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.
(Via Goodreads.com)
(Via Goodreads.com)
Pages: 281
Release Date: September 18th, 2011
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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Summary:
There is need. And then there is Fate. Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's other half is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her. When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon--and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude--or killing her. When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone. (Via Goodreads.com)Pages: 329
Release Date: January 1st, 2012
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Reviews:
There is no surprise that like all of Jennifer L. Armentrout's other books, I am in love with the Covenant series. It features all of Jennifer's specialties such as hot guys, action, romance, and strong female leads. She also crafted an amazing world that I would love to live in, well kind of.
The only reason I rated Half-Blood a four out of five stars was that it was too much like the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. It was way too predictable and I felt like I was re-reading the Vampire Academy series. Don't get me wrong, I love the Vampire Academy series, but the line between the two series was very blurry. But, Jennifer got back on track in Pure and the similarities between the two series stopped, the Covenant series was no longer as predictable. My friend that also loves Jennifer L. Armentrout's books has read and loved the Covenant series but she hated Vampire Academy. It had never occurred to me until now that she probably did not like Vampire Academy because of how similar it was to Half-Blood.
Overall, I loved Half-Blood and Pure. Both novels were full of action, romance, whit, mystery, some drama and beautiful covers. I would highly recommend reading this series to anyone who likes Greek Mythology or any of Jennifer L. Armentrout's other books. I also have a review the prequel novella, Daimon: http://littleredsreviews.blogspot.com/2014/10/daimon-covenant-05-by-jennifer-l.html.
The following review will feature spoilers from, Daimon, Half-Blood, Pure and the first two books in the Vampire Academy series.
Overall, I loved Half-Blood and Pure. Both novels were full of action, romance, whit, mystery, some drama and beautiful covers. I would highly recommend reading this series to anyone who likes Greek Mythology or any of Jennifer L. Armentrout's other books. I also have a review the prequel novella, Daimon: http://littleredsreviews.blogspot.com/2014/10/daimon-covenant-05-by-jennifer-l.html.
The following review will feature spoilers from, Daimon, Half-Blood, Pure and the first two books in the Vampire Academy series.
*Spoiler Section*
If I had to live in the Vampire Academy or Covenant world I would most definitely pick the Vampire Academy world. I love both series but the Vampire Academy world is the better of two negatives. I am going to assume that I would be a Dhampire in Vampire Academy and a half in the Covenant series. I would rather be a Dhampire for the simple reason that I would be more respected than halfs and I would not have the possibility of being enslaved. I would be terrified living as a half in the Covenant series because the pures can take away your life in a matter of seconds. I hate that the halfs have no representation on Council and I hope that by the end of the series the halfs will have a higher stance in their society.
Even though the society is set up like Vampire Academy it makes the series unique. When I hear of books based off of Greek Mythology, I think of the retelling of Persephone. The Covenant series widens the variety and I am interested to see what other unique Greek Mythology stories are out there.
In Half-Blood, Grandma Piperi, the oracle, shows Alex a purple flower called nightshade. Which is the flower featured on the cover of Half-Blood. Grandma Piperi mentions that nightshades are dangerous and continues to ramble on in riddles. I figured that each book cover would feature a different flower that was symbolic to the story. I was disappointed to discover that the flower on the cover of Pure was not mentioned in the book. The flower on the cover of Pure does not look like a nightshade from the color and angle it is shown, but maybe it is. I wonder if all the flowers are nightshades but are in different colors and angels to show Alex's progression in the story. Please comment below and share your theories on the mysterious flowers. I must say though, even if the flowers do not have a symbolic reasoning, the covers are still gorgeous.
I knew Caleb's death was coming because the oracle had predicted it in Half-Blood and I knew it would happen because he reminded me so much of Rose's best friend, Mason, in the Vampire Academy series. Mason was killed protecting Rose in the second Vampire Academy novel, Frostbite. I figured Caleb would die at the end of Pure, but when Alex's mom and other daimon kidnapped Alex and Caleb near the end of Half-Blood, I was curious if he would die at the end of Half-Blood instead. I was relieved when Caleb escaped death in Half-Blood but I knew that happiness would not last long. I loved Caleb so much, he was such a sweet and thoughtful character. I loved at the end of Half-Blood when he held a little memorial service to help Alex cope with her mom's death as well as to remember the other people killed during the book. Even though I predicted it, it was sad to see Caleb die. It was also depressing to see how much his death affected Alex and I felt horrible when Caleb's girlfriend, Olivia, blamed his death on Alex.
