Review - Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

So I'm a bit behind in blogging than where I am in reading. I finished this book a while ago, but I figure I should stay in chronological order with these =] And while I should really be doing my homework right now, I just can't do it till I get this all out of my head!


Book Description
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.

 Can I just say that I really loved this book? I want that to be known before I say anything negative about this book cause I will, but not to forget that this was really fun to read. And to all the people who said they didn't like this series cause it was exactly like Vampire Academy, well you have no imagination then. 
While this book really frustrated me (Aiden, whyyyy?) I understood there was a reason behind everything that was happening. And let me just say that I've never liked Seth (even though it's my son's name =]) not once and not from the very beginning. I've heard some people say that he really had his moments in this book, which I do think he did, but I still don't like him. I've always felt like he was Mr. Fakey Fake... and he is. But there were some things that he did or said that made me swoon a little, but he's not Aiden! It's a little hard for me to write this review since I've already read Deity, but I am trying. 

I also want to say that I really liked Alex in this book. I found her kind of whiny in the first one but I didn't really feel that way in Pure. I thought she was a badass, actually. I think Jennifer has a really good talent for imagining and bringing to life wonderful heroines in her books and it is refreshing to see. I think I may have a new sort of favorite author. I'm absolutely in love with her writing and I am really excited to read more (even though I must wait =[)

I gave this book a 4/5 and I think I'm going to stick to that. I enjoyed it but there were some things that bothered me about it. And I guess I just really don't like the names she chose (besides Seth and Elena). I feel like Aiden is such an overused name (so is any form of Damon) and Alex is kind of generic. But that's really nit picky on my part because I did enjoy this book a lot. I always feel like once I finish them they are over too soon!

Review: Half Blood by Jennifer L Armentrout

Book Description
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.

 So before I decided to read this, I read a bunch of reviews. Unfortunately most of them were pretty negative and the reviewers were upset because they felt like this book was basically plagiarism of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy. I'm glad I didn't really let this keep me from reading this book because I honestly felt like it wasn't exactly like Vampire Academy like everyone else said it was. I did see similarities (student falls for her older trainer, halfs and pures turn into daimons) but it really was not exactly the same and after about half of the book was through it wasn't really the same at all. Now the Vampire Academy series is one of my favorites (and I'm super excited for the movie next year) so I really liked this as well. I haven't read a book in a while that I stayed awake super late just to get in "one more chapter, just one more chapter." 

Now as for Alex... Hmm, I just don't know. The majority of the time I really like her and she actually does remind me a lot of Rose Hathaway. She's feisty just like Rose and has the same dry wit as well. But sometimes it seems like she's kind of whiny. But sometimes they're like that in the first books in series because it gives them room to develop and mature as the series continues. A little thing that I found funny in this book though is that there's a character named Seth and a character named Elena and those are my children's names! I just thought it was weird to find both the names I chose for my children as the names of characters in the same book. I also enjoyed the bit of Greek mythology that was layered in the book as well. It's always fun to learn about those kinds of things because they are incorporated into a book you are reading.

For the most part, I thought this book was excellent and I am really excited to read the rest of them. I rated it 4/5 on GoodReads, but I'd actually give it 4.5/5 because it was really good. I'm one of those people that rarely ever gives a book a 5 star rating because I always end up comparing it to something else that I've read that I thought deserved 5 stars and finding something that I didn't like quite as much.

Review: Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

So, I did like this book, but I am infuriated by the ending! Plus I will have to wait until July for Origin to find out what happens next. However, I do love books with an epic cliffhanger because I feel like it makes you anticipate the next book even more than if the book ends calmly or happily. Smartest technique ever to keep people reading.

