Review: Apollyon (Covenant #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Apollyon (Covenant #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Publishers: Spencer Hill Press
Published Date: April 4th 2013
From: Bought
My rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis:
Fate isn’t something to mess with… and now, neither is Alex.

Alex has always feared two things: losing herself in the Awakening and being placed on the Elixir. But love has always been stronger than Fate, and Aiden St. Delphi is willing to make war on the gods—and Alex herself—to bring her back.

The gods have killed thousands and could destroy entire cities in their quest to stop Seth from taking Alex’s power and becoming the all-powerful God Killer. But breaking Alex’s connection to Seth isn’t the only problem. There are a few pesky little loopholes in the whole “an Apollyon can’t be killed” theory, and the only person who might know how to stop the destruction has been dead for centuries.

Finding their way past the barriers that guard the Underworld, searching for one soul among countless millions, and then somehow returning will be hard enough. Alex might be able to keep Seth from becoming the God Killer… or she might become the God Killer herself.

Review:
So, on to Apollyon. This one really packs a punch. The adventure is really beginning and Alex, Aiden and their small band of refugees from Deity Island now have a huge task on their hands.

What I loved in this book first and foremost was how Alex changed. In the previous books she has acted like an immature madam sometimes but as she's growing up so is her attitude and this shows what a great author Armentrout is because young women do change when exceptional circumstances land on their shoulders. Now Alex has to step up to the plate. She is an Apollyon and a lots of people are relying on her. She's now proved that acting irrationally isn't always the answer, not unless you want to tick everyone off. Only one incident occurred when she went back to the old ways, the one where they are all training, but one rebuke from Aiden and she realises her error. She is still only human after all.

We journey from their hideout cabin to the Underworld to source out Solaris, and then on to the University where all the good guys are holding fort. The journey is an adventure in itself and all the while Alex is learning to get to grips with her new abilities. They don't always prove to be the best option as a key character falls right near the end in desperate circumstances.

Mostly this book cements the relationships occurring between the characters. Alex with Marcus, Deacon with Alex, Alex and Lea, even Alex and Laaden. And Alex and Aiden really prove that their love is of the purest kind. And no one can doubt that.

We don't get to see Seth in his true form in this book but he's ever present in Alex's mind thanks to their bond as Apollyons. Quite a few happenings occur where you think Seth has truly lost his mind but then right at the end...I'm not sure. I wonder what will happen in Sentinal because at one point Alex is heartbroken because of a death and I actually think this affects Seth also. With everyone talking about Seth being the God Killer I really believe that, after reading between the lines, he is worth saving and can be saved from wreaking absolute mayhem and chaos across the human world.

We have more interactions with the gods in this one too bringing in the Greek mythology nicely. But, as always, we reach another tragic point and the end and are left with a small cliffhanger of what happens next but its not so big that you're really hanging.

This is the best book yet in the Covenant series. Definitely worth picking this up if you get the chance!
.-CB x

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Review: Elixir (Covenant #3.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Elixir (Covenant #3.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout  

Publishers: Spencer Hill Press
Published Date:  November 27th 2012
From: Downloaded
My rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:
Aiden St. Delphi will do anything to save Alex.
Even if it means doing the one thing he will never forgive himself for.
Even if it means making war against the gods.

Review:
Finally we get a chance to see what exactly is going on in Aiden St Delphi's head. And...it's all good!


But Elixir is a tough read and an absolute MUST if you follow the series. You MUST read Deity beforehand and you MUST read Apollyon after. Sometimes I'm curious as to why authors do the middle novellas but in this case it's definitely an essential part of the Covenant series.

No one knows how to handle Alex now she's turned Apollyon. She has that bond with Seth and he's taking over her mind and her mouth. Everything she says is cruel and painful to Aiden. She mocks him, his love for her, and still he has faith in what he's doing...but even that can only last for so long. Eventually he has to do the unthinkable. He has to put Alex on the Elixir to eek her away from everything she is right now.

Reading from Aiden's point of view was everything I wished for. We've only really seen him from Alex's viewpoint but he has a lot of secrets behind those silver eyes and we get to learn about how he ticks inside.

His love for Alex is all-powerful, his adoration of his brother is wonderful. And he's respected by the other's in the house:- Marcus, Solos, Luke, Laaden, Lea, Olivia and Deacon. They all trust in his instinct when it comes to overcoming the bond, and while it all seems like a mutual lovefest Elixir proves that its anything but.

Alex also really stepped up in this one. Through Aiden's eyes she showed real character without the long drawn out explanations.

If it doesn't convince you of anything else Elixir shows what a great, admirable and loveable person Aiden St Delphi really is. Enough said!
-CBx

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Review: Deity (Covenant #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Deity (Covenant #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout  

Publishers: Spencer Hill Press
Published Date:  November 6th 2012
From: Bought
My rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:
"History is on repeat, and things didn't go so well the last time. "

Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner... and so is Aiden.

If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed... and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate..

Review:
Well, this just goes to show I am no judge of character. My last words on the Pure review were "I love Seth". Shameful!

This is going to be a back-to-back review with Elixir and Apollyon, but if you do a search you can read reviews for the first three Covenant Series books also.

So, Deity! This one took me by surprise and was a step up from the first books. After Pure I did begin to feel that the storyline was waning a little i.e. where do we go from here, however Deity really did pick up pace after about half way through.

