sadness in this one y'all.
- I really enjoyed Katy and Damien in Onyx. Again, from reading my review of Obsidian. I didn't love them as a couple before. That has definitely changed. I think the antagonism and angst that bugged me in the first book really dwindled here.
- The sci-fi elements - seriously y'all, I'm RARELY drawn to a book about aliens. And then, I'm even less likely to enjoy it. But what JLA has done with the Lux in Onyx is super cool and completely pulled me in. I love the training bits and the way she describes their abilities.
- I really LOVE that this is not one of those YA books where teenagers are running around without any parental involvement with no explanation. Yes, Katy does have an incredible amount of freedom - but it's well explained by her mom (single-mom) working as a nurse with a crazy schedule. And her mom is still paying attention and still cares. It adds a nice element of, "hey, this isn't bs" to the book. lol
- Book love and blogging! Any book that includes a little bit of our world is fun for me :)
What Didn't Work:
- While this is partly my own fault for taking TOO DAMN LONG to read Onyx after finishing Obsidian, the recap elements were not enough for me. I think it takes a lot of skill to recap enough in a book so that readers remember what happened in previous books without boring with pointless review segments. Onyx was ALMOST there. I do like that it erred on the side of too little, because I can't stand long reviews. But I still don't completely remember what happened in book 1.
- I missed Dee - she was easily my favorite character in book 1 and she just didn't have a big enough role for me in this one. But where she was there, she was great.