Review: Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Half - Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Summary: The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of the 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...

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Ratings: 

Basic Summary
The story is about this girl who is a half-blood and she only has two options in her life. To train and become a Sentinel who kills daimons or be a servant for the pures. During the process of her journey, there are a lot of problems she has to face with, problems such as having a crush on a pure named Aiden (which is forbidden) and finding out secrets she never knew or believed.

Cover
The cover is typically quite 'normal' looking. I mean, the flower and design is very pretty but the use of graphics is a bit plain. Like it's just been placed there quickly without any thought, the book kinda looks like a arc cover instead of a final one. I think the cover is so-so for this book...

Characters
I loved the main character Alex, she's just like i imagined what a typical seventeen year old would be like and yet she's also much more different than all the people out there. Her personality is so interesting as well as funny at times, it makes me want to read more about her and she how she reacts to situations next. I think the fact that she's not afraid to say what she thinks and at times when it's rough, she still acts strong and tough makes me admire her and like her more.
Characters such as Aiden, who is described as a amazingly skilled hot guy is what every girl would love to read about and drool over haha, he's the typical hot-looking, kind and sexy guy who's always there when you need help and has everything under control and knows it all. I like him, i do but for one, apart from when he's with Alex, his personality seems a bit boring or too one dimensional. Like the fact that he's a pure but his kindness and how he doesn't care about certain things make him less of a high status character he is supposed to be. Don't get me wrong, i love the guy, just hoped he would be a tad bit more exciting haha.
Because the novel is about Alex and her trying to get back in to the boarding school, i was hoping she meets new people (maybe she will in the second series) but i wasn't very keen when almost everyone in the school knew her already. It's not exciting when everyone knows who you are already.

Setting
The place is made up of two islands and there's a boarding school, the setting was indeed very realistic and unique. The author made it blend in with the real world which made me feel like it is real, like it should be there. However, to me, the setting described was good and believable but is a bit limited. It feels like the world there is kind of small. I know they have the community scattered around the cities but the story so far has just been focused on the islands and school so yeah...

Plot
I really liked the plot, but the only thing i would like to point out is that i found the pacing slow at times in terms of the story development, throughout the story, it mainly focused and emphasised on Alex's emotions towards her mother and it kind of dragged till the end which isn't very likeable but it was still exciting, gripping and made me wanted to read more. I did kind of expect some twists such as when Alex found out who she was... but nevertheless it still had me seeking for explanations and the truth. Near end, i was so angry with Alex's mom that i wanted to slap her... literally. 

The romantic relationship between Alex and Aiden is so sweet and yet forbidden, i get all jolly when i see them together and it makes me feel bleh when the ending for this first book isn't what i wanted it to be. Oh Well, got more to read.

Writing
The writing was really easy to understand and easy to read. The story just flowed and some of the sentences used were so clever and funny. Really enjoyed this novel.

Conclusion
I want to read more, this book isn't perfect but it still had me wanting to read more and see what happens next.