Review: The Power

The Power

Rating: 5/5

Buy or Borrow: Buy 

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Hodder! 

With any great change, there is always strife, and the Covenant University has become the frontline between pure-bloods who want the Breed Order reinstated and the half-bloods who want the right to control their own destinies.
Fate has other plans.

The violence is escalating and war between the races seems inevitable, and it couldn’t come at a worse time. Hyperion may be out of commission, but Josie and Seth know they have only earned a reprieve. Seth must get Josie fully prepared, which means controlling her newfound abilities, and they need to find the other demigods before the Titans do.
But the gods are sensing a greater threat.

Only one thing is more dangerous than a bunch of starved Titans, and that’s an out-of-control Apollyon. The aether in Josie is drawing Seth in deeper, and when lust mixes with love and gives way to power, he knows being close to her is not only dangerous to her, but to everyone around them, but letting her go requires a level of selflessness that just isn’t Seth’s style.

The paths taken in the past are becoming the roads of the future.
Just as chaos breaks out, familiar faces from the past return, complicating the already strained bond between Josie and Seth, and when the danger from the Titans erupts with devastating consequences, the dark allure of power calls to Seth again, but this time Josie might not be able to pull him back.

And when the struggle between power and love becomes the deadliest battleground, there may be no salvation. 

"You guys are like mogwais fed after midnight" 

Oh my God you guys, this series is getting SO. GOOD. Like emotionally devastating good. Which is an odd combination but there you go! I love diving back in to the world of the Covenant and I love the setting of this spin off series in the University, I just love the world of the book, it's rich and it's original and it's so easy to get lost in! This book pulled me back from the bring of a reading slump and I read 200 pages in one sitting! I couldn't put it down, every time I went to, something happened and I found myself reading just one more chapter. Repeatedly. Until 3am. Oops? 

The opening throws you straight back in to the world of the book and the story, and it's a heart pounding opening. Josie for me in this book was complicated. I loved her in book one, and I loved her in this book, she's so easy for me to relate to and connect to. Like she is me, I'd be that clumsy and that useless at doing the fight training and everything! I loved watching Josie doing all the training and I loved her personality. She's a badass in her own way, like the scene with Colin, even if it is sometimes an accident! But I loved watching her get better and better, and more assertive, and by the end she was so awesome! 

My problem with Josie in this book is purely me being too attached to Alex I think, I love Alex, she's my favourite character, I loved her, she was everything I love in a character, she's badass and snarky and perfect. Josie is different to Alex, she's hesitant about killing, but then in a couple of ways she is like Alex. The thing is in this book, I got annoyed at Josie because of how she was about Alex, like her being insecure and everything made her realistic, but it reached a point when I was rolling my eyes a little bit and was like okay leave Alex alone now. Like I said, Alex is my fave, I'm way too attached to her and Josie being funny about her annoyed me, which is my own problem not the books to be honest! Like while Josie was annoying me being funny about Alex, I could understand her and where she was coming from. There where some really epic scenes with Josie and Alex though, that where nice to see, but then there where others where I was like seriously Josie?! It's difficult for me and I'll get in to it in a minute! OMG I nearly forgot, Josie was totally reading all about her father and his past conquests and it was the funniest thing ever! So awkward. I can't wait for Apollo and Josie to sort it out between them! 

"My father put the 'who' in whore."

Seth in this book, and in the previous book...I can't even. I liked Seth in the Covenant, but then towards the end when he was being all evil Seth it was a bit like "I like you Seth....but you need to do the right thing...oh nope...kill people instead..okay" but then he redeemed himself and everything. In these books, you see a softer side of Seth, and a more vulnerable side of him that we've never seen before. I love seeing this other side to Seth, it's like getting to know him all over again. It makes me so sad to see this side of Seth though, because he doesn't expect anything good, like people remembering his birthday, or Josie and her feelings for him and there's so many scenes that choke me up for him! He's still a badass and he's still snarky and hilarious and he makes me laugh, but in this book he's having problems and he's struggling with the Aether and then there's this whole thing with Josie and my poor Seth you guys! 

I love getting both POV's, they both have such entertaining narratives, and each narrative adds to the story, rather than just repeating scenes from both POV's. You get to see what's going on with each character, and what's going on in their heads..what their motivation is and everything. I love getting to see Seth's POV especially, and it makes me so sad that we never got Aiden's...just imagine guys. Imagine Aiden's POV *sigh* the POV's are just so brilliantly done to be honest, and the switches are perfect, the timing is perfect, and it never messes with the pace, the pace keeps up the entire time. 

