Elixir / Apollyon Reviews & Giveaway

Elixir

(The Covenant #3.5)

Jennifer L Armentrout

Release Date:

November 27, 2012

Publisher:

Spencer Hill Press

Pages:

74

Source:

My Personal Copy

Reading Level:

Young Adult

Description:

Aiden St. Delphi will do anything to save Alex. Even if it means doing the one thing he will never forgive himself for. Even if it means making war against the gods.

Teaser Sentence(s):

'My fist connected with his jaw before I even knew what I was doing. His head jerked back as he staggered to the side. I shot forward, grabbing him by his shirt, and slammed him into the wall, rattling several paintings.'

My Thoughts:

If you follow the Covenant series, then this is a novella you really should read. I usually deem novellas unnecessary, but in this case I think you need to read Elixir to get the full effect of Apollyon. You will not lose out much on valuable information, but you will lose out on emotions. In Apollyon, Aiden's feelings and behavior reflect from events that happen in Elixir. It's the same with Alex. You get a much clearer picture of who she is while connected to Seth. Plus this novella is written from Aiden's point-of-view and it's free to download! You can get your copy HERE.

 Apollyon

(Covenant #4)

Jennifer L Armentrout

Release Date:

April 4, 2013

Publisher:

Spencer Hill Press

Pages:

348

Source:

My Personal Copy

Reading Level:

Young Adult

Description:

Fate isn't something to mess with... and now, neither is Alex.

Alex has always feared two things: losing herself in the awakening and being placed on the Elixir. But love has always been stronger than Fate. And Aiden St. Delphi is willing to make war on the gods-and Alex herself-to being her back.

The gods have killed thousands and could destroy entire cities in their quest to stop Seth from taking Alex's power and becoming the all-powerful God Killer. But breaking Alex's connection to Seth isn't the only problem. There are a few pesky loopholes in the whole "an Apollyon can't be killed" theory, and the only person who might know how to stop the destruction has been dead for centuries.

Finding their way past the barriers that guard the Underworld, searching for one soul among countless millions, and then somehow returning will be hard enough. Alex might be able to keep Seth from becoming the God Killer... or she might become the God Killer herself. ~book blurb

Teaser Sentence:

'Oh, I was two seconds from jumping on his back and strangling him from behind... with love, of course.'

My Thoughts:

This series just keeps getting better and better!

When I started reading The Covenant series, one thing that interested me the most was the Greek Gods. Since childhood, I have had an obsession with Greek Mythology. Apollyon absolutely fed my need for the gods. Of course Apollo was in Apollyon, he has made appearances in the past couple Covenant books. There was also Hermes, Artemis, Ares, Dionysus, Persephone and within the first 50 pages Apollo and Thanatos are throwing god bolts and the 2 remaining Furies are in action.

I do not want to give away any spoilers, so I am keeping this short and sweet. If you have not ever read this series, you need too! There is still one book left to come out this summer, so you still have time to get caught up! You can start out by downloading the free prequel novella Daimon HERE. 

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who likes to read young adult novels. This is one of my favorite series in that genre. I am excited for book #5 Sentinel, but at the same time I do not want this series to end. 

I have an extra Covenant bookmark set. Who wants it? This giveaway is going to be US ONLY. (Sorry international followers. I will do something awesome soon to make up for it!)

If you are under 18, make sure you have your parents' permission, because I will have to get the winners physical address to mail the bookmarks to you. Good-Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Deity (Covenant #3)

Author: 
Jennifer L Armentrout

Release date: 
Novemeber 2012

Publisher: 
Spencer Hill Press

Pages: 
330

Source: 
My personal copy

Reading level: 
Young Adult

Description:

"History is on repeat, and things didn't go so well the last time."

Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner...and so is Aiden.

If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But  as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed...and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate...

Teaser Sentence:

'"You shouldn't be doing that." The door handle jingled. It wasn't locked. "Alex!"

"I'm naked," I warned.

Silence and then, "Is that supposed to make me not want to come in there?"'

My thoughts:

It is hard to talk about the 3rd book in a series, without giving away spoilers from the other books, so this one may be a little short. 

