Half-Blood (Covenant, #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

[Ashley]

BookNook — Young Adult book reviews

3.5 Stars

I guess it might be worth noting right off the bat that I have not read Vampire Academy. Everyone always compares these books but I can't since I haven't read VA. :P There, I've said it. Moving on.

Overall, I really liked Half-Blood. It had a really interesting story, I love the whole half blood/pure/Apollyon thing, I like the training and kickass Covenant bit, and the romance was pretty cool. But for me, I think this book was missing the x-factor. It just didn't wow me and I wasn't Z0MG SOOO EXCITED to be reading it. It was an enjoyable book, but I think I was hoping for better.

I think my biggest problem with Half-Blood was that I wasn't crazy about Alex. I felt like I was supposed to relate to her and totally be on her side, but for the most part I just saw her as a reckless girl who makes a lot of stupid decisions. Rather than finding myself agreeing with her and going along with her little rebellions/"I have to take matters into my own hands", I found myself agreeing with the authority figures who were telling her not to do anything stupid. She was seventeen but sometimes—during her immature moments—I felt like she acted a little younger.

My other problem is with the romance. Don't get me wrong, Aiden is pretty hot and definitely the strong (so strong) silent type.. but the problem is that their relationship is forbidden... so it never really develops. It makes sense from a plot standpoint, but as a romance addict I was a little disappointed. I wanted to see things get hot and heavy and dangerous and "fuck the rules"—and they almost did—but then everything really pulled back and left me kind of disappointed. In Half-Blood the relationship always remains in the "we can't do this—it's not allowed" zone. I'm sure there is a lot more romance to come, so I'll hang in there, but I wanted more.

But I really loved the overall story. I'm a complete and total sucker for Greek mythology. Also, I feel like such a retard because I thought this book was all about vampires and I had no idea Greek mythology was involved. So that was a hugely pleasant surprise for me! The struggle between pures and half-bloods was pretty awesome (and sad). There are a lot of conflicts and tension and that made for an interesting read. There's also a big political side to this book, with the Council, decrees, and laws regarding pures/half-blood relationships.. not to mention communication with the gods! I'm definitely curious to see how this develops in later books!

I have heard from a few people that the series gets even better as it goes on, so I will be sticking with it, despite the fact that Half-Blood didn't quite do it for me. It was still enjoyable and I'm glad I read it, I just thought I'd love it more than I did!