Title:
The Immortal Rules (
Blood of Eden #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher:
Harlequin Teen
Published: April 24, 2012
Format: Netgalley eARC* 485 pages
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:
Allison Sekemoto is an Unregistered living as a Fringer on the outskirts of the Inner City where the vampires live and rule over the humans using the Registered humans as blood cattle to get monthly blood donations in exchange for food rations. Allie never wants to conform to the bloodsuckers she has grown to hate so much and rather live her life scavenging food with her small group in the Fringe. It’s a hard life for Allie and her friends having to constantly look for food and hope to survive another day without starvation. Each day, Allie struggles with life and the difficulty of acquiring food. Not able to find food within the city limits, she decides it’s time to roam outside of the city and into the ruins. The ruins is no paradise, for there are other monsters besides the vampires lurking in the night and these are the Rabids. Allie is willing to risk it all, but her decisions have grave consequences that will put her life to the brink of death. After a horrific attack from the Rabids, Allie has to make a another choice, die or live as a vampire she loathes completely.
Julie Kagawa does not disappoint when it comes to creating a whole new world and story filled with vampires. In fact, she completely amazed and impressed me beyond belief. I thought I’ve seen it all when it came to vampires, but Julie Kagawa gave it a twist and made it her own. She placed the vampires in a post-apocalyptic society where they rule over humans. She gave them ultimate power and terrifying personas that put other vampires I know to shame. She added in these disgusting, gruesome and vile creatures known as the Rabids. There’s also mole men, bandits, and Raiders who are endless threats to the heroine of the story. She gave this world a rough, creepy, bleak and desperate setting where survival is key. Julie Kagawa built up the world nicely with more than imaginative descriptions. It was completely detailed and well developed without giving much away. Julie still leaves room with plenty to know and learn as well as discover for the other books to come. She really made me see, live and experience this world while I was reading.
Like with the Iron Fey series, the writing to The Immortal Rules is magnificent. I was easily able to get lost in such a familiar yet still incredible writing style of Julie’s. Her writing is still immensely visual, clear and descriptive. It’s never difficult to lose yourself and let the world around you fall away while allowing the power of Julie Kagawa’s writing consume you completely. The way she broke up the book into four parts of Allie’s transformation made for clean transitions for the obstacles that Allie faced within each part. It was done quite well. The pacing of the book was pretty quick, but never once was it overwhelming in any way. The action and adventure throughout the book is non-stop and the unexpected surprising moments with different characters added into the mix made for an engrossing journey to Eden.
The characters in The Immortal Rules is vastly diverse, brimming with different personalities. They are distinctive and set apart. I love how all the characters in this book connect in some way. Each of their pasts weaves in to come to the present and brings them together in the strangest and most undesirable circumstances. My favorite character is Allie. She was strong from the very start. She was tough, bold, daring and oozing with fierceness and intelligence. As a human, she fought to survive in the world she was put in, doing the best she can to make do. She was resourceful, took initiative and she didn’t let anyone step on her. She never gave up even when she transformed into a vampire. As a vampire, I admired Allie even more. She retained her humanity, even though she feared she would lose it to the monster side of herself. Yes, she slipped up and made a mistake or two, but she felt remorse and guilt. She still cared. She still had such intense emotions that made her human on the inside. She wasn’t thoughtless or mindless. She was understanding, kind, and compassionate while still being the badass, katana wielding girl I loved from the beginning. Even at her lowest, I sympathized with Allie and I completely understood her from the start. She’s easy to love and relate to. Other than Allie, I really loved Kanin. He was aloof, calm, and collected while still being mysterious, strong, brave, and elusive. To me, Kanin was the most interesting character in The Immortal Rules. I wanted to know more about him. He piqued my interest from the start and despite his indifference and the dangerous way he carried himself, I liked him. I thought he had his own thing going for him and I wished he had more page time. Zeke is the complete opposite of Kanin. While Zeke is strong and brave as Kanin, Zeke is sweet and caring. He’s kind, friendly and absolutely protective of his family. He’s very helpful, thoughtful and efficient. I thought he was the most real and truest character in the whole book besides Allie. I loved him to no extent as well. Other characters that were also memorable was Sarren. He, too, was quite intriguing. I wanted to know more about him, but I do admit he scared me. He’s volatile, insane and vindictive. He seemed like the type to show no mercy whatsoever. Jeb, although not crazy, was hard and strict. He was completely obsessive and determined to get to Eden despite risking the safety of the people. He was a leader, all right, but he was pretty ruthless at times. He had this air of superiority that gave him power and exuded fear from the rest of the group. Each character that Julie created was well written and developed perfectly. I loved each character as individuals and adored them in groups as well.
Overall, The Immortal Rules was one epic read. It’s another brilliant and very well written book from Julie Kagawa. Filled with constant threat of danger, the willingness to survive coupled with the hope to find a better place, The Immortal Rules an edge like no other book has. It’s thrilling, exciting, suspenseful and keeps you rooted to your seat in wonder and amazement. Every part of this book is unforgettable and will definitely stay with you wanting more and more.
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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