The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1) in Vampire Lovers笘�

May 13, 2012 Catherine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, read-in-2012, dystopian, favourites, ya-pnr-supernatural, vampires, reviewed

Over the years that I窶况e been a ﾅｷｱｦﾓ鯊ﾖ member, the name Julie Kagawa has come up from time to time, but the reason I never read any of her books was because I窶冦 not a huge faerie fan. So when a vampire book finally came up with the name Julie Kagawa attached to it, I had no excuse not to pick it up, and boy am I glad I did!

I窶冦 normally such a vampire fan-girl it窶冱 kind of embarrassing, but I窶�ve spent so much time recently on dystopian books that I窶�ve neglected my little blood-sucking friends. Over the years that I窶况e been a ﾅｷｱｦﾓ鯊ﾖ member, the name Julie Kagawa has come up from time to time, but the reason I never read any of her books was because I窶冦 not a huge faerie fan. So when a vampire book finally came up with the name Julie Kagawa attached to it, I had no excuse not to pick it up, and boy am I glad I did!

I窶冦 normally such a vampire fan-girl it窶冱 kind of embarrassing, but I窶�ve spent so much time recently on dystopian books that I窶�ve neglected my little blood-sucking friends. So that might have something to do with how much I loved this book.

I really love Julie Kagawa窶冱 writing style. The world building was so well done that only a few pages in I had a good image of the world Allie lived in, and the hierarchy regarding humans and vampires. I was immediately drawn to the characters and they all had such distinctive personalities that the secondary characters made just as much of an impression on me as the main protagonists.

I can窶冲 help but love Kanin even though he seemed rather reserved in this book, but I窶冦 hoping we窶冤l learn much more about him in the next one. Caleb stole my heart with his little six-year-old cuteness, and Jeb was so frustrating and confusing because even though he was so harsh I could understand where he was coming from.

Allie窶冱 character was just awesome. She was brave and strong-willed as a human, and amazingly kick-ass as a vampire, but at the same time she was just a girl like everyone else. I loved that her own personality and beliefs weren窶冲 overshadowed by her crazy vampire skills and she wasn窶冲 built up into this mystical creature that was above human beings. Even though she hated vampires she still made the decision to become one in order to survive, and whilst she struggled with her vampirism throughout the book, it wasn窶冲 in an overly dramatic way. Allie窶冱 journey to self-actualisation was realistic and I have so much respect for her. She窶冱 definitely one of my favourite YA heroines.

I really loved Zeke窶冱 character as well. I think his personality complimented Allie窶冱 very well and even though physically Allie is the stronger of the two, I never felt that Zeke depended on her because he had his own strength. He had faith, he was strong in how he took up responsibility of leading the group, and he never once broke down through all the hardships. And窶ｦhe窶冱 so cute I could put him in a pie.

The concept of a world taken over by vampires and humans turned into cattle is one I窶况e come across already but this is without a doubt one of the best versions I窶况e read so far. I think that窶冱 just proof that Julie Kagawa is awesome.

There is quite a bit of talking, walking and thinking in this book, but at the same time there窶冱 also a lot of action and emotion窶ｦso basically everything I like! The romance was quite subtle, but I thought it was the perfect amount to keep me rooting for Allie and Zeke, go 窶朗oooo!窶� at the end, and just about want to hunt Ms. Kagawa down for the next book so I can find out what happens to them next.

It窶冱 a miracle, because I don窶冲 have ANY complaints. I loved everything about this book.

Just go and read it. ...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Parajunkee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed

Julie Kagawa has again left me awed by her mastery of the written word and her ability to breath new life into something that has been done over and over again.

Kagawa forwards her book with a note about how she never wanted to write vampire fiction. I窶冦 so glad that she decided to give it a go. Her creativity and unique voice took two overdone genres, dystopian and vampire fiction and produced something so unique that everyone will most likely be copying her in the future.

It really is no secret ...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Rachel (The Rest Is Still Unwritten) rated it really liked it

Shelves: i-own, harlequin-sent, publisher-sent, signed-copies, for-review

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. **Firstly, thank-you to HarlequinTEEN Australia for providing me with a copy of this to read and review!**

Find my complete review here:

Masterfully blending vampires with dystopia, Julie Kagawa breathes fresh air into a vampiric story that you窶冤l really be able to sink your teeth into with the beginning of her new exciting Blood of Eden series!

