Review Detail

Originally Posted at my blog Concise Book Reviews by Michelle
http://concisebookreviewsbymichelle.blogspot.com

This book is a great book that will get you excited to read Half-Blood. I have not read any of these yet, so I just started with this one. Glad I did, it was short, but full of action, and a good introduction into the world Alex lives in.

I like Alex, (Alexandria Andros) she is a strong willed young girl who is a half-blood (half human, half God), her mother is a Hematoi (pure-blood). This gives the back story to her life, and how her mother got murdered. We start Half-Blood with her mom already dead, and Alex fighting off Daimon’s that are after her. This book will leave off, right before Half-Blood starts. She is in the warehouse, getting ready to fight off the Daimons.

I really love how Alex kicks 2 bully boys butts on the beach, to the horror of her boyfriend, who I would think she just emasculated him by doing that. He was upset, and broke up with her, as he didn’t like violence. Well, she had lots of training, she was in training to be a Sentinal possibly, but her mother took her and ran from the Covenant 3 years before, the have been hiding from them since. She has to work at suppressing her natural strength and speed of the Gods. It’s hard to fit in the Mortal world, she can’t be herself. Daimons are what used to be Pure-Bloods, but turned from the gods, and they killed Pure-bloods for their aether life force. Half-Bloods like Alex are the only ones who can see them for what they really are, before their elemental magic disguises them to look like a normal pure-blood.
Here is a quote of Alex’s description of daimons

Kindle location 427 of 1056:

They couldn’t see what I saw. No Mortal could. Not even a pure-blood could. Only half-bloods could see through the elemental magic and witness the trued horror- skin so pale and so thin that every vein popped through the flesh like a baby black snake. His eyes were dark, empty sockets and his mouth, his teeth…
This is one of the things I’d been trained to fight at the Covenant. This was a thing that thrived and fed on aether-the essence of the gods, the very life force running through us-a pure-blood who had turned his back on the gods. This is one of the things I was obligated to kill on sight. A daimon-there was a daimon here.

I found I really liked 17 year old Alex, and love that she is tough as nails. I felt bad at what happens to her mother. Alex and her mother had such a nice relationship, so caring, and understanding. But funny too, as her mom was oblivious to mortal things, so some stuff said will be over her head. Here is a funny quote where she is telling her mother about the 2 boys she beat up:

Kindle location 339 of 1032

“They were total douchbags. I swear.”
“Lexie!”
“What?” I giggle at her expression. “They are. And douchebag isn’t a cuss word.”
She shook her head. “I don’t even want to know what it is, but it sounds revolting.”

I love that she is so close to her mom, which made it even more painful to read when she dies. I recommend this book to anyone who has read this series, or wants too, and to start with this one, is nice. I feel I know Alex well, I just started Half-Blood, and feel more in touch with her now that I read this one. It’s a free ebook, so go get it. It’s a download from Spencer Hill