Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

Review:

This is my favorite one, so far! It was so great watching Daemon and Katy finally be able to have an actual relationship! They still had a lot of arguing and tension, but there was also now a lot of making up and falling in love.

There was also a lot of black mail. After some serious drama went down at the end of the last book (which I will not spoil), the group was really hoping that certain characters would never return to their lives. Unfortunately the characters come back with black mail, a serious gunshot, and the startings of a serious rescue mission. The characters work to build up a tolerance to onyx (their kryptonite), and to do this requires a lot training that the characters compare to self-mutilation. Touching onyx is torture to them, but they have to build up a tolerance in order to rescue their family.

I’m not sure if I’ve adequately shared my love for Katy yet. She serious is kicking some major butt at this point. Her powers are ridiculous and she’s still not backing down when Daemon wishes her to. She makes it darn clear that she is his equal, and I love that about her. I also seriously love that she is a blogger! She does In My Mailbox vlogs. And I never quite felt as guilty for reading (instead of doing other things like cleaning and working) as I would normally when I get so engrossed in a story because Katy would talk about the same thing. Katy’s reading/blogging habits almost seemed to validate my own. But more than that it’s just super nice to relate to a character on this level. There are not many main characters out there who blog and get as excited about books as me.

I also have a soft spot for teen books that involve prom, and what fun prom was had in this one! I also enjoyed slowly watching the other aliens come to accept Katy. They don’t all love her, by any means, but they all seem to accept that she’s there now. I felt so bad for Dee in this one, and I really had a hard time understanding her always, but, things ended on a better not with her I guess.

I also found it interesting that other characters were starting to call out some of the outrageous things about the town they were living in. Like how many teenagers have disappeared? How many have run away? And how many have died? I loved getting to know new characters, and I loved watching all the interactions Daemon had with Katy’s mom! Everything improved in this book (character development, plot, mystery, action, romance) and talk about the worst cliffhanger! I give this one a 10/10, and yes I already started the last book.