Review: The Struggle

The Struggle
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

A bloody path has been chosen… 

The war against the Titans continues, and they remain determined to wreak havoc on the world, but Seth has become something all gods fear. Now the most dangerous, most absolute power no longer resides in those who have been freed from their tombs. 

The Great War fought by the few is coming… 

All may doubt and fear what Seth has become. All except the one woman who might be his final chance at redemption. Josie will do anything to prove that Seth is on their side, but fate has a nasty way of changing lives, of changing people. 

In the end, the sun will fall… 

The only way they can save the future and save themselves is by facing the unknown together. It will take more than trust and faith. It will take love and the kind of strength not easily broken. No matter what, their lives will never be the same. 

For what the gods have feared has come to pass. The end of the old is here and the beginning of the new has been ushered in…

I'm not going to lie, I still really prefer The Covenant series, and I was expecting this to be the final book because it was supposed to be a trilogy but now there's four books...like I'm excited for another book but at the same time this book made me cringe one or two times. 

The Struggle picks up right where we left off and in this instalment we get to learn more about Seth and where he comes from and so on. I've been so intrigued by Seth and where he's from so I got super excited when it was pretty obvious what we where going to learn. I feel like Seth has matured over the course of this series, I've always loved Seth but I love him even more in this series, you can see his changed and grown although he still does have a tendency to do what he wants when it comes to Josie. Like killing Titans when he shouldn't be killing Titans. 

As for Josie she bugged me a lot less in this book, like last book she had such a thing about Alex and Alex is my favourite and forever my favourite so I wasn't all that keen on Josie being funny towards her because she was jealous and so on. She seemed to get over that in this book and it was nice to see them becoming friends. Since the last book she hasn't really changed all that much...although we do get to find out which power she inherited from Apollo. 

I continue to love our little group. Deacon's sass and pop culture references combined crack me up, like there was a zombie situation and he's like "Free from what? The set of The Walking Dead" and I was like oh Deacon. I continue to love Luke and I feel like we don't get to see enough of he and Deacon, especially as they went on their own mission to kidnap a demi-god! That would have been a fantastic chapter. 

Alex and Aiden continue to be cute, I've really missed them and I would kill for a book just about them and how they're doing now and what they get up to and so on. Like I know it won't happen but still. I need it. One thing I liked about this book was the apocalypse happening.....Seth and Aiden...finding...common ground....they where almost like...friends towards the end. Shocking I know. 

We didn't really see much of Apollo and I'm not sure I'm liking him much when we do. Hades though...I really love Hades. I'd love to see more of him, I'm not going to lie. He cracks me up, like when Hercules said "He could kill me" and Hades was just like "Oh the tragedy" I was like yes Hades. Saying what we're all thinking. I'm so intrigued by him! Speaking of Hades...we get a little visit from Caleb! Another reason why we should get another Alex and Aiden book...so we can see more of Caleb because I loved his character! 

Praise the Lord that 'The Hercules' wasn't in this much...when he first appeared in this book I was like "ffs he's such a prat" but then off he went and we didn't see him again. I can handle that. We do get to see Perses again, like on the one hand he did a good thing...on the other he took his sweet time about it and I still want to throttle him. Such a pillock. 

We get some new characters in this book, we briefly get to meet Mitchell, and we get Cora...another demi-god, and I totally ship her and Gable. I was disappointed that with this book we didn't get to see much of Gable after they went through so much to find him last book. He was there for two seconds and then he was gone for the rest of the book...we briefly meet Cora and that's it. I'm slightly worried that with Josie and Seth and all of their drama....they got overlooked in this book and I'm hoping that won't be the case with the next book. 

I have to say....there is one scene that was so like the Mummy Returns it's not even. Apollo totally Ardeth'd Seth and was basically like "you've started a chain reaction that could bring about the next Apocalypse" and Seth is all *arms crossed* *eyebrow raised* chill dude. 

