The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)

I’m really conflicted about this one. I’ve seen/heard all my blogger friends gush and rave over this title, and damn they made it sound really, really good. But upon reading it, I can’t help but wonder if I got the same copy from the publisher or not. There were some parts of The Immortal Rules that I absolutely loved. There were some (okay, a lot) of stuff that was just okay, and a few things that… well, you’ll see what I mean.

One thing I really liked about The Immortal Rules was how Julie Kagawa didn’t hesitate to torture her character. I mean this in the sense that she isn’t afraid to throw all the bad stuff at her character’s direction, and she isn’t afraid to keep the bad stuff flowing. She doesn’t hold back on the details, either. A lot of the books, namely the ones in the YA romance genre, capture the main character as someone perfect in every way possible, though he/she may not know and/or think so. But Allie was flawed. She wasn’t perfect – far from it – and she acknowledged that. And she wants to survive, which is what drives her forward, and makes her do all these things that’ll make you wince and cringe, but you’ll understand why she does it.

I also think that the way she was turned into a vampire was handled really well. There was a clear and understandable motive behind it: staying alive. I know a lot of people would think that, you know, a character should be brave and embrace death, especially since the alternative is becoming something you hate. But when you’re actually dying – which, alone, is kind of a terrifying thought -, and someone hands you an alternative, a way out, I think that most people in Allie’s situation would chose to become a vampire, especially since it means staying alive.

I also loved Allie herself. She’s a flawed character, and she isn’t afraid to admit it. She can handle herself and think for herself, and really has a backbone. Though stubborn, she has a strong will, and does what she thinks is right. Albeit, what she thinks is right isn’t always right, but it’s better than doing what other people tell her to, or mindlessly doing things that’re supposed to be ‘good,’ right? Brownie points for being Asian (you don’t see many Asian YA heroines), and for wielding Kantanas. Which is pretty awesome.

But while I liked Allie, I didn’t like some of the other characters were and/or were portrayed, mainly Zeke, Ruth, and Kanin. Zeke was so… plain and flat. He was sweet, sure, but he didn’t seem very useful – just some side character Julie Kagawa threw in to add romance into the story.

I didn’t like how Kanin was portrayed as someone whom was, in a way, someone Allie looked up to and admired. He was dark and ruthless, and a bit like Allie, though more reserved, and the way he acted and spoke just made him someone I felt like I should question. But Allie actually hung onto his words, and in a way she lived her vampire life by the stuff he told her, which had me a little confused. Kanin wasn’t the type of person I’d look up to or follow.

But even more than that, I really disliked how Ruth was portrayed. I mean, okay, Allie can be seen as some kick-ass survivor, but the other female in this story had to be portrayed as a helpless weakling, slut-shamed, scorned, and clearly designed to be a character everyone hated. Why? What’s wrong with adding in another strong female who’s entirely capable of looking out for herself? But god forbid Allie have some competition for Zeke’s feelings, right? Why is it so bad to throw in another amazing female character?

I also felt like the beginning was really slow, and that this book could’ve been broken up into two separate books: the first half, and the last half. There’s just so many things Julie Kagawa fits into this book, and while it goes by at a nice, somewhat fast pace, there’s also scenes that’re way too heavy with description or too many events packed into one scene when it could’ve been spread out into a couple scenes. There were also scenes that dragged and slowed the story as a result of so many things being crammed into the other scenes, which threw the book off-balance.

Also, I really disliked the ending. It’s not that I disliked how it actually ended, but more like I disliked why it ended the way she did. It’s hard to describe why without giving anything away, but to summarize it all I just really felt that she let her feelings get a hold of her and acted out of pity towards herself rather than consideration towards others.

As always, Julie Kagawa’s writing is almost magical, and her action scenes are breathtaking and startlingly real. They’re also plentiful, which is always a good thing. And these are actually real vampires. The bloodsucking, Run-The-Hell-Away-While-You-Can type. Yay! However, The Immortal Rules had too much in it, and only a few enjoyable characters. While The Immortal Rules isn’t a bad book, it isn’t any of my favorites, either.

I am one of the many people who fell in love with Julie Kagawa’s storytelling and writing in her Iron Fey series. This newest book is completely different from that world and takes a new and inventive look at vampires.

I know what you're thinking. Vampires? Really? Trust me I know how you feel. But Julie Kagawa makes them new again in The Immortal Rules, and its not just a world with vampires, there are humans and rabids as well. I personally found the rabids creation story to be fascinating.

The vampires are the ruling class in this post-apocalyptic world. Which was a twist that I found interesting, and it affirmed the fact that vampires are DANGEROUS and not to be messed with. I also really liked how Allie struggled to keep hold of her humanity, it made her easier to relate with and made you feel for her even though she is a vampire.

