Review: The Return by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: The Return

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Series: Titan #1

Genre: New Adult/Urban Fantasy/Mythology

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Publication Date: February 16th, 2015

Edition: Kindle Edition, 344 pages

Source: Library

Purchase: Amazon US | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | BAM

Synopsis:

The Fates are cackling their bony asses off... 

   It's been a year since Seth made the deal with the gods that pledged his life to them. And so far, the jobs they've given him have been violent and bloody--which is kind of all right with him. But now Apollo has something else in mind for Seth. He's got to play protector while keeping his hands and fingers off, and for someone who really has a problem with restraint, this new assignment might be the most challenging yet. 

   Josie has no idea what this crazy hot guy's deal might be, but it's a good bet that his arrival means the new life she started after leaving home is about to be thrown into an Olympian-sized blender turned up to puree. Either Josie is going insane or a nightmare straight out of ancient myth is gunning for her. 

   But it might be the unlikely attraction simmering between her and the golden-eyed, secret-keeping Seth that may prove to be the most dangerous thing of all. 

Because history has once again been flipped to repeat. 

    First and foremost, I hate this cover and I hate covers like this. Covers like this are why only women read books in this genre that are written by other women. This trend needs to stop so that more books, especially those written by women, can start appealing to everybody.

    Now that I have said that, this was a pretty good book. I hadn't really realized how much I missed this world. I went back and forth when it came to liking Seth's character in the Covenant series. He was an interesting character, kind of a douche, but also once learning more of his back story he became the kind of character that I have some sympathy for. He was used by so many different people for so long that he had some serious trust issues. I like that his character had growth and it stuck from the end of the other series. I've read books where an author gives a character a nice story arch, then in a later book takes that character development away because it's "easier" to keep writing the same character rather than use the development that was already given to further develop that character.

    Right now, I kind of think Josie is a boring character. She doesn't really have a distinct personality, she's a little bland. This book is over 300 pages, but there really isn't much to learn about her character and that makes the book feel shorter than 300 pages. We know what her school interests are, that she had a pretty lonely childhood. But she doesn't really seem to have any personal motivations for anything. There is nothing that she wants to do that isn't affected by some outside source. She is in a way the polar opposite of Alex, which is kind of nice that the exact same character isn't being used again. But there isn't much else to her as a character, she's a bit of a place holder character though. She does want to learn to protect herself, and isn't very good at it.

    I am interested in where this series is headed. And I do hope to see Alex and Aiden in this series. I assume it will happen at some point.