I'm not really sure what to say about this book, like Jennifer is one of my favourite authors, The Covenant is one of the first YA series I read, it's one of my ultimate favourites and I love all of her books. I'm totally here for Seth's series and getting his happy ending but there where a few niggles with this book that made me feel a bit iffy about it. The Josie and Seth drama that went on a bit too long...like it's going to pop up next book because he hasn't told her something, and I feel like it's eclipsed other things in this book. I just feel like not much happened this book...we got a new demi-god but didn't see much of them...some other things happened and then there was the bombshell at the end that had me like nooooooooooo! So like half of me is excited for the next book but the other doesn't have as much excitement. 

Especially with the whole Josie's pregnant thing. Like every book I read recently, the main character ends up pregnant and I'm like....can we not. I really don't like it when a pregnancy is involved and the baby is quite clearly going to be a special snowflake, and it usually ends up making characters change completely. Like I don't know...maybe I have some form of Twilight/Breaking Dawn related PTSD about the whole thing, who knows. I was just so disappointed it took that turn especially as they've been having issues, and they haven't been together that long and then this happens and they're all fine and things are brilliant. I can just clearly see this going the Breaking Dawn way with the pregnancy and everything every time I picture this. 

All in all, there where a few disappointing developments, so I'm hoping in the next book that things will happen. More of Cora. More of what she and Gable can do. Consequences for Seth. More Alex and Aiden. More of Deacon and Luke. Apollo needs to stop being so crappy and make up for all his crappiness. I need for Josie to get a bit stronger. Sure she's training and everything but she still seems a bit not very good shall we say. I'd love to be able to ignore the pregnancy aspect but I'm just having huge flashbacks to Twilight whenever I think about it and I'm fairly sure I know how it's going to play out. So yes...disappointing. 

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 #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! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Heroines

Okay, so this is my first time doing Top Ten Tuesday, and I probably picked the hardest week to join, I mean...10....how can I narrow it down!? You're probably about to see a certain pattern in genre now haha! This is hosted by The Broke And The Bookish! I'd have linked them in the little title picture below, but I'm technologically challenged and couldn't work it out....sorry!

(In no particular order by the way, I'd be here all week if I did that!)

1. Celaena Sardothien- Throne Of Glass
Okay, so the Throne Of Glass books are one of my favourite series, and I love them so much, and Celaena was just too awesome, and I loved her from the first page. I can't wait to see what happens to her next and where she goes. I pretty much want to be her to be honest, she has mad fighting skills. 

2. Lucy Hamilton- The Drake Chronicles
Lucy, oh Lucy, how I love you, she's badass, she has hilarious aim, and she makes me laugh out loud in public places, and refuses to be a damsel in distress. I'm waiting for the day she gets her own spin off with baited breath! 

3. Alexandria Andros- The Covenant
So I'm not quite sure how to word this, but I think this is one of the first YA's I read, I stumbled on it on Amazon along with Drake Chronicles, and I instantly loved not only the books, but Alex as well. I loved Alex instantly because she's a badass, but she's not perfect and it made her more real, not to mention the fact that she is the snark Queen. And the way she can just take all the shit that's thrown at her and ultimately carry on. 

4. Daenerys Targaryen- Game Of Thrones
I love Dany, not just cos you know....dragons, but because when we first meet her she's a young girl, pushed around by everyone else, and through the course of the books so far you see her grow and change, and become this ultimate badass who's freeing people, and she has her dragons and she's gonna burn her way to the throne. 

5. Gwen Frost- Mythos Academy
So the last book in the series was on NetGalley and I got to review it so I pretty much read all the books in one go. I love the books and I love Gwen, she doesn't take shit from anyone, and she's witty and funny, and just awesome. I'm sure there's a pattern emerging here....snarky badasses. 

6. Isabelle Lightwood- The Mortal Instruments
Ah Isabelle, not the main character of the story, but my favourite nonetheless. This could be slightly because my friends have told me that I look like her, but she was my Queen throughout all the  books. She kills demons wearing high heels, like hello....awesome. She's badass through and through, but also has a vulnerable side, and she's perfect omg. 

7. Sydney Sage- Bloodlines
I love Sydney, quite possibly more than I love Rose from the series this book series is a spin off from. Yes I said it. She's smart, witty, and she cracks me up, and I have like the last three books left to read that I haven't got round to yet, and I can't wait to see her stick it to the Alchemists. 

