Half-Blood (Covenant, #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout


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.

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**Spoilers have been hidden in white. No need to fret. (just scroll over the white area to see spoiler text)

Note: Before reading this novel, I was aware of the Vampire Academy similarities. I read and reviewed this book with as much fairness as possible. I chose to focus solely on the story and characters and remain completely unbiased. 


I have to give Half- Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout 3/5 stars. Having read Half-Blood and Vampire Academy , Half-Blood honestly felt more of the ‘poor man’s version’ of Vampire Academy. 

My feelings on Half-Blood and its prequel, Daimon : 

As I was conversing with one of my friends about Half-Blood , she informed me that it would be in my best interest to begin the series with the prequel (Daimon ). Seeing as how the prequels never mattered before in previous series, I didn’t understand why. From the first line of Half-Blood , the reader is immediately thrust into an epic fight that, for me as well as others, really doesn’t make sense until you read Daimon beforehand. 

My feelings on Half-Blood : 

I absolutely adored the prequel to this series, Daimon . Alex is one of those strong heroines who have a very sarcastic and brave side. If you’re looking for a Mary-Sue, this is not your book; Alex is the kind of girl who believes that ‘violence is the answer to every problem.’ 

Though I will absolutely praise Daimon to every person I meet, I cannot say the same for Half- Blood . My biggest problem with this novel is its EXTREME similarities to another novel called Vampire Academy . Having read as many books in this genre, there comes a time when some books will have the same ideas. However, never have I read two books that had this much in common. It honestly felt that the first 260 pages of Half- Blood was the EXACT replicate of Vampire Academy (even sharing some plot lines ofVampire Academy 4: Blood Promise ). Not only was the story the same but also all of the characters; the heroine, best friend, enemy, even the hero. 

(spoiler)
Alex= Rose
Aiden= Dimitri
Caleb= Mason
Seth= Lissa (The bond thing? Come on!)
Jackson= Aaron/Jesse
Lea= Mia
Deacon= Adrian (I will argue this to the extreme) 

(spoiler)
It got to the point where I was beginning to become bored with Half- Bloodbecause none of the plot points were surprising me since I had read them all before in Vampire Academy. 

I will add, because I want to at least spread some positivity, that even though this book shared MANY similarities with Vampire Academy , the last 20 pages or so really take the story in its own path. Since this is the case, I’m hoping the next book, Pure , brings this series in a whole new directions of its own. However, I have read Vampire Academy 2:Frostbite and I have no desire to see it redone in Pure . 

Recommend?: 

I can’t recommend Half-Blood . As I have stated before, Vampire Academyand Half-Blood have much in common. When it comes down to it, Vampire Academy is by far the superior story of these two.

I originally posted this review February 28, 2012 on http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/274682099