Release day review: The Eternity Cure, by Julie Kagawa

Relase date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Hardcover, 446 pages

Goodreads description:
Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

Amazon     The Book Depository

This review is based on a copy I received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you, Harlequin! I squealed when I was approved ^^


Review:
When I first heard of The Immortal Rules last year, I was somewhat skeptical about whether or not Julie Kagawa, whose Iron Fey books I had read, would be able to pull off a vampire dystopian. However, I gave the book a try and loved it, as you can see in my review. So when I was approved for The Eternity Cure, I was beyond excited! The wait was totally worth it because let me tell you, this follow-up definitely didn’t fall into the second book slump!

The book starts with a bang, reminding readers not just of what Allie is but also of the kind of world she lives in. This novel is definitely not for those who faint at the mention of blood and gore. However, after that initial scene comes my only little complaint about the book, so let’s get it out of the way: too much recap. I admit that some readers would need reminding of certain world building elements and events, but it comes in a chunk of interior monologue that Allie has no real reason to rehash in her head for us to overhear. I thought it slowed the narration down unnecessarily at that point – I wanted to get on with the story! However, it wasn’t too long and once that’s out of the way, the book picked up speed again and I couldn’t tear through the pages fast enough!

Allie’s sire Kanin is suffering – she dreams of him being tortured by the psychopathic Sarren, and his blood calls out to her to find him. However, when she follows the pull she runs into her blood brother Jackal (ex-vampire king of Old Chicago) and the two are forced by circumstance into an uneasy alliance. They need to find Kanin and free him from Sarren before he loses his mind, and they need to stop Sarren from going through with a plan that will mean their eventual demise. The stakes are high, and Allie and Jackal must find a way into the Inner City of New Covington as soon as possible.

I never thought I’d say this, but I kind of became a fan of Jackal’s! His sarcastic remarks lightened up the rather bleak atmosphere of the postapocalyptic setting and made me laugh out loud. He just couldn’t keep his mouth shut, and I love me a good word-fight among ‘siblings’. His pragmatic and, let’s face it, at times opportunistic attitude also made Allie question her decisions and the way she handled being a vampire. Returning to the place where she’d been human, where she’d scavenged and fought, brings back a lot of memories.

Then, of course, there is Zeke. Showing up with the vamp who killed his foster father didn’t go over that well, as you can imagine. But once that’s out of the way (for the moment), I loved them getting closer to each other again, figuring out whether they still have a chance with one another, and rediscovering their chemistry. Allie’s struggle between her vampire instincts and her more human side where so realistic and I was right there rooting for the two of them! The romance lovers among you will definitely have reason to swoon and fan yourselves every once in a while ;)

Another aspect of The Eternity Cure that I really enjoyed is that we learn more about the vampire culture in the cities and how they deal with the (worsening) situation of a new wave of infection among humans… but also with the possibility of a new hope. The world building, already phenomenal in the first book, is fleshed out yet more here and I was sucking it up! Also, we run into an old acquaintance I really wasn’t expecting to see again and who was good for quite a few surprises.

Allie is such a fantastic heroine. Tough, true to herself, loyal to those she cares about and feels responsible for. And if she wants to survive, she has to grow yet stronger than she ever believed herself capable of becoming and face some of her most deep-rooted fears. The odds are stacked against her and her motley crew as they face a seemingly impossible task on a countdown, and as the pages kept dwindling I couldn’t fight off the feeling that there was no way this could possibly end well, that we were headed for heartbreak hill and I’d end up bawling all over my Kindle. Well, I did end up shedding a couple tears and of course there were casualties all around… but that’s all I’m going to say about it. Prepare to be slapped in the face by the plot twists and have your heart wrenched apart when you least expect it.

Julie Kagawa’s writing in this novel is her best yet, in my opinion. It flows easily, it’s gripping, and it doesn’t sugarcoat anything. It will draw your right into the story, for better or worse, for tears or laughter. I also couldn’t help but notice that some of the best lines, with a poetic quality, went to the psychopath and ultimate nemesis. It made Sarren that much more chilling to me but it also fascinated me against my will.