8. Kylie Galen- Shadow Falls
This was a hard one because I had to choose between Kylie and Della, and I love both, but Kylie I did read first so here we are. In the beginning I thought she was kind of useless and was a bit like ugh can we not, but then I grew to love her as she changed and became stronger and stood up for herself and dealt with all the crap in her life while being kinda badass with the ghost sensing skills. 

9. Megan Chase- The Iron Fey
Megan is another one of those characters that you loved from the beginning, and watched develop in to a totally awesome character who takes no shit and does what needs to be done. I loved how strong she was and how she ended up being the one rescuing Ash at one point, and what she did to save everyone. 

10. Paige Mahoney- The Bone Season
Paaiiiiggeeee....I instantly loved her and connected to her, she's everything I love, strong, badass and willing to do what's necessary. She doesn't take shit, and she keeps on going and trying no matter what happens. She also makes me chuckle! 

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!

Half-Blood

Half-Blood
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bookbridgr

Alex Andros is a half-blood courtesy of her pure blood mum getting it on with a mortal. Now if you're a pure- blood, you get these epic godlike powers, seeing as how you're descended from Gods having flings with mortals, but if you're a half -blood like Alex? Well you've got two options....drink some freaky elixir and spend the rest of your life being a slave or train to become a sentinel and hunt daimons. I'm sure you can tell which option Alex picked.

Three years ago, Alex and her mum fled the safety of the Deity Island Covenant, no-one, least of all Alex, knows why, but after a tragic run in with a couple of daimons, Alex is found and dragged back to the Covenant. She doesn't get quite the welcome party she hopes for, narrowly avoiding becoming enslaved and all, luckily for her Aiden steps in and offers to spend his spare time away from his Sentinel duties helping her catch up so she can resume her training....but she's on thin ice. One slip...and it's buh bye kicking Daimon ass and being all revengey, and hello scrubbing toilets for her horrific step father.

Simple right? Weeeeelll did I mention Aiden is a pure-blood? Did I mention that there's a bunch of rules and rule number one is that relationships between halfs and pures are forbidden? Alex can't avoid falling for Aiden, but things get even more complicated when Alex gets a cryptic warning from the Oracle, Seth aka the Apollyon aka a totally badass half who can control all the elements and a super special fifth one, and Alex finds out the real reason her mother fled the Covenant with her. Not to mention everything they knew about Daimons....could be very very wrong. Following the rules, and surviving until graduation just became reaaallly hard.

"The pures believed she communed with the Gods. I believed she communed with a lot of liquor." 

 I love Armentrouts books, I say this every single time! And I've lusted after this series for a while, so when it got shiny new covers wellll......

....I couldn't resist it when I saw it on Bookbridgr, I mean look at how pretty the cover is! And this edition has the prequel to Half-Blood in it as well, which is fun to read before you read Half-Blood...or after, whatever floats your boat.

As soon as you start reading Half-Blood you're thrown in to the action straight away with Alex, and you're pretty much hooked from page one. The opening scene is full of tension and allusions to events we haven't witnessed and it hooks you completely. Especially when Aiden shows up with his badass entrance worthy of a movie. From there, it's fast paced all the way and you're unable to put the book down!

Half-Blood is incredibly unique to everything out there in the YA genre, and you can see it from opening chapter. There's daimons, halfs, pures and Gods. The mythology behind the daimons is rich and like I said, unique, Pures get turned, only halfs can see what they really are after they're turned, hence why they get trained up to hunt them. We've got the whole take on the Gods, and you get fed some little bits of myths. Then we have the Apollyon, who has the Buffy "one born every generation" shebang going on, and gets to control all the elements, something no other half can do, Pures get one element each, and he gets control over the fifth element...Akasha. Like I said, it's some very detailed and rich mythology.

The world building is also astounding. We get this incredibly rich, unique world, shrouded in mystery and things you just NEED to know now, with Greek Gods woven in to it and Greek mythology. It's a modern world, yeah, but it has Greek accents, shall we say? The world that's created will suck you in, and you'll leave kinda wishing you could go to the Covenant, everything is written very vividly.

