Tuesday, 24 January 2012

REVIEW: Half-Blood (Covenant #1) by Jennifer L Armentrout

 
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Pages: 281
Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
AMAZON: Half-Blood

Synopsis (Goodreads)

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: 5 out of 5 stars

Half-Blood is the first book in the Covenant series by Jennifer L Armentrout.

Alexandria Andros is a Half-Blood, a child of a Hematoi and a mortal and has been away from the Covenant – a training ground and safe haven for Pure Bloods and Half-Bloods alike for 3 years, on the run with her mother for reasons she doesn’t understand.

When her mother is killed by a Daimon, Alex is rescued by Sentinels and returned to the Covenant. There are only two choices for a Half-blood, they can either train to become a sentinel who will hunt and kill daimons or become a branded servant in the homes of the Pure-bloods; Alex is adamant she will be a sentinel.

Aiden is a pure-blood and has offered to catch Alex up in her training; he is mysterious, fiercely protective and noble and the only thing he can ever be to Alex despite their attraction is her trainer as it is against the rules for a pure-blood & half-blood to mix romantically.

I loved the interaction and the slow-building romance between Alex and Aiden, he was certainly tolerant when it came to her rebellious streak, sass and sarcasm – I really hope to see their relationship progress despite it being forbidden. I also liked how he supported her every step of the way; the close bond they formed was really sweet.

There are a number of twists and turns, drama and mystery, thrilling action, secrets and revelations in Half-Blood that kept the story flowing nicely. It was a solid, engrossing plot that kept me enthralled right to the very last page.

A few things are predictable and at times I was hoping Alex would slow down and actually listen but it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the book. 

I really liked each of the secondary characters, Apollyan Seth was certainly intriguing as were the power of the elements he wields, I am eager to see how everything pans out between him and Alex, their uniqueness and the prophecy and bond surrounding them is certainly interesting. Best-friend Caleb and Aiden’s rebellious brother Deacon were also entertaining.

I have read many comparisons between Half-Blood and the Vampire Academy series and whilst I agree in some aspects, Ms Armentrout has certainly put her own spin on things with the mythology and history which I found to be fascinating.

Ms Armentrout has written enjoyable characters and a world filled with intrigue and mystery, I am really looking forward to reading the sequel Pure which has a 2012 release date.



Purchased: Amazon Kindle

3 comments:

  1. I liked this book for everything you said. I originally gave it 4 stars but I ended up changing it to 1 star. It was WAY TOO similar to VA to be original. sure there were different aspects but that were Armentrout's but in the end, similarities out number the originally. Bummer.

    Racquel @ The Book Barbies♥
    -thank you&come again.

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  2. I definitely saw some VA similarities, with Half-Blood also sets itself apart. Jennifer has written a unique enough story that it doesn't read like a copy of anything else. And I just adore Alex! I'm so glad you enjoyed this one.

    Molli | Once Upon a Prologue

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  3. I haven't read this book, but it sounds interesting. From your review it has a lot going for it. I have heard a lot about it- but some of the things I read in your post about the plot, secondary characters, twists and turns, etc. made me want to read it!

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