Overall, The Eternity Cure is a more than worthy follow up to the first book in the Blood of Eden series. Thrilling, chilling, and with the characters facing risks that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, it explores themes like what it means to be human, what people will risk for power and love, and whether a dying world is still worth saving.


Have you read The Eternity Cure or The Immortal Rules? What are your thoughts on the series / the sequel? Let's discuss in the comments, but please keep it spoiler-free ;)

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I thought I'd like more/less than I did

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week the participants post their top ten to a specific topic.


This week's topic is about books that we liked more or less than we'd expected before reading them. I think I'll give you some of both :)



Books I liked more than I thought I would:

The Replacement, by Brenna Yovanoff
I'd heard great things about her writing but wasn't sure the topic was for me. I should have paid more attention when reading the blurb. Anyhow, I bought this one when the paperback was on sale for 3 euros or so. IT TORE MY HEART OUT. Seriously, I hurt so much when I read it! My chest tightened up. I ached. I put a ton of sticky notes into it! I savored every word! And I resolved to read all the rest of Brenna's books. And of course to re-read this one many times.

Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
I heard everyone swooning over it, but honestly if I hadn't won a giveaway and the only not-yet-claimed book that appealed to me was this I might have never read it. What a shame that'd have been! It got me more interested in contemporaries again after almost 10 years of reading nearly only fantasy/paranormal books!

The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa
I know! Again, a huge hype. But I just doubted that Julie could do vampires after having read the first two (or was it only 1? Can't remember) of her Iron Fey books. Turns out I couldn't put it down and loved it even more than her Fey books! And that coming from a person who was utterly uninterested in dystopias before.

If I Stay, by Gayle Forman
Again, I seem to mistrust hypes. Here it was mostly the exact subject matter that put me off though. But after reading Just One Day (sounded more appealing) I had to have it immediately. The day after I finished it I bought Where She Went and read it front to back the same day. It was just that good, and that heartbreaking!

The Pledge, by Kimberly Derting
I was actually sure I'd like this one - I'd been waiting for the paperback for forever. But I was still blown away with just how much I loved it! I was writing a paper about queens during the time and this book fit in perfectly. It's basically a manifestation of the idea of the two bodies of the queen (natural/mortal & politic/enduring --> essence).




Books I liked less than I had hoped:

Pretty in Black, by Rae Hachton
*sigh* Yeah, I had really hoped I'd love it. But the writing was choppy, the plot at times erratic, and though I enjoyed some of the world building it all just never really came together properly. And I couldn't get behind the romance in the way I had hoped. I bought all three books as a package so I'll continue the series, but I'm not in a hurry.

Darker Still, by Leanna Renée Hieber
I liked it. I actually liked it quite a lot. But I had somehow expected... more. I also found it rather predictable and didn't click with the setting in quite the way I had hoped. Still debating whether or not I'll buy the sequel...

Beautiful Disaster, by Jamie McGuire
It was among my first NA books and I'd had hight hopes. College characters! A tattooed guy! But yeah, I'd thought he'd be the musician kind of tattooed, not some super-muscled fighter. That was my bad though, and I just had to readjust. But then their whole 'love' and the way the plot was all over the place and I couldn't get a hold of Abby's actual character and how stupid they sometimes were just turned me off. During the last 15% or so I just continually snorted and rolled my eyes, but I somehow felt like I had to finish. Never again though... *prepares for angry mob*

Crescendo, by Becca Fitzpatrick
I really liked Hush, Hush! It wasn't perfect but it kept me intrigued and I adored Patch :) I also got it signed at an author event, so yeah... but Crescendo? Nope. I was really annoyed with Nora and how little she trusted Patch and how she jumped to conclusions. Silence was better. I haven't read Finale yet...

Strange Fates, by Marlene Perez
The world building and general idea were great! But the execution left something to be desired. It started out great but then it couldn't really hold my interest. I couldn't understand what Nyx saw in his sort-of-girlfriend, who'd lied to him more times than I can count. There were aspects I liked and others that were a total let-down. I still have to review it...


So, that's it from me. I'm sure I could have picked other, maybe better-suited books, but I wanted to keep it somewhat recent. Did you have similar/completely opposite thoughts about the books I featured? And what made it onto your lists?

Review: The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa

add it on goodreads

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publishing date: April 24, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 485 pages

Blurb from goodreads:

"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire 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 of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.