I love Alex, I really do, she is like my twin and probably the only person who can match me for snark. I love snarky badass characters and Alex is the best of them. She's not perfect, she could be described as having some anger issues, but the imperfections make me love her more, and make her some more realistic and human. Alex is written very realistically, and with plenty of depth as well as being a strong character. Her speech is very current and up to date, and I picked up more than one phrase from her! Alex's inner monologue and narrative is engaging and incredibly entertaining, I'm not talking little chuckles here, I'm talking ugly snort laughing!

"-more than just her merry band of psychos."

Aiden is kind of aloof, at first, and you're fed this little bit of backstory about him, but you still want to  know more, you can see what drives him and shaped him, and how he looks after his brother is and is like a parent is cute, but also kinda sad for him. Aiden is generally adorable, the little things he does for Alex with the uniform and everything for example, and it's way obvious he likes her but doesn't want anything bad to happen to her.

Seth is....Seth. He's intriguing, we don't really know much about him, where he comes from and so on, we just know he's the Apollyon and like Alex, you kinda wanna smack him upside the head sometimes. He and Alex have a connection that's more than what it first appears, shall we say.

Our main characters are all written so vividly they jump off the page, and the same goes for the secondary characters. I particularly love Caleb and his friendship/relationship with Alex, they're hilarious together! Alex is written so well you can connect with her easily and feel what she feels, so Lucian you just want to punch and Marcus I'm just like ugh what a douche. You literally go through Alex's emotions with her, through the good and the bad.

The romance isn't full throttle from the go. It builds slowly, you watch it start, slowly blossom and develop, but there's a pretty huge obstacle in the way. That's not to say there aren't any cute scenes, there totally are, and the two of them are ridiculously adorable, warm and fuzzies all the way, you end up squealing internally along with Alex. We're watching the beginning stages of the "we like each other, but...." phase. They can't get together straight away but the potential is there. Aiden gets Alex, and he's adorably protective but he does know she can hold her own.

There is also the potential for a love triangle, but this one is going to be interesting. It's against the rules for Alex and Aiden to be together and he won't let anything happen in case they get found out and Alex ends up a slave, and with Seth there's the whole connection thing. Alex doesn't have feelings for Seth but their bond, and the fact it will get stronger, is going to be a spanner in the works. There's going to be the whole "is this because of the connection thing or?"

As for the writing, Half-Blood is written cinematically in my opinion, the flow is fantastic, each chapter ends making you want to read on. The plot is fairly complex, there's different things going on, different mysteries to work out, or try to, you have to put the pieces together, and nothings as it seems at first. I mean you could be forgiven for thinking the main deal with the plot is Alex falling for Aiden, some torrid love affair occurs and there's lots of training. No. As I said, we see the start of Aiden and Alex, wisps you could say, there's so much more going on than the synopsis leads you to believe, there's secrets and plots, and a tonne of plot twist you won't see coming and will shock you to the "mouth hanging open, uncomprehending" stage.

Another thing I enjoyed about the book is how there was all the potential to leave it on a cliffhanger for the next book, I was kind of expecting, but instead you get this incredibly beautiful, eyes slightly welling up, ending that finishes the book perfectly.

This'll be one of those books you re-read until it's falling apart!

"Grandma had apparently missed that memo"

As for the prequel, it's incredibly fleshed out, just as much as the actual novel, I find this rare in novellas not going to lie. It basically details Alex being accepted in to the Covenant, the events leading up to, and the death of, her mother, and then the events immediately before Half-Blood, like how she ended up where she was for example. Alex's characterization runs true to the book, she's just as snarky. There's lots of information woven in to this action packed novella, and it's a fantastic continuation of the story. It gives you loads more insight in to Alex as a character and what her life was like for her in the mortal world. There's even some mentions of Aiden *winkwink*. It's also kind of heartbreaking to read about Alex with her mum and see what their relationship was like, not gonna lie!