Anyway, back to characters! All of our favourites are back, we get Luke and Deacon and oh my God Deacon takes a stand and it's awesome! Aiden doesn't think so, though! Deacon also demonstrates how much of a fanboy he is and it's hilarious! Luke and Deacon are completely adorable as well. I've missed them, and in these books we get to know the two of them even more. Marcus and Alexander make brief experiences, Apollo the cockblocker returns and he is forever one of my favourites because he's so hilarious! Oh and the Edward Cullen of the nymphs is back, still kinda creepy. Still kind of intriguing. Then there's Solos and Ladaan and omg I love seeing all the other characters from the book! 

"Apparently Apollo wasn't aware that he'd rate high on the 'stranger danger' scale" 

We also get new characters, like Colin, who has a nice connection to a character from the Covenant, and is Josie's new friend. I'm curious about him because we met him, but then we didn't see much of him at the end. I'd like to see more of him, even though Seth wouldn't, and I'm still really curious about him! We also meet Gable, one of the Demigods, and I love how there was a comment about how cliche his whole thing was, I'm not going to say too much else because you know...I'll leave it for you guys to find out! I'm excited to get to know him better and see what he can do, he handled the whole "dude you're a demigod" thing surprisingly well! 

I love how we get Medusa and Armentrout gives her her own take, and she's so intriguing! I hope to see more of her! I was so sad we didn't get to see more of Erin though! But YOU GUYS! We get Hercules...like actual Hercules. My brain went through a rendition of all the Hercules songs as soon as I saw his name, not going to lie! He was another take on the standard Hercules and he was completely hilarious, like I'm surprised at myself that I didn't see it coming, because trust Apollo to pick a demigod like Hercules. He was SO arrogant, but then at times I did kinda like him or at least wanted to like him. I kid you not, Apollo is like "hey guys, this is Hercules. Hercules is a dick" straight off and I spat out what I was drinking before I choked on it! 

Like I predicted Alex and Aiden came baaacckk! I knew they'd have to show up eventually, but I wasn't expecting this soon! But then ya know...Alex had to come topside to sort out Seth...I mean....help search for the Demigods. Yeah. That. Also, trust Alex to make an entrance, it was awesome. I kinda choked up a little bit at the reunion A squared had with everyone else, not going to lie! The whole gang was back together and it was so much perfection you guys! And then Seth and Aiden...how I've missed their banter! It cracks me up. Like I said, Alex and Josie meet in this book with mixed results, and then you have Alex and Aiden's reunion with Apollo and I always forget how long they've known Apollo, that they knew him before they knew he was Apollo and it was such a touching scene! 

"His smile turned creepy, like hide-your-kids-level creepy" 

Alex and Aiden...I can't even. Seeing the two of them together again, was just so perfect and amazing and SO CUTE. Seriously the two of them are still so adorable, and so perfect together, you can see through the eyes of Seth and Josie what their relationship looks like, and how they interact with each other and it's all so warm and fuzzy inducing, all the little things are what makes it really. It's still a romance I completely love, I've actually missed them so much, I should probably re-read the Covenant again! 

Speaking of romance, we get double in this book because OBVIOUSLY, we have Seth and Josie, and I loved watching everything develop in the first book, but now they're together in this book it isn't all sunshine and rainbows. There's cute scenes, steamy scenes and angsty scenes. They make you feel a lot of feels this book, because they have so many obstacles to overcome and a couple of them come in to play in this book, and I can't even. I just can't discuss it right now guys! You should all keep your eyes out as well, because there's a couple of rather familiar scenes, and I'm so glad Marcus commented on one of them at one point! 

So, this has been more of a book reaction than a review, but to be honest, it's the perfect sequel to the first book in the spin off and it's the perfect continuation of a series that I love so much. The plot is complex, there's a lot going on, you have Josie training, Seth and his aether issues, the tension and the violence between the Halfs and Pures escalates and it's really not good! Then you have Alex and Aiden coming back, Seth and Alex being connected still, the search for the other demigods, the Seth and Josie issues and everything else. There are so many threads in this book that all come together to make a plot that's so engrossing, that makes the book so difficult to put down. It's action packed, it makes you laugh, it chokes you up because there are some completely heart breaking scenes, prepare yourselves guys. It's original, there's lots of little details that bring the story to life, the characters are lively and multi dimensional, there's new characters to intrigue us! There's new threads to carry us over in to the next book, and oh my God. We need to talk about them. 

