Release Date: October 18, 2011
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Genre: Paranormal, Mythology, Romance
Available Formats: Paperback, eBook
Buy the Book: Amazon
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:
I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.
I have seriously not enjoyed a book this much in a long while. Holy crap.
There were two reasons why I bought this book (that was all it took). Usually, I will try reading the first few pages in the store to see if I like the writing style and see if the boos interests me at all. In this case, I did not even crack open the pages before buying. A book dealing with some Greek gods and half-bloods? I am all over it (thank you, Percy Jackson). The cover, in all of its luminescent glory, is breathtaking! I swear, I have bought more books this year for their pretty covers than ever before [sigh]. What kind of person have I become?? ><
To start off with, this book is written really well. I honestly could not put it down! From page 1, this book captured my attention and never let it go. The descriptions are awesome, the dialogue is witty and extremely well done, and the characters are easy to love and relate to. Overall, Armentrout did an EXTRAORDINARY job!
The characters are amazing! Alexandria, otherwise known as Alex, is a girl who takes no crap from anyone and has a plethora of smart aleck remarks that she can pull out of the air on command. In other words, she is my kind of girl. It is so nice to see a female character who does not rely on the men in her life to save her and faces her problems head on (which is oh-so-NOT-common nowadays in YA fiction *coughHalocough*). Sure, it sometimes gets her into trouble, but she manages in the end BY HERSELF. She is no damsel in distress, which is the main reason I like her so much. And then there is her male counterpart, Aiden. Oh, Aiden, how I could go on and on about you (where is my Aiden?!). I LOVE HIM. He is on my list of favorite male characters EVER. I am not even going to try and talk about him because I know I would not be able to stop. Forget being a pure blood, HE’S A FREAKIN’ GOD. And curly hair and silver eyes? That’s hot.
As a side note, can inventors quit trying to make time machines and instead make a device where book characters become real??? I could have Aiden, Jace, Ash, Four/Tobias, Percy, Adrian, Adam, and Bones! What a nice little harem that would make [insert dreamy sigh here].
I am really conflicted about how to rate this book. It is pretty obvious already, but I enjoyed every page of this book. And I think the reason why is because it is essentially Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series. Alex is Rose, Aiden is Dimitri, Caleb is Mason, Lea is Mia, Deacon is Adrian, etc. The story/social structure and plot elements were the same as well: a pure blood= Moroi, a half-blood=dhampire, a daimon=Strigoi, and Sentinels=Guardians. In the beginning of the book, Alex returns to the Covenant (just like Rose returns to the Academy), the relationship between Aiden and Alex is forbidden (just like the relationship between Rose and Dimitri is a big no-no), Alex and Aiden almost ‘go all the way’ (just like Rose and Dimitri almost make it to home base), and the list goes on. If you have read VA, it is impossible not to notice. I loved and adored VA, and since these books are so similar, it is almost impossible for me not to like Half-Blood.
So as far as plot originality is concerned, there are certain parts and elements that are very much original, but the story and plot were a little too similar to Richelle Mead’s VA. But in Armentrout’s defense, there have been plenty of books that have been ripped off of other books and movies and still been a great read. I mean, hello, Hunger Games anyone? The story is a rehashing of Battle Royale (the dystopian version) and plenty of people loved it, just like me. So in terms of originality, the story was a little lacking, but in the end, it was immensely enjoyable. That’s what counts.
I am so excited for the sequel, Pure, due out April 2012. I have the date marked on Google Calendar already! Does that make me pathetic? (Please do not judge me.) It seems like the sequel will split away from the plot line of VA a little and we will see more Armentrout’s own plot twists, which I am super fired up for. I honestly cannot wait! Jennifer L. Armentrout, you have made a fan out of me.
A Great Escape!
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