Half-Blood is a humorous, fun, and un-put-down-able read, with a world and characters that are expertly built, engaging, and suck you in. The characters are as vivid as the world, and you connect to them so easily, the world...well...I kinda wanna live in it! Half-Blood entertains, while perfectly setting up the next book incredibly subtly and almost like an afterthought. Half-Blood is a must read, there's so much more to explore in the world created, and the potential for the story arc is astounding.

Cursed

Cursed
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bookbridgr

You know when you're in a car accident and you die and then your baby sister brings you back to life with her freaky but kind of awesome gift? No? Well Ember does, and ever since baby sis Olivia brought her back she's operated on a strict no touchy rule to avoid the awkward moment when she kills someone just by touching them.

Yep that's right, worlds suckiest "gift" award right here. Everything Ember touches dies, plants, animals....people. Facing a life of never being able to touch anyone ever again, including boys, things are looking pretty bleak for Ember, who also pretty much parents Olivia since their mum went spacey after the accident that killed Ember's father and her....temporarily. But then Hayden Cromwell shows up, if the slightly stalkery tendencies didn't make Ember think he'd gone off the deep end, the whole "your curse is a gift" thing definitely did.

But then Hayden offers to help her learn to control it. But in order to do so, Ember will have to trust Hayden's adopted father who collects gifted kids like a fanboy collects Lord of The Rings action figures. Oh and live in a house with a couple of other gifted kids who really do not want her there, or trust her. And they're quite vocal about their opinions. When Ember finds out the car accident wasn't really an accident, she has no idea who to trust, especially with someone leaving little "presents" in her locker, and someone else trying to kill her.

"No one  that good-looking had a reason to be that creepy." 

I hope y'all enjoy that funny little quote, cos it's all I've got, I meant to pick some others but, well....I got too engrossed in the book. Jennifer is seriously ruining my life with all her awesome books, with all the awesomely perfect/adorable guys, raising my expectations to a ridiculous standard!

I'm sure you've guessed that I'm a huge fan of Jennifer, my review of White Hot Kiss is floating around this blog somewhere, and I've got another on my review pile, I'm literally in heaven. Jennifer's books are always perfect and always pick you right up if it's one of those days.

Right from the start of the book, I was hooked from the first page, sucked straight in to the world created and unable to put the book down. I told myself multiple times that I'd get an early night after many days reading too late, but that really didn't happen, I just.....I couldn't put it down, I kept saying "one more chapter" but then something would happen and I'd HAVE to read the next one!

Cursed is so engaging, and fast paced you whip through it, the flow was perfect. You spend the whole book intrigued and trying to work out who's behind everything, and then being wrong, or being all "I KNEW IT" but then being totally stumped by the motivation until all is revealed. Literally, I would set aside time to read this one in one go because you will not be able to find a suitable place to leave it, and even if you do, you will spend the entire time thinking about it. I promise you!

I connected with Ember from the offset. Seeing what she went through at her school, and how lonely and isolated from everyone she was, really makes you empathize with her, and the talks she has with her mother kinda make you choke up a little bit, not to mention how she's pretty much a mother to her sister. Ember is such a strong character, carrying on with life after everything that happened, and looking after her sister, even though she was facing a life of no college and no boyfriends or anything.

I loved Ember, she had some great lines that made me chuckle, but I truly admired her strength and her will. Jennifer writes her characters so well and with such depth that you connect to them yeah, but you also connect to them emotionally. You feel whatever Ember feels and more than once I kinda wanted to punch certain characters in the face, particularly when Ember is at the Cromwell house. It's a bit of a rollercoaster sometimes. It's kind of impossible to to become emotionally attached to her protags.

The other characters are kind of hard for me to describe, because you form your opinion of them based off Ember, or at least I did, like Ember I didn't particularly trust any of them or know who to trust. I have to say though, all of the other kids with gifts/the secondary characters, where written with just as much depth as Ember, and they all have clearly intriguing backgrounds that I would loooove to know more about! I'm particularly curious about poor Parker, besides our two leads, I really felt for him as well!

