Review: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa

Publisher: April 24, 2012 Harlequin Teen
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy
Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary
To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in 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 dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for…again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins. 

What happens when you become the monster?

I like reading about vampires in all their forms. Especially the kind that are to be feared. There are two different types of vampires in The Immortal Rules and believe me when I say you wouldn't want to meet either in a dark alley (or a dank sewer).

The Good

This book is all about change and the fact that no matter who you are, change happens. It is separated into four parts to prove this point and each part represents a significant change in Allison's life. In the first part, I was proud to see that the weakest player in this book is actually a male. Is that sexist? Probably...but even with all the female heroines in the books I read, I don't usually see 'You are the weakest link...Goodbye!' being a guy character. Stick takes the title in this one. I was often yelling at him to man up. I loved how Allison dealt with him though, telling him that he he has to stand up for himself so others will leave him alone. This is an important message that I hope resonates with readers.

The second part shows Allison having to deal with becoming what she has always hated. This would be incredibly hard to deal with, right? Since she made the choice though, she has to live with the consequences. I enjoyed watching her deal with it and eventually accept her actions. She is a character that admits her mistakes and this is a very redeemable quality.

Kanin is an interesting and mysterious character that I hope to learn more about. While I got bits and pieces about him and his character (I did figure out his background before he told us), it wasn't really enough. There is a lot more going on with him, and I can't wait to find it out.

Part 3 goes through what happens when Allison does not heed the warnings of others. She crosses paths with a new group and I'm introduced to a great band of characters. Some children, some fanatical adults, and some that garnered the attention of Allison. Zeke or Ezekiel is strong, sweet, and loyal so it is no surprise that she grew pretty close to him.

The part with the majority of the action was Part 4 which of course was the climax of this book. I feel like Part 1 and Part 4 really had the most going on. Kagawa doesn't hold much back, and there is a lot of 'Huh?', 'What?', and 'Oh My Goodness!' happening.

The Bad

There were slow parts in the novel. In these parts, I felt like I was learning important new lessons and it didn't bother me as much, but the pacing wasn't one where I couldn't put the book down. I did...pretty often.

The Romance

The romance that blooms between Allison and Zeke is hard to root for really because as a reader I knew that they were pretty doomed even though both of them didn't. However, the ending was a sad realization that I hope things work out between these two.

Conclusion

This was an excellent vampire tale that had great life lessons as well as plenty of action. Allison is such a strong character already that I have a hard time imagining where she can grow from here. The characters that she met along her path were all great in their own ways. I cannot wait to read the second one in this series!

Excerpts

"So kick him in the shin and tell him to back off," I said, tossing the rag on the shelf and carefully picking up the abused book. Its cover had been ripped off, and the front page was torn, but it seemed otherwise intact. "Rat picks on you 'cause you take it. If you fight back, he'll leave you alone."
Stick didn't say anything, lapsing into sullen silence, and I bit down my irritation. He wouldn't fight back. He would do what he always did - run to me and expect me to help him.

People will tell you that it's impossible to leave New Covington, that the Outer Wall is impenetrable  that no one can get in or out of the city even if they want to. People are wrong.

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you let the cattle starve," I snapped, narrowing my eyes.

"Good. Because the next time you throw a tantrum like that, I will leave. It is no one's fault that your friends are dead. And if you keep holding on to that guilt, it will destroy you, and my work here will be for nothing. Do you understand?"

"When you are finished, leave this where your prey will find it."
I frowned, lifting a corner of the paper, finding a pair of shoes inside, fairly new and sturdy. "What's this?"
"An exchange," Kanin replied and turned away as I continued to stare at him. "For the harm our actions will bring them tonight."