Well, what can I say about this book? I actually had a hard time getting into it compared to the previous books in the series. I felt like the first 65-70% was pretty slow going and I had to force myself to keep reading. But I tell you, that last 30% of the book made up for the rest of it. It was just EPIC. This book was filled with a lot more romance which I do appreciate and we get to see a lot more of the "sweet" Daemon this time around. And can I just make it clear that I hate Blake and always have? If he were a real person I would never be his friend, no matter how charming he appeared to be. I would have killed him in Onyx, but then there would not have been a plot to this book. Just remember in the wise words of Luc:  Don't trust anyone who has something to gain or lose. I knew those words would be very important to the events that unfolded in this book and I kept them in the back of my mind while reading until they became apparent that they were going to slap the characters in the face.

Katy has also... evolved to say the least. Due to her experiences she is no longer the timid, too trusting Katy that we saw in Obsidian and Onyx. There's some points in this book where I feel like she could definitely be promoted to "Badass" status, which I always enjoy seeing in females in books. 

I give this book 4/5 stars. If this whole book had been like the end of it, I would give five stars but I just can't forget that it was a little boring to me for a lot of the book. I would still recommend it especially if you have already started the series. The end is worth any discomfort I may have endured!

Guess what today is?!

Today is indeed a very important event in the history of indie writers. Fractured by Amber Lynn Natusch has finally been released! Nobody else may be excited but I am ecstatic! This was another one of those series that I was reluctant to read because I wasn't too sure about were books, but it has become one of my favorite series next to the Fever books.


Book Description
Returning home after three weeks of captivity in the shadows of her own mind, Ruby discovers the magnitude of the damage her absence left in its wake. With relationships to mend and unsolved mysteries still looming, she has little time to deal with the latest drama at hand: the three disreputable werewolves recently thrust into her life and a missing Scarlet. Ruby must quickly learn to adapt and thrive in her new situation while also treading carefully around it. If not, she will suffer the consequences―and without her genetically built-in safety net present, the ramifications could be epic.
Link to Amazon

Now, I love Ruby. I feel like she would be one of those people that I would be friends with in real life (and I don't really get along with other females very well). I have read other reviews where they have described her as naive and immature. Well you know what, nobody is completely mature and if I had spent 28 years of my life blind and never taking care of myself I am sure I would be pretty damn immature and completely too trusting as well. But I think Ruby really learns from her mistakes and matures throughout the series because she really has some serious crap thrown at her.
And as for the author, she is just amazing. I really like it when I see an author who really connects with their readers and cares about what they think. On her Facebook page she does contests and giveaways all the time and always asks questions about what her fans think. Her and Ella James are one of the only two that I've really seen that from and I think it's awesome. It's really nice when you try to talk to an author and they actually take time out of their busy schedule to interact with you.

So, I know what I will be doing all day. I feel guilty about it now, but I am totally going to put down Opal for the day to read Fractured!

So I realize that it's just me at the moment all by my lonesome, but that doesn't really matter to me because I just need an outlet for all the reading that I do. I need to talk about what I think about the books I read and share my ideas into writing (even if it is just to myself).

Soooo, for today. I am 31% through Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Now, I am a big fan of the first two and I LOVED them. Ever since I read Here by Ella James I have had an appreciation for alien novels. I will admit, that I bought Obsidian first and let it sit for a while and had to push myself to read it, but I am glad that I did because I did enjoy it.

If you have not read these books yet, I would definitely recommend them. In Obsidian and Onyx, I really liked Katy. She was strong and cared about helping everyone around her (even though it did not always work out in her advantage). I liked that they were generally error free because sometimes with self published or indie books you run into a lot of errors in the text. Jennifer has a great writing style that keeps you interested in what you are reading. Onyx was a real page turner. I finished it within a day because I could not put it down and I had to know what happened.

One thing I must say that I disliked about these books is that a lot of the time they were predictable, especially in Onyx. It seemed like I knew what was going to happen much earlier than it ever did. I think she may have foreshadowed a bit too much on some topics in the book. Even though I liked Katy, there were times I felt like she was and idiot or naive, but I guess I can't really complain because I have no idea how I would have thought or acted in the same situation. I could very well have dug myself a hole as well.

Overall, I would give Obsidian a 4/5 stars and I would give Onyx a 4.5/5 stars just because it kept me on the edge of my seat and I always appreciate a novel that hooks me from the very beginning.