Covenant (1) - Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
You wanna read about daimons, kick-ass protagonists and Greek gods? Then this is your new favourite series: The Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. First part of the pentalogy: Half-Blood (in German Dämonentochter Verbotener Kuss). I read it in English where it contained 281 pages. Girls, 16 to death. 2011
Alex is pissed. And she wants revenge. After her mother was sucked dry by a daimon, Alex is forced back to the Covenant - either to be trained to become a Sentinel and hunt daimons, or to end up a drug addict who has to do whatever her masters tell her – because she wouldn’t have a will of her own. A position which suits her stepfather… The only reason Alex doesn’t end up like that is Aiden St. Delphi, kick-ass, a fighter, her crush, and forbidden with a capital F. And he keeps secrets from her. Big secrets. When then the Apollyon is assigned to her stepfather and refuses to leave Alex alone, she knows something's definitely off...
This book gets to you on the first page and doesn't let you go - even when you're finished. So, good thing J. L. Armentrout is finished with all parts already.
I like Alex very much. She's stronger, more stubborn and more reckless than good for her, but she knows what's right and what's wrong. Even though her impulsiveness nearly gets her killed – and isn't good for her environment – she is actually... I just wanted to write “sensible”. But that would be a lie.
She's not stupid, she actually very intelligent, but she doesn’t usually use her head for the thinking and she’s not very impressed by rules or hierarchy. In a position like hers, where she’ll end up as a mindless slave when something goes wrong… well, this isn’t exactly the best combination.
But she’s tough as hell. Really.
It's by the way really, really well done how she struggles with coping with the situation with her mother. How she feels guilty and tries to avenge her – and in the end, redeem her. Her solution, in the end, was the right one. But it's good she thought about it so much, how she tortured herself with it. Because some part in her is still her mother. And how can you kill someone you love? I guess that this is the toughest decision you can make. In a situation where a loved one has irreversibly lost him/herself up to a point where they’d be horrified by what they have become – up to the point where they’d kill themselves – are you capable of doing it for them? Would it make you a monster to do it?
To continue: Aiden and Seth are very interesting. I don't know what to make of them, but it's funny how jealous they are... hi hi. Okay, that was mean. Let me rephrase that: It's fun to read about it. In real life I'd probably pity them.
They are absolutely different, Seth is a lot more concerned with the here and now, with his own pleasures and having fun. He’s sometimes as reckless and impulsive as Alex and he likes the idea of being in charge. But he’s also fun and has a good heart.
By the way, why do you call a character who's so important in the Greek based world after an Egyptian god? I like Seth (both the character and the god - at least in The Red Pyramid etc.) and I can imagine he'll develop a lot. He can't stay that power-hungry forever. Not when it concerns Alex.
Aiden on the other hand is the responsible, takes rules seriously and has a lot on his shoulders. Like Alex, who isn’t exactly easy to take charge off. But he’s also loyal, caring and… well, a good person as well.
The side characters rock as well, I like Caleb and Olivia.
And, even though that sounds a little weird, Lea as well. A little. A tiny bit.
Apart from the characters, the story is not only tense but very interesting, with original ideas etc. I hope that there’ll be more about the mythological background in the next parts. There's so much potential in this world! And in the connection between Seth and Alex.
But there's one thing that doesn't make sense: The time.
When she's with her mother, Daniel and Eric, she gets a tag every hour – and later on, her neck and both her arms are covered with them: Meaning, she was there for DAYS – that doesn't make sense. Aiden and Seth had to find her before. The timely management doesn't fit.
Well… I guess I'll finish reviewing now and start reading the second part of the series. I'm excited.
In brief:
So.. stars for ideas, characters, style and the morality-issues!
Prequel:
(before the series)
Sequel: