I was a little apprehensive at starting Half-Blood at first because it wasn't published by one of those big names publishers and I thought it might be one of those vanity publishing pieces but I'm really glad I did, and no, it's not one of those pieces. :) 
 Half-Blood reminded me a lot of the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead and I mean this as a compliment. The story's pacing was well done and I love how our heroine is a strong character. As much as she loves her mother, she still secretly fights her decision and I love how headstrong she is. Despite her tragedies, I liked that she still pushed on when many would have just given up. 
 The romance aspect was another bit I enjoyed. I love me a good romance any day and the one we have here is one of the better ones. It's not love at first sight, but more of Alex having a crush on Aiden, which is believable. I liked how Aiden doesn't come off as just "the love interest" but instead, has an actual personality. He slowly comes to care for Alex and the tension between them was so well-written! Aiden being a gentleman and going through "real emotions definitely helps as well. 
 I know a lot of readers have labelled the world of Half-Blood to be very similar to the one in Vampire Academy and I won't deny this. But I'd like to say that Armentrout takes a similar idea and makes it her own. There's paranormalcy, fantasy, romance, general badassery, loads of cool fighting and miscellaneous teenage shenanigans. Well done! 
 The ending was surprising, for me at least. I really enjoyed the twist and I'd like to see how Seth plays into the next few novels. I had a feeling the novel would go this route but reading it really happening was just so satisfying.