Review ~ "The Power" by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: "The Power"
Series: Titan, #2
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout 
 
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Published: February 23, 2016
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Pages: 344
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
 
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With any great change, there is always strife, and the Covenant University has become the frontline between pure-bloods who want the Breed Order reinstated and the half-bloods who want the right to control their own destinies.

Fate has other plans.

 The violence is escalating and war between the races seems inevitable, and it couldn’t come at a worse time. Hyperion may be out of commission, but Josie and Seth know they have only earned a reprieve.  Seth must get Josie fully prepared, which means controlling her newfound abilities, and they need to find the other demigods before the Titans do.

But the gods are sensing a greater threat. 

Only one thing is more dangerous than a bunch of starved Titans, and that’s an out-of-control Apollyon. The aether in Josie is drawing Seth in deeper, and when lust mixes with love and gives way to power, he knows being close to her is not only dangerous to her, but to everyone around them, but letting her go requires a level of selflessness that just isn’t Seth’s style.

The paths taken in the past are becoming the roads of the future.

Just as chaos breaks out, familiar faces from the past return, complicating the already strained bond between Josie and Seth, and when the danger from the Titans erupts with devastating consequences, the dark allure of power calls to Seth again, but this time Josie might not be able to pull him back.

 And when the struggle between power and love becomes the deadliest battleground, there may be no salvation.

It hurts to say this, but this was a disappointment for me when compared to The Return. Sure, there were things that happened that I didn't like that much, but I really liked it overall. However, with the sequel, I felt like so many things could have been easily avoided.
 
Things start right after the end of The Return with everyone trying to clean up the mess after Hyperion. Seth is training Josie to defend herself and while it starts off rough, things do get better. Seth training Josie really annoyed me at times because he didn't always seem to take the fact that Josie wasn't born into this life in hand. He seemed to expect her to be able to do everything. And, later, he got all whiny and decided that he wasn't going to train her anymore. Dude, what?
 
Seth was my biggest problem with this book. Almost all of the problems that arose could have been spared if he had been more open and honest. But no. He had to be all secretive and not tell Josie information that she really should have been told. He just left her hanging like it was all her fault, when it was his. Especially when it came to her aether. In the last book he redeemed a little of his douchiness, but he totally undid all that progress in the sequel. Most of the time he only cares about what he wants, making him a jerk, and even when he tries to be selfless, he's still a jerk. 
 
I liked Josie even more here. She becomes stronger and more confident in herself. She keeps pusher herself to be better and won't take no for an answer. She knows that she wasn't brought up the same way as everyone else there, but she doesn't let it stop her. It just pushes her to work harder. Even though Seth was a jerk, she was still caring. However, I think he (inadvertently) would sometimes lower her confidence. I just really want her to not worry about him so much in the next book. I feel like she'd grow even more that way. I also felt bad for her when it came to Apollo. She didn't get too lucky when it came to dads.
 
The pacing was another odd thing. It felt like sexy scenes and fight scenes were just added in an attempt to keep the book moving. They seemed to be put in just to keep the readers attention, and they didn't always work. But there were some really good moments in the book that kept things moving, such as characters from the Covenant series making an appearance. I really liked how they were brought back and I hope they keep things interesting.
 
Overall, this book was pretty disappointing. I had my hopes pretty high after the first book, but those were dashed by Seth. Please let him do a 180 and get better. So far, I think this is my least favorite JLA book, and that's a bummer because I absolutely adore her books. Crossing my fingers for The Struggle (is real). Sorry, couldn't help myself!