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Review: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1), by Julie Kagawa 

5/22/2013

2 Comments

 
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Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Format: Kindle
Pages: 485
Source: NetGalley, Courtesy of Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA Dystopian, YA Paranormal
Rating: 5 bookmarks


Synopsis: To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred ofthem—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for…again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins

Disclaimer: I received this book as a galley courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 


I'm happy to report that I really enjoyed this book. The Immortal Rules is refreshing take on a YA vampire story.  Early on, this book reminded me of that Will Smith movie, I am Legend. It's the movie where he was one of the very few uninfected humans left in New York City after at plague changed people into some kind of creature that lurks in the dark and kills living people. Everything from how the rabids are described to the ruins of the cities and towns, those are the parts that remind me of that movie.   The major difference here is that the infected rabids were vampires, not human.  Beyond the state of the world and the rabids, the similarities end there.
I felt this book was a mix between dystopian (post apocalyptic) and paranormal.  With Old Chicago and the ways the world has broken down into small cities owned by Princes, aka master vampires.  There's an obvious cast system in place. The Princes have their pets and their families that they make.  Then below them are the registered humans, intended to feed the vampires. And lastly, the unregistered humans that live on the outskirts of the city. This place called the Fringe, its actually like a ring around the vampire city, found between the outer wall and the inner wall of the city.

After being attacked by a group of rabids, a vampire finds her and gives Allie a choice of choosing a new kind of life as a vampire or death. Kanin, her sire, trains Allie and  teaches how to survive as a vampire. He teaches her how to fight, he teaches her how to feed, and he teaches her how to stay alive. At first I wasn't sure what type of relationship they were going to have, but I was very relieved when I found that it went toward a Mentor/ Protege type of relationship.

After she and Kanin are attacked by Sarren, a vampire with a vendetta, she flees. Allie spends the rest of the book trying to hold on to her humanity by helping a group of people search for an all human city that they call Eden. Along the way she uses her new found vampire abilities of hers to save them in various situations over and over again. The leader of the human group, Jeb, is a trip. He's mean, rude, vampire hating man. He has a purpose for his group and nobody will stand in his way. 

I enjoyed this book because it was pretty different from the other vampire books I've read in the past. It was pretty much void of teenage angst. Which is a nice change. There is a teeny bit of woe is me, but that's 100 hundred percent acceptable when a one is turned into a creature they despise. I didn't read that as teenage angst, instead I felt that it was just Allie's sadness of letting go of your previous life and accepting her new one. Which anyone would have to deal with.

Among the human group, Allie meets Zeke.  They are so cute together, I wish that they would end up together somehow but I'm not sure if that's possible. If it does happen, it will be much further down the road and after lots of hardships. I liked that their quasi relationship was secondary to the story.  I want them to get together, and I like the fact that they are so drawn together, but at the same time I was please that the story didn't center around this great teenage love. 

I loved these characters. Allie's  strong, smart, flawed and likable   Zeke is young, honest and has a good heart. He's also no wimp.  Kanin is caring toward Allie, and he shows her he cares through making sure she's able to take care of herself.

The human raiders, lead by a vampire called Jackal was an interesting twist, especially when it's revealed who he is and what he's trying to do.

I appreciated the ending of this book. we get a little bit of closure, but a lot is still left for us to find out about. It was also a pretty realistic ending which I always like. No candy and roses at the end of this journey to Eden.

This book was such a fast read that once I ended it I automatically picked up the next book, The Eternity Cure. Stay tuned for that review!

Check out a few of my favorite quotes:
“You don't dwell on what you've lost, you just move on."
“The closer you got to someone, the more it would destroy you when they were inevitably gone.” 
“And sometimes, hope is the only thing that gets us through the day.” 

Happy Reading, 
~Tamara
Get the Kindle version here:
2 Comments
Lectus link
5/22/2013 06:15:55 am

Unfortunately, I gave up reading series :-(
She is a very good writer, though. I started to read her Iron King series and was loving it, well, until the part that they went to the fairy world.

Reply
Tamara @ Shelf Addiction
5/27/2013 10:45:43 pm

Why did you give up reading series?

Reply

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