Armentrout, Jennifer L. Pure.Spender Hill press. 2012. ISBN 0983157227
Reader’s Annotation: Can love overcome Fate? Just how much of a sacrifice will Aiden and Alex be willing to be with one another?
Plot Summary: In this sequel to Half-Blood, Alex still isn’t too happy finding out that she is a second Apollyon and destined to be Seth’s other half. Especially when she is still dealing with her forbidden feelings for Aiden. Add this turmoil of feelings to the trauma of being “tagged” by Daimons, having to kill her mother and being hated by most of her classmates, Alex isn’t living the happiest of lives. Now with the threat of half-bloods being able to be turned into Daimons the Pures are becoming paranoid and making treatments of Half-Bloods even worse. Can Alex survive Daimon attacks, attempts to turn her into a mindless slaves by both known and unknown Pures and her forbidden love for Aiden?
Critical Evaluation
I had some hesitation in reading the second book in this series after reading Half-Blood due to the almost unbelievable similarities in the stories and characters. While Vampire Academy has been one of my favorite series reading Half-Blood was like re-reading Vampire Academy with just different names.
I am glad to say that Pure was shockingly enjoyable and was a hard book to put down. Some similarities remain but Alex’s snark, strength and vulnerability all serve to make her a character that endears her to the reader. She’s not perfect but it’s her headstrong behavior and the fact that she does make mistakes, sometimes big ones, due to not thinking things through that make her that much more believable. She comes across as someone real and not just some character in a book.
Armentrout also does a beautiful job creating this world that blends mythology and reality and shows what could happen with all these descendents of the gods. She also introduces a society where there are strong restrictions about the mixing of Pures and half-bloods, the prejudices of those living in this society and at times the cruelty that can be committed in upholding these rules. I found myself wanting to reach in and strangle a few characters as we see how they treated those who are considered slaves simply because of who they were born as.
The excitement and action that takes place in the story will ensnare those who love the blend of the paranormal and Greek mythology.
About the author
Jennifer L. Armentrout resides in Martinsburg, West Virginia and writes both adult and young adult books. She writes adult romance books under the name of J. Lynn. Her book release schedule is packed with seven releases scheduled in 2012.
While the Covenant series is a paranormal series that blends a mix of greek mythology and vampire-like creatures her Lux series takes a different road and is about aliens who are living on Earth. It’s a perfect series for those are looking for an introduction into a paranormal series with hints of science fiction without being too sci-fi heavy.
Genre
Paranormal
Curriculum Ties
English
Book talking idea
Discuss the restrictions and prejudiced laced on half-bloods.
Reading level
Grades 9 and up.
Challenge Issues
N/A
Why did I include this book?
As mentioned above it is very similar to the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead which is one of my favorite series. I was curious to see where Armentrout would go with series to distinguish it from Vampire Academy. With the craze over Twilight I think this would make a good selection for those are fans of Twilight.
Young Adult Materials 2012 