Half Blood (Covenant #1) by: Jennifer Armentrout

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Published: October 18, 2011 by: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 281
Rating: 1/5 stars

Descendants of Hematoi fall into two categories: pure bloods, carry god-like powers like their two parents, and half-bloods, born to fight in battle, but not as powerful as the pure. Relationships between pure and half-bloods are strictly forbidden. Alexandria is a half-blood training at The Covenant to become a Sentinel, and she has a huge crush on Aiden, a pure-blood. But their relationship could put them both in grave danger, and threaten Alexandria's future.

I was extremely misguided by this book. It fell under the category of Greek mythology, so I was so pumped to read another YA adaption on one of my hugest interests. However what I got here, was absolutely no Greek mythology whatsoever and such a boring  plot.

I wanted to like this, I really did. So many of my blog buddies have raved about this book, and I was ready for some mythology that I thought I would enjoy. However there was little to no Greek mythology, nothing was was really recognizable to me at least, and instead so many fantasy elements that I found quite boring and unoriginal. I just had no connection to this book whatsoever :(

The plot went way over my head. I could care less about any of the characters, and was more focused on getting it done than actually being invested. I should have dnf'ed this when I could, because it just wasted so much of my time and was such a huge disappointment.

Maybe if you like more traditional fantasy, you would like this. But for me, mythological stuff is what I'm looking for and I just did not get that. And it's really quite a shame :(

Have you read Half-Blood? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

The Problem with Forever by: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary
Published: May 17, 2016 by: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 474
Rating: 5/5 stars

For all the years that she had been rescued from her abusive foster home, Mallory has been silent to almost everyone except for her new foster parents. When she starts high school for the first time in her life, her adoptive parents worry that she won't let her voice be heard. Until, Mallory finds her former protector and foster brother Rider going to the same school. Mallory begins to confide in Rider again, but his new life is more secretive than she remembers, and he might be getting into some serious danger, that could put both of their lives in danger.

This was my first Armentrout novel I have ever read. I know a lot of people love her, and I can definitely say that I fell in love with her writing in this book. She tackles harsh issues so well, and this book kept me captivated from page to page.

I loved all of the issues in this book. This book handles adoption, abuse, gangs, drugs, and ptsd all in one extremely emotional read. These issues were so raw and also incredibly realistic. I thought that it was so important for books like these to exist, and this book did the issues at hand justice.

Even though there are romantic elements to this book, the romance was not the be all and end all of everything. which I really liked. Rider and Mallory's chemistry went a lot deeper than high school crushes. I loved how Armentrout captured their relationship as a friendship, a family, and romantically all in one. They cared so much for each other and the lengths that these two went to protect each other was amazing.

There's also a lot of cultural diversity in this book, particularly Puerto Rican. While I can't vouch to say that it was accurate, I did appreciate the diversity and the fact that Armentrout didn't just go for the typical white characters. There was a lot of language and customs put in there as well, which was cool to learn.

Overall, a very emotional book that captures a relationship unlike any other. This book was so intriguing and kept me interested every step of the way, and I think that the issues were so well done.

Have you read The Problem with Forever? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess