October 18th 2011, Spencer Hill Press
281 pages, Paperback
Personal Library
First in Covenant Series
Young Adult
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.
Opinion:
So I was on twitter one night and I ran across some mentions of Half-Blood and a recommendation. There was a lot of fangirl-ing, which meant I had to buy it! Alex is a half-blood who was living with her mother after they escaped the Covenant (a school for pures and half-bloods). After a daimon attack, she’s back at the Covenant, waiting for the decision that could change her life. Whether her future is to be a servant of a pure or allowing her to hunt daimons even after her long absence. In comes Aiden, the Sentinel who rescued her from the attack. Aiden volunteers to train her in time for school to start. But everything gets more complicated after a mysterious attack on several Sentinels and the arrival of the Apollyon, the greatest of the half-bloods who is also feared by the pures.
Half-Blood combines elements of Greek mythology with a paranormal setting. Jennifer manages to flawlessly describe the beautiful setting, emotions, and action-packed plot. Half-Blood was a compelling book I simply couldn’t put down after I started.
Alex is a funny and kickass heroine. She’s strong and knows how to put up a fight even after getting knocked down over and over again. Alex has a tendency to act before she thinks, which lands her in an awkward and forbidden position with a certain pure. Falling in love with Aiden wasn’t tough since I could definitely tell the connection the two had. He’s completely swoon-worthy with a sensitive side hidden beneath the tough exterior.
I can’t wait to get my hands on Pure, the second in the series. Half-Blood represents the perfect book with hilarious dialogue, fantastic characters, and a riveting story.
Rating:
5/5
The elusive Linda-saurus:
Mover and shaker by day, book-ninja by night. Only native to Florida. Afraid of small children but has an affinity to the elderly. Beware of her sarcastic humor.
