Buh-buh-buh-brilliant! Initially, a bit disappointed in the similarities between Half-Blood and Vampire Academy, PURE so vastly deviates from the VA storyline, I am floored by the plot twists. And jonesin' for my next fix. 
 Pure finds Alex at the Covenant, working on her training with Aiden...and Seth. She is the Second Apollyon, something to be feared - or praised and worshipped - for the future she might bring to her kind. She continues to struggle between her need for Aiden and her hatred at being fated for someone else, if the prophesies are correct. Fate's a fickle bitch. 
 Like I said, I had some misgivings regarding how similar Half-Blood was to Vampire Academy, and I created a cute little chart to show those similarities. But I was told by other readers that Pure is nothing like Vampire Academy, that it is fresh and full of awesome, and that I MUST give it a chance. Hell, it wasn't hard to talk me into it, because I did enjoy the first one. Like, yeah, okay, I GET IT YOU GUYS, READ PURE. 
 Yes, Pure is purely awesome. I loved it. Jennifer Armentrout takes the first book to a whole new level. Alex is fresh off the "I-just-killed-my-daemon-mom" boat and trying to move on, go to class, and train. She feels the pull between Aiden and Seth, something that confuses her on a level she isn't used to. Not used to questioning herself, she stops to think more often and is less the petulant teenager she was in Half-Blood. She's growing up, y'all, and I really like who she's becoming. 
 Seth is something of a mystery in Pure. I totally jumped on the Team Seth bandwagon. Aiden who? Seth may come off as cocky, but somewhere beneath that shiny exterior is a guy who I think really cares. Do I suspect that there is something else he isn't telling us? Yes. But that just makes him sexy and dangerous, and this girl drooled all over her iPad during every one of his scenes. Nomnomnom. 
 For you Team Aiden folks, never fear. He's all over and then some in Pure. There isn't a thing he wouldn't do for Alex, and I do mean NOT ONE THING. He seems to deeply care, but it's reminiscent of the whole "Edward Cullen I-have-to-quit-you-because-it's-dangerous" facade he had going on. Please man, grow some balls already. Maybe I just like the bad boys; after all, I liked Adrian over Dimitri in Vampire Academy. 
 The plot was very fresh. I really had a hard time putting it down, because I needed to know what happened next. Things have changed, halfs can become Daemons, it's next to impossible to know them by sight, and...they are not just aether-crazed draining machines. They are capable of cognizant organization and planning. Oh, but let's throw more into the mix: they aren't the only threat to Alex and the Gang. Nope. But I'll just leave it at that. There is also a lot of laughter, love, and fighting thrown in...Pure has some kick-ass action scenes. And it tore my heart up when a favorite character left us. 
 Overall, Armentrout has created a fab second in a series, where often, the second lacks and is just the device to get you from first to third. That is not the case here; Pure is exciting and riveting, so much so, that I needed to have and read Deity immediately. So, uh...excuse me, I'll BRB.