The prequel to the entire Covenant series, it tells the story of what exactly happened to Alex’s mother before Aiden finds her at the beginning of the first novel.

To be honest, I read and enjoy romance more than any other major genre in novels. If it doesn’t have romance in it, I usually blah my way through the book. A fantasy novel is great, as long as the main character loves someone, doesn’t have to be in the main part of the story but it usually has to be there. This novel had none. If I remember right, there was a hint of a former crush of Alex’s before she left the Covenant, but other than that, nada. I do not count that date at the beginning of the story. The boy was weak and stupid.

Also, and while I love JLArmentrout to pieces, honestly I thought the series could have taken or left this story. It didn’t exactly add much to the story except you got a peek into Alex’s relationship with her mother before it all fell apart. While that is important, it could have also been done in the main series with memories or stories told to Alex’s best friend Caleb, or something, you know? So I wasn’t impressed by this installment.

I did only read this story after starting the series, so I guess that’s why I kept at it. So because I didn’t feel it added much to the overall series that needed to be there, but because I did like it, I’m going with 3.5 stars.

REVIEW

Title: Covenant Series

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Genre: YA Paranormal

This series was recommended to me a while back, and as I had not read a YA series in a quite a while, I was ready for this one.  I went on a bit of a reading binge and read all the books one after the other.  Reading this way is satisfying as it is a complete series – and there is no waiting, but it does make it difficult to review each book separately, so I will just give my thoughts on the series as a whole.

There was so much I really enjoyed about this series – the characters were awesome, the action was great, and the romance was heart-stopping at times, but more than anything it was the story and the writing which brought it all together beautifully.  It worked very, very well.

I liked Alex as a character – she is a kick-ass no holds barred kind of girl and I like that.  I enjoyed reading about her journey from the young troubled teen that she was to the strong young woman she eventually became – she is a great character. Her love for Aidan was beautiful and his for her was powerful and selfless and I loved reading about their journey.

Out of all the characters, Seth, to me, was The Man.  He made some seriously bad judgement calls and was taken advantage of, but deep down he wanted to be an honorable man and to be respected and loved.  He is a really great character with hidden depths.

The story itself was great.  I enjoyed reading about the Olympian gods and their arrogant and humorous (to me) outlook on life.  It is probably not easy to live forever – everything has been said and done a thousand times before, and after a while, life probably becomes a bore and you do what you need to do to alleviate the boredom a bit.  Throw in a Titan here and there and things are bound to get interesting.

The conclusion to the series was not what I was expecting, but it made sense in a way.  I would have liked to have seen what happens to the rest of the cast of characters as they were important to the story, but the book just ended ……..

I did not read Elixir, which is an 80 page novella told from Aiden’s perspective. At $4.99 (South African price) I could not justify the cost, and as I am not a fan of novellas, I avoid them if I can. Having said that – Daimon, the first book in the series is actually a 93 page Prequel to the first book, Half-Blood, so it was important to buy and read it – but I must admit, it irritated the heck out of me – I have no idea why it was a prequel and not part of the first book – Half-Blood

All in all this is a good series and the first I have read by Jennifer L. Armentrout.  Apart from some really annoying editing errors it was a really good read and I enjoyed her style.

My bitch switch was flipped and, well, 

my sense of self preservation went right out the window. 

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'd once trained to kill.

The daimons have found her.

I really enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Usually I don't enjoy prequels all that much as I feel like it's just an introduction into the 'real' story beginning. This one is definitely the exception. I really enjoyed Daimon. I thought it was a great start of a amazing story and I found myself getting completely hooked.

Alex is a Half-Blood. She is a descendent of the Gods, but her father was a mortal so that leaves her with two options, become a slave for the superior Pure-Bloods or become a Sentinel, a protector of the Pures, and fiht against the evil Pures-gone-bad Daimons. But that was before her mother pulls her out of training and goes on the run hiding from everyone from her old world, the Gods, the Pures and the Halfs without any explanation why. Alex doesn't feel like she belongs in this mortal world and then the unthinkable happens, the Daimons find her and Alex finds herself alone and fighting to get back to the school and the world in which she belongs.

I think everyone planning to read this series should definitely read this before Half-Blood. I don't think my feelings while reading Half-Blood would have been quite the same if I hadn't read this before hand. It made the storyline that much more touching and at times heart-breaking.

This prequel was incredible as far as prequels go and it's definitely the best prequel for a series I have ever read. It wasn't a boring introduction to the characters and the world as some prequels are. Yes it introduced you to the lead character but it was action-packed and fast-paced and I couldn't put it down. I read it in one sitting and it left me reeling and I had to pick Half-Blood up straight away.
An incredible start to an action-packed emotional series. I can't wait to see how things escalate from here.