Half-Blood (Covenant #1)

Title: Half-Blood (Covenant #1)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Mythology

Release Date: October 18, 2011

My Rating:
♥♥♥♥♥

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 purrs. 
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.

~ Goodreads

I absolutely loved Half-Blood.  The action, romance, mythology, and quirky writing coupled together made this book one of my favorites.

Alexandria (Alex) shows characteristics that many of Armentrout's main characters in her other books radiate: confidence, energy, boldness, lovability, etc.  Alex is a strong lead; she shows compassion and strength in the steps she takes to recuperate and build herself back up to her previous status in the Covenant.  But she is a little...pushy.
Aiden is what I like to call a Swoon Character.  He is strong (physically and emotionally), caring, protective, smart, the list goes on and on.  Basically the epitome of a fearless male love interest.

The whole forbidden romance element really kicked the plot up a notch or two.  I loved the secrecy and sneakiness the couple evoked, because if they are caught, it would mean two things: 1) Alex would be thrown in jail and 2) they would be considered outcasts for even considering such a dangerous relationship.

Half-Blood is definitely an emotional roller-coaster.  Alex encounters a terrifying surprise after re-entering the Covenant.  She has to choose between her love for someone long gone and loyalty to her people and cause.

Overall, I'm giving Half-Blood a 5/5 because the story had an extremely well-thought out plot and I loved the characters and experiencing their adventures.