Review: The Eternity Cure

THE ETERNITY CURE
Blood of Eden #2
Julie Kagawa
Paranormal Young Adult
446 pages
Harlequin Teen
Available April 30th
Received from publisher via NetGalley

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

MY THOUGHTS
The Eternity Cure is a beautifully dark sequel, delving deeper into the brutal vampire world of which Allie is a newly fanged member, and peeling back the layers of beloved characters to expose the painful and vulnerable flesh underneath. Ms. Kagawa does a brilliant job of slowly bringing us up to speed as we follow Allie in her search for Kanin, reminding us of the details we may have forgotten since finishing The Immortal Rules in a way that doesn't interrupt the pacing at all, instead the little clues and hints we need to jog our memories are seamlessly integrated into present events. Many times with second books in a trilogy, we find ourselves struggling with non-events–small dramas and superfluous details that don't necessarily move the overall story arc forward but rather set us up for the inevitable action-packed conclusion–but with The Eternity Cure we're given a multi-layered plot that only intensifies our connection to Allie, Kanin and Zeke, making us laugh, cry, and suck in our breath in the final chapter.

Allie is seventeen going on fifty, a world-weariness radiating from her as she sees and experiences things no one so young should have to, but she shoulders it without even the slightest of grimaces as acknowledgement of the added weight. Every moment of every day she struggles with her vampire nature, constantly trying to make choices that will leave the smallest possible black marks on her soul, but ultimately knowing they are black marks just the same. Though her future has the potential to be unbearably bleak, she never wallows or despairs of what might have been, even when reuniting with Zeke provides her with a poignant reminder of what she can never again have, instead she continues to put one foot in front of the other and mitigate the damage she has no choice but to cause as best she can.

Those who fell in love with Kanin despite his fairly minor role in The Immortal Rules will likely be thrilled with The Eternity Cure, his presence magnified and his past finally illuminated in all its gritty glory. He's still deliciously enigmatic in many ways and is never one to speak without purpose, so we can't help but treasure every word that escapes his lips as we know he's measured them carefully and is imparting something important whether we realize it at the time or not. Adding a little levity to Kanin's stoic presence is Jackal, a vampire we wouldn't have minded meeting a tragic end after his role in the deaths of many a human in book one, but we find ourselves snorting in amusement when he joins Allie on her quest, surprisingly grateful for his presence, his blunt nature, and his sometimes inappropriate sense of humor.

Despite its length, The Eternity Cure seems to fly by, tension wreaking havoc on our guts when Allie and company are tested and threatened but seem to emerge victorious, something we soon realize was simply Ms. Kagawa lulling us into a false sense of security as we approach the concluding pages. It's only then she comes at us from the darkness where we least expected her, a fist to the stomach doubling us over as Allie's world is suddenly and violently knocked off its axis, and we're left with hearts shredded but shockingly still beating, wondering whether the answer to Kanin's haunting question as to what kind of monster Allie will choose to be will forever change when we meet up with her again in the next book.

Rating: 4/5

More information on Julie and her books can be found here:

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

Review: 'Til The World Ends

'TIL THE WORLD ENDS
Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre, and Karen Duvall
Dystopian Anthology
368 pages
Harlequin Luna
Available January 29th
Received via NetGalley for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
DAWN OF EDEN by Julie Kagawa
Before The Immortal Rules, there was Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden—as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What’s worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she’s beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems….

THISTLE & THORNE by Ann Aguirre
After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside—in the Red Zone—is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they’ll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside…for good.

SUN STORM by Karen Duvall
Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms—in the cosmos and beyond. And she’s not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She’ll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.

MY THOUGHTS
DAWN OF EDEN by Julie Kagawa
Typically with novellas there’s not a great deal of backstory for the characters or world, the short page length requiring the action to take place and the relationships to form more quickly, but to our utter delight, Ms. Kagawa’s contribution to this collection is the backstory itself. In it we get to experience the terrifying beginning of what will become the world of The Immortal Rules, the dark and bloody reality of the Red Lung virus depicted for us in gut-wrenching detail as humanity falls and the Rabids rise.

Though The Immortal Rules is a young adult series, albeit a gritty one, this prequel is perhaps more brutal and violent, and certainly more detailed on the romantic front, than The Immortal Rules, sliding it more firmly into the New Adult or adult category given its level of description. The relationship between Ben and Kylie is rich and layered despite the briefness of our time with them, their intimacy seeming to build slowly even though only days pass between their first meeting and a declaration of love, but even with such a short timeline Ms. Kagawa beautifully manages to give us a meaningful and genuine relationship – the birth of a love amidst the death of the world as we know it.