Also Allie is a bad-ass before she gets bitten, which I appreciated because I am not a fan of weak female characters. There is also a little romance, but it is not a big thing that consumes the whole story which I really liked.

I liked so many things about The Immortal Rules but my absolute favorite was learning the mythology behind Julie Kagawa’s vampires. The way they were created and how their bodies work made so much sense to me, and I loved learning about it.

Even though The Immortal Rules is a pretty size-able book I was able to finish rather quickly and I never got bored. I totally recommend it for fans of vampires and those who are a little tired of them as well. And if you fell in love with Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series I think you will like this as well! I cannot wait for the next one!

This has definitely been one of the books everyone has been most excited for this spring. Honestly, I was looking forward to it too, although with a bit more hesitation than most, even after watching the compliments roll in. Kagawa's Iron Fey series is immensely popular, but I am in the minority that doesn't think it lives up to the hype. I liked the first book, but quickly got frustrated as more and more YA tropes appeared, eventually giving up on the series entirely. I would have given up on Kagawa, but she wrote a dystopia, and those I just can't resist.

Pretty soon into my reading, I became convinced that The Immortal Rules is a far cry from Kagawa's Iron Fey seiers, which, for me, was definitely a good thing. If you like the lightness of the faerie books, be prepared for something totally different. There's not a ton of humor, and what there is definitely constitutes black humor. This book definitely would fall under the horror category. Seriously, I have never been more terrified of a deer.

Also, rabids...they're freaking scary. I'm not kidding at all. They're like a mixture between reavers from Firefly and velociraptors. Basically, they're crazy vampires that have no interest in anything but nomming people and they hunt in packs. No thanks. I think I would rather starve in the city than face those guys outside the wall!

I definitely agree with something iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books said in her review (I normally try to avoid them - because I hate spoilers and to keep my review my own untempered reactions -but I skimmed hers before entering the giveaway): Stick is completely obnoxious! I mean, I totally appreciate that everyone cannot be a badass and awesome at survival. After watching The Hunger Games movie, my friends asked how I would survive, and I responded that I wouldn't. My plan would be to die as quickly and painlessly as possible, because I'm slow and squeamish. I basically have no skills that would help me survive, except maybe cleverness and I don't think that would counterbalance enough.

Anyway, that's all just to point out that, yeah, not everyone is as well-equipped for survival as Allie is, even though she's shorter and lighter than Stick. There are mental components to strength too, and he sure hasn't got them. However, you still ought to either give up all together or really try. I do not get why he is not registered! And, obviously, the only way he can have survived for this long is by using people. Not cool, dude.

Julie Kagawa mentions in her acknowledgments that she never wanted to write a book about vampires, because, man, has that been done to death (punned!). Still, here she is doing it, because she had an idea that would not let her go, which is cool, because, though I may not be a writer yet, I am enough of one to know that sometimes the ideas kind of have you. Although Kagawa does not do anything especially 'new' with vampires, they do not feel stale at all. I really like that the reaction of humans to vampires is very anti-current-trends, aka people do not want vampires anywhere near them.

The only thing that I questioned about the book was the motorcycles. And, yes, I do know that that sounds like a weird thing to say. Well, in this post-apocalyptic dystopian society, there still is some technology around, and some of it even still works, but a lot has been lost or broken. There doesn't really seem to be much or any development of new things or particular knowledge of how to fix things. Cars sit around rusting. And yet, somehow, there are tons of folks riding around on motorcycles. Where'd they get the gas? Why do those still work and not other things? This isn't a huge issue, but I am hugely curious. Maybe the apocalypse was manufactures by Harley Davidson to increase sales.

To sum up this review, I basically loved this, both the world-building and the writing. I also liked how long the book was; YA should not be quantified merely by how long it takes to read. Iron Fey fans should prepare themselves for something darker and more epic. Perhaps more importantly, I want to urge those who were unimpressed with Kagawa's Iron Fey series to read this. I was skeptical, even more so than ordinary, and I was seriously impressed.

This is not your average YA vampire novel. But then again, it's Julie Kagawa, so why would you ever expect average?

So, Allie is five kinds of badass. She's an orphan, she takes care of herself and kinda takes care of another kid, she can fight, and she's willing to creep into territories a lot of other people are afraid to. Then as a vampire? The badassery continues to grow. She learns a lot, she becomes a better fighter, the girl wields a katana, guys.

