Why Jennifer L. Armentrout & Her Books ROCK!

It's no secret that I tend to crush (hard) on my "book boys" but I went TOTAL fangirl on Jennifer L. Armentrout today!  *flails*  Like, I want to bake her cupcakes or something!  BTW, I'm not the type of fangirl who screams/cries/stalks people but I do bake and when I want to show my appreciation for someone, I bake them cupcakes. (or write a blog post about them. *giggles like a girl*)

Here goes...

~Her name is Jennifer. Um, hellew? Best.Name.EV-AH!

~Her middle initial is "L"?! *gasps* does that stand for "Lynn"?!  IDK but OHMYGOSH MY MIDDLE NAME IS LYNN!  *squeals*  takes a breath  *calms down*

~She lives in West Virginia and she's proud of it!  DUDE!  Do you even KNOW how awesome that is?!  (My husband has family from there and let's just say, "pride" isn't the first thing that comes to their mind.)

~Her husband is a cop and a K-9 one at that.
Man in uniform brandishing weapon + Man's BFF used as a Weapon = *MAJOR PROPS*  (As the daughter of a cop I KNOW the awesome that IS the job her husband does.) I also wonder if said husband w/butt kicking job wasn't the inspiration for Aiden's character? ;)

~ She writes wicked cool stories. Some are about half-bloods, pures and demi-gods  (think mythology) who battle daimons (demons) and others are about aliens of light who battle aliens of darkness.  *do not even roll your eyes before you've read the books*
 
Speaking of the books... (My review of Pure will be in a separate post)

I'd already read Obsidian and Shadows but when I saw ALL THE PEOPLE on the Twitter FREAKING OUT about Pure, I thought, "Hmm, maybe I'll check out The Covenant Series."  

I mean, what did I have to lose? I'd just read a couple of other books that were a little on the "heavy" side and I needed something else anyway.  Kinda like when you're served a dinner that's not quite what you were hoping for but you barrel through it to get to dessert because, really, who doesn't like dessert? (There are a few people out there who don't but I am convinced they are aliens.)  In fact, if I know what dessert is and it's something I lurve, I'll often times eat that first. :)

So, I went on Amazon and saw that there were three books in the series so far, Daimon, Half-Blood and Pure and after a couple of clicks, life ceased to exist for the next 30 hours as I read them in order because HOLY HALF-BLOOD were they good!  I was completely sucked in like a baby daimon sucks the aether out of a pure.  These books have it all!  There's love, romance, battles, heartbreak and kissing, lots of kissing. *fans face*

The heroine is Alex, this total badars girl who doesn't take junk from anyone yet she still has a girlie girl side to her.  She's incredibly brave, knowing she was born to rid her world of evil no matter the cost, even if it means possibly losing her own life.  She challenges authority, breaking lots of rules but not just because she's trying to be difficult, but because those rules are wrong and unfair to begin with.  She's witty and sarcastic, with a great sense of humor and while she knows she's not riding the ugly train, she has no idea just how beautiful she really is.  

The two main guys, Aiden and Seth agree she's the most beautiful girl they've ever seen and are constantly having "words" with each other.  Their exchanges are very entertaining and create quite the interesting love conundrum.  Why didn't I say love triangle?  Wellll, because it's complicated. 


(If Alex had a Facebook profile, her relationship status would totes read: "It's Complicated")

The love conundrum involves a forbidden love and a fated love with Alex caught in the middle. The gods, or fate seem to be in control but we won't know for sure until the final book. Both Aiden and Seth have their pros and cons but if I had to choose, after having read to this point, I'd have to go with Aiden.  I just.lurrrve.him.  (If he dies, I will probably die too so please don't kill him, K?)


So, I've come to the conclusion that Jennifer L. Armentrout is made of awesomesauce and her books are like dessert for me - just the right about of decadence and deliciousness and if given the choice, I will read them first. ;) *licks fingers*


 My Review for The Covenant Series: (My Pure review will be in a separate post)


4 STARS!  Cool Cover

In "Daimon: The Prequel To Half-Blood" (Covenant # 0.5)  Alex and her Mom, Rachelle have been away from the Covenant for three years, living in Miami among the mortals.  All that changes when they're viciously attacked and Alex is forced to flee and return to the Covenant, the one place her mother never wanted her to go. The closer she gets though, the more dangerous her journey, as she's hunted down by the very creatures she was born and trained to kill.  

The daimons have found her and will stop at nothing until she's dead but Alex, being the strong and stubborn half-blood that she is won't give up that easily.  Thankfully, she gets a little help from some familiar faces, one in particular whose haunted her almost every day for the past three years. 

Turns out though, her fight isn't just against the daimons and she'll have to face the consequences of having left the Covenant in the first place, a fate that could be worse than death. 


  5 STARS!  BEAUTIFUL COVER

In "Half-Blood", Seventeen year old Alex is back at the Covenant, the one place her mother warned her never to return, the place they fled for three years, although Alex was never told why.  Here she's among her "kind", half-bloods, as well as pures and there are rules they must follow...so.many.rules which have never been Alex's strong suit.  The number #1 rule of the Covenant is: Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.  This creates a little problem for Alex considering she's got the hots for Aiden, the dark haired, gray-eyed Sentinel whose blood runs pure.  

I liked Alex in "Daimon" and I LOVED her in "Half-Blood"!  She shows great strength, both emotionally and physically considering all she's been thorough and even her stubbornness is less a weakness than it appears to be.  She's constantly putting herself in danger for those she loves and even for a few people she doesn't particularly care for.  She's a Sentinel at heart and knows it's her duty to protect others no matter the cost.  While she's often perceived as reckless or immature for breaking the rules, in reality she's fighting the injustice of the old ways.  She believes things should be fair and equal for everyone, that one breed shouldn't consider themselves better than the other and that's admirable.  


The guys in this series aren't too shabby either...


Caleb is Alex's long time BFF and everyone should be so lucky to have one just like him.  He knows her better than anyone else, is loyal almost to a fault and he's hilarious! 

Aiden is the one all the girls drool over but can only dream about and I can't say I blame them.  He's tall, dark and all kind of hotsauce but he also has a tortured past, allowing him to understand Alex in a way that few others can.  It's obvious that he has feelings for Alex but he's wants to do what's best for her, even if it means denying what he feels in order to keep from breaking the rules. To keep her safe. *swoon*

Seth is the new guy on the island and he's all mystery, electricity, snark and hormones.  (Alex doesn't know what everyone else sees in him because all he does for her is annoy the crap out of her.)  He's tall, blond and beautiful and has these strange markings that show up whenever he and Alex touch.  He's the visual opposite of Aiden and they're not exactly ready to strike up a bromance but their witty banter is highly entertaining.

Alex has a lot on her plate in Half-Blood but remembering not to break all the rules before graduation may be the least of her worries.  If she fails in her duty to become a Sentinel, she could face a life of servitude.  Even worse, if she gets turned into a daimon herself, she'll be hunted by Aiden and that would be all kinds of awkward.