Hayden was adorable, even though I started off thinking he was a creepy stalker. At a certain point in the book near the end, I genuinely was following Embers thought process and was like "OH MY GOD NO WAY YOU CREEPY CREEPY HUMAN WHAAAAATTT" and then I was like...oh. My bad. Never mind. I felt so bad for him, and I loved how he was determined to help and wasn't afraid to touch her and actually spoke to her. He had a bit of a "you're a dick" period that he got over, but most of the time he was really cute, and I mean.....the way he handled her scars? Perfect boy.

Ember and Hayden's relationship was just.....sickeningly cute. Warm and fuzzies....check....internally squealing...check....kinda jealous....double check.  Their relationship was kind of rocky, with secrets and everything, but I liked how Hayden wanted to protect her, but didn't smother her and listened to her....well except for one occasion but still.

The plot, as I said, was totally engaging, you had the perfect blend of romance, mystery and action. I personally didn't work out who was behind the locker thing, I thought it was someone else. But I did work out who was "the big bad" purely because I was incredibly focused on the book and I picked up on some clues, however, I wasn't smart enough to put the pieces together regarding "j" and the motivation of said big bad so it was a nice surprise and everything clicked and I was like "oooohhh". So yeah, it's not predictable, but its workout-able if you pay attention, but there where plenty of twists I didn't see coming.

Cursed is a fantastic, engaging and unique book, perfect for making you laugh, or just giving you the warm and fuzzies on a bad day. Yes I know...death....touch of death...warm fuzzies shouldn't be possible, but the sad parts are outweighed.
Cursed features a protagonist that you get so attached to you want to punch fictional characters in the face, with characters that truly jump off the page, and a plot line full of intrigue, mystery, and shocking plot twists.

I didn't want to leave the characters or the world, and I'm not sure if there will be a sequel to Cursed, but I kind of hope there is because I would love more of Ember. Everything was wrapped up at the end, don't get me wrong,  but I'd love to see where Ember goes with regards to controlling her power, and I'd really like to learn more about the other characters and their stories! Please Jennifer....can I have some more?! *puppy eyes*

White Hot Kiss

White Hot Kiss
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy or regret it to be honest.
Source: ARC Courtesy of NetGalley
File Under: Gargoyles just got HOT.

"Shaken and a whole lot disturbed"

All seventeen year old Layla wants is to be normal...but considering her kiss will suck the soul out of anything that actually has one..that's not looking likely. Throw in the fact that half demon, half gargoyle Layla lives with a bunch of gargoyles and has other abilities no-one else possesses, and she's not going to become Miss Popularity any time soon.

Layla has been raised by the Warden's, a race of gargoyles charged with hunting demons and keeping the (occasionally ungrateful) public safe. Layla's always tried to fit in, hiding her own dark side from everyone she loves, but it's becoming increasingly obvious to her that she never will, especially with all the talk of her best friend Zayne mating with another gargoyle.

Zayne, the swoon worthy, incredibly gorgeous, totally awesome sauce, and completely off limits Warden, who happens to be her best friend, and who she happens to have a slightly minor...okay major, crush on. You see the problem.

But then Roth mysteriously shows up to save her ass, being suspiciously polite for a demon, and way hotter than he has any right to be....and did I mention he has a snake tattoo that comes to life? He seems to know all about her, and all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but ya know...Roth is missing one crucial thing....a soul. Which means kissing him totally won't be an issue. Not to mention he's been tasked with protecting her from the demon trying to kill her.

Speaking of a demon trying to kill her, here's the thing. Turns out she's responsible for the violent demon uprising, and something about an apocalypse. Trusting Roth, much less getting all touchy feely with him, could not only brand her a traitor to her family, but ruin her chances with Zayne....or you know..ruin their friendship. But more importantly, if she's wrong about Roth, trusting him could be a one way ticket to the end of the world.

"See, I was raised in Hell. You could say I'm socially awkward."

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Jennifer Armentrout before? I stumbled into the Covenant series back when the second book was just being released and I loved it, so when I saw a new book from her pop up on NetGalley, I couldn't click "Request" fast enough. I had expectations for this book...and all of them where met.

