Lux: Beginnings (Obsidian & Onyx) and Lux: Consequences (Opal & Origin) Cover Reveals.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

About the books:

Lux: Beginnings (Obsidian & Onyx) official Blurb:

Obsidian

There's an alien next door. And with his looming height and eerie green eyes, he's hot...until he opens his mouth. He's infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, he lights me up with a big fat bulls-eye. Turns out he has a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal his abilities and the only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to him until my alien mojo fades. If I don’t kill him first, that is.

Onyx

Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro alien connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems. 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? 

Lux: Consequences (Opal & Origin) official blurb:

Opal

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 alien hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable. 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.

Origin

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back. After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? And will they even be together?  

Covers:

LUX: BEGINNING (Obsidian & Onyx)Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19081403-beginnings 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Beginnings-Obsidian-Jennifer-Armentrout/dp/1622664809/ 

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lux-jennifer-l-armentrout/1117748506 

LUX: CONSEQUENCES (Opal & Origin) Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19081402-consequences 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Consequences-Jennifer-L-Armentrout/dp/1622664817/ 

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lux-jennifer-l-armentrout/1117748505 

Additional links to Jennifer’s pages:

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jlarmentrout

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferLArmentrout

Website: http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/

There will also be a raffle for two fan inspired artwork from fans of the Lux series sent from the author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, herself. http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MWNiNTU0OTUyMGNlZDFiOGJmOTc5ZmExZmRmZDJmOjMwMQ==/

Lux Beginnings (Obsidian & Onyx) Cover Reveal!

Lux: Beginnings (Obsidian & Onyx)

Release date: June 3, 2014

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

So what is Lux: Beginnings (Obsidian & Onyx) about?

Obsidian

There's an alien next door. And with his looming height and eerie green eyes, he's hot...until he opens his mouth. He's infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, he lights me up with a big fat bulls-eye. Turns out he has a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal his abilities and the only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to him until my alien mojo fades. If I don’t kill him first, that is.

Onyx

Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro alien connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems. 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?

LUX: BEGINNING (Obsidian & Onyx) Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19081403-beginnings

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Beginnings-Obsidian-Jennifer-Armentrout/dp/1622664809/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lux-jennifer-l-armentrout/1117748506

Additional links to Jennifer’s pages:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlarmentrout

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferLArmentrout

Website: http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/

Entangled publishing will also be raffling off two fan inspired artwork from fans of the Lux series sent from the author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, herself. Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MWNiNTU0OTUyMGNlZDFiOGJmOTc5ZmExZmRmZDJmOjMwMQ==/

Full Measures by Rebecca Yarros

What drew me to this book was the mention of a hockey star. I have recently become obsessed with hockey romance novels and this seemed like it was the typical kind and I was so okay with that. I was wrong. This book is so much more than just your typical sports romance novel. It is a moving and heartfelt book that brought me to tears more than once upon reading.

Ember Howard’s father is away at war in the US Army when they get a knock on the door and her mother refuses to answer, there are two soldiers outside. Ember knew what this meant, her father wasn’t coming home. Ember immediately steps in to take care of the family when her mother can’t bring herself to even get out of bed. 

Josh Walker knew Ember from when they went to high school together but he is now studying in college. The friendship that forms between these two is something I very much enjoyed reading, it was nice to see how quickly he jumped in to look after her once she found out her father had passed. I also enjoyed reading about Ember’s grandmother, she reminds me a lot of my grandmother in a way, especially in terms of her outlook on life. Her grandmother had a big hand in helping the family pull back together in my opinion but Ember really did all she could for her family after this tragic loss.

As I said I wanted to read this purely because it mentioned hockey and I was pleasantly surprised that it was so much more than the ordinary hockey romance, it tackled plenty of real life situations and tough decision making. It had a vast amount of twists and turns and it has a shocking plot twist nearer to the end of the book that I really never expected and I applaud the author for thinking of something so clever and original. I didn’t see it coming and it knocked me from my seat when I read it. This book made me emotional, happy, giddy, sad and thoughtful all throughout my reading. It was a very easy read and I read it in one sitting, it kept me interested enough that I flew through it. If you’re looking for a contemporary novel that will tug at your heart and make you contemplate your life and your decision then this is the book for you. Having Josh Walker to swoon over doesn’t hurt either.

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Full Measures: ☆☆☆☆☆ (Full Measures on Goodreads) 

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, College, Sports, Military.

Control by Lydia Kang

Control by Lydia Kang is a science fiction, dystopian young adult novel released in 2013. The book is set in 2150 in a world where there are automatic cars, clubs with auditory ecstasy drugs and groups of children with different ‘deformities’. Zelia Benton is our main protagonist and she loses her father in a car crash. She survives the crash with her sister Dylia but when they are at a social services type facility Dylia is taken to one ‘foster’ home and Zelia is taken to another.

Zelia is a young girl who is fond of science and working in labs and her passion for this continues on throughout the story as she tries to figure out a way to get her and her sister back together again.

We of course have romance in this novel and I loved the romance aspect of this book. I didn’t find it to strong or sudden, it seemed like it progressed at a normal rate and I really enjoyed watching the relationship evolve. This book opened me up to wanting to try more science fiction books that aren’t mainly dystopian, although this is a dystopian world as well. I now find myself interested in books related to science and chemistry etc. Lydia Kang is a great writer and this is a great novel for a debut novel, I believe she did an incredible job.

