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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
The writing was a little young, not the most polished, but it was an entertaining read. A different take on vampires for sure. Worth a read, especially for those who do a lot of heavy reading for school (me) and need a little break to read something that is an easy page-turner.
I loved this book!!! I have not read Julie`s Fey series because I am not all that into the fey to be honest but I was so thrilled when I received this book.
This has got to be one of the best YA vampire stories that I have read in a long time. It was so original and compact with action. I was never once bored through Immortal Rules.
Julie takes a classic story and puts an amazing twist to it. It is edgy and gritty and fast paced. This is a book that you will not want to put down once you`ve started.
I loved how she made the Vampires the rulers and humans below them on the food chain. Now this is done in most stories but she makes it public knowledge.
This is a great story of humans trying to keep their humanity in the darkest of times. The chemistry between Allie and Zeke is great. The plot was amazing and there were some amazing characters.
I cannot wait for the story to continue.
This has got to be one of the best YA vampire stories that I have read in a long time. It was so original and compact with action. I was never once bored through Immortal Rules.
Julie takes a classic story and puts an amazing twist to it. It is edgy and gritty and fast paced. This is a book that you will not want to put down once you`ve started.
I loved how she made the Vampires the rulers and humans below them on the food chain. Now this is done in most stories but she makes it public knowledge.
This is a great story of humans trying to keep their humanity in the darkest of times. The chemistry between Allie and Zeke is great. The plot was amazing and there were some amazing characters.
I cannot wait for the story to continue.
So amazing but a terrible ending! I'm praying the sequel is partially written in Zeke's POV just so I know what happens! I warn you- total cliffhanger!!
This was a great book. Don't let the three stars I gave it discern you.
Things I loved about this book: it surprised me. Events in the story actually took me by surprise. From the first 100 pages to the last 20 and that is a really really hard thing to do. I can't count the amount of times I gasped out loud only to have to explain to my mom that it was just the book I was reading. Another point I loved; Julie Kagawa took the common vampire theme and made it her own. Yes, there are threads that are similar to other YA novels I've read, but what popular book nowadays doesn't resemble those of its same genre? A refreshing take on vampires in a well-done-sometimes-maybe-over-done topic.
Things I did not like about this book: I don't know about other readers but aside from one or two moments, the first 200 pages was a bit boring. It took me longer than usual to get through it. I kept putting it down out of boredom only to come back to it again and put it down 10 minutes later. With that said; AT LEAST I KEPT COMING BACK TO IT. I really really didn't want to give up on this book and I felt like there was something there. That something happened to be about 200 pages in but hey, maybe you won't find the first pages so slow.
One other aspect I found lacking was the romance. Don't get me wrong, there is romance, I just found the whole romantic/love relationship with the characters to be a bit flat. Girl meets boy (or boy-meets-girl) and you know that these characters are "the ones". The ones who are going to fall in love with each other even though its forbidden. Let me just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE forbidden love, paranormal romance, love triangles, you name it - I love reading about it. But there's just something between these two that I just can't buy. Something makes it hard for me to see the love/ caring between them. I had a similar problem seeing Ash's love/caring/obsession with Meghan in Kagawa's Iron Fey series.
But that's just my humble opinion.
I do recommend this book and will most likely be reading the sequel. Enjoy! :)
Things I loved about this book: it surprised me. Events in the story actually took me by surprise. From the first 100 pages to the last 20 and that is a really really hard thing to do. I can't count the amount of times I gasped out loud only to have to explain to my mom that it was just the book I was reading. Another point I loved; Julie Kagawa took the common vampire theme and made it her own. Yes, there are threads that are similar to other YA novels I've read, but what popular book nowadays doesn't resemble those of its same genre? A refreshing take on vampires in a well-done-sometimes-maybe-over-done topic.
Things I did not like about this book: I don't know about other readers but aside from one or two moments, the first 200 pages was a bit boring. It took me longer than usual to get through it. I kept putting it down out of boredom only to come back to it again and put it down 10 minutes later. With that said; AT LEAST I KEPT COMING BACK TO IT. I really really didn't want to give up on this book and I felt like there was something there. That something happened to be about 200 pages in but hey, maybe you won't find the first pages so slow.
One other aspect I found lacking was the romance. Don't get me wrong, there is romance, I just found the whole romantic/love relationship with the characters to be a bit flat. Girl meets boy (or boy-meets-girl) and you know that these characters are "the ones". The ones who are going to fall in love with each other even though its forbidden. Let me just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE forbidden love, paranormal romance, love triangles, you name it - I love reading about it. But there's just something between these two that I just can't buy. Something makes it hard for me to see the love/ caring between them. I had a similar problem seeing Ash's love/caring/obsession with Meghan in Kagawa's Iron Fey series.
But that's just my humble opinion.
I do recommend this book and will most likely be reading the sequel. Enjoy! :)
Originally posted on The Daily Bookmark
Ladies and gentlemen, the badass, hair-raising vampire is back. No, he's not going to snuggle you in the nighttime and profess his love. He doesn't play piano because he was thinking about you. The only affection he feels for you is equivalent to a human's affection for chocolate and steak: food. Julie Kagawa made vampires scary again and and yet, it's done so in a way that is strangely human.
Allison "Allie" Sekemoto hates vampires. She lives on the Fringe, starving daily and simply fighting to survive. She doesn't want to be a blood bag for the vampires that run the city but she has to stick around - Rabid vampires (mutated, zombie-like versions) haunt outside the walls. Talk about being stuck between a rock and hard place. In a food scavenge gone horribly wrong, an ancient vampire named Kanin presents her a choice, become the thing she hates most or die a real and final death.
Naturally (pun intended), she chooses life and spends her time contemplating just exactly what that means. To become a monster is inevitable (she will have to feed on humans) but, as Kanin explains, it's up to the monster to decide what kind of monster. That was the most amazing part about this book: Allie's inner struggle is the real "bad guy" here, and the pros and cons of her situation are clearly laid out, completely understandable. Given the romanticization of vampires in TV, movies and books these days, we all want to be one (immortality, superpowers, etc.). After The Immortal Rules, I'm not so sure because I get what Allie was experiencing, even if I never actually experience it.
I greatly appreciated Kagawa's clear and easy explanation of things. Vampires are the reason for this post-apocolyptic, dystopian society. Red Lung disease (genius classification) is the reason for the Rabids "outside". Did you know that vampires don't need to breathe so when they're trying to "blend in", it has to be forced? Well, duh. But that's never been explicitly explained before now. Freaking genius. And The Hunger is awe-inspiring. I was starving whilst reading this because I just couldn't help but feel Allie's mind-numbing, bone-crushing Hunger. The action is non-stop, the twists and turns run amuck and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
Along with all this vampire lore and dark and creepy stuff, Allison spends time with a group of humans and a little romance develops between she and a guy named Zeke. While I was, at first, skeptical on the addition of the romance aspect, I gradually grew to appreciate. How better to exemplify an internal struggle such as this than to add a little romance? In the end, I've never wanted a human-vampire relationship to work more.
A strange thing about The Immortal Rules is that it sometimes felt like separate books fused together to form one. I know I'm not the only one who experienced this, though I don't think it helped nor hindered the book in anyway - I would have died if I had to wait a year between chunks.
With that being said, I had a lot of questions that came up (many of which were answered, some that were not) and a lot of wishes for the plot that never came to fruition (maybe in the next books?). I will definitely be anxiously awaiting The Eternity Cure.
Ladies and gentlemen, the badass, hair-raising vampire is back. No, he's not going to snuggle you in the nighttime and profess his love. He doesn't play piano because he was thinking about you. The only affection he feels for you is equivalent to a human's affection for chocolate and steak: food. Julie Kagawa made vampires scary again and and yet, it's done so in a way that is strangely human.
Allison "Allie" Sekemoto hates vampires. She lives on the Fringe, starving daily and simply fighting to survive. She doesn't want to be a blood bag for the vampires that run the city but she has to stick around - Rabid vampires (mutated, zombie-like versions) haunt outside the walls. Talk about being stuck between a rock and hard place. In a food scavenge gone horribly wrong, an ancient vampire named Kanin presents her a choice, become the thing she hates most or die a real and final death.
Naturally (pun intended), she chooses life and spends her time contemplating just exactly what that means. To become a monster is inevitable (she will have to feed on humans) but, as Kanin explains, it's up to the monster to decide what kind of monster. That was the most amazing part about this book: Allie's inner struggle is the real "bad guy" here, and the pros and cons of her situation are clearly laid out, completely understandable. Given the romanticization of vampires in TV, movies and books these days, we all want to be one (immortality, superpowers, etc.). After The Immortal Rules, I'm not so sure because I get what Allie was experiencing, even if I never actually experience it.
I greatly appreciated Kagawa's clear and easy explanation of things. Vampires are the reason for this post-apocolyptic, dystopian society. Red Lung disease (genius classification) is the reason for the Rabids "outside". Did you know that vampires don't need to breathe so when they're trying to "blend in", it has to be forced? Well, duh. But that's never been explicitly explained before now. Freaking genius. And The Hunger is awe-inspiring. I was starving whilst reading this because I just couldn't help but feel Allie's mind-numbing, bone-crushing Hunger. The action is non-stop, the twists and turns run amuck and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
Along with all this vampire lore and dark and creepy stuff, Allison spends time with a group of humans and a little romance develops between she and a guy named Zeke. While I was, at first, skeptical on the addition of the romance aspect, I gradually grew to appreciate. How better to exemplify an internal struggle such as this than to add a little romance? In the end, I've never wanted a human-vampire relationship to work more.
A strange thing about The Immortal Rules is that it sometimes felt like separate books fused together to form one. I know I'm not the only one who experienced this, though I don't think it helped nor hindered the book in anyway - I would have died if I had to wait a year between chunks.
With that being said, I had a lot of questions that came up (many of which were answered, some that were not) and a lot of wishes for the plot that never came to fruition (maybe in the next books?). I will definitely be anxiously awaiting The Eternity Cure.
I really want to give this book a higher rating, but I can't.
This I thought was a good book, but I had to skip a few (ok, quite a lot) because I was bored a bit and I also didn't really find some parts all that interesting to read about.
If I would rate only what I HAVE read, I would give it 4*. Some parts even 4.5*
But I'm affraid that if I WOULD HAVE read the whole book, the rating would drop even lower, just because I think it would have dragged on for me even more.
This I thought was a good book, but I had to skip a few (ok, quite a lot) because I was bored a bit and I also didn't really find some parts all that interesting to read about.
If I would rate only what I HAVE read, I would give it 4*. Some parts even 4.5*
But I'm affraid that if I WOULD HAVE read the whole book, the rating would drop even lower, just because I think it would have dragged on for me even more.
An interesting take on the post-apocalyptic world tale. I enjoyed the struggles of the main character.
**Note** An e-galley of this book was provided by Net Galley, but did not influence this review in any way.
Okay, I'm a big enough girl to admit two things to you right now. One, I'm a book cover lover (But honestly, I don't think that's a secret to anyone at this point.), and I was instantly drawn to this book because this cover is pretty freaking fabulous. (Although, after reading the story, Allie is Japanese so...?) Two, I was all, WOMPWompwommmp, another vampire book. This was probably the biggest reason I've waited so long to read it. Now, I could kick myself. Ms. Kagawa took a cliché-ridden paranormal entity and completely recreated it in my opinion.
I've had Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series on my TBR list for the longest, but I've yet to drop everything and read them. Nevertheless, I've heard nothing but amazing things about her writing, so when this came out, my interest was definitely piqued. I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint either.
This story is set in a world where a large amount of the human population was wiped out by a disease called Red Lung or turning into vampire-like creatures known as rabids. With the vampires' food source dying off, they came out of hiding to offer a solution. They'd protect them from disease and being slaughtered from the rabids as well as providing them with food and shelter, if they became "registered" and freely offered their blood on a monthly basis. Most complied, and vampire cities sprang up all over. However, there were the few like our main character, Allie, who refused to become donor bloodbags and lived in the impoverished districts on the outside of the main city, but still within the protected outer wall. Life for the "Unregisters" was hard. They fought for food, shelter, and basically survival. Denying the vampires access to their blood meant they had to fend for themselves, and this is how the major plot device unfolds. On a trip outside the wall in search for food, Allie and her friends are attacked by rabids, and when her unlikely hero, a vampire, offers her the chance to live, she becomes the one thing she hates the most.
There were several aspects in this story that I truly appreciated. Even though Allie loathed the vampires and blamed them for her mother's death, when she was knocking at death's door, she chose to survive, even if that meant becoming "a monster." Then, despite all her claims to hold on to her humanity, Allie really struggled with it, showing just how challenging it is to cage the beast, no matter how horrified she was once she realized her thirst for blood. I enjoyed Kagawa's writing of Allie, and how sometimes no matter how much you want want to behave in a certain manner, instinct and survival can inherently change a person.
I also enjoyed all the scientific reasoning thoroughly explained throughout this book, making all the situations more plausible. I'm not really "in the know" about genetics and DNA, so for all I know, the author could have been filling my head full of crap, but it read like really good crap. For instance, she goes into detail about why vampires couldn't go in the sunlight, and it wasn't because of some lame excuse like "because we sparkle and that's a dead giveaway that we're vampires."
I also loved all of the characters, especially because they all had depth and flaws. I loved Allie for her realistic approach to her life, and boy did this chick have some bite (I'm not sure if I intended this pun or not, hmmm...). She was no pushover, she questioned everyone and everything, and when push came to shove, you can bet your ass she was pushing. Kanin was the perfect sire, hard and unrelenting when he needed to be, but he also had a caring side about him that showed not all vampires were lost to the monster within. Lastly, the love interest, Zeke, and his traveling group, were all perfect in their own way. Zeke, particularly, was someone that I found myself drawn to because of his optimism and gentle nature in the darkest of times.
My biggest complaint and the reason I couldn't give this the full five stars was because I felt like it was missing something. I'm not sure if it was because I wanted more time with Kanin and his training or more time with Zeke. Just when they finally allowed themselves to entertain the idea of a relationship, their time was cut short, and I was a little disappointed. All in all, this was a great setup for a great second book, and maybe that was the overall problem. This read more like the beginning of a new series rather than a complete stand-alone. All that being said, I can't wait to see what the next book has to offer, and I'll be waiting in line when it comes out.
♥A very special thanks to HarlequinTEEN for allowing me to view this title via Net Galley.♥
Okay, I'm a big enough girl to admit two things to you right now. One, I'm a book cover lover (But honestly, I don't think that's a secret to anyone at this point.), and I was instantly drawn to this book because this cover is pretty freaking fabulous. (Although, after reading the story, Allie is Japanese so...?) Two, I was all, WOMPWompwommmp, another vampire book. This was probably the biggest reason I've waited so long to read it. Now, I could kick myself. Ms. Kagawa took a cliché-ridden paranormal entity and completely recreated it in my opinion.
I've had Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series on my TBR list for the longest, but I've yet to drop everything and read them. Nevertheless, I've heard nothing but amazing things about her writing, so when this came out, my interest was definitely piqued. I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint either.
This story is set in a world where a large amount of the human population was wiped out by a disease called Red Lung or turning into vampire-like creatures known as rabids. With the vampires' food source dying off, they came out of hiding to offer a solution. They'd protect them from disease and being slaughtered from the rabids as well as providing them with food and shelter, if they became "registered" and freely offered their blood on a monthly basis. Most complied, and vampire cities sprang up all over. However, there were the few like our main character, Allie, who refused to become donor bloodbags and lived in the impoverished districts on the outside of the main city, but still within the protected outer wall. Life for the "Unregisters" was hard. They fought for food, shelter, and basically survival. Denying the vampires access to their blood meant they had to fend for themselves, and this is how the major plot device unfolds. On a trip outside the wall in search for food, Allie and her friends are attacked by rabids, and when her unlikely hero, a vampire, offers her the chance to live, she becomes the one thing she hates the most.
There were several aspects in this story that I truly appreciated. Even though Allie loathed the vampires and blamed them for her mother's death, when she was knocking at death's door, she chose to survive, even if that meant becoming "a monster." Then, despite all her claims to hold on to her humanity, Allie really struggled with it, showing just how challenging it is to cage the beast, no matter how horrified she was once she realized her thirst for blood. I enjoyed Kagawa's writing of Allie, and how sometimes no matter how much you want want to behave in a certain manner, instinct and survival can inherently change a person.
“Sometime in your life, Alison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. Accidentally or as a conscious, deliberate act. It is unavoidable. The question is not if it will happen, but when.”
I also enjoyed all the scientific reasoning thoroughly explained throughout this book, making all the situations more plausible. I'm not really "in the know" about genetics and DNA, so for all I know, the author could have been filling my head full of crap, but it read like really good crap. For instance, she goes into detail about why vampires couldn't go in the sunlight, and it wasn't because of some lame excuse like "because we sparkle and that's a dead giveaway that we're vampires."