Beginning this book, it quickly becomes clear that whoever said vampires were done certainly never met Julie Kaga **Firstly, thank-you to HarlequinTEEN Australia for providing me with a copy of this to read and review!**

Find my complete review here:

Masterfully blending vampires with dystopia, Julie Kagawa breathes fresh air into a vampiric story that you窶冤l really be able to sink your teeth into with the beginning of her new exciting Blood of Eden series!

Beginning this book, it quickly becomes clear that whoever said vampires were done certainly never met Julie Kagawa! Telling the story of Allison Sekemoto and her brave if not sometimes harrowing and lonely journey in the detailed and descriptive way that only Kagawa can, The Immortal Rules drives the reader straight into a hard, dark world where the characters struggle to survive and even to maintain their own humanity.

As with all of Kagawa窶冱 other writing, I found this story to be richly descriptive while never lacking for danger and action sequences. Each word flows perfectly to the next, detailing the harsh, barren and plague destroyed world that our heroine, Allie, lives in. From the dark alleyways and harsh streets of the vampire city that Allie and her friends live in during the very beginning of the story, to the vast plains, forests and lands that Allie travels across with those she meets once she leaves, every detail manages to captive your imagination and only further catapults you into the world you are reading about.

Set in this incredible backdrop, the vampires and their regime that drive part of the plot are very intriguing. We see only the streets where Allie lives and only the lowly parts of the city throughout the book and I found I wondered about the other side of the fence. I can certainly see Julie Kagawa building on this as she expands her world in future books and I look forward to seeing more of the vampire Kings, Princes and Masters that run the vampire cities.

Throughout The Immortal Rules we follow our heroine Allison 窶廣llie窶� Setemoto in her journey from human to vampire and then onwards. As a reader I found it really interesting seeing Allie before her change and then afterwards. There窶冱 that initial change as she becomes a vampire, but she窶冱 still very much Allison. She many now be one of the creatures she despises, but she窶冱 still the same girl she窶冱 always been---resilient, bold and quick thinking. It was very hard not to like Allison in this book, and Julie writes her well窶覇asy to emphasise with and to follow, but she also allows us to put ourselves in Allison窶冱 shoes (which I did) and think how we窶囘 react in her situation. Would we chose death or would we become the thing we hated most, simply to live? This makes it all the more engaging as Allison makes this hard choice and untimely seals her fate, setting her path.

The characters that litter the pages of this book are all wonderful and add a real depth to the novel. They add that human aspect to it that drives home the fact that there are more than just Allie suffering in this dystopian vampire world. Even as we see Allie struggling with her Hunger and her raging vampire desires, the other characters she meets including, little Caleb and shy Bethany, mingle with the stronger ones of Zeke and Jeb to enhance her struggle not to hurt them and her desperation to maintain the humanity within herself.

The relationship that develops between Allie and her sire, Kanin, is a central one in the story to me, even as it gets lost in amongst the danger and the romance because here are two people who were so very different, now bound together forever because he gave her a new chance at life. The predator and prey; the monster and the innocent who become the same when he turned her and made her like him. The father/daughter dynamic that develops is endearing and strange, albeit in an oddly comforting way. There窶冱 this otherworldly and old-timely feel to Kanin that seems so different to the rough around the edges feel that we see with Allison窶琶t窶冱 a strange combination, but it works for them.

Another thing I enjoyed about this book was that I didn窶冲 feel that Julie Kagawa romanticised her vampires. She doesn窶冲 make Allison, or even Kanin, out to be more or less than what they are. She gives it to us straight and doesn窶冲 skirt around the fact that, despite her kindness and good intentions, Allie is still a monster. And no matter how hard she fights, there窶冱 still that part lurking inside her, waiting to get out. And in turn, this is what makes so many of Allie窶冱 decisions all the more powerful....because it窶冱 goes against what she is and she窶冱 choosing to go against what she is---I love that!

