Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout
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GoodReads Summary:
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, medications outside her classes, pill and keeps showing up in her bedroom–so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, troche 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.
My Review:
Please note that while this review will NOT have spoilers for this novel, it most likely will have spoilers for the first novel, Half Blood. You can read the review for that here.
These books literally just keep getting better and better. I absolutely loved the first one but I’m not going to lie, I saw a ton of similarities between it and the first Vampire Academy novel. But I really loved the characters, and I love the story, and the idea of the Greek gods, and the way she represents it as opposed to others. I was even more relieved when I read this second book, and realized that it took a much different direction than the storyline of VA.
I really love the issue that Jennifer L. Armentrout creates. Alex is the second Apollyon of the generation, which makes her better than any pure blood, half blood or mortal but she has been a half blood her entire life, and she still technically is a half blood. She still feels the pains of being a half blood. You either train your butt to become a Sentinel or a Guard, or you drink the elixir, and became compliant, a slave. One step, one TOE out of line and thats it for a half. Pures are everything: they have a say in how the world is run, and the laws are all in their favor. They have no regard for the halfs, and some are so high strung that the death of a half means absolutely nothing to them.
So I think its very hard for Alex. She is the Apollyon, and so much is on her shoulders but she still feels that sting of being a half blood, especially since most of her friends are half bloods and I think that internal struggle and that issue she has with trying to figure herself out, now that she has even more to learn, is really what makes the core of this novel. There’s a lot of action but I think so much of what makes this novel so easy to bust through is the fact that there is so much tension, mentally and emotionally and in the politics and in the relationships and friendships that she has. Everything seems so calculated and everyone seems to have their own different opinion and plan for her and its a lot for her to sift through. She doesn’t know who to trust completely, or who to listen to.
Which leads to me to the whole Seth and Aidan thing. Aidan is a pure, her trainer, but she’s madly in love with her, even though they most definitely canNOT be together. Then there’s is Seth, the first Apollyon, who Alex is bonded to, and so they have this intense attraction to each other, but she’s so unsure if she really feels that way or if its just the bond. And even this bond can’t take away the love that she feels for Aidan. The triangle would normally bother me incredibly but it doesn’t so much because neither one of them really gives her much, which only serves to frustrate her more, which frustrates me to no end either. I adore them both for different reasons, though I’m totally rooting for Aidan. I think that the differences between the two: Aidan, a pure Sentinel and Seth, a half blood Apollyon, only makes her conflicting thoughts on what is going on in her community even worse.
In all, it was a satisfying sequel to the first novel that I enjoyed so much. I think it really takes the issues of the first book, expands it, and expands the universe that she has built. She really presents real conflicts, conflicts that exist anywhere, and have existed, and so they feel so much more real, especially since Alex is a half blood, and she’s on the bottom scale of everything. I love all the characters of this novel, and the story. I’m about half way through the third book, which I can’t wait to review for you all. I’m catching up fast!
Rating:
5 out of 5 stars
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