Book Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Format: Ebook
Source: Netgalley

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.

The Immortal Rules is the second book of its genre that I have read. It's a vampire book set in a dystopian setting. The first one was The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda that had the same genre. While I enjoyed both, I think I enjoyed The Immortal Rules a little bit more.

The Immortal Rules is the first Julie Kagawa book I've read. I'm very happy I read it.

The Immortal Rules was very enjoyable for many reasons. So, I'm gonna split this review into three categories: characters, story, and writing style.

1-Characters: The Immortal Rules had some of the best characters. Usually with YA books, I get very annoyed with some characters (both male and female); males for being so obnoxious, rude, or so called "bad boy", and females for being so weak and dreamy. However, with The Immortal Rules, this wasn't the case.

a) Allison: She was strong, likeable and different. Always putting herself in danger for others, Allison managed to have an impact on me as a reader, and I believe she's one of the best characters I've come across in YA literature. Afterall, she's the Asian girl with Katana. NOW THAT IS SOMETHING :)!

b)Kanin: Kanin was definitely a character with all the wits. While he might sound depressed and everything, he's always there, whatever he says haunts Allison because they're so true. Definitely an amazing character, I'm looking forward to seeing Kanin more in The Eternity Cure.

c)Zeke: The male protagonist of the story. I liked Zeke for his care towards his family and for his bravery. However, Zeke had some very annoying moments. He was judgemental, too judgemental at times.

In general, I liked how the characters came from different points of view and how there was suspicion throughout the story.

2-Story: The story progressed in a very organized way. I liked how the book was split into several parts, with each part significantly changing the story somehow. I liked how throughout the story we were reminded that Allison is a  vampire and how she struggled to minimize her senses. That was very well done. I liked how it was full of action, adventure, and even mystery. I loved the story.

3-Writing style: The writing style was FANTASTIC! Julie Kagawa has her own unique voice when writing. Allison's character and how she behaves strikes you and has an impact on you. Julie Kagawa's writing flawlessly flows with the story and characters. Her world building is great as well. However, the best part of her writing is conveying emotions. She really knows how to make you emotional. There's death, and some unexpected ones. WELL DONE JULIE KAGAWA! However, the book felt really long. For some reason, the beginning felt extremely slow. I struggled getting through pages 100-200 pages but got better around 280 pages through the story, and that's why I removed one star from my rating.

Overall, this is a unique YA books. It managed to wow you, and makes you think about it after you finish reading it. I can't wait to read the next in the series, The Eternity Cure.