With a heart-racing few final chapters that are full steam ahead all the way until the very end, The Immoral Rules will leave you grasping for more and wondering what Julie Kagawa will do next!
...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Caitlin Wyatt rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorite-books, 2012

This book was really good, it took me a little while to get into it, but once I did it was intense. It felt like vampire drama meets dystopia, very nice. Kanin appealed to me much more than Ezekial, and Allison was really mature about the becoming a vampire thing. The story was just really entertaining, and well written I am a big fan of Julie's other series, so I had a strong feeling I would like this. I love when books have people traveling in a big group like The Walking Dead, that is my favo ...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Kaitlynne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: absolute-favorites

Okay, so I have to admit, I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this book while I was reading it. My opinion changed a million different times while I was reading it. After I finished it, I really liked it, but it is waaaay different from the Iron Fey series ( That is to be expected though). I am excited for the next book, I can't wait to see how everything works out! ...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Becs rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, ya-paranormal, dystopia, released-2012, diverse-ya

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After reading Julie Kagawa窶冱 first book in her Iron Fey series, I wasn窶冲 that impressed. The Iron King was getting many amazing reviews but it wasn窶冲 for me. Then I heard about her new series, a dystopic vampire tale. Again absolutely amazing reviews, rarely one under 4 stars. So I gave her the benefit of the doubt that it was her first novel. I decided to give her another go. And I am glad I did. I was sucked in straight away. Already, I could tel Also found:

After reading Julie Kagawa窶冱 first book in her Iron Fey series, I wasn窶冲 that impressed. The Iron King was getting many amazing reviews but it wasn窶冲 for me. Then I heard about her new series, a dystopic vampire tale. Again absolutely amazing reviews, rarely one under 4 stars. So I gave her the benefit of the doubt that it was her first novel. I decided to give her another go. And I am glad I did. I was sucked in straight away. Already, I could tell, that this book was going to be better.

窶弋he stranger, the vampire, still knelt beside me, waiting for my answer. I looked up into his dark eyes and made my decision.
窶廬 want 窶� to live.窶昶�

I was completely thrown into Allison窶冱 world. Normally paranormal novels are not about the vampires ruling the world but being a secret race hidden from humans. I wanted to know more about how this world works. It was interesting, especially when Allison discovered more herself.

The beginning and the climax were the best parts. The action was engaging and I couldn窶冲 stop reading. Unfortunately it did get a little slow in the middle; one of the reasons this book did not get a higher rating. However I was glad that it was longer than The Iron King. My main problem with The Iron King was that it felt too rushed. Even though The Immortal Rules slowed up in the middle, it gave us enough time to know the characters and enable the reader to understand them.

I liked Allie as a character. I could understand her. I didn窶冲 love her but I didn窶冲 hate her either. I am hoping to see more of her grow in the next book.

At first I didn窶冲 know what to make of Zeke. I didn窶冲 see anything special about him. However as the book progressed we found out more about his upbringing and the burdens he has to bare. Despite what he has been through, he is one of those guys that cares and trusts everyone; not just Allie. I started to slowly fall in love with him. Can窶冲 wait to see more Zeke.

I liked the connection that Allie starts to build with Kanin, her vampire creator. It wasn窶冲 perfect but it seems to work. Especially after the climax, I want their relationship to grow and for us to find out more about him.

I would have liked for there to be a bit more discovery in the story. We got told a lot of things at the beginning and after that Allie seemed to know a lot. Kanin taught her everything about the vampire society but we only got to know things that seemed relevant. I wanted to know more; especially from a first person point of view. I don窶冲 always like it when the characters learn more information that is never revealed.

Descriptions were a little bit lacking as well. Maybe I just accidently skimmed that part but I never had a clear image in my head about what the main characters looked like. Especially Kanin. He is completely conjured in my imagination but I don窶冲 know what he is like in Julie窶冱. He has dark eyes. That窶冱 all I got. (Please tell me if I just missed the sentence.)

Overall I enjoyed it and I窶冦 looking forward for the next book to come out. Might even decide to give The Iron Fey series another go, if I get time, now that I know it wasn't Julie Kagawa that I didn窶冲 like but just the book. ...more

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