"Bigotry is literally the Twinkie of human emotions. Shit will survive the apocalypse" 

I got SUCH a bad feeling when Medusa and Athena kept mentioning Seth in one particular conversation. "A great sense of foreboding washed over me, so strong and insistent that I tensed in my seat"....me too Josie. Me too. But I got that vibe a couple chapters are go and you're kinda late to the party! I was completely right as well, and there's this one scene and it completely and utter spells NOT EFFING GOOD. I am SO NOT OKAY with the ending of the book. Seth needs his happy ending okay, he deserves it at this stage. 

It's so difficult for me because Alex and Aiden are right, Josie has no idea about everything Seth's done and what he was like before, but at the same time, Josie is right because he is different and at the end I was like...don't make me choose a side omg. But it's okay, because it didn't come to that! I get why Alex and Aiden where acting the way they where, but I was also sad because I  understand Seth a lot better and know him more now! 

I'm so excited for book three now, there's hopefully going to be more demigods to find, we're gonna have Where's Wally?: Apollyon Edition, and so much more! I'm intrigued to see if we'll see get Alex's POV again, because if they end up splitting up....I'm not sure what will happen. Like will we just get Seth and Josie's POV and then they'll all meet back up with the demigods in tow? I'm not sure how I'd feel about that because I'm enjoying the hunt for the demigods, and all of the old crew working together again! I need it NOOOOWW! 

So yeah, reaction rather than a review, sorry guys! I tried not to fangirl but I just wasn't strong enough! Honestly, this series gets better and better and the books just pull you in, they're vivid and atmospheric and they're funny as well as emotional. Each new book adds more and more to the world of the book, brings more and more to the characters we know and love. The Covenant is one of my favourite series and so a Seth spin off was like a dream come true, and I'm loving the direction this is all going! 

"I was surrounded by mythical beings instead of by twenty-somethings whose greatest powers were the ability to perform tasks hungover and with minimal sleep."

Wishing For Wednesday #76

Hey guys and welcome to another Wishing For Wednesday!
This week I've got two exciting titles by two of my favourite authors! 
First up is the second book in a  spin off series by Jennifer Armentrout one of my all time favourite authors, I have every single book she's ever written because she's awesome! I've been eagerly awaiting the release of this book! I'm giving you guys what I think is the US cover, because what I THINK is the UK cover...isn't an actual cover yet! I'm really hoping faces from the past mean two characters whose names begin with A. 
Second is a new book, a first in series I believe, from another of my favourite authors! I'm excited to delve in to a new book from her, it's been a while! Although I am behind on her books! It's got Rapunzel vibes, but I've not seen it said anywhere that it is a retelling! It sounds amazing though, not going to lie!

The Power

With any great change, there is always strife, and the Covenant University has become the frontline between pure-bloods who want the Breed Order reinstated and the half-bloods who want the right to control their own destinies.
Fate has other plans.

The violence is escalating and war between the races seems inevitable, and it couldn’t come at a worse time. Hyperion may be out of commission, but Josie and Seth know they have only earned a reprieve. Seth must get Josie fully prepared, which means controlling her newfound abilities, and they need to find the other demigods before the Titans do.
But the gods are sensing a greater threat.

Only one thing is more dangerous than a bunch of starved Titans, and that’s an out-of-control Apollyon. The aether in Josie is drawing Seth in deeper, and when lust mixes with love and gives way to power, he knows being close to her is not only dangerous to her, but to everyone around them, but letting her go requires a level of selflessness that just isn’t Seth’s style.

The paths taken in the past are becoming the roads of the future.

Just as chaos breaks out, familiar faces from the past return, complicating the already strained bond between Josie and Seth, and when the danger from the Titans erupts with devastating consequences, the dark allure of power calls to Seth again, but this time Josie might not be able to pull him back.

And when the struggle between power and love becomes the deadliest battleground, there may be no salvation. 

The Power is out February 25th, pre-order your copy.....here! 
Add it to your TBR.....here!

Reign Of Shadows

Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.

With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.

Reign Of Shadows is out March 1st, pre-order your copy....here!

Add it to your TBR.....here!

