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.

Last year I fell in love with Armentrout’s Lux series, and I have been dying to get my hands on her Covenant series. Half Blood is about a girl named Alexandria, or Alex as she likes to be called, who is a half blood who ran away from the Covenant three years prior to the plot setting with her mother. The story starts out with her mother being killed by a Daimon and a hunky Sentinel named Aiden rescuing her and taking her back to the Covenant.

Once Alex returns to the Covenant, she is automatically threatened with servitude in her step-father’s house. Half Bloods have two purposes in life: They can train to become Sentinel’s or they can be drugged every single day of their life and become servants with basically no thoughts or feelings. Aiden, the hunky Sentinel who saved Alex’s life, ends up standing up for her and offers to train her and catch her up to speed in her training.

As the story progresses, Alex forms feelings for Aiden, learns interesting facts about herself and her mother, and faces the ultimate test of love and loyalty. Jennifer L. Armentrout blew me away with her Lux series, and I was not disappointed with the first book in the Covenant series.

 

Normally I don’t like reading books about gods and half gods and things around those topics, because I tend to find them overdone and a little dramatic, but I was pleasantly surprised with Half Blood. I’ve read four books by Jennifer L. Armentrout in the past. I have read the Lux series, which I adored, and I have read Cursed, which I absolutely hated. So, I didn’t know quite what to expect. I ended up really liking the story line and the characters….especially Aiden! I was just really blown away.

I really loved both of the main characters, Alex and Aiden. Alex was such a strong female lead who didn’t put up with crap from anyone, and I really respect those types of characters. At the same time, Aiden was hunky, gorgeous, sexy, wonderful, strong, powerful….I could go on and on. I loved him. But I don’t really know what I think about Alex and Aiden as a potential couple. Aiden is mature, strong - willed and loyal, and while Alex shares many of the same traits, she’s also very immature. She’s so immature that I actually had a hard time coupling the two together. Most of the time the two characters seemed to have a relationship of an older brother/father figure and a little sister/daughter figure. Then there were a few moments where they showed interest in each other and that really put me off a little. I wasn’t grossed out or anything, but I was really confused by the relationship itself.

While I really liked the book, it did lack a certain spark. It was also very predictable. I knew almost every single thing that was going to happen in this book from beginning to end. I wanted to be shocked. I wanted to be outraged. I want to see more authors pushing past their limits and creating a twist that will just knock my socks off. I loved the book, but I would have loved it even more if it hadn’t been so predictable.

I’m naming off some negatives in the books, but please don’t think that that means that I disliked the book. I loved the book! I do hope and expect to see some more character development as the series progresses. I’m also looking forward to see where Armentrout takes some of the twists that she introduced. Such a great book. I really enjoyed it.

Armentrout’s writing style is so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. I found my eyes glued to the pages, and I was devastated whenever I had to set the book down. When it came to the scenes involving Alex’s mother, tears literally sprang to my eyes. The words on the page melted my heart, and I was just an emotional basket case. It is safe to say that I spent many nights staying up till 2 a.m. reading this book.

Fans of Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series will fall head over heels in love with this book. At first it bugged me because there are SO many similarities between the two series. If I really wanted to I could put characters together and say who was who and why everything was so similar, but I finally told myself that it just doesn’t matter. So what if the two series are similar? Does it lack originality? Maybe a little, but it was still a great read, and I would definitely recommend this book to fans of paranormal reads!

 

Pages: 281

Publication Date: October 18th, 2011

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Source: Library

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: “So? What are you going to do about it? Throw your mashed potatoes at me? I’m consumed by terror.”

 

“Okay. I’m ready to move onto something else, like practicing with knives or defense against the dark arts. Cool things.”
“Did you just quote Harry Potter?”

 

“Did you think he was just some lazy pure-blood who needed protection?” His voice dripped sarcasm.
“Well he looks like one! How was I supposed to know he was secretly Rambo in Dockers?”

