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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden #1
Published: April 24, 2012 by Harlequin Teen
Rating:Photobucket


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.


My Review

The Immortal Rules reminded me so much of the movie Daybreakers. The book focuses on Allie, an unregistered human who is risking everything to stay both alive and independent of the reigning vampires. She refuses to offer up her blood to the 'monsters' and therefore lives on the fringe of civilization, desperately trying to stay alive until she is attacked by 'rabids' and forced to make the decision- die or become what she hates most. 

The grittiness of this book is what really drew me in. I loved the post-apocalyptic feel of the settings and the desperation you feel coming off each and every character trying to survive. There is always an underlying fear in every scene that the next monster is going to attack and that will constantly keep you on your toes while reading. The horrors that Kagawa has created are definitely scary, especially the rabids, and will be sure to make your heart race!

Allie as the main character was so badass. She's not afraid to say what everyone is thinking and keeps everything in such a real perspective. I loved her bluntness and hard demeanor. Kagawa does an excellent job showing Allie's progression from human to vampire and her inner turmoils of becoming the monster she hates. She didn't skimp on the story line and spent a good amount of time showing Allie's 'training' period as a new vampire. I like that she didn't just jump right into the role, but instead we got to experience the newness of the experience right along with Allie. 

Along with the always prevalent fear and desperation, there are some really sweet moments in this book. The relationship between Vampire Allie and Human Zeke was really well crafted. The complexity of their relationship, due to secrets and revelations, is portrayed immediately and it is really heart wrenching watching Allie hide her vampirism from Zeke and the rest of the group. 

Even more is the hurt you feel when Allie has to make some incredibly difficult choices for these people she unknowingly falls in love with. The characters are all perfectly written to have individual voices and personalities throughout. Kagawa excelled at juggling these secondary characters and making you remember them just as much as the primary ones. 

This story has just started what is to be an addicting and dark series, one that I am sure to stick with. I recommend this book to any who can still appreciate a good vampire story with strong romance and amazing writing.  


16 comments:

  1. Yeah ! I'm so glad you enjoyed Immortal Rules, Kristan :)
    Allie was pretty bad-ass, wasn't she ? :P
    Great review ! :)

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    1. Allie was awesome! Definitely the kind of girl you'd want on your good side =)

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  2. I loved this book myself :) I know some people didn't enjoy it for the slow development in the beginning, and for the extensive training, but just like you, I thought those things were necessary. Without them, the story would've felt incomplete. :)

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  3. Awesome review. I'm really curious about this one. I still love vampire books, especially when they are new and interesting. Sounds like this one is. Glad you loved it.

    -Lauren

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  4. Great review!! I loved this book :D I am definitely excited to see what's going to happen in the next one!!!

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  5. Every blog i visit keeps reminding me i need to get this book..hot review and thanks for sharing your thoughts.

    ~Shane

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  6. I need to buy this book. lol. I've heard nothing but good things about it!

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    1. If Daybreakers is anything like this book, then I definitely need to watch it because I loved this one like crazy! Allie was SUCH a fantastic heroine and I love being able to go through the whole newness of vampirism with her too -- it made the experience more real and the whole book just a bundle more of awesomeness! :)

      Really awesome review, Kristan! I'm really glad you liked it as much as I did! <3

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  8. EEK!!!!!!!!!! I am a HUGE fan of Julie Kawaga's work so I was really anxious to read this series!!!!!! And after your fabulous review I need to pick this one up so much more urgently! I am sooooooo glad to hear that the characters are complex and that the romance is really well-written!!!!! Thank you for the awesome review :) I CAN NOT wait to read this one for myself :)

    BTW beautiful blog!!!! Following you :)

    SeeitORreadit

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  9. I have this book sitting on my shelf.. I can't wait to pick it up!

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  10. Ooooo, so jealous!! I'm dying to get my hands on this!! Great review - glad you loved it! :)

    Lisa @ Lost in Literature

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  11. I loved Allie too. I liked that she had that gritty, survivalist mentality. It made lot of sense given her life. Even though she did some dumb things, she felt real.

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  12. Great review! I was wondering if it would be too much like Daybreakers but it sounds like a really fun read :)

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  13. I won this book in a contest and I haven't had a chance to read it yet. Ive really been looking forward to it, so im glad that you enjoyed it so much!

    Thanks for the great review.

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  14. Looks like an interesting read. Definitely all about a kick ass heroine.

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