Book Review: The Eternity Cure (The Immortal Rules #2) by Julie Kagawa

I just finished The Eternity Cure (The Immortal Rules #2) by Julie Kagawa.  WOW!  What a great book!  If you missed my review of book 1, The Immortal Rules, click here.  I can't believe I read book 1 over a year ago.  Time flies,huh?

Last year, I  gave book this new vamp seres a 4 because it hooked me from the beginning.  I love when an author brings a fresh take on vamp lit.  And Julie did just that and then some.  The Eternity Cure, thankfully, continues the path that Immortal Rules started and then explodes into a frenzy of epic proportions.  I have to admit, I read a few reviews that dissuaded my interest at first with book 2.  The overall comment was the beginning was a bit slow.  I have to agree.  It was a tad slow, but still highly entertaining nonetheless.  

We left our heroine, Allison, a bad-ass vampire babe, who after being expunged from the safety of Eden--the city of the living(humans)--is beckoned by the cries of her sire, Kanin.  Kanin's imprisoned by, Sarren, another vampire, who is the epitome of evil.  As Sarren psychotically abuses Kanin for his crimes against the vampire community, Kanin's calls of distress send a signal to his sired children to come to his aid. One of Kanin's children, if you recall from book 1, is Jackal.  You remember the sadistic vampire who ruled one of the vampire cities?  Well, he's back and I must say, what a pleasure it was to have him in book 2.  He breathed life into Allison's somber existence.  Thank God!  Don't get me wrong.  I loved Allison, but she's such a new vampire in a truly dystopian/vamp world that she's still trying to find her way.  Jackal brings a colorful take on being a vampire and does it with such hilarity.  What a riot!  As a reader, I had a visual image of the true character of Jackal. but I couldn't find a match for holiday, until I saw this post from the Bloody Bookoholic! This emphatic reader/blogger went nuts with her Hollywood pics for a movie since the rights to the series were recently purchased.  And let me tell you she hit the mark with Russell Brand as the Jackal.  

In book 2, Ezekiel is back (Zeke), and at first I was stunned.  After all Allison when through in The Immortal Rules, he honestly was the last person I expected to return.  I know.  I know.  That's incredibly dense on my part since he is the love interest.  Still, he arrives, along with a whole cast of entertaining characters.  I didn't burn to read this one until I hit about page 200, but wow...those last 230+ pages were on fire for me.  I'm totally hooked on this series.  So much is at stake now.  So much... I won't give you any spoilers other than despite Allison being a vampire and Eziekiel being a human, they may just have a future.

This was a 4.5 for me!  Hot damn.  Cant's wait for book 3!

Mina B.

A-Z, Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules Book Review & Fred

For my A-Z Challenge, the letter is “R,” and today, I’ll be doing a "Review" filled with engrossing characters that should entice those interested in hot YA fantasy literature.  Are you familiar with Julie Kagawa, the author of the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fae Series? Well, if not, she’s about to launch Book I of the Blood of Eden series.  It's a book about vampires titled, The Immortal Rules. And boy does it rule! (Some spoilers mentioned.)

The Immortal Rules is a wicked novel about a post-apocalyptic world where vampires rule in various vampire city destinations around the country and enslave humans for blood.  Within the city walls, there are registered humans: those that donate their blood in exchange for food, shelter and protection. And then there are the unregistered humans: those that refuse to conform and that live on the “Fringe—the outermost circle of the vampire city.” They survive by hiding from hunting vamps and scavenging for food.  The novel begins with a young 17 year old human girl, Allison Sekemoto, who is unregistered and fighting for that very survival along with her gang mates.

Since food is always the underlying concern, Allie finds the mother lode in an area outside the city called the ruins. Venturing in this forbidden place can get you killed, which is exactly what happened to our heroine. Turning from human to a vampire was probably the worst thing that could happen to Allie. Still, intuitively she is a survivor. Her sire, Kanin, is like her vampire sensei. He teaches her everything she knows about being a vampire and of course about the immortal rules. She learns about the vampire hierarchy, how the world morphed into a post-apocalyptic nightmare and sadly, how she can never trust humans again.

The Immortal Rules reminded me of hodgepodge of other bestsellers including I am Legend and The Hunger Games. Allie is so likable simply because she is a quick learner and excels at surviving.  Her human beginnings were incomprehensible—a mere child with no family, starving at every turn. And then of course she dies and is forced to experience a whole new level of hunger.  I loved Allie’s spirit, her innocence and her strength—not to mention the world Kagawa built. And the ending…was like a movie. Thrilling. This novel will no doubt be another successful series for Kagawa.  In fact, for those that don’t know, Palomar Pictures just purchased the film rights for The Immortal Rules and Blood of Eden series. 

The Immortal Rules was easily a 4 for me. If you like YA books and you’re in need of a great vampire one, then this is hands down your novel.   Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules releases April 24th. 

And now....Fridays with Fred

Fred is taking break today.  In his place is one of his friends, Achilles. And like Fred, Achilles is an staunch Heat fan, which is a good thing because right now the heat are hot, hot, HOT! Go Miami Heat!

Remember to stop by and say hi to Schatze over at Mary’s BookHounds too. 

Have a great weekend.

Mina B.