The Return

October 6, 2014
The Greek gods engage in modern-day power struggles in the solid inaugural installment of the Titan new adult paranormal romance series. Seth, an otherworld/human hybrid introduced in Armentrout’s well-received Covenant YA series, bears a heavy burden of guilt over his past treacherous acts. He redeems himself by becoming Apollo’s judge and jury, meting out bloody justice to traitorous lesser gods and mortals. Far more of a challenge is his new assignment: guarding Apollo’s part-human daughter Josie, who needs to get up to speed on the doings of the deities—about which she knows nothing—so she can battle the bloodthirsty Titans. As Seth learns to restrain his violent instincts and Josie trains hers up, the romance and danger both escalate at a feverish pace. Armentrout dives deep into the psyches of both hero and heroine, deftly switching from one point of view to another, while creating a drum-tight sense of suspense and sexual tension from the first page to the last. This is a very promising start to the series.

February 15, 2015

Finding out that she is a demigod is pretty upsetting to college student Josie even when the news is delivered by the handsome Seth, another descendant of the gods. Seth yanks Josie out of school, charged by the god Apollo to protect her and get her to safety, as she is one of the best weapons left to battle one of the old gods who has broken free. A new adult spin-off of Armentrout's YA "Covenant" series (following 2013's Apollyon), this seems like a long setup without much of a payoff. The focus teeters between giving readers a background to a complicated world of Greek deities and the burgeoning romance between Josie and Seth. VERDICT The author's teen fans might graduate into this series, but there is little here to tempt a new reader.

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