Wishing For Wednesday #28

This week I've got the mother of all author returns!
I freaking love this author, you all know I do, and so you can imagine how super excited I am that she's bringing us a new series, and one that's a spin off of one of her best series!
Aaannd the second book I have for you, is another one I've found that promises to be fun, unique and original.

The Return

The Fates are cackling their bony asses off…
It’s been a year since Seth made the deal with the gods that pledged his life to them. And so far, the jobs they’ve given him have been violent and bloody–which is kind of all right with him. But now Apollo has something else in mind for Seth. He’s got to play protector while keeping his hands and fingers off, and for someone who really has a problem with restraint, this new assignment might be the most challenging yet.

Josie has no idea what this crazy hot guy’s deal might be, but it’s a good bet that his arrival means the new life she started after leaving home is about to be thrown into an Olympian-sized blender turned up to puree. Either Josie is going insane or a nightmare straight out of ancient myth is gunning for her.
But it might be the unlikely attraction simmering between her and the golden-eyed, secret-keeping Seth that may prove to be the most dangerous thing of all.
Because history has once again been flipped to repeat.

The Return is out February 26th, pre-order your copy here! 
Add it to your TBR here! 

Mind Games

Luna is a no-hoper with a secret: in a world of illusion, she can see what is real. But can she see the truth before it is too late?

Luna has always been able to exist in virtual and real worlds at the same time, a secret she is warned to keep. She hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit. But when she is singled out for testing, she can’t hide any longer.

The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing... 

Mind Games is out March 5th, pre-order your copy here! 

Add it to your TBR here! 

The Return

The Return
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bookbridgr!

It's been a year since everything that went down in Sentinel, ya know, the whole Ares thing, and Seth giving up EVERYTHING for Alex and Aiden to be together, and after spending the year being the Gods bitch, it's time for Seth to get his happy ending. Well sort of, there's gonna be a lot to overcome but you get my drift.

Apollo has a new mission for Seth, turns out the Gods had a plan C to sort out the whole Titan issue, and that plan was Demigods. Yup. Some of them have since been killed, but there are enough left alive to lock the Titan's back up, and Seth has to protect one of them. Specifically Apollos daughter. Unfortunately for Seth, Apollo will probably end up smiting him because Josie, well, she's feisty and she's beautiful and the whole off limits thing...not gonna stop him, and Apollo soooo won't be down with that.

Josie on the other hand, was merrily going about life at college, yeah she has a crazy mum but life was pretty good. Until a hot guy who is quite obviously totally crazy, comes and turns her world upside down. Next thing she knows Seth is road tripping her to the Covenant in South Dakota (doesn't that hold warm and fuzzy memories) and there's a Titan hell bent on revenge after her.

Sparks are going to fly, and Seth is finally going to be on his way to his happy ending, but first they have a major smackdown with a Titan to get out of the way and a couple of reunions and some truth talk about Seth and his past. But ya know...woooo!

"My mind was still stuck in the world where things like daimons, gods and Titans didn't exist. In a world where I could walk outside and not worry about being nom-nom'd on like Toaster Strudel."

Okay so I tried to do that as spoiler free as possible and I think I ended up making no sense but screw it because Seth is finally getting his happy ending like Alex did! Granted it's going to take a while and I can smell the heartbreak and the pain already, and believe me it's not going to be smooth sailing in the other books, but the romance, unlike Alex and Aiden, was there from the beginning, and they where together, none of the whole angsty wanting thing.

New Adult is totally right for Seth's story, I can't imagine him being YA but I'm sure younger readers are going to be in for a shock if they read this and I'm not talking about the language, y'all are gonna get way better acquainted with Seth.

I loved reading from Seth's view point, I felt like we got to know more about him and get more of a feel for him and everything than in the Covenant books and his narrative was engaging and entertaining and so very Seth. Then we have Josie as another narrator and she reminded me so much of Alex sometimes, which isn't surprising considering.....things. But yeah, she's like Alex but less tough, she's strong don't get me wrong but she's not as tough and rargh as Alex was, I loved Josie's babbling and omg she's like Alex but like not Alex, she has to learn to fight and everything and Seth is so right history is repeating itself!

Anyways, Josie's narrative was hilarious and her inner thoughts made me LOL, and the changeover was always at the perfect moment, when you where thinking about it needing to switch to show the other POV after an epic scene...boom it did, and the multi POV wasn't just the same scenes from two points of view either, it was very well done!

