Review: 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. (From GoodReads)

My Review:
Half-Blood is one of the more unique novels that I have read recently. Jennifer L. Armentrout brings creativity and a fresh voice to the YA genre. Her writing style and world-building was captivating. As I was reading, I was able to easily visualize the scenes. The setting is as much a character as Alex and Aiden. The setting is unfamiliar, yet one can clearly visualize it. The setting reflects the mood of the scene and helps to enhance it. I loved that the writing was new and different from other authors. It definitely stands out from the rest of the genre and will entice readers and hook them from the first pages. From the synopsis, I knew that this was one that would be enjoyed and I was not disappointed. When I receive my final copy, I know that this is one that I will be reading over and over.


The characters are easy to connect with and I found myself experiencing similar emotions to Alex.  She faces many trial throughout the story and it is only the beginning. She continually overcomes them even when she doubts herself and her abilities. She has a great personality and a feisty nature which is very useful to her situations. She is fun to grow with as the novel progresses and it will be interesting to see where her story goes in the future. The love interests are very entertaining. Aiden seems to be very serious, but as readers get to know him, they will discover another side to him. He is very interesting and a literary hunk. He is charming, attractive, strong willed, and caring. Seth, on the other hand, comes off as very annoying because that is how both Alex and Aiden perceive him, but I feel that there is much more to him than we have seen. I hope more will be revealed with the release of Pure next year. I am still firmly in Aiden's team though.


There is so much more that could be said about Half-Blood, but it really is one that must be read. I don't want to give away any spoilers so I won't say anymore. I do suggest reading Daimon before Half-Blood to better understand the opening scene of the latter.

A HUGE "Thank You" to Bethzaida at Bookittyblog for sharing her ARC and hosting a book tour that allowed me to read this story before its release. =) I am really grateful that she allowed me to participate in her tour.

Don't forget that you can leave comments and questions for Jennifer L. Armentrout on her blog as well as check out her other novels in the works. If you prefer to leave them here, then I will be happy to pass them along. I hope you will share your thoughts here as well. =)


--Raychelle

*Disclaimer: This review is based on the ARC version and not the final publication.