*edit* July 2012*. Sigh. Eff it. I really didn't want to have a star rating on this book because of my mixed feelings (good and bad) but since I'm not risking having yet another review sent to the void, I will award a star rating. 
 Original Review 
 Argh. I am so frustrated right now. No matter how entertaining this book is (and it's a great read), I feel dirty for reading it. Blatant copying should not be rewarded. This is even worse than fan fic to me because no one's getting their efforts credited back to them. These are not little coincidences...this is an entire world, race & class system, and several characters. It's kind of a big deal. 
 I'm marking this read for now and will collect my thoughts tomorrow when I'm not so tired. 
 *fast forward* 
 ...one day later and I'm still torn. Book 2 didn't have as many similarities to VA, well EXCEPT FOR (view spoiler)[the scene with Caleb which echoed what happened to Mason, also in book 2 of the other series. (hide spoiler)]. Oh wait, and (view spoiler)[the way Rose Alex pursued Dimitri Aiden and he backed off for responsibility's sake. Good lord, talk about Deja Vu. (hide spoiler)] 
 Even with the story veering off a bit in a new direction, the foundation that was laid in book 1 continues to hold strong in book 2. There's no way to change the characters and racial politics now. 
 Armentrout can write an entertaining story. Every single time I pick up a book of hers, I read until my eyes burn. I have a good time. This author has a writing style which draws you in. It would be a lot easier to drop a series when you're not having such a great time reading it. There are a plethora of series which aren't even 1/10th as entertaining. Anytime I find books that are this easy to latch on to, it makes me want to keep going. 
 Will I continue to read the Covenant series? I honestly don't know. The right thing to probably do would be to decide not to continue. 
 If I do continue, it will be simply as a guilty pleasure and I will find a way to obtain a borrowed copy. Also, if I do decide to continue on, I may possibly choose not to review any future installments, but might just mark them as read for my own records. I don't know if I'll be recommending the books from this point forward. 
 If you are considering reading Covenant but have not read the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, do the right thing and pick up Mead's books first, so you can see who created this world. 
 If you're interested in this author but are unsure if you should read Covenant, try checking out her Lux series instead. There are a few similarities with the Lux world and another book series but the details are so minor and in the background that it didn't really bother me. Armentrout does have talent as a writer and at least I was able to enjoy it more with Lux/Obsidian.