Early Review: The Eternity Cure

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2)

Julie Kagawa

Publisher: MIRA Ink – to be released 30^th April 2013

E-Arc Courtesy of Netgalley and Harlequin

In Allison Sekemoto's world, there is one rule left: Blood calls to blood 
She has done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever-and possibly end human and vampire existence. 
There's a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago-and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time. Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never have imagined having to make.

After saving her friends and delivering them safely to Eden at the end of The Immortal Rules, Allie is now on a quest to safe her Sire, the vampire who turned her, who has been captured and tortured by another vampire. Blood calls to blood, but can she be sure she is chasing the right blood..? After the road trip from hell (in a good way) that was The Immortal Rules (think Mad Max Road Warrior with Vampires), The Eternity Cure is less road trip and more dysfunctional family drama. But this doesn’t make it less exciting, tense or edge of your seat thrilling.

Allie is a great lead having fought against what it is expected of her, her whole life. She never accepts the status quo and figures things out for herself. Sometimes she is right. Sometimes she is wrong, but you can’t help but root for her, hoping that her relationships work out the way they should. Her father-daughter relationship with Kanin has matured and it is nice to see how far she has come since he first turned her. Add in her ‘brother’ Jackel, a vampire who has a great turn of phrase – some of his lines are hilarious – but you don’t know what his plan is. With Jackel likely to turn on her at any time, Allie has to work with him to find Kanin, a task that becomes further complicated when Zeke, the boy she left in Eden returns. Add in a new plague that threatens to kill the remaining human population (and thus all vampires as well), a psycho vampire out for revenge and the return of an old friend, Allie has enough to deal with in this book. However, it is a mark of a great writer that this story never feels too complicated or bogged down, but flows wonderfully from action to relationship and back again.

The writing is wonderfully expressive allowing us to get under Allie’s skin and feel for her as she struggles between her feelings and what she is now – how she decides on ‘what sort of monster she wants to be’. I loved the development of her relationships especially with Zeke – they have grown so much over the two books and that evolving relationship is a joy to read. The end is very much a cliff-hanger that will have fans biting their nails for the conclusion to this trilogy – I think 2014 is going to be a long time to wait to find out what happens next!

Recommended for fans of Kristin Cashore and Richelle Mead. 8 out of 10 

Early Review: The Immortal Rules

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden 1)

-       Julie Kagawa

Publisher: HarlequinTeen (Published 24^th April 2012)

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.

Having never read any of the Iron Fey series, this was my first introduction to Julie Kagawa’s writing and I have to admit I was swept up in the story straight away. A lot happens in a short space of time – all of it exacting, moving and heart-breaking. People die abruptly. Betrayal is an everyday occurrence. The vampire cities treat humans as cattle – food and protection in exchange for blood and this balance of vampires and humans is unsettling but easily recognisable.  

The writing is taunt and descriptive. The journey through the ruins of America feels very much like a scene from The Walking Dead or Mad Max (the first one) – where the ruins of our world is merely the haunting set for something lethal and remorseless. Characters are unique and memorable. Especially Allie and her mentor Kanin. Kanin remains a mysterious figure, but with plenty of hints about his past and his need for redemption.

Allie is one determined survivor. Whether she is a street rat fringer or a newly turned vampire, she knows how to survive. However, where this book shows its true is colours is not in how she survives but why she does. This is a story of a young girl wanting survive and finding reasons for that survival. She is stubborn and headstrong, but strangely vulnerable and willing to protect those weaker than herself. She is fiercely loyal. Allie is a memorable character and it’s easy to see her story is no-where near done yet!

There is a hint of romance, but it plays a backseat to an exploration of humanity and an exciting road trip through the wilderness. For a cinematic story of survival and adventure you can’t really get much better than this!

Recommended for fans of Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth. 9 out of 10.