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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Very rarely does a YA novel surprise me, but this one actually did. The book was well thought out, believable, intelligent, and entertaining. You're lucky to get one of those in a YA book, let alone all of them.
The Immortal Rules tells the tale of Allison, a newbie vampire learning and surviving in a post-apocalyptic world. One of the many things I adored about this book was that you saw many parts of this world, not just a single city. There were new places and new people in every chapter. The author fully developed her universe and not only was it fascinating, but it was plausible. I could potentially see a world like hers, you know, if vampire existed. But there was just a dash of scientific possibility there, so props for that.
The story took multiple turns I wasn't expecting (a YA book that isn't predictable!) and a few that I was (romance, of course). There were times when it had a very strong Walking Dead vibe, but fortunately it stood well on it's own as a unique story (a rarity among vampire books). One of the many things that made it interesting, and a bit different, were the touches of religion. I wasn't expecting to find that. I also wasn't expecting it to be thought-provoking.
A significant amount of thought went into this book. It wasn't another vapid teen romance. The back of the book even has a page of discussion questions for book clubs or students. That tells me that the author really wanted her readers to not only be entertained, but to think as well.
The one thing I didn't like is the cover. This has nothing to do with the author and is the fault of her publisher (authors don't usually pick the covers). My issue with it is that the main character is Asian, and as you can see, the girl on the cover is clearly not Asian. I hate when they do that.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to those who love post-apocalypse tales.
The Immortal Rules tells the tale of Allison, a newbie vampire learning and surviving in a post-apocalyptic world. One of the many things I adored about this book was that you saw many parts of this world, not just a single city. There were new places and new people in every chapter. The author fully developed her universe and not only was it fascinating, but it was plausible. I could potentially see a world like hers, you know, if vampire existed. But there was just a dash of scientific possibility there, so props for that.
The story took multiple turns I wasn't expecting (a YA book that isn't predictable!) and a few that I was (romance, of course). There were times when it had a very strong Walking Dead vibe, but fortunately it stood well on it's own as a unique story (a rarity among vampire books). One of the many things that made it interesting, and a bit different, were the touches of religion. I wasn't expecting to find that. I also wasn't expecting it to be thought-provoking.
A significant amount of thought went into this book. It wasn't another vapid teen romance. The back of the book even has a page of discussion questions for book clubs or students. That tells me that the author really wanted her readers to not only be entertained, but to think as well.
The one thing I didn't like is the cover. This has nothing to do with the author and is the fault of her publisher (authors don't usually pick the covers). My issue with it is that the main character is Asian, and as you can see, the girl on the cover is clearly not Asian. I hate when they do that.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to those who love post-apocalypse tales.
Starts out a bit slow, and gets good about halfway through. Interesting take on vampires. Sort of a dystopian vampire universe.
This was a blend of genres I just couldn't resist--a post-apocalyptic, urban fantasy dystopia where the vampires have taken over and farm humans for blood like cattle. Society in cities have formed around this, with Registered humans dutifully giving their blood to their vampire overlords, since outside of the city there are crazed mutated "Rabids," which are basically vampires with nothing in their heads except feeding (think: zombies). Allie starts the story off as an Unregistered, scrounging up what little she can to survive, so the readers get a good look at what it's like in the slums of the city. This doesn't last long, as pretty quickly in the story she's faced with the choice of dying or becoming a vampire herself.
Allie made for a great protagonist to follow around. I was happy that for once we're given a non-caucasion heroine, which in general is rare (and it seems to be ridiculously rare in the young adult paranormal market these days). Plus, she's got strength and will, and isn't the typical wilting flower that books like Twilight have re-popularized. I loved watching her take charge of things, and stick by her strong convictions.
I was slightly concerned this might turn into a Stockholm Syndrome romance when she is first taken in by Kanin, but all worries were quickly allayed. Allie's motivations in here are largely her desire to remain human, and her struggle to do so is way more of a plot focus than any romance. There's some romance in here, unsurprisingly, but it's not a plot-consuming romance.
So, kickass heroine and vampires that aren't sparkly or glorified in any way? Definitely recommended.
Copy received via Netgalley.
