Lux (5) - Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout
And the final to the pentalogy: Opposition! (in German Opposition Schattenblitz) I read it in English in the Opposition Collector's Edition with the book as well as the prequel Shadows (German) on 533 pages.
It's really true. The Luxen have invaded Earth to enslave the inhabitants. While Daemon is forced to act as if he never loved Katy, he tries to waken his sister, who fell for the mind-control. The only help against these new enemies is to lie with the old ones: The DOD... and the Arum. So basically not a deal with one, but two devils. But what about Dee, and all the other people they love?
Okay, it was so obvious that the Arum aren't as evil as one might think. But the Luxen as the bad guys? Again, in retrospective kind of obvious, but I'd never have dreamed of it. The twists and turns in this series... And really, really realistic. Everything about it!
The Arum themselves are very well done as well: They aren't good, not even a little bit – except for Hunter and Serena, maybe. But they are way better than Ethan and the others. I like Hunter and Serena, they're kind of nice. And I'm sorry that they let Kat and Daemon live at the house and then got it back in that condition. Not as if that was Katy's fault (and Hunter did something similar at Paris' home), but it's still not very nice. The head of the Arum is sooo funny (and soo insane, God, I wouldn't even want to meet that one on a bright and sunny noon in a police station with an army of friendly officers around him). But also very nicely done – especially how he plays Katy. Poor, poor girl. But, hey, it works!
Spoiler:
Well. How they got Dee back in the end... wow. That was a really intense scene, especially how shaken Daemon was after it. He probably didn't know what would be worse; his sister hurt, his wife, both, or if there wouldn't be a fight and Dee stayed mind-controlled. By the way (and this was in the previous book), I love their wedding. Daemon's realisation, the proposal, everything about it. I just love it. It's so, so wonderful, beautiful and perfect and...
Okay, back to the not-so-wonderful scenes, before my review gets ten pages long. How Katy found out about her mother's death? That was so so intense. Especially because of all the day-to-day details she saw before, and how Daemon takes care of her afterwards. And Katy didn't even have a chance to tell her mother anything about her, about the truth. That she didn't want to leave her, that all she ever wanted was to protect the people she loves.
The relationship between Katy and Daemon gets even cuter, by the way – after she nearly bit him in the bathtub. I don't know how that's possible, but it is (the sweetness. Not the bathtub).
Spoiler:
And I really thought he would die in the end!!!! And I was so, so shaken, I was like “no, not another Divergent (Die Bestimmung), please!” - because I'm so seeing her doing that at some point, she has to be related to Veronica Roth. And what was really crabby was that I read this scene between two courses because I didn't anticipate a cliff-hanger (since this was the last part), and just in the end, when she looses consciousness, I had to go back to school to perform a theatre play! That was sooooo unfair! And it wasn't even a good play. Fortunately, it was as good as long, so I could return to my book pretty fast – even though it didn't feel very fast. The rest of the ending is so beautiful. Ashley (Nessie, he he) and how Beth and Dawson are parents, how Dee and Archer are officially together – how he watches her! - Daemon's and Katy's daily life, that they really go to college and that they'll marry again, with all the family they have left. That was just so beautiful.
But I'm really so sorry for Luc and, unbelievable, I know, Nancy. But she lost everything she ever wanted. She kind of deserved it, in a way, but she also tried to prevent this from ever happening. She's deep. I like her for that.
In brief:
I give the book stars for the ideas, the content, the characters, the style and the extra-ordinary well done turn of good and evil.
Prequel: