Half-Blood (Covenant, #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout - Review

I began reading Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout just after finishing Obsidian, which was a stellar read. I have to say that while I did enjoy reading this book, I was somewhat disappointed with the similarities between Half-Blood and the Vampire Academy series. As a new fan of Richelle Mead, I was pretty dumbfounded with the obvious similarities.


Half-Blood tells the story of a sort of demigod race. Pure Hematoi have exceeding strength and powers. The offspring of Hematoi and Humans however do not. They have two options in life: to be trained as a warrior and protector of the Hematoi, called a Sentinel, or be forced into servitude. For Alexandria, serving the Hematoi has never been an option.After her mom took her out of the Covenant academy to take out on the run, she returns to school finding herself far behind her classmates and in need of some extra help. The school assigns Aiden, a particularly gifted Sentinel, to train her. From there, romance, danger and adventure ensue!

Now I've read enough reviews online of this book gushing over the fact that Half-Blood is a slightly altered version of the Vampire Academy books, I'm not going to spend my review talking about this. It's been said, it did bother me, but I was prepared and I tried focusing on Half-Blood as separate work... which sort of worked...

While this book didn't blow me out of the water, I still enjoyed reading it. The romance between instructor and student was interesting and I really liked the character Alexandria. While she does have a huge chip on her shoulder, she also has a strength that I like to see in the heroines that I read about.

I don't think I'll be continuing on in the series, but I was happy that I read this book. Armentrout's writing always brings a smile to my face and warms my heart. That's all folks.

Happy Reading :)

5 out of 10

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Some updates and giveaway winners!

Well folks, it's been a long time and no blogging for this girl. I've had possibly the craziest month of the year, working upwards of 15 hours a day which left no time for reading or blogging. It was downright depressing! Now that's over and I can get back to reading and blogging, which reminds me... I have a giveaway winner to announce!



For the Summer Wrap-Up Read-a-thon winner of a signed Of Poseidon by Anna Banks and a signed Fierce Reads poster is:

Stephanie Ward!

I have emailed this person and they have 72 hours to contact me with a shipping address! Tomorrow, the Richelle Mead giveaway will end and I will be announcing the winner sometime tomorrow!

Now that I'm back in the swing of things, look forward to more frequent reviews, blog tours, giveaways and some more weekly memes! Get excited... I know I am!

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Everneath (Everneath, #1) by Brodi Ashton - Review

Lately, I 've been in a sort of reading slump. Everything I pick up turns out to be exactly what I'm not looking for at that moment. I decided to give Everneath a try because I was definitely in the mood for a tragic love story and that's exactly what I got.


After leaving the Underworld called Everneath just six months ago, Nikki Beckett is thrown back into the life of the living with one goal: to say goodbye to those she loves most. But will these six months be enough time for her to find the words to say goodbye to her father, her brother, her friends and her boyfriend? To ready herself for what's coming next when the Everneath comes to claim her? Will she be able to part with the surface to live an eternal life in hell?

I know, dramatic right? I can't help it, this book made me feel like I do when I read Romeo and Juliet: sad, mushy, happy and excited. Everneath is a retelling of the Persephone myth and as always, I'm a little weary to start books that retell this story in particular. I'm a huge fan of the Goddess Test series by Aime Carter, another Persephone retelling and I'm very into Percy Jackson, which covers Greek Mythology in general. Last month, however, I picked up Abandon by Meg Cabot and completely hated it. So, when I began reading this story, I was somewhat apprehensive, but I ended up falling in love with Everneath.

Ashton set a beautifully dark tone throughout this novel and it was such a joy to read. I loved how much of the story explained the Everneath. Her own personal Underworld is very different from the traditional tellings in Greek Mythology and is quite unique. Her way of explaining Everneath was so powerful and terrifying and  it was great reading her creative explanation of the realm of the dead.

Our main character Nikki is one of the best parts of this book. She works the entire novel to be unselfish and to give her family a happy ending when she leaves to go back to the Everneath. She grapples with her own feelings, wants and needs and struggles to put the needs of her loved ones before her own. Of course, she wasn't perfect and I was glad. The story would have been pretty boring if all she did was act like a saint on her road trip to hell.

I really liked the male characters as well. Jack, her boyfriend, is a rarity in YA fiction. He isn't a pompous, arrogant jerk who lives to annoy the living daylights out of Nikki. He is a wonderfully loving and giving person who cares for Nikki's wellbeing above all else. Our dark night, Cole is mysterious and darkly sexy, but Ashton does a fabulous job making you want to punch him in his sexy face most of the time.

Overall, I loved this tragic story of star crossed lovers and it was exactly what I needed to recover from my book slump. I absolutely cannot wait to see what Ashton brings to the table in her novella and her book two, Everbound.

9 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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Obsidian (Lux, #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout - Review

Now for the better part of my blogging experience, and that's been about 8 months now, I've been hearing things about Daemon. I've seen Obsidian's book cover all over the blogosphere and I've been reading reviews for a while now, most are glowing and of course all about Daemon. Bloggers across the interweb have been drooling over this handsome devil and it's sadly taken me this long to read the book and I'm glad I did. This reason being that I only have to wait a week for Onyx to be released instead of months. In all honesty, it doesn't make it any easier.


Katy and her mother have just moved to Small-town, USA which happens to be in West Virginia. Katy, a quiet and shy girl, is dreading moving from her home in sunny Florida to a one horse town where she knows no one... her senior year. Could life get worse? She then meets her next door neighbors. Dee is a spunky girl her age with whom she instantly connects with, her older brother Daemon on the other hand, is outright rude and menacing. But, when the two are thrown together, they find that they have much more in common than they think. This action packed and sexy story brings a a new twist to the age old aliens in the corn fields tales and it will make you wish you could meet your own rude extraterrestrial.

I began reading Obsidian withs ome slight jitters. I had never read a story about aliens and it made me kind of nervous, but right away Armentrout's voice sucked me right in. While this book may lack the polish of many books out there today, her voice came through the story and kept me laughing out loud through out the whole book.

As I got into the book, I immediately liked Katy. I'm a sucker for a sassy heroine with a smart mouth and Katy is just that. She's always got a quip to keep Daemon in check and I found myself saying things like "sweet baby Jesuses of the world" the next day, which was somewhat embarrassing but also plain old awesome. I devoured this book start to finish and J.LAs writing style definitely played a big part in this.

Now lets talk about Daemon. Of course we'll chat about him, what good is a review of Obsidian without touching on this hunk of burning love... from outer space? I love a good bad boy and Daemon plays the part well. He's mysterious and brooding without being violent and I fell for him instantly. Armentrout gave him the ability to made me want to kick him in the shins and kiss him all at the same time. He's climbing my list of favorite YA hotties.

The plot was exciting and pretty unique. I loved that there was action and adventure as much as there was romance and flirting. As I finished Obsidian, I quickly went to buy the next book, but to my sheer and utter disappointment, I have to wait. I was so sad that I couldn't start another book. I do believe I have a book hangover my friends.

8 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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Waiting on Wednesday: Onyx (Lux, #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Today is my first Waiting on Wednesday post! 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly host hosted by Breaking the Spine! Today I'm anxiously awaiting book two in the Lux series, Onyx by Jennifer L.  Armentrout. Now I just finished the first book, Obsidian a few days ago and it's all I can think about. I tried reading another one of her books but all I wanted was Daemon's snarky attitude and those alien green eyes. So, even though it's only about a week away, I am going crazy waiting on Onyx!

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Summer-Wrap-Up Read-A-Thon Mystery Title Challenge!

It's time for my post for the Summer Wrap-up Read-a-Thon which is hosted by Jennifer at Some Like it Paranomal and Jude at In Between! Are you guys as excited as I am? If you haven't entered yet you can do so here!


Here at Abibliophobic, I'm hosting the Mystery Title Challenge. Below you'll find a form with 10 different YA titles that are scrambled! Let's see if someone can get them all! This challenge will run until the end of the Read-a-Thon! Here's a hint: 3 of the 10 books I've reviewed here at Abibliophobic and the rest can be found on my goodreads account on one of my shelves.

I'm also hosting a giveaway that will run until August 12th for the read-a-thon! I've decided to giveaway a signed copy of Of Poseidon by Anna Banks and a Fierce Reads poster signed by all of the Fierce Reads authors! Check out my review of Of Poseidon here. What better way to say goodbye to summer than with an awesome and sassy book all about merpeople?

This is a US giveaway and the only required entries are that you must be a participant in the Read-a-Thon and you have to participate in the Mystery Title Challenge! Also, for every correct answer, you'll get another entry!  Don't forget to post a link to your blog in the comments section so I can stop by and check out your progress for the read-a-thon! Good luck and cozy up with your books poolside! Happy Reading :)

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Giveaway 7! Bloodlines Giveaway!

Well, it's giveaway time again! As promised, I have an awesome Richelle Mead giveaway because I enjoyed reading her books so much and you all were very patient with my incessant Vampire Academy reviews! Also, the month of August is the busiest month of the year for me at work. Working 12 hour days, I dont get to give too much TLC to my blog so I figured I'd do a fun giveaway all month long!


Here's what I'm giving away:

1 signed copy of Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

1 signed copy of The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

1 pre-order for The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead from Book Depository

2 signed "World of Vampire Academy" posters!

Excited? Becasue I am!  That's 5 winners! As I said before, I had the pleasure of meeting Richelle Mead and got some extra swag so I'd love to give it away! This giveaway is going to run from today, August 2nd through August 31st so get your entries in!

Contest rules:

• This contest open to United States and Canada participants only! It's a little expensive to ship internationally!
• Abibliophobic will not be held responsible for lost or damaged packages.
• Participants must be 13 years or older.
• Giveaway will run 8/2/12 to 8/31/12!
• I will announce the winners on my blog and via email. The winner will have 72 hours to respond to the giveaway! 

Good luck, thanks for stopping by and as always, happy reading :)

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