Half-Blood by Jennifer 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 got a major crush on the 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.”

When Angela of Reading Angel told me I HAD to read the prequel Daimon, I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. After reading the prequel, I knew I HAD to have the book to read more. Half-Blood is fast-paced and full of action. It’s definitely a great read that brings in elements of mythology, but stays fresh.

Alex may just be one of the most kick-butt heroines of YA fiction here recently, and there’ve been a lot of them. Here she is being drug back to the Covenant after 3 years of being on the run and isn’t welcomed back with completely open arms. She has a big of an edge with a sarcastic voice.

Aiden was your typical sexy love interest. I mean, every book has to have one, but the allure in my opinion to Aiden was that he was so forbidden. I could picture him in my head with his small little smiles and would get a bit swoony at the image.

I found the rules that the half-bloods are expected to follow very sad, especially the role of the servants. This little society is very interesting and I can’t wait until Pure comes out so I can read more. Armentrout has created such a fascinating, well-developed world. If you like great books with action and a touch of mythology, definitely hunt this book down!

Many thanks to the author and Spencer Hill Press for sending be an advanced copy of Half-Blood for review!