Now, I'll be totally honest, I was kinda bored at first. It's a big book, it has a lot of build up before you get to the main plot. I'm pretty sure that build up is because it's necessary information for later books in the series and I'll be glad it was there to set up the future books, but it made it kind of hard to get into.This might've had something to do with the fact I decided to do a read-a-thon but I was restless as I always am when I try to make myself sit down and read. It could also have to do with the fact that the romance didn't kick in until the second half of the novel and, well, do I really need to explain?

The world building was really well done. I could picture the world, I understood how it came about. Because while this is a vampire novel, it's a dystopian vampire novel. Which, hard to imagine, but read it and then it all makes sense. But Julie was really thorough with how things worked and any unanswered questions, I don't doubt will be answered in the sequels.

Despite everything The Immortal Rules has going (awesome writing, solid world building, badass main character, dystopian, romance), we just didn't click. It was a really good book, but something was missing for me. Don't even try to ask me to figure it out, because I can't. But that IT factor wasn't there and it made me kind of angry with myself. How could I NOT absolutely love and adore and obsess over this book? I dunno, it bothers me though.

Despite my lack of IT factor, I still really enjoyed The Immortal Rules, especially once I got into the second half. And I still plan to read the sequels because I know Julie puts out quality work and if this series is anything like the Iron Fey series, each book just gets better.

This book was definitely worth the anticipation! I couldn't really find anything I completely disliked in this book. Great characters, great plot, great writing style, beautiful cover. Oh, now I know what I didn't like. The wait for the next book... Cliffhanger alert!
Allie is a new YA heroine. She kicks butt and is a hot vampire chick. Amazing, right? She has to become the thing she despises most, or die. And her choice to become somthing she hates shows that she's a fighter, she won't give up. Also, it shows that she is a survivor. Allie is a great role model, smart, great sense of humor, very human -even though that's impossible for her- and no fear of what's coming. The other characters were amazing, too. They're looking for Eden, the 'holy' city where you can live without the vamps, and are very religious. They believe in a world without vampires, a better world. I loved Zeke, even though some of his actions really pissed me off...But everyone makes mistakes, right?
The plot with had many interesting turns to keep it a nice and anything-but-boring read, even though it was almost 500 pages. The dystopian world displayed in this is horrifying. A world ruled by vampires, and with crazy zombie-like monsters with vampire powers lurking around every corner of the abandoned streets, trying to grab you and eat you? No thanks! Then I'd prefer to live in a world like we live in now! I start to see a pattern in all YA distopia I read, Lots of horrible futures in which the way of living seems to be returning to the way the people lived around 1700-1900. Lack of technology, lack of food and a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Not that I don't like it, just that I always thought dystopia should be great, and amazing, so that people want to live in the future, or invent the future. *I was a few years younger and many books earlier when I thought that way*
Vampires get a whole new image in this book. They are displayed as kings, rulers of the world, but also as nice people, who don't like to drink blood, but just have to do that in order to survive. These new vampires were very interesting, altough they didn't win it from Stoker's dracula. No vampire can win it from Dracula.

A wonderful new series filled with action, romance, hard decisions and blood-red tears, with a new heroine that every reader will love.

rating:
5 stars - highly recommended!

Just when you think that nothing new can be done with vampires, Julie Kagawa decides to write about them, and boy does she write a refreshing take!
I was immediately drawn to Allie, the main character. I love her survivor instinct and how she clings to her humanity and ultimately who she is even in the darkest of circumstances. This is really what defines a strong main character. They can have all the wit in the world or the hottest guy, but if they don't stay true to themselves (this doesn't mean they don't struggle or make mistakes, by the way--in doing these things they discover more about who they are and make me ultimately like them more) then I don't really find them to be believable.
I really love the mystery surrounding Kanin and I can't wait to find out more about what makes him tick and what led him to the place he's in now. Ms. Kagawa has such a talent to keep me guessing, because for every answer we get in the book, five more questions arise.
Julie Kagawa writes with such immediacy for her characters and with the right amount of detail that it makes me feel like I am a part of the story rather than a passive passenger. I also admire the talent she has to craft these paranormal societies with such subtleties and dysfunction all at the same time. I'm amazed at how authors such as Ms. Kagawa continue to have things up their sleeve to surprise me, because she did it beautifully in The Immortal Rules with the plot twists and revelations, from Jeb's secret, to the mysterious Raider King, Kanin and the whole story with Zeke.
As I mentioned a bit earlier, the characters are crafted wonderfully in this first book of The Blood of Eden. I admired Allie's loyalty and resiliency, and Zeke's unwavering ability to see the good in others. Not only are there great characters, The Immortal Rules is packed with action and adventure. You know it's true when one line reads: "I was tired of being shot, stabbed, burned, gutted, staked and thrown out windows..." It is also a sign that you have one kick butt heroine on our hands.