Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules 
Author: Julie Kagawa
Published: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Series: Blood of Eden #1
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal, Dystopian
Pages: 485
Source: Library
Rating: 4 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

“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.”
― Julie Kagawa, The Immortal Rules

Synopsis
In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity. Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire 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 is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts
Let me just preface this review by apologizing for neglecting my blog. First, there was Hurricane Sandy. Although Sandy had some great background noises for reading horror, with the howling of the wind and the torrential downpour of rain. Secondly, I have been suffering from migraine after migraine. So, reading has been slow going. My week of horror-filled books was kind of a failure, but hopefully next Halloween, I'll do much better and spread it throughout the entire month of October (less pressure).

As for the book I'm supposed to be reviewing, The Immortal Rules is actually my first Julie Kagawa book. Le gasp! Yes, I have not read the Iron Fey series despite the fact that I have the first one in my possession. I will admit that I'm more into vampires than fairies though. It's been awhile since I've read a great vampire book, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Here, I was predicting another awful paranormal romance (ugh...that cover). I was wrong.

The Immortal Rules twists the usual premise of human girl falling in love with male vampire (or female, depending on your tastes). Instead, we have a female vampire, and we are actually reading from her POV. Which is fantastic! I loved it! We get to see Allie as a human, and then we follow her through her transformation into a vampire and are witness to her struggles with her predatory instincts. This was so refreshingly unique, and I loved reading about Allie's training with Kanin. It was reminiscent of Louis and Lestat in Interview with a Vampire. Just as Allie tries to hold onto her humanity, Louis also refused to become the monster Lestat wanted him to be.

I loved Allie! She was a spitfire before she even turned into a vampire. I admired her ferocity and determination. Even in the worst of times, she doesn't lose hope and she never gives into her fears. She was a survivor, no matter what the consequences! I mean she fights with a KATANA! That is wicked cool. I love katanas. Well, I don't play with them regularly, but they're kicka**. And we do get to see her softer side. Even as a vampire, she is drawn to humans (not just as bloodbags) because she still holds onto some of her humanity.

I also enjoyed how The Immortal Rules isn't all butterflies and rainbows, puppies and ice cream. People die. It's a reality in this world. There are darker, grittier scenes, and Kagawa doesn't cover that up. She does a great job of describing this world of vampire cities, biker gangs, and human cattle. There is a significant creepy factor in some parts. Or maybe that was just because I was reading it at night during a hurricane. Who knows? The plague is terrifying and so is the destruction it has wrought. The rabids are very frightening creatures as well. I would not want to run into one of them EVER. I'd rather cuddle with a crocodile.

I will say there are some parts of The Immortal Rules that I found difficult to get into. There were sections that seemed to drag when Allie was traveling. Also, the love interest: Zeke. I loved him. He's adorable. But he was just a little too perfect for me to buy it. We have basically a post apocalyptic world swarming with rabids and vampires, and preacher boy loves life and everyone (well, except vampires). Ezekiel Crosse (what a name!) was just too good to be true. Maybe I was the only one bothered by that. It's a small annoyance.

I would definitely recommend The Immortal Rules to anyone into the paranormal or vampires. I only hope the sequel is as great as the first book. I really need to try out the Iron Fey series because I really enjoyed this one.