by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Paperback, 281 pages
Published October 18th 2011 by Spencer Hill Press
Source: Bought
Summary:
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:
This is another book in which I have a serious love-hate relationship with. I love it because it was just soooo good! The main protagonist, Alex, is so badass and snarky and very loveable. Aiden? Hotness personified. Seth? Hotness personified too. The plot is exciting and had me on the edge of my seat countless of times. So, the problem? It bears a striking similarity to Vampire Academy.
Yes, THE Vampire Academy. The book I've read so many times and which I hold very dear to my heart. And it is really disappointing because it's not just the concept that's similar, like how Battle Royale and The Hunger Games are similar. The characters, events... it's sort of like VA with different character names. But of course, Half-Blood is good on it's own too. However, if you've read VA, then you could probably guess what's gonna happen in the book. Those are just minor events, BUT STILL. I don't know the story behind this so I'm not going to comment any further.
Anyway, like I said, this book had me on the edge of my seat several times. It's intense in all the right places. Also, the sexual tension between Aiden and Alex is too palpable, it was hard not to swoon. And the addition of Seth who's probably as hot as Aiden is just overwhelming! I don't usually gush about boys in this blog. My mother would probably spank me if she reads this, but hey! It's true. It's another disappointment, actually. I don't like love triangles especially when both boys are too likable. Another thing I disliked is the amount of foreshadowing! It seems as if Jennifer Armentrout is giving away the plot. But I hope I'm mistaken.
I would have given this a higher rating, but the issue with Vampire Academy keeps me from doing so. I'm not sure if fans of VA will like this or hate this but for the sake of the boys, I still recommend you all to read Half-Blood.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
LOL you're so cute, Chel! When I think about my mom reading my blog and seeing how much I gush about book boys (which is A LOT, especially for Aiden and Seth), it makes me embarrassed too :') The only thing that bothered me about this book was its similarities to VA too, but I promise that it gets so much better in the sequel -- and so much more original! That's why I'm in love with JLA so much ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the awesome honest review, Chel! :) <3
I didn't really like this book, tbh. Like you pointed out, it read too eerily close to VA. But then, it's nice to see what other people liked about these (JLA) books.
ReplyDeleteSolid review, Chel :D
I agree with you on the similarity with VA, it was definitely uncanny. Despite that though, I still really loved the book overall, and I'm hoping it veers away from VA in future books. I'm dying to get to Pure, maybe we can both read it and compare notes:) Thanks for the review Chel!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Vampire Academy yet, but I've heard only amazing things. >.< I really should get on it. However, I have read Half-Blood and Pure, and I LOVE them so much. I've heard a lot of people say that they're similar. I'm a bit afraid to read Vampire Academy because of this. But great review, Chel! I'm sorry the similarities bothered your reading experience. Hopefully, Pure changes your mind!
ReplyDeleteAwww if you haven't read both books, I would've suggested that you read VA first. I heard mixed things about Pure. Some say it's more original but others say it's still a "rip-off" of VA, but either way, I'd still read it for the sake the boyzzz!
DeleteThis is one of those books that everybody, except me, has read. Yet Im dying to read this one soon but I have no idea when I'll finally get to these books. Now with the VA similarity, that is really a double edge sword for me. Im a HUGE fan of that series and because Half-Blood is similar, I might it as much as dislike it. Hopefully I wont feel like a reading a copycat or something. If that's not the case, then I'll probably devour it. I think Im getting this book soon. Your review, regardless the low rating, is very enthusiastic (specially in what concerns the boy hell yeah) so Im all for this one now and Aiden... hell... I need to meet him!
ReplyDeleteFabulous review my dear! thnx so much for sharing
Girl, you have to read this for the sake of Aiden and Seth!!
DeleteYour thoughts mirrored mine exactly, Chel. If I had never read VA, I would probably have loved this one. But since I did, I only liked this one. When I read it, I just kept thinking how eerily similar it was to VA in concept but with the characters' names changed. Seth = Adrian, Alex = Rose, Aiden = Dimitri. Pure in my opinion was a bit more different.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I'm one of the few that couldn't really get into The Vampire Academy. I just didn't really care to continue it after I started them. I loved the characters, but something about the book just made it eh for me. I may have to skip this, great review!
ReplyDelete