Alex still has her love triangle thing going on. Seth, the one who she's meant to be with, and Aiden, the one she loves and can't have. During the story even I had to admit that Seth starts getting a bit creepy with his happy hands. And the gliphs that appear on Alex because of this really give you a clue as to his intentions. And then there's the whole incident where he's meeting 'boobs' while he's away--does he really think Alex is worthy after acting like that? He did show a redeeming quality with the Jackson incident, no doubt in my mind who was responsible for that. Personally I think he really does like her but as everything comes easy to him he's getting his way with whatever he can first.

And Aiden, well, he does act a bit of a jerk in the beginning but hell, the boy can't help himself when it comes to Alex. Now he does show signs of true love.

For me the whole book tilted in a better light after the stabbing. That was really when you had a clue as to who was who (and I mean Leon) and who was on what side. Without this I think they'd still all be going about their day trying to hide their feelings and intentions. We learn a top secret about Leon, and Marcus sheds his nasty cloak.

Aiden and Alex at last get some quality time together hiding away but the bittersweet moment is brought to a head when Seth returns and Lucian kidnaps Alex. Now we learn what the truth is behind all the devillry these two men have been conjuring. Sides are drawn up, the line on the ground gets chalked. Epic disaster meets our team but only some survive.

This for me was the book in the series that said "Stand up, things are going to change. Now I'm serious." Overall I thought the characters were as exemplary as ever. There were only a few times when Alex's snark became annoying, a sure sign of her immaturity.

Now I'm going to review Elixir!

-CBx

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Review: Pure (Covenant) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:
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.

Review:
To be able to appreciate Pure fully I made my own sacrifice (of my time!) and reread Half Blood to be absolutely certain I remembered everything. Half Blood was as amazing as I remembered so to delve straight back into the characters and the story was as thrilling and exciting as I hoped it would be.

Alex is a great character and underneath her mouthy, almost arrogant at times exterior she has a certain vulnerability about her. She absolutely knows where she stands in the order of things except where her relationship with Aiden occurs in the grand scheme of things. She's got over the whole Pures can't mix with Halfs, mostly because of how Aiden reacts to her. Does he lead her on? I'm not so sure. Personally I think Aiden is as lost in his feelings as Alex is in hers. Except one moment really highlights the downfall of everything between them and it was the moment of the 'I love you.' From here on in we see Aiden taking very big steps backwards to the point that he hurts Alex in a way she's never hurt before.

Seth is always on the periphery. Whether its to help sooth Alex through her nightmares by staying with her and emphasising the bond of the Apollyon between them, or even being the sounding board for all her angst, he doesn't take it to heart but in fact encourages her.

Despite the heartache and extreme loss that Alex goes through in Pure she must endure the court proceedings that resulted from her actions in Half Blood but everything starts going wrong when an unknown person wishes her removed. My only gripe with this is that even at the end of the story we are none the wiser as to who it is although we have a rough idea.

The action in this book is full on all the way through, the pace is extremely fast and the story exceptional as Armentrout treats us to another superb book. Now all we have to do is wait until Deity is out at the end of the year!

PS. I love Seth, Seth rocks!

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Review: Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Synopsis:
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.

Review:
This is an interesting one because for the first half of the book I couldn't help but see similarites between this storyline and another series I've read. So much so that scenes almost appear to have been copied. This is the first time that I've really read a book that is SO similar. Bearing in mind I probably read a book a day I'm surprised it hasn't yet happened.

Saying that, I loved the prequel, Daimon, and once I got into reading this for its own merits its actually a great story. With a mixture of greek mythology, gods wreaking havoc, good guys and bad guys, and the fated/forbidden loves that are going on, this story pretty much has it all.

The only thing that slightly bothered me was Alex. I liked her, she's gutsy but I didn't get on with her and I don't know why. Sometimes it felt like her dialogue was a little forced. There was nothing really shocking or any twists that made you think of her differently. Its hard to put my finger on but, yeah, I didn't think she was that great a character. For me the lead needs to be alot stronger and Alex was a bit too away with the fairies sometimes. She lacked conviction in places.

However, despite that her back up team are great. And so are the two guys in her life, Aiden and Seth. I thought they were both incredibly well fleshed out.

On the whole I liked this, especially after half way through when the story finally found its true form. I'm looking forward to reading Pure and wish I didn't have to wait until April for Pure!

 CB

~

Extras:

Half-Blood - Chapter 1 - Aiden's POV

Half-Blood - Chapter 16 - Aiden's POV

Aiden and Alex Christmas Special Exclusive 
 

Here's the book trailer! Enjoy!

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Review: Daimon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Synopsis:
For three years, Alexandria has lived among mortals—pretending to be like them and trying to forget the duty she'd been trained to fulfill as a child of a mortal and a demigod. At seventeen, she's pretty much accepted that she's a freak by mortal standards... and that she'll never be prepared for that duty.

According to her mother, that’s a good thing.

But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return—the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death… because she's being hunted by the very creatures she'd once trained to kill.

The daimons have found her.

Review:
This is a fabulous introduction into the world of Half Bloods and Pure Bloods and the arch enemy - Daimons.

A mixture of greek mythology and new vampire traits combine in a story of a young girl who's been forced by her mother to reject the life she should have had.

Alex is no ordinary girl and soon after a horrific encounter she realises that her future lies in her past, and finally she meets her worst nightmares.

This is a great introduction, carefully written to make a complicated storyline quite easy to follow. A must for anyone who wants to read Half-Blood.

~

Check out my review of Half-Blood for extras, book trailer and author contacts

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