"The nervous knots from before were back, multiplying like mogwais fed after midnight."

So as you can guess, I loved Josie, she's like a tamer version of Alex...more well behaved, I don't even know, it was hard because in the beginning I was thinking she'd be like a second Alex, but while she is similar to Alex, she's totally different, and this makes no sense, but she's softer than Alex, I think is what I'm trying to say. She does the whole sarky, punching thing, and she babbles and has all these funny phrases, but she's not grown up in this life like Alex and she has only just started to face some of the hardship Alex has, and I'm sure Josie is going to toughen up a bit more over the course of the series, but I love her and she's the perfect match for Seth, and I could connect with her easily.

I think it's pretty obvious that I love Seth so let's move on shall we, seeing as I've already said we get more of an understanding of him and so on. Oh and he's a bit different, changed a bit, which was interesting. He did remind me of the Grinch at one point, ya know....."HELP ME MAX I'M FEELING". Anyways, we have a new characters, who are just as well developed and written and full of depth and larger than life as the old characters that we know. I liked Erin, I hope to see more of her in the second book she cracked me up and her and Josie gave me brotp feels.

"Holy fuck, I was probably starting to care"

So old faces surface, Apollo, obviously, but it's so weird because he was hilarious in the Covenant books, and he still is in this, and he was looking after Alex and so on, but in this....we get angry daddy Apollo and it's funny when you realise this is the same dude who got it on with Deacon and kept cock blocking Alex and Aiden! Still love him! Not to mention he legit quotes Star Wars....multiple times! We also see Artemis and Hades, and it sounds like we'll see more of Artemis, after her creepy little prediction, that I'm already dreading, because I actually like Artemis. Hades...well I'm sure he'll pop up again being annoying and collecting on Seth.

Deacon and  Luke where back, and I missed them so much, and it was great to see them again, it was like I'd never been away from the world or the characters, it smoothly just carried on a year on, if that makes sense, it was seamless transporting back in to the world and the world was just....this is hard to explain, but like the world was the same and there was no startling jolt like it'd been changed or anything.

But yeah Deacon and Luke, still loving Deacon's supernatural obsession, Marcus, man I missed Marcus, and Solos and Alex's Dad...that brought the feels, it really did. It was so great to see what these characters where up to in the aftermath of the Ares thing, and I mean....Horticulture.....really Luke?! Even good old Boobs makes a reappearance!

"Probably involved the blood of a dozen virgins or something equally archaic and creepy"

The world is expanded a bit, we see Nymphs this time, and we learn a bit more about the Titans and the Demigods, we see and learn about Shades. I loved learning more about the world, it's a world that is so well created in every single book, it sucks you in and is totally engrossing and it freshened it up a bit to see these new aspects of it and learn new things about it. Not to mention we meet a new, even douchier Titan. Yes it is possible, shocking I know, I hate to think what the others are like.

Most interesting for me when reading was seeing how the world of the Pure's and Half's dealt with the abolition of the Breed Order and Pure's and Half's now being allowed to be together. It was interesting, some people accepted it, but as we see a couple of times, some people don't and it's still a bit of a point of contention and some people still aren't happy and it's probably going to take a while but it was interesting to see.

"Holy shit, I was turning into Aiden St. Delphi. Being all saintly and shit, tampering down urges because it was the right and decent thing to do."

The plot was fast paced, lots happens, we go on a journey with the characters, the romance was less angsty than Alex and Aiden and happened from this book rather than in a book or two's time, there was plenty going on in the plot, and the plot is complex and intricate and the rich mythology is still present. Not to mention the awesome fight scenes. Being New Adult though it's less PG and Seth can really get his swear on.

The Return is everything I had hoped it would be and more. Everything I loved about the Covenant, but taken in a new direction, with some new characters, and what's shaping to be a complex and intriguing plot full of feels both good and bad. It's a fantastic start to the series, the foundations have been built, and it's a seamless continuation to a world we loved so much. Not to mention Armentrout's books always have me laughing in inappropriate public places!

I can't wait for the next book, and it feels so good to get back to this world and these characters!
Alex is mentioned guys, don't worry, but as yet, no appearance from her and I'm not sure how I'd feel if she did make an appearance....might be awkward for Josie? But yaaaaay Seth is getting the happiness he deserves and it feels so good!