ARC Review: Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armintrout

Book: HALF-BLOOD
Author: JENNIFER L. ARMINTROUT
Genre: PARANORMAL YA
Published: October 2011, SPENCER HILL PRESS

Series: Covenant #1 (upcoming series)
Source: Borrowed from blogger via Book Expo America

From Good Reads:
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.

My Review:
HALF-Blood is an amazing book. I was enthralled, not just by the plot, but also Jennifer L. Armitrout’s writing. This YA novel successfully combines action, adventure, and paranormal elements to create a book that I would read more than once. Even better, I love the Greek mythological background that’s involved. What a way to modernize the offspring of the gods! Just as the combination of different elements provide a rich environment, so too does the pure blood/half-blood heirarchy and social standing serve to enrich the plot and the experiences that shape Alex.

Alex is a take no prisoners teen who has had to, by necessity, develop a tough outer shell. She doesn’t fit in with the humans who are not as fast or as good at fighting as she. But, being on the run from the pure bloods who rule her kind, the half-bloods, and daimons who would seek to kill her or worse, turn her, isn’t any fun either. I really liked the combination of earnestness and tough girl that Alex possesses. Though the reader doesn’t have a chance to experience much of the life she had to lead on the run, the opening does express a bit of the desperate and perhaps lonely girl that Alex is, forced to live apart from other like her.

Once she returns Alex to the fold of Deity Island, Armintrout maintains the pace that was established in the beginning, even though much of the novel turns to Alex’s training with Aiden. At this point, some books might lag a bit; either the pace leads to long, boring description or it seems like the ending is rushed with too much filler in the middle. Not HALF-BLOOD. In fact, I never wanted to put the book down, let alone think that it slowed down even an inch.

I wouldn’t recommend this novel for younger YA or not as mature (reading-level and emotionally) readers. However, I think that anyone who appreciates a fairly fast-paced adventure, sprinkled with Greek mythology and growing pains would adore reading HALF-BLOOD. I know that I am now anxiously awaiting the next book, PURE.

4.5/5 for plot
4.5/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language

My Rating: 13.5/15 (4.5 stars)

Must Read, if you liked:
Griffin Rising by Darby Karchut
Alpha by Rachel Vincent
Firelight by Sophie Jordan

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