Review: Pure

Book Two of the Covenant series (therefore contains spoilers for the previous book)

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.

When I picked up Pure, I never expected to love it so much. Half-Blood was hardly original and although I loved it, I was scared that Pure would ruin it. The beginning of Pure was what I expected, cool but not awesome and then BAM! everything exploded and I was trapped inside Alex's world. Pure was beautiful and heartbreaking. Very, very heartbreaking.

Alex is still pretty much the same as ever, although she has grown up and seems to be more mature. Aiden is still as sexy as ever. He's the honourable man who loves Alex with all his heart, she's just too stupid to see it. Nearly throughout the whole story my heart was breaking for him. Seth... now this is where it gets complicated. In the first book, I liked Seth on sight and then everything went downhill. I was Team Aiden all the way. Pure shows you a side of Seth that makes you love him too, I wouldn't say this was a love triangle since I don't think Seth's intention is to marry her but he does love her and in a way she loves him too. I'm still Team Aiden, but my love for Seth grew in this book and I can only hope he'll continue to deserve my love in the next books.

The storyline this time was completely different from the first book, Alex and co. go to another Covenant and she has to deal with the council of ministers. The head minister is out to see her sent into servitude and everything is at stake in this book.

The end leaves you with lots and lots of things to think about and a million questions you want answered. I can't wait for the next book to come out and see how Armentrout continues with this series. I'd recommend this book to those who don't mind their hearts being broken, it'll also be good if you liked storylines similar to the VA. If you love hot guys who are willing to give up everything for the one they love, then this book is definitely for you.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Review: Half-Blood

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. 

This book was a nice surprise, after everyone saying that this was very similar to the Vampire Academy I was expecting that this would be good but not amazing seeing as copies never really were. Instead I found that this book was amazing and that I absolutely loved it. Yes its true, it has a lot of similarities with Vampire Academy, but its not all the same. I loved Armentrout's characters and writing, this book made me laugh and fall in love so easily and effortlessly.

Alex is a bit like Rose and Aiden is a teeny bit like Dimitri, but I don't think they are exact copies. I'll admit that the name Aiden didn't do it for me at the beginning, the name just didn't sound badass enough, but then I got to know him and I have a new appreciation for the name. Seth was pretty cool when he first appeared and then he started giving off evil vibes and then he stopped... in short, I don't really know how I felt about him at the end of the book, I can't say I like him but then I can't say that I dislike him either.

For me the characters in this book was what made it so great. I loved Alex's Uncle and Stepfather, they weren't nice people but they were the 'cool' bad guys. Aiden's brother is a laugh and I'd love to see more of him in the next book. Caleb was a suspect candidate for a love triangle at the beginning so I stared clear of him. Lea is a Class A Bitch who plays the role of Alex's enemy. Leon is the guy who keeps reminding me of Sir Leon in the BBC show Merlin and I giggled whenever he appeared in the book. The relationships between the characters in this book and the banter they had between them were hilarious to read.

At the end of this book, I see a love triangle coming and I don't know if the next one will be a serious love triangle or not, but I do hope that its not. This book was a light, funny and exciting read. Armentrout proves herself again at being able to write stories that lighten up the mood and aren't too serious or depressing. I'm looking forward to the next book and I'd recommend this to those who loved the VA and to those that want something funny and light that has a good plot.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Review: Obsidian

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

The blurb completely sucked me in. A hot neighbour who's got a killer mouth? Cliché, but totally fun to read about. And then there were the aliens. Well, there isn't much cliché about that and I have to say, aliens have never been so sexy until I read this book which makes them not only sexy, but totally badass and to die for.

Obsidian is fun, exciting and one of those books that keeps you laughing long after you've finished the book. The main character Katy is better than most girls in books, she's strong and independent, always ready to prove herself to the world (or more accurately: Daemon). Her love for books makes her easier to connect with, and her funny thoughts also makes this book more enjoyable to read. I really liked her sensibility and caution when dealing with relationships, although there were times when I thought she could have thrown caution out the window.

Daemon is the guy who has a killer body and a killer mouth. His words are always sharp and cut deep into you soul, sometimes its nice words, but most of the time, he's an award winning ass. What I loved was that Armentrout helped you understand him throughout the story and most of his decisions. He isn't the nicest person alive (far from it) but you get why he does what he does and sometimes you have to admire him a little for it. At the back of the book, there was a couple of chapters from his POV and I loved the chance to get into his head.

Aliens. Well, I've never read a book on drool worthy aliens and I have to say that Obsidian has changed my view of aliens forever. Next time I see the word alien in a book, it's going to have a high expectation to live up to. Armentrout's brand of aliens were physically amazing with even better abilities.

After reading this book, I'm desperate for the next one. The ending wasn't exactly a cliffhanger, but it definitely left you wanting more. I would recommend this to those who love books that make you laugh. Aliens might not sound appealing but trust me, this group of aliens will knock you off your feet. Fun and witty, Obsidian was a light and relaxing read.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars