Friday, June 20, 2014

Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Published: April 24th 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

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 of them—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.

The Iron Fey series (with the exception of the first book) is one of my favorites. It’s very easy to read, has good humor, fun characters and a magical world. Since I had heard that The Blood of Eden series was completely different from the fey one, I was a little reluctant to start these, not gonna lie. Shouldn’t have doubted Julie Kagawa’s writing abilities though, because this was quite magnificent!

"Allison, how you live your life is up to you. I can only give you the skills you need to survive. But eventually, you will have to make your own decisions, come to your own terms about what you are."

Julie manages to craft the world beautifully and with effortless ease. Allison’s strength, courage and tough exterior were intriguing and well-welcomed in this dark, cruel paranormal dystopian world. Liked how the world and Allie both got development, but the plot moves to darker themes quickly, where we get even more development.

You can guess based on the original and new covers that this story is dark and more resemblance is towards True Blood than Vampire Academy or The Vampire Diaries: the vamps in this world cry blood tears, there are different gangs, there’s a vampire royalty—I approve of everything. I also liked how the romance took a back seat in this novel. It’s more about Allison’s personal growth and journey to accept the monster she has become. This brings me to Zeke though—loved, loved, loved that guy! Such a sweet, humble and caring person. You can’t help but like him :)

Part II, while excessive with world building, was intense and the fighting scenes were awesome. I hate Stick. I think it’s good that Ruth questions Allison’s motives even if she does it out of pure jealousy, because it gives realistic qualities to the world where friends turn to foes in 2 seconds flat if it meant they could save their own skin, so why in the world would you want to trust a stranger, yeah? Anyhow, from a reader’s POV, especially one’s that roots for such a kick-a MC as Allison, I wanted Ruth to SHUT UP. Geez! She’s one annoying character. As for other characters, loved Kanin, intrigued by Sarren and hated Jackal. I have no idea why you guys love him so much, he's a complete douche, but.. I'll find out soon, I hope.

If I were to point out some flaws, I’d say that even though I was rooting for the characters, I didn’t form any big emotional connections. Also, perhaps the long descriptive parts when Allie has to travel alone etc, but it’s totally understandable why it was written that way. Plus, we see Allie’s inner struggles on how to cope with her hunger, lack of home or any support system in the form of a friend during those parts and they were still very beautifully written.

At the end of the day, this was a great first book and a complete 180 from Julie’s previous work with her fey series. I love me some Ash and Puck, but it was great to see that Julie is just as talented with world and character building as I thought her to be. If you’re interested in something a little darker then I’d definitely recommend this pretty.

Overall rating: 4.3 out of 5.0
Stars: ★★★★

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18 comments:

  1. We talked about this the other day, but I really haven't been able to get into Kagawa's Iron Fey series, I know so many readers have loved it, but I stopped after book two I think. And normally when a certain book by an author doesn't work for me, I normally don't pick up any of their books. But I'm so glad that I gave this series a try, although it didn't end the best way for me, it still will be one of my favourite series for a long time, and you know how picky I am about my dystopian-paranormal books. But just get ready for the next book, it is my favourite!

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  2. I'm so glad you loved this book as much as I did, Siiri. I hope you'll love the next two books in the trilogy even more too. I completely agree with you. Kagawa is a goddess when it comes to writing and there's no denying how talented she is. I think what I mostly loved about this is that it's so much more than just a YA paranormal/dystopian novel. Allie's growth throughout this entire series is spectacular and I look up to her as a role model. I also loved how the romance took a back-seat in this one. And Zeke! Yes! <3 He's such a decent guy. I loved him so much. :) You know me and good guys!
    As for Jackal, you're going to be so surprised in the next book. Just wait and watch. :)
    Beautiful review, Siiri.

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  3. Hehe you recommended this to me and for once, I didn't' ignore a recommendation from someone on GR. See how special you are? SEEEEEE.

    I was already sold when I saw my name there (and spelt correctly YAY! No Ali / Ally nonsense!), but you pitched it to me even more with the whole wonderful love interest thing. I need to live vicariously through book me! ;)

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  4. Yes I am so glad you have read this finally Siiri, I really enjoyed this book, it was so different to Kagawa's other series as you mentioned. It featured a great blend of dystopian and vampires and Allie was such a great, kickass character! I loved Zeke as well. Great review lovely!

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  5. I really had a great time with this series, and Julie Kagawa doesn't often disappoit for me. I'm glad you had a good time with it Siiri too and I hope it will be the same for the whole trilogy!

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  6. Yayyy!! I really enjoyed this one as well. I'm not sure why I haven't continued on with the series yet, but I definitely hope to in the near future. Great review! :)

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  7. Everyone seems to be gaga over Kagawa (ha, fun to say), so I'm ashamed to say I've NEVER read her books. That must be fixed, obviously. Your rating has me very excited, although I'm disappointed that no real emotional attachments to the characters were made. But if everything else was great, then it might not be too bad for me ;) Love your review, Siiri!

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  8. I loved the Iron Fey books and this one was super amazing and different. World building was excellent and I loooved the action! :D I really liked the less-romantic-ness of the book.. but book 3 has A LOT of romance and angst. ._. I hope you enjoy books 2 and 3 as well, Siiri :D

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  9. Yay! So glad you liked this, Siiri! I actually liked this story better that her Iron Fey series, which was a little overly descriptive for me. I hated Ruth, and while it was smart to be cautious her motivations made me so mad! I still need to read the next two books. I get so distracted when a series spaces the release of sequels a year apart that I have a bad habit of never finishing. Lovely review! :)

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  10. I am so excited to read this one - it looks fantastic!

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  11. *happy awkward dancing* I am soooo glad you enjoyed this Siiri. This is one of my favorite YA series. The whole trilogy is awesome and be sure and read the novella..it rocked.

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  12. Oh i'm happy you enjoyed this one Siiri since everyone's always rvaing about Julie Kagawa and this series but i have yet to start it ! *hides* LOL i think i'll have ot give it a shot now!
    Lily

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  13. I believe I read this book before I started the Iron Fey, so that was a huge difference, haha. I absolutely love both series, but I think I'm a little more in love with this one because of kick-ass Allie and the darkness. Those fighting scenes are perfect!

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  14. You have no idea how happy I'm you gave this series a go. I was scared when I started the first book too, just because The Iron Fay was like you said magical :) I now know never to doubt Julie :D But yes girl this book is totally about Allison not just love story and I LOVE it for it. I cannot wait for you to discover more about it soon and gosh Kanin is amazing too. Great review, hon :)

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  15. A complete 180 from The Iron Fey series? So there is hope that I might like it? *scratches fake beard*
    I don't like vampires all that much but I am curious about this series now that you mention it's completely different from the Iron Fey one. You know I HATED that series (well hated is strong disliked would be more appropriate) and there is so much hype surrounding both series which is why I am so worried about how I'd like this one. :D I think it's time I added this to my huge ass TBR though! :D

    Fantastic review, Siiri! :)

    Rashika @ The Social Potato

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  16. I've yet to pick up one of Julie's books because I'm not sure which series to start with! I've been eyeing the Iron Fey series because it looks so good, and I have the first book in this series too. So glad you enjoyed it Siiri, I like vampire books that are dark and has good character growth, plot and world-building. Kagawa seems to exceed at all three! Can't wait to finally read one of her books. :P Wonderful review x

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  17. I loved the Immortal Rules! I'm currently reading the second book: The Eternity Cure and loving it so far. I also have Kagawa's other series, The Iron Fey but haven't gotten around to reading it yet :)

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  18. Definitely, I'll read this books! I love the fey series, especially The Iron Queen, too, btw :D

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