Half-Blood (Covenant, #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

[Angie]

Yes, Half-Blood is essentially Vampire Academy with gods instead of vampires, but I loved VA, so I ended up enjoying Half-Blood, too! Parallels can be drawn between most of the world building elements and each of the characters, but they’re not exact copies. Alex is not Rose and Aiden is not Dmitri, but they are obviously similar. I enjoyed each book on their own, but I do love reading about different supernaturals so that’s one aspect where Half-Blood wins out. The plot is also extremely similar in some places, such as Alex being away from the school and having to catch up, being tutored by the young, hot, serious instructor, and having a loved one turned evil, but in general it’s totally different. And it’s a lot of fun!

The children of gods may need to go on my list of supernaturals to read more about. I absolutely love the mythology used in Half-Blood. The pures are pure blooded children of the gods, and are the elite of this society. Half-bloods, are exactly that, half pure and half human. Much like the original gods, the pures are quite promiscuous and often have many affairs with humans. The resulting offspring serve two purposes: slaves or soldiers. Of course, Alex is training to be a Sentinel, a much preferable future to becoming a mindless servant. She was faced with that possibility though, and I was curious about the half-bloods who become slaves. There’s also some interesting politics at play, such as the Breed Order which bans relationships between pures and halfs. Why? I’m not sure, but I have a theory. There’s a lot of little details scattered throughout, which I won’t go into, but the world-building is fabulous and I felt like I knew everything that I needed to know and wasn’t confused.

I really liked Alex. She’s fierce, determined, sarcastic, and doesn’t like anyone walk all over her. All without being a bitch–except to Lea, but she’s one too– which is great! I genuinely wanted to see her succeed in her training and in her mission to avenge her mother. She’s not 100% tough girl all the time though. She does show some vulnerability. Her friend Caleb is also a sweetie and a great friend, so I’m certainly looking forward to more of him. I’m not sure about the rest of the characters yet, but I’m definitely continuing the series, so I’ll hopefully get to know them all better soon.

Romance! Of course, I have to talk about the romance! I loved it! I’m a huge fan of forbidden romances, so I’m totally rooting for Alex and Aiden. Alliterations are always fun, too! There’s clearly the whole issue of him being pure and her being half-blood, but there’s also a moral problem of him being her instructor. Sure, he’s not technically a teacher, but there’s still a level of authority that he’s suppose to have over her. I totally believe in their romance, even if it did develop a little early. It’s not insta-love though, but they are totally lusting after one another! There are some genuine feelings there too, and I’m excited to see where it goes. Especially with the complication of Seth, since I suspect a love triangle is in the works.

In the end, I really enjoyed Half-Blood. It may be nearly identical to Vampire Academy, but perhaps that added to my enjoyment, since the world and characters already felt familiar. My one complaint is that there was some heavy foreshadowing in the beginning. It was a bit too much and I figure out the twists pretty early on. Other than that, Half-Blood is a fun book and I’m eager to continue the series!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.