Speaking of sweet character, I love Aiden. Without a doubt, Alex and he will end up together. Technically, there is a 'love triangle' in the series, but Seth has no chance against Aiden. My favorite scene in Pure was when Aiden took Alex to the Zoo. I vaguely remembered the fact that Alex loves Zoos and it was amazing that he remembered such a small detail. By taking her to the Zoo, he helped her forget all the bad things that were currently going on in the Covenant.
My friend that has also read the Covenant series is in love with Seth. So, I assumed that I would love him as well because we have the same taste when it comes to anything book related. But, I am not a huge fan of Seth. I don't hate him, but I don't love him either. I am hoping that as the story progresses, I will have a more defined feeling toward him.
I am excited to continue reading and to finish the Covenant series. I have an ARC of The Return which is the first novel in a spin-off series of the Covenant series so I want to get that read as soon as possible. Overall, Half-Blood and Pure were two quick reads that were extremely funny,and filled with action, romance, and amazing writing. I would highly recommend this series to anyone, especially those that love Greek Mythology. I also highly recommend picking up any of Jennifer L. Armentrout's other books.
~Casey
Even though the society is set up like Vampire Academy it makes the series unique. When I hear of books based off of Greek Mythology, I think of the retelling of Persephone. The Covenant series widens the variety and I am interested to see what other unique Greek Mythology stories are out there.
In Half-Blood, Grandma Piperi, the oracle, shows Alex a purple flower called nightshade. Which is the flower featured on the cover of Half-Blood. Grandma Piperi mentions that nightshades are dangerous and continues to ramble on in riddles. I figured that each book cover would feature a different flower that was symbolic to the story. I was disappointed to discover that the flower on the cover of Pure was not mentioned in the book. The flower on the cover of Pure does not look like a nightshade from the color and angle it is shown, but maybe it is. I wonder if all the flowers are nightshades but are in different colors and angels to show Alex's progression in the story. Please comment below and share your theories on the mysterious flowers. I must say though, even if the flowers do not have a symbolic reasoning, the covers are still gorgeous.
I knew Caleb's death was coming because the oracle had predicted it in Half-Blood and I knew it would happen because he reminded me so much of Rose's best friend, Mason, in the Vampire Academy series. Mason was killed protecting Rose in the second Vampire Academy novel, Frostbite. I figured Caleb would die at the end of Pure, but when Alex's mom and other daimon kidnapped Alex and Caleb near the end of Half-Blood, I was curious if he would die at the end of Half-Blood instead. I was relieved when Caleb escaped death in Half-Blood but I knew that happiness would not last long. I loved Caleb so much, he was such a sweet and thoughtful character. I loved at the end of Half-Blood when he held a little memorial service to help Alex cope with her mom's death as well as to remember the other people killed during the book. Even though I predicted it, it was sad to see Caleb die. It was also depressing to see how much his death affected Alex and I felt horrible when Caleb's girlfriend, Olivia, blamed his death on Alex.
Speaking of sweet character, I love Aiden. Without a doubt, Alex and he will end up together. Technically, there is a 'love triangle' in the series, but Seth has no chance against Aiden. My favorite scene in Pure was when Aiden took Alex to the Zoo. I vaguely remembered the fact that Alex loves Zoos and it was amazing that he remembered such a small detail. By taking her to the Zoo, he helped her forget all the bad things that were currently going on in the Covenant.
My friend that has also read the Covenant series is in love with Seth. So, I assumed that I would love him as well because we have the same taste when it comes to anything book related. But, I am not a huge fan of Seth. I don't hate him, but I don't love him either. I am hoping that as the story progresses, I will have a more defined feeling toward him.
I am excited to continue reading and to finish the Covenant series. I have an ARC of The Return which is the first novel in a spin-off series of the Covenant series so I want to get that read as soon as possible. Overall, Half-Blood and Pure were two quick reads that were extremely funny,and filled with action, romance, and amazing writing. I would highly recommend this series to anyone, especially those that love Greek Mythology. I also highly recommend picking up any of Jennifer L. Armentrout's other books.
~Casey
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