Allie made for a great protagonist to follow around. I was happy that for once we're given a non-caucasion heroine, which in general is rare (and it seems to be ridiculously rare in the young adult paranormal market these days). Plus, she's got strength and will, and isn't the typical wilting flower that books like Twilight have re-popularized. I loved watching her take charge of things, and stick by her strong convictions.
I was slightly concerned this might turn into a Stockholm Syndrome romance when she is first taken in by Kanin, but all worries were quickly allayed. Allie's motivations in here are largely her desire to remain human, and her struggle to do so is way more of a plot focus than any romance. There's some romance in here, unsurprisingly, but it's not a plot-consuming romance.
So, kickass heroine and vampires that aren't sparkly or glorified in any way? Definitely recommended.
Copy received via Netgalley.
A dystopia with a vampire twist. I really liked the two main characters and I can't wait to read how the trilogy plays out.
Yet another interesting way to look at zombies, although they're not called that... Man, this book is bloody. I appreciate the new twists on common themes.
A well written young adult fiction novel. Much more than the typical vampire romance novel.
This is excellently plotted and exciting to read! There is gore, but not too much, there are sword fights, very quick, there are vampires, good and bad, and there is a biological apocalypse!
I can't believe this is a Harlequin. I can't believe I read a Harlequin. Truly, a world changing event has occurred.
Ok, if you are ancient like me, finding plots that are new under the sun is a rare event. This is not a new plot to me. Many current modern stories were new in the 1970's before many many GR folks were born, and for me that is when I was a teen. But while I can't rave about originality, I can certainly rave about Allison Sekemoto, a thoroughly kick-ass heroine, the interesting dystopia that used to be America before viruses changed everything (literally), and the quest Allison decides to assist.
As awful as the loneliness Allson is haunted with, so it is as wonderful her meeting with Zeke. But can a human and a vampire hook up without fanged death? But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Allison lives in a wretched world. Vampires are in charge of the cities because humans have been decimated by accidentally released experimental creatures called Rabids, which are caused by a mutated virus, passed through bites. Her real family dead, Allison struggles to stay alive in the Fringe. She has refused to Register and become a vampire pet, so she and her new family, a gang of starving teens, are living in abandoned buildings and eat when they can. It is a hard life for a 17 year old, and the chances are low that she will live to see her 18th birthday. The vampires have passed decrees that reading is forbidden, as well. Allison loves to read, but she must hide her stash of foraged books because it means death by hanging if she is found with them. Between the Vampire-controlled sectors of New Covington and beyond the Outer Wall where the Rabids eat whoever they find alive, Allison struggles to find canned food with her small gang of orphaned teens. There is no time for romance, although she is drawn to handsome Lucas, leader to their gang. She has become adept at survival, traveling though the underground sewers of her city, but even there she runs the risk of meeting vampires. During the day, she takes the risk because it is a way out of the city and into the destroyed sections beyond the Wall, where canned food troves still exist. She must find food so she takes the risk, hurrying to find cans before the sun sets and the Rabids rise to hunt. She has never made a mistake - until now.
Very enjoyable read.
I can't believe this is a Harlequin. I can't believe I read a Harlequin. Truly, a world changing event has occurred.
Ok, if you are ancient like me, finding plots that are new under the sun is a rare event. This is not a new plot to me. Many current modern stories were new in the 1970's before many many GR folks were born, and for me that is when I was a teen. But while I can't rave about originality, I can certainly rave about Allison Sekemoto, a thoroughly kick-ass heroine, the interesting dystopia that used to be America before viruses changed everything (literally), and the quest Allison decides to assist.
As awful as the loneliness Allson is haunted with, so it is as wonderful her meeting with Zeke. But can a human and a vampire hook up without fanged death? But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Allison lives in a wretched world. Vampires are in charge of the cities because humans have been decimated by accidentally released experimental creatures called Rabids, which are caused by a mutated virus, passed through bites. Her real family dead, Allison struggles to stay alive in the Fringe. She has refused to Register and become a vampire pet, so she and her new family, a gang of starving teens, are living in abandoned buildings and eat when they can. It is a hard life for a 17 year old, and the chances are low that she will live to see her 18th birthday. The vampires have passed decrees that reading is forbidden, as well. Allison loves to read, but she must hide her stash of foraged books because it means death by hanging if she is found with them. Between the Vampire-controlled sectors of New Covington and beyond the Outer Wall where the Rabids eat whoever they find alive, Allison struggles to find canned food with her small gang of orphaned teens. There is no time for romance, although she is drawn to handsome Lucas, leader to their gang. She has become adept at survival, traveling though the underground sewers of her city, but even there she runs the risk of meeting vampires. During the day, she takes the risk because it is a way out of the city and into the destroyed sections beyond the Wall, where canned food troves still exist. She must find food so she takes the risk, hurrying to find cans before the sun sets and the Rabids rise to hunt. She has never made a mistake - until now.
Very enjoyable read.
I absolutely loved this book!!! It was great and I hope that there will be a sequel. I can't wait to see how the story plays out.....Very different from the everyday vampire books!!!
More reviews at Rondo of a Possible World: YA Book Reviews
If there is one thing that I can expect from Julie Kagawa, it's a kickass story with the same qualities of kickass with a main protagonist and I love it!
When faced with the choice of a human death or to remain alive but Turned into a vampire, the very beings that Allison has learned to hate for years on end, she chooses the one choice: to live. Struggling to keep her humanity straight, Allison journeys along the path as a newly born vampire in a society that shuns her and an old world that fears her while she tries to come to terms and accept who she's become or to dwell in her past human life and diverge from the demon she'd become.
Action. The one thing that will keep me interested in a novel and Ms. Kagawa doesn't fail to keep it short or sweet but fluid and long lasting. Every moment was a ride, progressing forward from Allison's point of view as she struggles within a world as well as within herself. That's what makes he wonderful, so complex, so riveting. I often feel bad for her, to hate the beings for stripping her mother from her and ultimately choose to become one in order to escape death. I feel bad for the friends that she lost and the fact that she has to hide who she has truly become in order to maintain that sense of humanity, a remembrance of her old self while masking the new one within. Allison is definitely a character to behold. Witty, crafty, sharp-tongued, and killer with a katana.
In the beginning of the novel there is quite a bit of an information dump as Allison begins her new life as a vampire and just the absorption of the information took me a little bit to space out and comprehend. That was the only thing that stood out for me as a kink in the novel. The world that Ms. Kagawa created was wonderfully scripted and destructive world. Not only that but after reading vampire book after vampire book I finally got to read the pure and evil essence of the creatures: the bloodsuckers that feed, hunt, defile. Not. Sparkle. And I loved it. Thank you!
The Immortal Rules is a wonderful first installment to the Blood of Eden series and something that everyone should pick up off the shelves because it does not disappoint. Not in the slightest.
If there is one thing that I can expect from Julie Kagawa, it's a kickass story with the same qualities of kickass with a main protagonist and I love it!
When faced with the choice of a human death or to remain alive but Turned into a vampire, the very beings that Allison has learned to hate for years on end, she chooses the one choice: to live. Struggling to keep her humanity straight, Allison journeys along the path as a newly born vampire in a society that shuns her and an old world that fears her while she tries to come to terms and accept who she's become or to dwell in her past human life and diverge from the demon she'd become.
Action. The one thing that will keep me interested in a novel and Ms. Kagawa doesn't fail to keep it short or sweet but fluid and long lasting. Every moment was a ride, progressing forward from Allison's point of view as she struggles within a world as well as within herself. That's what makes he wonderful, so complex, so riveting. I often feel bad for her, to hate the beings for stripping her mother from her and ultimately choose to become one in order to escape death. I feel bad for the friends that she lost and the fact that she has to hide who she has truly become in order to maintain that sense of humanity, a remembrance of her old self while masking the new one within. Allison is definitely a character to behold. Witty, crafty, sharp-tongued, and killer with a katana.
In the beginning of the novel there is quite a bit of an information dump as Allison begins her new life as a vampire and just the absorption of the information took me a little bit to space out and comprehend. That was the only thing that stood out for me as a kink in the novel. The world that Ms. Kagawa created was wonderfully scripted and destructive world. Not only that but after reading vampire book after vampire book I finally got to read the pure and evil essence of the creatures: the bloodsuckers that feed, hunt, defile. Not. Sparkle. And I loved it. Thank you!
The Immortal Rules is a wonderful first installment to the Blood of Eden series and something that everyone should pick up off the shelves because it does not disappoint. Not in the slightest.