Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I first want to state that I absolutely positively loathe cliffhangers.  They are like my kryptonite.  If you ask my husband if there is something I lack, he would say patience.  I have none.  When a book ends in a cliffhanger and the next book in the series doesn't come out for at least six months, I seriously want to hurt someone.  So, I usually avoid books with known cliffhangers until the next book is out.  Its for the greater good of those around me, and my sanity.

Alright, now that I have that out of my system, lets review Opal.  This book was by far the sexiest book in the series.  The Katy/ Daemon saga has been resolved and they are now trying to live their happily ever after, amongst crazy hybrids, aliens and evil doctors.  But you know, everyone has their struggles.  Without giving too much away, I would say this book is frustrating in a certain way...you will understand when you read it.  I mean seriously, how many freaking interruptions can two people possibly have?  But Jennifer doesn't play tease throughout the entire book and I felt much better towards the end.  Not the end-end, I'll talk about THAT later.

This book brings back characters that were previously missing, those who have betrayed and also brings together those who have grown apart.  I liked the family dynamic in this book.  Jennifer focuses on many different aspects of family and how Katy realizes that those you care about are worth any sacrifice.  There is also a importance placed on Katy's transformation from a quiet, push-over type teenager to a fierce, would-do-anything-to-protect-my-family young woman.  She grows up in this book, and it is rewarding to see her blossom into something more confident and in control compared to her previous self.  It doesn't mean she is without mistakes.  She still makes a few mistakes in judgement along the way, but that is part of growing up right?  I'm almost 32 and I make mistakes on a daily basis...red velvet cake at 9:00 last night...bad bad mistake.

This book may have been a bit slower than the others.  Much of the book is based around preparing for something so the action sequences are small but still intense.  The slower pace of the book is forgiven due to all the yummy scenes Jennifer includes.  Even though this is a YA book, the scenes are written in a way that makes you want to turn back the page and read it again.  They are still the fade to black type scenes that YA books usually include but the build up is well written.

Around the 98% point, you experience an WTF moment and then a "No, No, NO!" moment.  And then the huge cliffhanger is dropped and the book ends.  This was a total surprise for me.  The first two books didn't necessary come to a complete close but there was a end to them (cliffhanger free).  So when this shit happened, I literally considered sending her and email demanding the next 10 pages (at least) for my sanity.  But its ok, I've had a day to ponder it and I am now at peace with the ending.  See, I can pretend to have patience.  And I guess the wait will make the next book even sweeter.  That's the mom in me talking....the rest of me is still thinking about sending that email.  :-)


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