Daimon: The Prequel to Half-Blood (Covenant #0.5)

Steph’s Review:
This prequel was really, really unnecessary to me. It is just a very short story of Alex’s life in the mortal world before she is dragged back to the Covenant. Problem is, Half-Blood recaps the gist of this entire book, so if you read Half-Blood before Daimon like Dani and I, this prequel was especially dull since you already know everything that happens. If Daimon wasn’t out there, Half-Blood would still give you plenty of background on Alex’s life so that you wouldn’t even have to read the prequel.
I have to give some points to Jennifer though, because if you didn’t read this after Half-Blood, it was probably a lot more suspenseful and exciting. Alex is pretty badass in the human world as well (yeah, she’s beating people up), and as resourceful as she is in the other books in the series. I did sympathize and feel bad for her in this book sometimes, since this is basically where Alex’s life starts to come apart at the seams. It was a pretty good introduction into the Covenant series I suppose. It gives you glimpses of what the Covenant was like and how its system worked, but not so much that it just blew the plot of the actual first book. It leaves you quite interested in finding out the rest of Alex’s story (if you actually did/are planning to read it before Half-Blood that is).
To any readers that haven’t actually read Half-Blood, and you want to start reading the Covenant series (which I wholeheartedly recommend!), you should definitely read Daimon before Half-Blood. If you don’t, and you backtrack to the prequel, Daimon will seem very boring to you. I don’t want anyone thinking less of the Covenant series, which is one of my all-time favorite series, because of one iffy installment. So, this series needs to be read in sequential order.

Dani’s Review:
I believe that few books can be described in a single word, but Daimon is an exception. My one word to describe Daimon: boring. I feel like it is cruel to call one of Jennifer Armentrout’s books boring because i am a HUGE fan of her Covenant and Lux series, but that’s what I thought about this prequel. I had read Half-Blood before Daimon, so I already knew what was going to happen. Daimon was intended to be read BEFORE Half-Blood because it was released previously to get readers hyped up for a new book series, but unfortunately, that’s not how it was with Steph and I. As a result, I found Daimon boring.

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

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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

Daimon is a short prequel to the book Half Blood. This book starts off on a beach with Alex, a half-blood. She is then dumped by her boyfriend and she goes home only to be then attacked by daimons. She is now on the run from the daimons, not the convent any more which she is now trying to reach. This book is short and sweet and has given me a heads up of what is to come in the next book. It has got me wanting to read the next one. If you want to learn a bit of Alex's complicated past, well then Daimon is for you. It is written well and I so recommend it.