Review: Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Pure
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout Series: Covenant, #2

Blurb: There is need. And then there is Fate...

Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her.

When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon... and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude... or killing her.

When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

Oh, my gods, this was amazing. Seriously. I stayed up half the night to finish reading this. That's how amazing it was. Most of the time with a book I think "I should really get some sleep" and then I put the book down and go to sleep, but with Pure? No way. I couldn't do it. It had me sucked in and refused to let me go. In fact, I almost grabbed Deity right then and started it, but I knew that if I did, there would be no putting it down.

With Half-Blood, I remember thinking that the pacing was a little slow in the beginning and I also remember thinking in the beginning that it had a Vampire Academy feel to it, but Pure was perfectly paced in my opinion and the Vampire Academy feel wasn't present at all in this installment.

The school year has already begun and Alex is taking her classes like a normal student, while training after classes are over with Aiden and Seth. She isn't thrilled with the idea of being around Seth, but if she is to be the Apollyon too, he has to show her the ropes. Not to mention, he helps to keep the nightmares about her mother away. But even though she knows that the fates have aligned for her and Seth, she can't get the forbidden pure-blood Aiden out of her mind or her heart. Everywhere she goes, she looks for his familiar face, hoping to catch a few minutes of his time, knowing that the consequences of even being seen talking to each other could mean servitude for her if her feelings for him were suspected. If that isn't enough for her to deal with, daimon attacks keep happening in the Covenants, including the one she is at, but the Council is showing little interest in them, believing they are unimportant, even though the gods have unleashed the furies, who will kill anything deemed as a threat or that gets in their path: daimon or not. Oh, and there's that little problem that someone doesn't want Alex to reach the age of eighteen in which she will Awaken and transfer all of her powers to Seth, making him the God Killer. Alex's every action is being watched, and one wrong move could put her into a drugged-out life of servitude forever making it impossible to make the changes she hopes to see happen within the Council and for the half-bloods.

I guess you could say that I enjoyed the sequel better, which rarely happens. It's full of mysteries, action and a whole lot of one sexy Apollyon named Seth. You can see their connection growing and not just in terms of their both being the Apollyon. He's there for her in her times of need, always watching her back and keeping her safe (even if he is a bit stubborn, smug, and conceited and gets under her skin). He's always there for her, showing her a soft, vulnerable side to him that he doesn't let anyone see. I'm really hoping we start to get an idea as to who is trying to harm Alex in the next installment, and figure out what the heck the oracle meant the last time she spoke to her. Because it kind of made sense, but then it didn't. I really think those people who claimed that this series is exactly like Vampire Academy didn't read enough of it. They should really give it another try. It's fast becoming one of my favorites!


I rate this book:

The Covenant Series

My review of Half-Blood

Novellas

Sentinel is expected to be released November 2, 2013

Spoiler Time

Favorite Quotes:

"So, you busted up my training for no apparent reason? I call bullshit on that." Seth dropped his arm over my shoulder. "You can call whatever you want. Let's go get something to eat. You can still do that, right? Or are you grounded from showing your face in the cafeteria?" "I'm not supposed to be hanging out with friends." "Then I guess it's a good thing that you and I aren't really friends."

"Ever since I've met you, I've wanted to break every rule." Aiden turned away, the muscles in his neck tensing. He sighed. "You'll become the center of someone's world one day. And he'll be the luckiest son of a bitch on this earth."

"So... uh, you're a Team Edward kind of guy?" He snorted. "No. I'm Team James or Team Tyler's Van, but apparently neither of them won by the look of it. She's still alive."

"You know what?" His breath was warm against my cheek. "There are a lot of stupid things to do, but I really want to do the stupidest thing possible." "What's that?" "I want to kiss you."

"You know what? Lets go." I shot Aiden a defiant look. "Come on Seth. Let's go continue our lovers' quarrel." "Yes my love, that sounds fantastic. Don't forget to grab a dagger so you can poke my eyeballs out."

"Oh. My. Gods." I jerked my hand away, scrambling back. "I have a rune on my hand. It's an Apollyon rune, isn't it?" Seth rested his hands on his knees. "I think so. I have one like that." "But why is it still there? Why is it there at all?" I flipped my palm over several times, shook it, but the faint blue tattoo was still there. "You can see it, right? Like right now, you can see it?" "Yes. It hasn't faded." Seth leaned forward, catching my hand. "Stop shaking it like it's a damn Etch-A-Sketch. That doesn't make them disappear."

My thoughts on Alex/Seth:

As you can probably notice, if you've read the books that is, most of my quotes had to do with Seth and Alex. And that's probably because I have a fictional crush on Seth. Seriously. He's sarcastic and witty and incredibly annoying and stubborn, yet Alex and Seth just click. I love their banter and their passion and how they and fight (literally) and argue one second, and the next their pinning the other down on the ground and you can feel the tension radiating off of them. Seth may seem cold and callous on the exterior but deep down he's sweet and kind and incredibly vulnerable and we get to see that in Pure. He takes care of Alex throughout the entire book. Every time something happens to her, he's there to comfort and soothe her. Even when she tries to push him away. He doesn't leave her alone to do anything stupid (for the most part). I think I've finally decided on a team: Team Seth.

My thoughts on Alex/Aiden:

While I really like Aiden, and I think he's a really great guy I just can't seem to see him and Alex together. I'm not sure why because they obviously have deep feelings for each other but I just can't get into their relationship like I can with her and Seth. And usually I'm all for forbidden romance, but this time I'm just not feeling it.