Review: Half-Blood

DESCRIPTION

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals -well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1: Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

REVIEW

Jennifer L. Armentrout has done it again! Half-Blood was as action packed and juicy as its prequel, Daimon. Daimon whet my appetite and I couldn’t wait to learn more about Alex’s fate or the Hematoi world. And Half-Blood delivered. While it wasn’t a one-sit read, it might have been if I didn’t have such a hectic schedule. Armentrout’s modern day mythology is vastly different than anything else I’ve read and I thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace. Half-Blood provided a much more thorough understanding of the Hematoi world, introduced the reader to some new mythology, and expanded on the political and social structure of the Covenant. Most importantly, we finally learn why Alex left the safety of this secret society in the first place.

What I loved:

Alex reads like a real teenage girl. She’s emotional, hot-tempered, passionate, and sassy. It’s easy to identify with Alex and understand how her personal experiences have shaped her views and ultimately the way she responds to her environment. While there were several times I wanted to scream at her to keep her mouth shut and follow the rules, that just wouldn’t have been Alex. Her defiant attitude was part of what made her so endearing and despite her propensity for trouble, she had a big heart and good intentions. We also get to see a softer, more vulnerable side of Alex in Half-Blood. Not only does she have to deal with the loss of her mother, there’s the ever tumultuous world of young love which breeds insecurity in the best of us.

Half-Blood is action packed and moves swiftly. There is literally never a dull moment and I found myself not wanting to put this book down. Not only do we get to know Alex better in Half-Blood, we get to meet an entirely new cast of well-developed (and swoon-worthy) characters which were missing from Daimon.

My only hang up? The story was a little too predictable. Maybe because it followed a common formula. Maybe because I’ve read a lot of similar plot lines. Either way, I hope for a bit more mystery in Pure, Covenant #2, which is scheduled for release in April 2012. Bottom line, a fantastic novel -definitely recommended!

(FTC Disclosure: After reading Daimon, I was anxious to get my hands on the first official book in the Covenant series and downloaded it on my Kindle at my own expense.)

Review: Daimon

 

DESCRIPTION

 For three years, Alexandria has lived among mortals—pretending to be like them and trying to forget the duty she'd been trained to fulfill as a child of a mortal and a demigod. At seventeen, she's pretty much accepted that she's a freak by mortal standards... and that she'll never be prepared for that duty.

According to her mother, that’s a good thing.

But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return—the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death… because she's being hunted by the very creatures she'd once trained to kill.

The daimons have found her.

REVIEW

Daimon (pronounced demon) opens with Alex struggling to be a normal teenager. Ripped from the only world she knew growing up, the years haven’t healed old wounds and Alex isn’t exactly that interested in fitting in with mortals. Besides, she has way too much attitude and a kickass fighting style that’s hard to reign in. It’s hard not to like Alex from the start (even though she uses oddly masculine phrases like ‘It’s on like Donkey Kong) because although she’s tough, she’s got a hopeful spirit and suffers from the same insecurities of any teenager – mortal or otherwise. She’s got bad taste in boys, a hopeless crush, and chores she’ll never get around to doing. Alex also possesses the inherent spirit of a survivor that you just have to admire.

Daimon is the prequel to Half-Blood which is scheduled for release in October and my first novella. I picked it up on my Kindle for $0.99 and at 86 pages it’s a quick, action packed read. I got a taste, but it definitely left me wanting more. If the cover wasn’t enough to draw me in (how lovely is it???), the early reviews of Half-Blood posted by other bloggers did the trick. It’s fair to say that this isn’t my usual read and I don’t think I’ve been exposed to gods and mythology since my seventh grade lit class, but that was part of the attraction. Daimon was different. Mythology, mystery, action, a notable lack of vampires and werewolves. Seriously though, Daimon laid the groundwork for the Hematoi world and I can’t wait to learn more about the descendants of the gods or the Covenant.

The countdown is on for Half-Blood and October 18^th can’t get here soon enough!