Review (spoilerfree):

If humanity was wiped by a virus in the near future, leaving vampires free to step in and take control, this is how things would play out. The Immortal Rules is realistic, the world and writing authentic and not trying to sugarcoat anything. From its killer opening to its conclusion, I didn’t want to put this book down. For some people’s taste, the pace might be a bit slow in the beginning, but I enjoy getting to know and connect with the characters before the action goes down.

Allie lives in a decrepit, crumbling school building in the Fringe, a stretch of town between the inner and outer walls of her vampire city. After her mother’s death, she fell in with a gang of other kids around the same age, and together they try to scrounge up enough food to survive and defend each other and their territory against other gangs. Since she’s Unregistered, she doesn’t get foodstamps or healthcare and must be completely self-reliant. In return, she doesn’t have to ‘donate’ any of her blood to the vampires living in the glittering Inner City. The practical consequence: she is constantly starving and spends her days scavenging for food and other practical items.

Allie is a strong protagonist; she knows the rules of the system and does her best to make use of the loopholes in order to survive on a day-to-day basis. When a scavenging trip to the ruins outside the city ends in disaster, she is given the choice: to die of rabidism (humans/animals gone crazy with the virus, a constant menace in the wilderness outside the city) or to have a shot at becoming what she hates most in this world. Allie chooses to live – in a manner.

The first rule of being a vampire? Drink human blood, or go mad. When a mistake forces Allie to separate from her sire and leave the city, she experiences a new kind of hunger. Fighting her own nature, she tries to blend in with a group of humans on the road to a city which might or might not exist. Trying to keep her secrets, Allie is constantly torn between her lingering humanity and her predator nature, especially when she starts to develop feelings for a certain member of the group…

The world-building in this book is phenomenal and unique. Julie Kagawa avoids the initial infodump and lets the readers see and figure out a lot of the basics by themselves, but not in a way that is overwhelming or confusing. The main characters were well-rounded and the plot engaging. Allie’s struggles against herself and her surroundings, as well as the different ways people try to deal with the situation, kept me turning the pages. I also enjoyed that while some romance was present (and it was great!), it wasn’t the main focus of the novel. The ending rounded the book off well, but it also left enough questions open to make me anxious for the sequel!

One minor point of critique: while the main characters were fleshed out, some of the minor characters only had one or two actual character traits and were primarily functional devices. It wouldn’t have hurt to add a layer or so more to them. However, this didn’t really bother me while I was reading. All in all, the book definitely lives up to the hype!

More personal and spoilery thoughts:

I knew Julie Kagawa from her Iron Fey books (I’ve only read the first 2 so far) and really enjoyed the fairy-world she created there. I’m glad to say that she writes vampires just as well if not better.

I really enjoyed the section of the book that focuses on Allie’s training with Kanin, her vampire sire. She can satisfy her desire to read and learn in a world where most of the population is illiterate. I liked Kanin a lot, and I wished he’d been present for more of the book. He’ll definitely be in the sequel, though.

Also, Asian girl protagonist with a samurai-sword? Count. Me. In!! The fight-scenes were phenomenal. I loved the theatre-setting for the fight against the people who keep Allie’s group imprisoned. In general, Old Chicago must be one of my favorite book-towns ever. It was really interesting to see how different its organization was from that of New Covington, the city Allie comes from!

Another thing about Allie that I found interesting is that sometimes, I had the feeling she was harsher as a human than as a vampire. She wanted to protect the group she travelled with and was dead-set against leaving anyone behind if it could be helped – something she wouldn’t have thought twice about as a human (unless it was a gang member).

I was a bit surprised by the structure of the book. From the blurb, I had expected Allie to be a vampire already, with the parts of her human life being flashbacks. I was surprised the human-part lasted as long as it did, but it was a good way to show the workings of this dystopian society and how radical her transition from prey to predator really is – even though also there, she remains in an in-between state and has to keep hiding.

I think I have to stop my prattling now – all in all, I wolfed this book down when I was reading and kept wondering about what would happen next when I wasn’t. Whether you like vampires or dystopian novels or both – this is the book for you!

Have you read this first book of the Blood of Eden series? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments :)