Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Pure
By Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: April 3, 2014
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 329
Book 2 in the Covenant series
5 stars
 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, 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.

Opening Thoughts
I first read this book ages ago, way back in April of 2012.  I read Half-Blood, book 1 in this series in late 2011, and absolutely loved it.  I distinctly remember going to the bookstore as soon as this came out and them not having it, so I had to go and order it online.  I read it as soon as it came in, and obviously, because it is written by Jennifer L. Armentrout and she can do no wrong, it was amazing.  I haven't reread it since then, so here we are, almost two and a half years later, me reading it, remembering almost nothing, and it is just as amazing as it was then.

Characters
Alex is so kick-ass.  I think that I prefer her to Katy from Jennifer L. Armentrout's Lux series (containing Obsidian, Onyx, Opal, Origin, and Opposition).  She's just a character that I can relate to better, though don't get me wrong, I definitely love Katy.  Alex is so hysterical, still very reminiscent of Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy, but they do have their differences and I can appreciate that.  She has the best dialogue and witty one-liners and there were so many points where there would be a really intense or serious scene and I would be all tense and then Alex would crack a joke, or say something absolutely ludicrous and I would just die laughing.  Of course, she's also incredibly kick-ass and I want to be her, even though pretty much every craptastic thing possible happens to her. 

“Aw, did you just fall?"
"No." I rolled onto my back, wincing. "I attacked the floor.”

I was a little iffy about Seth at the end of the first book, but after reading this book, I don't know how anyone could help but love him.  He's hilarious, and really an amazing character overall.  He's caring and sweet, and though there are most definitely times when he's a complete and total douche, you always know that underneath all of that douchiness, he really does care for Alex deeply.  I can definitely see why people would ship them, I mean, even I was swooning at this.

 “You know what?” His breath was warm against my cheek. “There are a lot of stupid things to do, but I really want to do the stupidest thing possible.”

“What’s that?”

“I want to kiss you.” 

And then there's Aiden.  Oh, how I love Aiden.  After reading this book, I was absolutely, positively, most definitely Team Aiden, though I won't tell you how that may or may not have changed as I continued on with the series.  Aiden gives me shivers, and makes me swoon and my only complaint is that there wasn't enough of him.  I want to jump into Deity as soon as possible and just suck up all of the amazingness that is Aiden St. Delphi.  The tension between him and Alex was heart-breaking, because I want them to be together so badly, but I know that they can't.  Jennifer L. Armentrout never fails to craft the perfect book boyfriend for fangirls everywhere.  It's like she has some kind of direct hotline into our brains and she pulls out all of the little bits and pieces that we love, and creates the perfect human, though I suppose a lot of them aren't human.  Oh well, I know that you know what I mean.  He cares so much for Alex, and he puts himself through so much in order to do the right thing, because he knows that even though it might hurt Alex right now, in the long run it will be best for her, even though he wouldn't have any consequences on his part.  He had beautiful, heart-breaking lines that had me both drooling and tearing up at the same time.  

“Ever since I’ve met you, I’ve wanted to break every rule.” Aiden turned away, the muscles in his neck tensing. He sighed. “You’ll become the centre of someone’s world one day. And he’ll be the luckiest son of a bitch on this earth.” 

 “No one is like you, Alex."
I grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"It is." He nudged me again, and my grin gew into another ludicrous smile- the kind Caleb gave Olivia when they weren't tearing each other's heads off. "You're incredibly intelligent, Alex. Funny and..."
"Pretty?"
"No, not pretty."
"Cute?"
"No."
I frowned. "Well, then."
Aiden's laugh sent shivers through me. "I was going to say 'stunning.' You're stunningly beautiful.” 

Plot

The plot in this book is a million times better than the first book, and that's saying a lot, because the plot in Half-Blood was amazing.  I was on the edge of my seat, despite having already read the book and having a vague memory of where the story was going.  There were so many details that I had forgotten, both big and little, and it was wonderful to get to experience them all of again, as if for the first time.  There are tons of twists and turns, and the plot is so fast-paced that they keep getting thrown at you, but not so quickly that you can't keep up.  It's filled with action scenes, with a decent amount of swoon-worthy moments for the romantic at heart.  All of the twists are brilliant, and my reactions were just as violent as they were during my first time, which is absolutely a great thing.  I want to keep rediscovering everything about the daimons, because I think that they are so interesting.

Overall, Pure is even more compelling and utterly fantastic than its predecessor, Half-Blood, and I'd absolutely recommend this series to anyone, young or old, historical fiction fans or erotica fans.  It's chock-full of hilarious moments, as well as more serious subjects and I can't wait to continue rereading this series.  I plan on moving onto the sequel, Deity, within the next week or so, and I plan on having a full review of that up on the blog as soon as that is finished.

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Amber