Rating: 4/5

THISTLE AND THORNE by Ann Aguirre
Ms. Aguirre adds a truly magnificent story to this anthology with "Thistle and Thorne", her uncanny ability to craft gorgeously complex characters used to its fullest with this all-too brief tale. Mari is a young woman who shows remarkable growth over the course of the story, her strength and desire to protect her brother and sister obvious from the beginning, but her time with Thorne molds her slowly but surely, adding layer after layer of steel to her already-existing armor coating. She’s a young woman who’s capable and deadly when necessary, yet she possesses none of the cockiness or swagger that typically accompanies abilities such as hers, instead recognizing her weaknesses and working around them to ensure she’s as effective a fighter, protector, and survivor as she can be.

Her relationship with Thorne is a fascinating contrast to what we saw expressed between Kylie and Ben in Ms. Kagawa’s story, the physical intimacy of the latter drastically different from the slightly strange (in the best way possible) and hesitant intimacy of the former. There’s hardly a touch exchanged between Mari and Thorne, but the air between them is thick with possibility and there’s a sense of unspoken understanding that gradually forms, building and strengthening until it becomes an almost physical caress we can feel down to our bones. The beauty of the promise between Mari and Thorne lingers in our hearts and minds long after reading, and it's my deepest wish and most sincere hope that Ms. Aguirre will see fit to return to this world at some point and explore their relationship further.

Rating: 5/5

SUN STORM by Karen Duvall
Though the bleak world depicted in the final novella of this anthology is as fascinating as the two that preceded it, inspiring in us the same thankfulness that our reality is–as of yet–still a far cry from the desperation and devastation portrayed page to page, the characters themselves pale a bit in comparison to our previous two couples. Sarah is a bit of an emotional cyclone, forming an opinion and passing judgment one minute only to spin 180 degrees the next, trusting Ian and then condemning him for his actions before quickly apologizing when her accusations prove false. Additionally, their feelings for one another form quickly and easily, which would be fine as Kylie and Ben’s did as well, but Sarah and Ian’s relationship lacks the poignancy we experienced just pages before with Ms. Kagawa’s and Ms. Aguirre’s contributions.

Overall "Sun Storm" is a quick and entertaining read, but it has the misfortune of following two stories where the characters shine brightly from the pages, illuminating their dark worlds with the beauty and strength of their radiance.

Rating: 3/5

The Immortal Rules Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

THE IMMORTAL RULES

(Blood of Eden #1)

Julie Kagawa
Paranormal Young Adult
485 pages
Harlequin Teen
Available April 24th
Received from Media Masters Publicity for review

THE STORY

You will kill. The only question is when.

In the dark days since the insidious Red Lung virus decimated the human population, vampires have risen to rule the crumbling cities and suburbs. Uncontested Princes hold sway over diminished ranks of humans: their "pets." In exchange for their labor, loyalty and of course, their blood, these pets are registered, given food and shelter, permitted to survive.

Unregistered humans cling to the fringe, scavenging for survival. Allison Sekemoto and her fellow Unregistereds are hunted, not only by vampires, but by rabids, the unholy result of Red Lung-infected vampires feeding on unwary humans. One night, Allie is attacked by a pack of rabids, saved by an unlikely hero...and turned vampire.

Uncomfortable in her undead skin, Allie falls in with a ragtag crew of humans seeking a cure, or cures: for Rabidism and for Vampirism. She's passing for human...for now. But the hunger is growing and will not be denied. Not for friendship—not even for love.

MY THOUGHTS

Those of us who read huge quantities of paranormal young adult literature might read the synopsis for The Immortal Rules and, despite a preexisting love for Julie Kagawa and the Iron Fey series, have a somewhat lukewarm reaction to the idea of yet another vampire tale. Any hesitancy should be immediately discarded however, as Ms. Kagawa thrusts the stunning darkness of her vampires into the paranormal young adult fiction mix, allowing them to carve a violent and gritty swath through their contemporaries and leaving our hearts scattered at our feet in jagged ribbons after we turn the last page. While we had some humor in the Iron Fey books in the form of Puck and Grimalkin, this first installment in the Blood Eden series provides us no such comfort, pairing us with an amazingly resilient heroine who faces a world that's slowly devolving into darker and darker shades of gray until barely any light remains, yanking us along beside her as she adamantly refuses to let us fall behind.

Allie is positively extraordinary; a young woman who is undeniably cold and hard as a result of a life where weakness proves unerringly to be a precursor to death, and where only those of strong will and mind have any chance of surviving. Despite her no-nonsense attitude and her at times seemingly unsympathetic responses to those around her, she never feels closed off or unreachable, instead we see a woman with drive and determination who accepts the constant upheaval of her life with grace and a renewed dedication to survive with as much of her humanity intact as possible. Vampires in this world are synonymous with monsters, and it’s both painful and awe-inspiring to watch as Allie plays with the words that make up the definition of monster–moving them around and molding them to fit her new self as she journeys with her band of humans to end up on the last page with a drastically different definition from where she started.