Armentrout is incredible at creating worlds that you can disappear into, and picture every detail of clearly, without giving you pages of description, and this was one world I loved being sucked in to. Armentrout created a world where it's common knowledge Warden's are Gargoyles, and demon's walk around eating McDonalds. I could picture everything clearly, the compound, the school, the city, all from a few words woven in to the narrative.

Speaking of the narrative, as usual, Armentrout's writing was excellent. The trademark fast pace and slick flow where present, as was the trademark narrative. Armentrout has a knack for writing a narrative that has you laughing at the phrases used, but also storing them away to whip out at a later date. The language used was current and up to date, making it relateable to readers, but you weren't bombarded with slang words and phrases every single sentence, the balance was just right.

"There was a demon in McDonald's. And it had a powerful hunger for Big Macs"

Tell me that opening sentence doesn't draw you in? Tell me it doesn't make you curious? You'll be lying if you say it doesn't!

I loved Layla. She's everything I love in a leading lady. She's funny, she's snarky and witty, she's badass even though she doesn't know it most of the time, and she's brave and courageous. She's written with so much depth you can get lost in the character. She's dealing with feelings for her best friend, and feeling like an outsider in her family, as well as dealing with secrets and lies and demons trying to kill her. But she bounces up and hits back.

Roth I found developing into a deeper character when you learn who he really is and how he was created and how he must feel everyday. My perspective on both Zayne and Roth changed as Layla's did, with Roth minute being a bad guy, and then suddenly coming to realise maybe he's not, and Zayne being wonderful one minute and wanting to punch him in the face next. Roth was also incredibly funny/witty, between Roth and Layla, I found myself chuckling away!

"Okay. Which one of you was fed after midnight? Because you're worse than a mogwai" 

Both Roth and Zayne, as well as Sam and Stacey, where all written with depth. Stacey and Sam had their thing going on, Roth has the whole "help I was spawned as a replacement" thing going on, and then Zayne has the whole "my dad wants me to mate with some chick, but I have feelings for my best friend but she might suck my soul out, and oh look now she's getting it on with a demon" thing. They could all stand alone, and it's going to be interesting to see if Zayne will stand up to his father about mating or if he'll fight for Layla. But then...I'm kinda Team Roth.

While demon's aren't new, in fact a version of them is present in Armentrout's other series, the concept of gargoyles is. Set aside the fact that I love Armentrout's books, I was intrigued when I read the word gargoyles. I have never read a YA book that involves gargoyles, and I've never heard of it being done.

Armentrout gave us a creature we're all familiar with, and she created a totally unique mythology for them, and for the different types of demon's and for the world she has created. I guarantee you will not have read anything like this book, and that's why I love it, and why I love all of Armentrout's book, each has a rich and intricate mythology that is totally unique. Screw Fey, and vampires and werewolves and what not, gargoyle's are badass, and they're also waaayyy better than all three previously mentioned put together. New favourite right here.

The plot starts out pretty basic with the whole best friend love thing, but then develops pretty quickly into a web of intricacy with different threads suddenly appearing and weaving in to the plot, with Layla's heritage, Roth, the demon uprising and so on. You end up with a complex plot, that answers most of your questions, but leaves the perfect opening for the next book.

The plot twists and turns are impossible to predict, I found myself gasping away, with my hand over my mouth quite a lot, I love it when books surprise me as it's so rare these days, but I honestly never saw any of the plot twists coming. It was so unpredictable, it kept you glued to the pages until the very end, where you where suddenly hoping more pages would miraculously appear out of nowhere so it wouldn't end.

White Hot Kiss is a fantastic start to a new series that's rich with unique mythology and a complex plot, there's intrigue, there's romance, there's an example of a perfectly written love triangle and there's plenty of action. You never know what's going to happen. You never want it to end. You can't put the book down to do ANYTHING. And the on point, up to date narrative while have you chuckling away, even while other parts will have you shouting "noooooooooooo" and wanting to chuck the book out the window in frustration.
Think Supernatural, mixed in with Gargoyle's (the kids cartoon), and with a splash of National Treasure/Indiana Jones/ Lara Croft. Take your pick of relic finders.

That my friends, is every ingredient of the perfect book. Get on it!