I think Deity is the best I have read so far in the Covenant series. I sometimes think JLA is trying to send her readers into an emotional breakdown. I wanted to scream, cry, kick and throw a fit throughout this book. 

There were finally a few gods that had speaking roles. I have loved Greek mythology longer than I can remember, so I was super thrilled when some of the gods started showing up. 

I have decided I am firmly team Aiden. And Deacon and Luke-yep, I like that.

If you have not read this series, add it to your TBR list!

You can check out my review for Half-Blood here, and my review for Pure here.

Pure

Description: 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. -back of the book


Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
Release date: April 2, 2012
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 329
Source: My personal copy
Reading level: Young Adult

Teaser Sentence(s): 'How in the world did they just jump from politics, to a ball, and now to daimon attacks? And here I'd thought I had the attention span of an ant on Red Bull.'

My thoughts: I am going to keep this one short, so I do not get carried away and give any spoilers. I hate spoilers! 
 Once again, I am very pleased with Jennifer Armentrout. She has not disappointed me yet. This book was killer on my heart and love emotions. At some point in this book I turned team Seth and started sticking my tongue out at Aiden. I can't wait to see what Deity has in store for Alex, Aiden and Seth. I couldn't be anymore torn between this crazy forbidden love triangle. 
 I was thrilled the gods made a small appearance. They were lesser gods-called Furies, but I was happy with the small taste I got. And they were pretty kick-ass while they were there. I am keeping my fingers crossed for an appearance of a greater god in a future book. 
 My only complaint is, I wish there would have been more information on what the daimons where doing. There was no lacking on the daimon attacks and battles. I am sure they were carrying out their plans stated in Half-Blood, but I would have liked some confirmation. And my last thought I am going to share: Caleb. Just *sigh* Caleb. 
 I love this series and would highly recommend it. As soon as I finished the last page, I asked myself "Why didn't I order the next book in this series too?" 


Rating:

Daimon / Half-Blood

Description: "Love in my world usually ended up with someone hearing 'I smite thee!' as she was cursed to be some lame flower for the rest of her life." For three years, Alexandria has lived among mortals-pretending to be like them and trying to forget the duty she'd been trained to fulfill as a child of a mortal and a demigod. At seventeen, she's pretty much accepted that she's a freak by mortal standards... and that she'll never be prepared for that duty. According to her mother, that's a good thing. But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return-the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death... because she's being hunted by the very creatures she's once trained to kill. The daimons have found her. -Amazon

Author: Jennifer L Armentrout

Release date: May 6, 2011
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 86
Source: Free copy from Publisher's website. Get it here.
Reading level: Young Adult 

Teaser sentence: 'Matt would go to school on Monday and tell everyone how I'd gone Xena Warrior Princess on the douchebags.'

Description: The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-Bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1: Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem-staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck. -Amazon

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release date: October 18, 2011

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Pages: 304

Source: My personal copy

Reading level: Young Adult

Teaser sentence(s): 'The grin increased to a full smile. And... oh, man. He had dimples. The air in my lungs died.'

My thoughts: Okay, here is a list of things I am obsessed with: (1) Jennifer L Armentrout (2) Greek and Roman mythology (3) A great Young Adult Novel (4) and probably my most favorite, Forbidden Love. The Covenant series has all of those things and more. I was a very happy girl when I finished Half-Blood. 

  Daimon (pronounced DEE-mun) is not a necessary read. You could start the series off at book one, Half-Blood, and you would not be too confused. The novella does give you incite to what happens in the few weeks before the story actually starts, and there are referrals to some of these events in Half-Blood. All-in-All I do not think it would ruin the story if you couldn't get your hands on a copy of Daimon. 

  So far, I haven't read anything by Jennifer L Armentrout that I haven't went all fan-girl over. I love her writing style and I love her kissing scenes. Alex is a great kick-ass girl character, and I completely fell for Aiden. The characters are great, the story is great. Half-Blood gets the rarely given 5 star-rating. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Pure. If I had it, I would be reading it right now!

Rating: