The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa **Review**

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Series: Blood of Eden #1
Pages: 485
Publisher: Mira Ink
Release date: 4th May 2012
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Waterstones
Thank you to Mira Ink for my review copy

Goodreads 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.

What else can I say, other than I loved this novel?!
Unlike others, I can't compare it to the Iron Fey series, as I've not read any other books by Julie yet, but what I can compare it to is every other fantasy book I've ever read (which is a lot), and it definitely emerges as one of the best. It stands out from the crowd and holds its own - without a doubt!

Usually when I write my reviews, I'll write down a few notes before I sit to write the completed thing, and I usually begin by splitting the page in two and writing down pros and cons for the particular book, so that my likes and dislikes are clear in my finished review.
However, with this book I can't do that - there just isn't anything that I could write in the 'cons' column - it's all amazing stuff!

The plot of the novel, and the premise for the whole thing, is so well thought-out and well-developed that I actually can't pick any holes in it at all (not that I want to try). I loved that the novel was split into four different parts, based on how far along Allie was in her journey. I also really loved how this journey progressed and how the world around her seemed to change and evolve as she learnt more about the truth of the world as a whole, rather than just what she knew from the confines of New Covington, where the story begins.
There are so many plot twists once we get into the final part of the novel, and these were completely unpredictable - at least to me. I found myself on the edge of my seat wondering what on Earth was going to happen next on more than a few occasions, so it was definitely exciting, gripping, nail-bitingly thrilling, and more!

I'm certain that I remember reading or hearing someone say, at some point, that Allie's character wasn't particularly strong, and that all she did was follow other people around for the entire novel. Whereas this is essentially true (she does follow people around, that is...), what they said about her character could not be further from the truth! Allie definitely holds her own. In fact, she's one of the strongest female characters I've ever come across, and I love her for it!
I love that she never once gave up - no matter what was thrown at her, or what she was told, she carried on in her own way, regardless. Kanin (her creator), told her that she would not be able to hold onto her humanity for much longer, and that she would have to choose what kind of monster she would become, but she managed to hold onto her humanity, despite the internal battle with herself and The Hunger - she didn't give in to the monster, and that takes considerable strength.
I also really loved how loyal she became, even though (even as a human) she swore she would never become attached to another human life. But even when she was kicked out, threatened and rejected, later on in the novel, she still protected the people that she had come to care about, and proved, once and for all, that she is strong enough to hold on to her humanity - control the monster inside her, instead of the other way around.
Also, Allie's kind of kick-ass, and who doesn't love an exotically beautiful, Katana-wielding vampire babe?!
Allie is incredible, and don't you forget it!


It should be obvious by now that my praise for this novel is inexhaustible. Julie is definitely a master story-teller, and I look forward to reading more from her, but I'm especially looking forward to the sequel to this one. I seriously hope we don't have too long to wait!