Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux, #2
Source: Bought
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: August 14, 2012

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…

For Onyx, I was still at the point of devouring this series- they were just a lot of fun to read, and I was enjoying myself. Like I said in my review of the first book, I feel like Katy is just a filler character. I don't really feel her development, and I don't particularly care for her, to be honest. She's just sort of there. And no, I'm still not really all that sold on her being a "book blogger".

I do still think that Katy & Daemon's chemistry is awesome, and in this one the heat was really turned up! Their chemistry was smoking, and while I didn't really care for the angst angst angst side of the story, it did make the chemistry more fun. I was totally telling Katy that she should just give in already!!

But as much as I was telling Katy to give in.... I do still think that Daemon is a douche. I mean, the way he does things and just everything... it's just, well, for lack of a better word, it's douchy. I want them to be together, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he just kind of annoys me.

I liked that this one had a little bit more of a mystery, and I'll be the first to admit that I didn't really know what was going to happen with that. I ran several theories through my head, but I don't think that there was every any that truly measured up to what happened. It was a good change, that's for sure!

The introduction of Blake was a nice twist, and I wasn't sure whether or not to trust him. I mean, I wanted to.. and I kind of did, but he was truly a wild card. I think that the quasi-love triangle that was tried out was ridiculous, though. I wish that JLA had just left well enough alone, and just kept the angst without the added drama of trying to make Daemon jealous.

I missed Dee in Onyx, she was so prevalent in the first book - and suddenly it's like she's hanging out with other people instead of Katy. Her presence was dearly missed.

All in all, Onyx was a good continuation of the Lux series, and I'd recommend it as a fun read.

Scene it Sunday #10 - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Movie Review

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Series: The Hobbit, #1
Source: Bought
Release Date: December 14, 2012
Leads: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage

A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on an "unexpected journey" to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug.

As you all know, I'm a good fan of LotR - I like it. I do think that the books were SORT of boring, because of the excessive details, but I love the movies. They're pretty much the best, and of course the extended versions are the only way to watch them. But, unfortunately - I didn't love The Hobbit as much as I loved the first trilogy. I think that it's a good movie in its own right, but there are some times when it seemed to just drag.

Thankfully, that wasn't all that often.

I loved Martin Freeman as Bilbo - I feel like he did a fantastic job of playing an unadventurous hobbit with unexpected strength and courage. He did great. I also (of course) love Gandalf, and he's possibly one of my favorite characters in this movie.

But don't even get me started on the dwarves! I have so much love for that ragtag group of fellas, and there'll be no changing that. I liked the way that Thorin was portrayed especially. Some people complained about the amount of "dwarves singing" and "dwarves eating" scenes in the film, but I think those were some of the most fun to watch. The all interact so well together - it just makes me happy! Their playful personalities, coupled with their fun looks and the lack of seriousness in all of them (except Thorin) just made them so fun.

I also loved the animation - the goblin king was perfectly grotesque, and I don't think they could have made him look any more terrible than they did. My only true problem with this movie (besides the boring bits) was the abrupt ending - it was a super long movie, to be cut off by a subpar ending.

All in all, The Hobbit is a good movie, and I can't wait to see the next one - but prepare to be bored at certain parts!

Spin-off Series: They Scare Me

As you guys know (or are about to know) I recently read The Percy Jackson series. And I LOVE LOVE LOVED it. Pretty much the best series that I've read in a long time - and I was really sorry to let those characters go when the end came around. But I tried to, even if it caused a terrible book hangover that I'm still battling as I write this: I just want more. I want more of Percy and Annabeth, and I hear that there's some of them in The Heroes of Olympus series - a spinoff.

Normally, I love the idea of spinoff series'. But I haven't ever read one that I can think of. So, I'm super nervous. What if there isn't enough of the original characters? What if I end up hating the world, because I miss those original characters so much? What if?

It's so much easier to jump into a different series by the same author, because I don't expect the old characters to be in a new series, but I expect them to be in a spinoff. And that just worries me way too much! What if I don't like the new main characters, or even the storyline?

I'm just scared to read any spinoff. I'm irrationally afraid of it.

Is anyone else scared to start a spinoff of their favorite series' or is it just me? Is there ever too much of a good thing?