Okay, so I admit I was one of the folks who jumped to read the new book in the Lux series, Origin, by Jennifer Armentrout. I wasn't disappointed. Armentrout's writing (paranormal/sci-fi romance/suspense) is as strong as ever it was in this new installment. I was personally a little bummed out because so much of the book was so X-Files like, taking place in an evil government facility with misguided military experiments going on. That's not a spoiler. We knew this was going to happen from where the last book left off. The problem is that the government-nasty-experiments-involving-aliens mantra isn't exactly my cup of tea. So I can't be too disappointed because I expected this. I just wished that less of the plot took place IN the government facility. I felt the story really moved once the characters FINALLY got out of there. Again, not too much of a spoiler because this is kind of predictable too.
But the good points outweigh my pet peeves. The relationship between Daemon and Kat (his "Kitten") is as strong, cute and romantic as ever it was, if not stronger. They take it to a new level, possibly because this book is told from dual points of view which makes sense because the first few books covered a fairly complete character arc for Kat and we really need to get into Daemon's head now and see his internal development more closely. In some places earlier in the book I felt that the "Daemon" chapters were a little repetitive, but I guess Armentrout had to give the two characters relatively equal time on the page writing in both POVs. There are some great new characters introduced here, some fun action sequences, some witty laugh-out-loud dialogue and some blowing up of a major city. Won't spoil the surprise by saying which one but you can probably guess if you think about it.
I wasn't sure (until I looked at Goodreads and Armentrout's website) whether this was intended as the last book in the series. It's not. WHEW! Because there is kind of a cliffhanger at the end, but it's a good one. I even thought it could work as the end of the series, but in a kind of sad way. So I don't mind the wait for the next book because I found this ending sad, but satisfying.
In many ways this book is about choices in the face of unstoppable forces. It seems to suggest that when you don't have control over the big things, the little things can be really important, and can mean more than the big things. Or maybe the internal things are more important than external forces at the end of the day. And in that vein, the ending kind of worked for me. Oh well, despite the X-Files-ish nature (which many people will love), it's an entertaining read with some great characters.
But the good points outweigh my pet peeves. The relationship between Daemon and Kat (his "Kitten") is as strong, cute and romantic as ever it was, if not stronger. They take it to a new level, possibly because this book is told from dual points of view which makes sense because the first few books covered a fairly complete character arc for Kat and we really need to get into Daemon's head now and see his internal development more closely. In some places earlier in the book I felt that the "Daemon" chapters were a little repetitive, but I guess Armentrout had to give the two characters relatively equal time on the page writing in both POVs. There are some great new characters introduced here, some fun action sequences, some witty laugh-out-loud dialogue and some blowing up of a major city. Won't spoil the surprise by saying which one but you can probably guess if you think about it.
I wasn't sure (until I looked at Goodreads and Armentrout's website) whether this was intended as the last book in the series. It's not. WHEW! Because there is kind of a cliffhanger at the end, but it's a good one. I even thought it could work as the end of the series, but in a kind of sad way. So I don't mind the wait for the next book because I found this ending sad, but satisfying.
In many ways this book is about choices in the face of unstoppable forces. It seems to suggest that when you don't have control over the big things, the little things can be really important, and can mean more than the big things. Or maybe the internal things are more important than external forces at the end of the day. And in that vein, the ending kind of worked for me. Oh well, despite the X-Files-ish nature (which many people will love), it's an entertaining read with some great characters.
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