 

Mara Dyer knows she isn’t crazy. She knows that she can kill with her mind, and that Noah can heal with his. Mara also knows that somehow, Jude is not a hallucination. He is alive. Unfortunately, convincing her family and doctors that she’s not unstable and doesn’t need to be hospitalised isn’t easy. The only person who actually believes her is Noah. But being with Noah is dangerous and Mara is in constant fear that she might hurt him. She needs to learn how to control her power, and fast! Together, Mara and Noah must try and figure out exactly how Jude survived when the asylum collapsed, and how he knows so much about her strange ability…before anyone else ends up dead!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer left off with Mara thinking she saw Jude, her ex boy-friend who supposedly died, and turning herself in to the police. The Evolution of Mara Dyer takes place right after that with Mara being committed into a mental hospital. Nobody believes that Jude is alive, which can only mean one thing…Mara has to be insane.

After convincing her family that she does not belong in a mental hospital, she agrees to drop out of school and join a day program for troubled teens. There she finds old friends, and her love, Noah. Noah is the only person who believes that Mara is telling the truth about Jude, and together they work to unravel the mystery and prove that Mara is not insane.

 

Let’s backtrack to the first book in the series, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I remember thinking that the book was good, but I was annoyed at how little was actually revealed during the book. I really didn’t understand what was going on with Mara. Was she insane or could she really do the things that she claimed to be able to do? There was no clarification in the first book, and it really put me off. I was really excited to read The Evolution of Mara Dyer, because I wanted those secrets to be revealed….or at least some of them. I wanted some sort of clarification to make the books worth it.

Unfortunately, The Evolution of Mara Dyer was even more confusing than the first book. I got about halfway through the book and then I stopped reading it because absolutely nothing was revealed. I am not going to invest almost 1,000 pages into a series when nothing is going to be explained or when no hints are going to be dropped my way. The whole purpose of reading a book like this is to get clues to figure out what the heck is going on with Mara Dyer.

I’m a person who craves romance and hot boys in my young adult books. Some authors do it well and some authors don’t. I can’t stand Noah. I liked him a little bit better in the first book, but I hated him in the second book. I found him to be kind of creepy and very controlling of Mara. Likewise, I didn’t like Mara’s character either. Granted, I wasn’t in love with Mara in the first book, but she annoyed the hell out of me in this book. Reading about someone who is deemed insane is a very uncomfortable thing to do because that person is going to be very awkward and timid around other people. Also, everyone is going to walk on eggshells around that person. So that was basically what was going on the first 300 pages of the book. I couldn’t stick with it. I tried so hard to finish the book, but it was just a waste of my time.

Because I wanted to know what happened at the end of the book, I asked for spoilers. Don’t worry…I’m not about to tell you guys anything! The ending is very shocking, and I’m really glad that I did not stick with the book. Also, it didn’t sound like anything was really revealed…and the ending is a MAJOR cliffhanger! Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I HATE cliffhangers. It’s part of the reason that I sometimes wait for an entire series to be out before I will read it. Michelle Hodkin is a fabulous author, but I can’t read an entire series that doesn’t let me in on what’s going on. I’m sure the third book will explain everything. But I’m also sure that a reader will have to invest about 1500 pages with no idea of what’s going on, only to be enlightened on the very last chapter. That’s not my kind of book.

There are a lot of fans of this series, so I would encourage everyone to look at other reviews before deciding that this review is reason enough not to read the book. Not to mention that I am extremely picky. Like I said before, Michelle Hodkins is an amazing writer. I only wish I could write as well as her. Unfortunately the series just was not for me.

Pages: 544

Publication Date: October 23rd, 2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Source: Library

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: “Don’t tempt me. Now, what are you wearing?”
“A hoodie and drawstring pants too, I guess.”“Anything underneath?”
“I don’t typically walk around without underwear.”
“Typically?”
“Only on special occasions.”
“Christ. I meant under your hoodie”

 

 

“You will love him to ruins.”

 

“I hate that I never managed to persuade you to watch Buffy. It’s a flaw in you, Mara.”

 

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“Magic is just like love, Allai. It won’t wait for permission before it destroys you.”

Like sand in an hourglass, Allai’s future is dwindling away. She’s spent her entire life fighting the Mages who threaten humanity, and dreams of someday eradicating magic. But all it takes is an anonymous phone call for the truth to spill out: Allai is the one thing she despises most.

She’s a Mage.

