Waiting on Wednesday #18

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine

This week I'm waiting for.....

Cursed
by Jennifer L. Armentrout


To Be Released on September 18, 2012

Summary:
Dying sucks--and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he’s a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she’s more than interested. There’s just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. However, she’s willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't? 

But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not've been an accident at all, she’s not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.

Why I'm waiting:  
1. It's Jennifer L. Armentrout!
2. It has to be good because #1.
3. I have it pre-ordered!!
4. Gorgeous cover!
5. See #1 & 2

What are you waiting for?

{Review} Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Pure
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher:  Spencer Hill Press
Series:  Coventant (#2)
Pages:  329
Source:  Purchased
Available as of April 3, 2012
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Book Depository | Books-A-Million

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.

Rating:

This review contains spoilers if you haven't read the first book in the series.

My review of Half-Blood

My Review:

If I thought Half-Blood was good, I don't even know how to describe the awesomeness that took place in Pure! Enticed by the continuation of Alex's story, I laughed and cried my way through the second book in the Covenant Series.

Everyone knows that Alex's mother had been a Daimon, and when things start happening around school, she's the one who takes the biggest hit. If that wasn't enough, now she has to make it through a visit to the New York Covenant for the big council meeting and someone is set on destroying her.

I was Team Aiden in Half-Blood. I'm not sure when it happened in Pure, but at some point I switched teams. Yes, Aiden can show Alex he cares away from the prying eyes of onlookers and he has continuously said that he can't have anything with with her because of the Breed Order, but in Pure he just irked me. Where Aiden was failing, Seth was picking up the pieces, always making himself available to Alex. Granted she didn't want him around, but he was, for once, worried about someone besides himself. I grew to love him.

Pure was just as amazing as Half-Blood. There were twists I didn't expect and scenes that made me cry my eyes out. Alex was still her funny self and Seth put a smile on my face. My jaw dropped and I was in disbelief, even when I saw certain events coming. I never wanted to put Pure down.

Overall, this book was fantastic. If you enjoyed Half-Blood, Pure will knock your socks off.

{Review} Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Half-Blood
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher:  Spencer Hill Press
Series:  Coventant (#1)
Pages:  281
Source:  Purchased
Available as of October 18, 2011
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Book Depository | Books-A-Million

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.

Rating:

My Review:

I'm thrilled that I have found a new series that I could read over and over again. Jennifer L. Armentrout has written a wonderful start to a series that has, so far, made me laugh, cry, and get angry. There was action, romance, death, and surprising twists. If you haven't picked it up yet, you should really get on that.

After leaving the Covenant three years ago, Alex has to go back. Her mother is no longer able to take care of her and her money is dwindling. After being trapped in a building and attacked by daimons, she realizes that if she can't get out and get to a Covenant as fast as possible, she's as good as dead.

Describing Alex in one word would be difficult. If I had to pick one word though, it would be self-reliant. Overall, she is one of my favorite characters ever. It could be because she reminds me of myself, but she truly is a great person. She is funny, confrontational, stubborn, and most of all, impulsive. She doesn't take anyone's crap and when she feels like something is her fault, she feels guilty and needs to rectify the situation. 

I LOVED this book! Absolutely loved it. Everything about it screams amazing! I'm not saying that lightly either. Normally I can see a twist approaching a mile away. That wasn't the case. I was completely flabbergasted...TWICE. From the start, I didn't want to put Half-Blood down. I was so entranced in the story that time just slipped away.  The characters were well thought out and never deviated from what I felt they would do. I expected some certain events to happen, but other's I didn't think would, and I was giddy when they did. 

Writing this review has difficult because I want to *squee* and tell you everything that happened. It was that good. If you haven't read Half-Blood, you really need to do that as soon as you can. It was amazing.

{Mini-Review} Daimon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Daimon
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher:  Spencer Hill Press
Series:  Covenant (#0.5)
Pages:  62
Source:  Purchased
Available as of May 6, 2011
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Book Depository | Books-A-Million

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.

Rating:

My Review:

I had heard so many great things about this series and I figured I should try it out. Not knowing what exactly I was walking into, I read Daimon. I didn't want to write a review for this immediately after reading it because I can review a 62 page book in all of three sentences, so I went ahead and read Half-Blood before writing this and there was a lot more background information in Daimon that didn't really pertain to what you need to know when starting Half-Blood, but I'm glad I read it. We get a taste of who Alex's mother is and I think this is important for relating to and understanding Alex when the end of Half-Blood comes around. Is this worth taking a look at when you start reading the series? Definitely.