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.)