Though ancient law mandates Allai’s death, she still has one last chance of survival. His name is Drake Rhaize, and he swears he can lead Allai to a sanctuary for Mages. Allai hasn’t seen Drake in years, but she remembers him as the Demon boy who used to hold her close and softly whisper that he’d keep her safe. But Drake has changed since then: He’s now suspected of murder, and has been out-casted for betraying his own kind.

While Allai doesn’t trust Drake, she has no choice but to put her life in his hands and hope he can get her to safety. Because Allai’s father has hired a pack of Demons to bring her back to him, dead or alive–and Demons never stop the hunt.

“Frost Fire” is a YA Paranormal Romance intended for ages 14+.

Frost Fire is a “Good Reads and Good Deeds” book. All net proceeds for Frost Fire go toward the Dysautonomia Youth Network of America, a charity that supports youth with medical conditions affecting the nervous system.

 

Frost Fire has a storyline like I’ve never read before. A girl living with demons? Whose read of such a thing? Not me. So it was a plus that the book was about something that I have never read before. It was an additional plus that the first half of the book was amazing.

During the first half of the book, I adored Allai. She had spunk and she was living in such a unique world. Her relationship with Drake in the beginning was also adorable. I loved the scenes where she would go see him in the dungeon. I just wanted that to continue on forever. Unfortunately, I did not like Allai during the last half of the book. She had a complete personality change. She was extremely needy, always cried and really just seemed to ignore that the world was still functioning around her.

Drake was a pretty strong male character. Did I fall head over heels in love with him? No. But did I enjoy his character? Yes. I could definitely see why girls..and guys..would fall in love with Drake.

Luke. I could talk about Luke all. day. long. I seriously want to know how Olivia Rivers created such an amazing character. The only complaint I have about Luke is that I didn’t get more of him. He was AMAZING. He was bitchy, snippy, grumpy, and hot all mixed into a single package. I don’t know how on Earth that made me fall in love with him, but it did.

There were some things that really didn’t tie the story together. For one, I didn’t like having the two boys introduced in the lunch room if they were never going to make another appearance. I really thought that they were going to play a major part in the book, and I was really confused and slightly disappointed when they were never mentioned again. I also thought that there was a big jump between the first half and the second half of the book. The first half of the book was amazing and the second half of the book was mediocre. My mind couldn’t really process how fast Allai was living in one environment to be being kicked out and doing a road trip with Drake. I really wish that the whole book would have been centered around her living with the demons like it started out. I would have liked to see a different storyline than Allai and Drake struggling to get to Idaho.

I was also really sad that the guy who played Allai’s dad in the beginning didn’t make another appearance. I honestly thought that he would come try to rescue Allai and that he was putting on a show for the French. I didn’t expect that he would completely throw Allai to the wolves after playing the role of her father for so many years.

Drake and Allai’s relationship during the beginning of the book was so freaking cute. I loved them so much! But again, they almost seemed like totally different characters during the second half of the book. Drake turned very desperate to save Allai, which made him lose some of his spark and sexiness. Allai just lost her personality altogether. Allai became extremely needy and clingy, which is something that I already can’t stand in females. Keep your hands to yourself. Some touching now and then is acceptable, but come on. You’re your own person. Act like it.

The very ending of the book was SO. SHOCKING! I can normally guess all the twists and turns that are going to happen in a book, but no. I had no idea that THAT was going to happen! I loved that surprise ending! I don’t know where it’s going to go from there. I’m honestly having the hardest time of my life not telling you guys what happens, because I want to talk about it SO BAD. The ending just blew my mind.

I had a lot to complain about in this book, but I also want to stress that I was head over heels in love with the whole first half of the book. I have tried so many times to sit down and write, and I just do not have the patience for it. To imagine Olivia Rivers, a teenager and high school student, sitting down and writing this story that was actually pretty good is amazing. Kudos to her. I would definitely recommend this book.

 

Publisher: Red Sparrow Press

Publication Date: November 20th, 2012

Source: Ebook provided for blog tour

Rating: :

 

Giveaway:

Contest will run from February 25th, 2013 to March 6th, 2013

Contest is open Internationally

Winner will receive one ebook copy of Frost Fire by Olivia Rivers

 

 

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