Opal (Lux, #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Opal (Lux, #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: December 11, 2012 by Entangled Teen
Received: Purchased ebook from B&N

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. [goodreads]

It was almost a year ago that I started this series with Obsidian, and then was fortunate to receive an early copy of Onyx that I read immediately following.  Then time went by (lots of time) and Opal was published.  When I finally sat down to read the third installment of this series, I will admit, I was a bit lost.  Thankfully my good friend Jess was reading it at the same time as me and refreshed my memory on the what happened in book two so that I could better understand where book three was starting off at.

Opal had a different feel for me, and I'm not sure if it's because I read the first two books in this series back to back and then had a long period of time until book three.  For whatever reason, it didn't grab me and suck me back in like the previous books had.  I felt a bit of disconnect from the characters, and the story felt a bit slow in parts.  I stuck with it though, because I had this feeling something was bound to turn my thoughts around.  Little by little the story began to unfold and sure enough, I found myself turning the pages, eager to find out what happened next.

Armentrout writes with such intensity in certain scenes that you find it difficult to turn away from.  With Opal, I felt that she sprinkled these moments through out, but it wasn't until the end that I thoroughly engrossed myself in the story, only to leave me with my jaw wide open and thoughts of: OMG! WHAT?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?? NOOOO!!! rushing through my mind.  Prepare yourself for one huge punch at the end.

We get to see Katy's character evolve and grow into the person she's now becoming based on her actions in the previous two novels.  We also see the softer side to Daemon, the one I as a reader fell in love with in book two.  Armentrout blends sci-fi/paranormal elements with contemporary romanitcal tension that has always been a favorite aspect for me to read in her books.  If you've started this series, then you definitely owe it to yourself to continue with this one.  If you're a reluctant reader and haven't picked it up yet, I may suggest waiting until all the books are out, because the wait can be torture -- especially with THAT ending!