Though the romance between Zeke and Allie takes a back seat to the epic search for Eden, it’s so beautifully done that a review cannot possibly be complete with out mentioning it. Gloriously absent are feelings of love wedged into geometric shapes, the triangles and squares replaced with a relationship that feels unbelievably intimate despite the subtle nature of it. Neither character is forced to close the distance between them at a rapid pace to keep the plot moving, instead the physical and emotional space that exists keeps us glued to the pages more than sizzling instant attraction ever could as we revel in the infinite possibilities lingering in that slowly closing gap. Where some relationships feel loud and the love seems to scream from the black and white ink as though every letter possesses a tiny mouth that opens up to overwhelm us with a cacophony of romantic sounds, Ms. Kagawa takes a different approach, replacing the noise with quiet murmurings that haunt us with promises whispered across highly sensitive skin.

Despite the fact that Allie is a vampire herself, vampires actually play a fairly small role in this first installment, Allie’s struggle focused more on her clinging to her humanity with every ounce of strength she has than on her actual vampiric cravings and needs, thus making it a story that will most certainly appeal to even those who pronounce themselves tired of bloodsucking stories. The lack of vampire presence in no way means Ms. Kagawa’s mythology feels incomplete or unbelievable, she in fact grants us just enough knowledge to make us feel as though we understand the parameters of the world while keeping everything else behind a dark curtain we can’t wait to pull back in by inch as the story progresses. A truly gripping and mesmerizing start to the series, The Immortal Rules is not to be missed.

Rating: 5/5

MEET ALLISON

Today as part of the promotional tour for The Immortal Rules, I have some very exciting behind-the-scenes information for you on Allison, the brilliant heroine of this new series. The finished cover for The Immortal Rules features a vampire version of our protagonist, and I have the pleasure of sharing with you an exclusive, never-before-seen image of Allison before her vampire makeover! What do we think of human Allison?

Additionally, Allison has a list of rules to live by (or die by as it were) to share with all of us today:

ALLISON'S RULES

Look out for yourself and your immediate family -- no one else

If you are eaten by vampires because you were dumb enough to venture out at night and get caught, it’s your own fault.

Nothing good comes from a bloodsucker.

If you steal my stuff, I will break your nose.

Knowledge is power.

Like my favorite book of all time, I wish, in my most secret moments, that I could find a hidden door that would take us all out of this place.

My books are my most prized possession.

When you're starving, you can't be picky. That means eating anything--bugs, rats, moldy bread--to stay alive.

This tour promises to be an amazing one, so you don't want to miss any of the tour stops and giveaway opportunities. Please visit Mundie Moms for the next stop, and you can find the full list of participating blogs HERE!

In addition to the blog tour, Julie will also be doing signings at three bookstores near her hometown. Below is the information on those events, I hope some of you can make it!

Tuesday, April 24th at 4pm - Barnes & Noble The Summit in Louisville, KY
Saturday, April 28th at 2pm - The Bookstore in Radcliff, KY
Monday, May 7th at 5:30pm - Lincoln's Loft in Hodgenville, KY

Buy The Immortal Rules here:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Indiebound

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the fantastic people at Media Masters Publicity and Harlequin Teen I have one signed hardcover copy of The Immortal Rules to give away on the blog today! To enter, please fill out the form below. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only and will run through midnight EST on Friday, April 27th after which time a winner will be chosen and announced on the blog.

In addition to individual giveaways at each tour stop, there is also a grand prize giveaway for the tour itself of a KINDLE TOUCH. Be sure and visit Paranormal Romance for entry details!

Sneak Peek: The Immortal Rules Trailer

The first book in Julie Kagawa's new vampire series, The Immortal Rules, releases April 24th and I'm extremely excited today to give you all a sneak peek at a still from the trailer before it launches on Harlequin Teen's Facebook page. I, for one, adored this book and cannot wait to see the trailer in its entirety!

 

The Official Trailer & bloodofeden.com website for THE IMMORTAL RULES By Julie Kagawa will be released on Monday April 16th at 11am on Harlequin Teen Facebook! (https://www.facebook.com/HarlequinTEEN)

Pay close attention to The Immortal Rules Trailer!  It contains the code you need to unlock exclusive content on http://www.bloodofeden.com/

Get ready to count the number of Blood of Eden symbols…

There will also be an awesome Immortal Rules Twitter Contest starting at 11am on Monday April 16th to celebrate the cool new website and trailer!  Follow @harlequinteen for details!