Despite the legends, he explained we wouldn't immediately burst into flames, but our body chemistry had changed now that we were, technically, dead. He likened it to a human disease called porphyria, where toxic substances in the skin caused it to blacken and rupture when exposed to ultraviolet sunlight. Caught outside with no shelter, the direct rays of the sun would burn our exposed skin until it did, eventually, catch fire.
I also loved all of the characters, especially because they all had depth and flaws. I loved Allie for her realistic approach to her life, and boy did this chick have some bite (I'm not sure if I intended this pun or not, hmmm...). She was no pushover, she questioned everyone and everything, and when push came to shove, you can bet your ass she was pushing. Kanin was the perfect sire, hard and unrelenting when he needed to be, but he also had a caring side about him that showed not all vampires were lost to the monster within. Lastly, the love interest, Zeke, and his traveling group, were all perfect in their own way. Zeke, particularly, was someone that I found myself drawn to because of his optimism and gentle nature in the darkest of times.
My biggest complaint and the reason I couldn't give this the full five stars was because I felt like it was missing something. I'm not sure if it was because I wanted more time with Kanin and his training or more time with Zeke. Just when they finally allowed themselves to entertain the idea of a relationship, their time was cut short, and I was a little disappointed. All in all, this was a great setup for a great second book, and maybe that was the overall problem. This read more like the beginning of a new series rather than a complete stand-alone. All that being said, I can't wait to see what the next book has to offer, and I'll be waiting in line when it comes out.
♥A very special thanks to HarlequinTEEN for allowing me to view this title via Net Galley.♥
I'm not one to read a bunch of vampire books because I think they're stereotypical. So I put off reading this book way longer than I should have. I've read The Iron fey series and loved it so so much, but didn't read this book. Until now. And I loved this book too. I honestly didn't expect to like it as much as I did and I certainly didn't expect it to be as dystopian as it was. Creepy, dark, falling skyscrapers in ruins of formerly great cities. I get an overall gray and rusty picture of the cities. Very nice setting and description. Definitely added points in my book. Like it wasn't strictly vampire-y. It was but it wasn't. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it isn't one of those stereotypical vampire books!
For one thing Allie/Allison, the main character, doesn't totally act like a vampire. I mean yeah she drinks blood, can't be out in the day light...all the normal vampire things, but she still thinks like a human. She doesn't think of the humans as food, but as people. And she doesn't really want to hurt them. I say it's pretty simple: just drink blood from the bad guys, so long as it doesn't taste bad, and then hopefully you won't have to ever drink the blood of the your friends. Sadly it doesn't work that way :/
Second point, humans are still in the book A LOT and aren't there just for food either. There are some humans that are pretty important in the story. Zeke plays a main part and he's a really sweet guy :) But not totally sweet, still kick butt. He and Kannin and Allie were my favorites. And yeah 2 are vampires, but there are other human characters, I just didn't like them that much :/ (yeah I'm Team Vampire) Allie is a great main character and I cannot wait to find out what happens in the second book! I really liked the ending and how Allie is kinda finding a balance to being a vampire who still is friends with humans.
Overall, this is a really exciting book that I was surprised by (I really shouldn't have been, it's one of my favorite authors after all!) and really enjoyed. Content wise there is drinking of human blood and some violence + a good bit of language, but that didn't really bother me. I really liked this book and can't wait for the second!
For one thing Allie/Allison, the main character, doesn't totally act like a vampire. I mean yeah she drinks blood, can't be out in the day light...all the normal vampire things, but she still thinks like a human. She doesn't think of the humans as food, but as people. And she doesn't really want to hurt them. I say it's pretty simple: just drink blood from the bad guys, so long as it doesn't taste bad, and then hopefully you won't have to ever drink the blood of the your friends. Sadly it doesn't work that way :/
Second point, humans are still in the book A LOT and aren't there just for food either. There are some humans that are pretty important in the story. Zeke plays a main part and he's a really sweet guy :) But not totally sweet, still kick butt. He and Kannin and Allie were my favorites. And yeah 2 are vampires, but there are other human characters, I just didn't like them that much :/ (yeah I'm Team Vampire) Allie is a great main character and I cannot wait to find out what happens in the second book! I really liked the ending and how Allie is kinda finding a balance to being a vampire who still is friends with humans.
Overall, this is a really exciting book that I was surprised by (I really shouldn't have been, it's one of my favorite authors after all!) and really enjoyed. Content wise there is drinking of human blood and some violence + a good bit of language, but that didn't really bother me. I really liked this book and can't wait for the second!