I had some minor problems with the book, certain twists I didn’t overly enjoy and also the character of Dylia. I really disliked her character from the very beginning of the book and as the book progressed I found myself disliking her more and more, this is one of the main reasons I gave the book 4/5 stars instead of the 5/5 I wanted to give it. I found myself saying “Just leave her where she is Zelia, don’t rescue her.” multiple times throughout the book and that didn’t sit well with me at all.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I finished it in one day so that usually equals an enjoyable read from me.

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Control: ☆☆☆☆ (Control on Goodreads)

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Romance, Fantasy, Adventure.

Bout of Books Readathon 9.0 Wrap Up.

I convinced myself that I would power through my TBR for this Readathon and I ended up failing miserably. I just didn't have enough time in the day for everything and unfortunately reading fell to the last spot on my to-do list. I spent my week meeting up with friends before they returned to university after our Christmas break but I still got some reading done so it wasn't a complete fail.

What I Read:

1. The 100 by Kass Morgan

- I completed this in the first two days of the Readathon and I also wrote a blog post about it, for that click here: http://fascination-station.blogspot.ie/2014/01/the-100-by-kass-morgan.html

2. Breathe by Abbi Glines

- I picked this up because after the tense emotions I had from The 100 I needed something that would cheer me up and didn't have world ending cliffhangers etc, this book was perfect for that. It was cute, romantic but not without its own hardships. The couple in my opinion fell in love a little too fast but I suppose who am I to judge how quickly people fall in love? On Goodreads.

3. Making Faces by Amy Harmon.

- This BOOK. It made me feel so many emotions all at once but although it was dark and troubling the author wrote it in a way that it almost doesn't put you in a dark mood while reading it. This is about a girl named Fern and a guy named Ambrose. Ambrose is the all American hottie in Fern's life but he goes to Iraq and comes home a different man, including his appearance. I feel like this book could have gone either way, really great or really terrible, because of the topic. But in my opinion it steered to the first option. It was written beautifully and it teaches you some simple lessons about living life to the fullest. On Goodreads.

4. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

- I absolutely adored this book. All the hype surrounding it was 100% correct and I really could relate to Cath. It was almost as if someone wrote my life in book form. Although I don't write fanfiction online, I can relate to every other aspect of her life, especially the struggling with your first year of college kind. I really really enjoyed this and although it had some tense moments overall it was a cute and fun read. On Goodreads.

The 100 by Kass Morgan

The 100 by Kass Morgan is in a nutshell, a book about humans living on spaceships about the Earth's radioactive surface ever since a devastating nuclear war. The book is told from four different perspectives, Clarke, Wells, Bellamy and Glass. One hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent down to Earth to test out whether or not it is habitable for the rest of man kind.

Clarke was arrested for treason.

Wells, the chancellor's son made sure he was part of this mission so he can win back the girl he loves.

Bellamy fights his way onto the ship in order to protect his sister.

Glass managed to escape back onto the main ship and is our main link to what is happening in the spaceships while the other hundred are on the ground.

I was completely intrigued and very excited to read this once I watched the trailer for the the TV show that is airing on The CW in the States in March. I asked for the book for Christmas and thankfully have since then forgotten which actors are playing which role, as I prefer to conjure up how characters look in my mind myself.

I'll be completely honest I didn't thoroughly enjoy the first half of this book as much as I hoped I would. It did in fact keep me somewhat intrigued, enough to continue reading but I really believe the book picked up and saved itself in the second half/ last bit of the book. It isn't a large book and once it began to pick up I found myself flying through chapter after chapter.

The cliffhangers I believe were well thought out and have left me wanting the next book without being too drastic. It is often that if a cliffhanger in the first book of a trilogy upsets me I won't continue to read the rest of the series, purely because of that but the cliffhangers at the end of this left me wanting more and satisfied with the way they were executed.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be picking up the second in the trilogy (I'm assuming it's a trilogy, not entirely positive on that) when it is released in 2014 and I'm also very excited to see how this has been adapted into the TV series.

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The 100: ☆☆☆☆ (The 100 on Goodreads)

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Apocalyptic, Post Apocalyptic, Adventure, Space, Fantasy.

This book was also my #1 book completed for the Bout of Books Readathon 9.0. One book down, seven to go with six days remaining.

Bout of Books Readathon 9.0

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organised by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 9.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

My goals are simple, read as much a humanly possible. I've set myself a reading goal on Goodreads of 100 books in 2014 and once I return for my second semester of college my time to read recreationally will be limited. As an English student I will need to focus on reading the works from the reading list, meaning a lot less time to read what is on my TBR.

What I hope to read/finish.

1. The 100 by Kass Morgan

2. The Maze Runner by James Dashner

3. Teardrop by Lauren Kate

4. Fragments by Dan Wells

5. Elixir by Hilary Duff

6. Wake by Amanda Hocking

7. Paper Towns by John Green

8. Breathe by Sarah Crossan

I have no doubt in my mind I will most likely end up not reading all of these books but they are the books I hope to read or at least start.

Happy Reading :)