The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) - Julie Kagawa

Review: The Immortal Rules

Author: Julie Kagawa

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Dystopian, paranormal

Recommend To: Fans of Black City

Shocking as this may be, it wasn't a completely typical vampire nonsense book. It was actually really, really good! It helps I was already familiar with Julie Kagawa through her Iron Fey series (which still makes me swoon) and so I was eager to try her next big thing. And it was definitely big.

The Plot: It wasn't human girl meets vampire boy....it was vampire girl meets human boy. And that makes a big difference. And said human boy doesn't even show up until part 3 or something. Huh? It doesn't matter actually, the beginning was just as good, even if it was a little slower. Kagawa takes time to build the world, really emphasizing the scary, ruins of New Covington. She lets us see the utter desolation humans live in, and we meet Allison as a human. This is crucial because after Allison is Turned, she retains those human qualities that made her special. 

The Characters: Each was really written in depth. We have Allison, a beautiful, badass heroine who isn't afraid of much. Her internal emotions were expressed so well, and we could feel her inner turmoil. And she is a real survivor, she will always choose to live. Next, there is Kanin, mysterious and brooding. He teaches her (and us) all the Vampire history that we need to know. He reminds me of a father figure...if you know, you teach your children how to avoid rabids, fight with katanas, and avoid the sun. And of course he has a mysterious past too. Finally, Zeke, Jeb and other humans. Zeke is adorable. It's funny when strong, immortal female lead, meets naive human boy/love interest. He is quite adorable, but a bit too floppy. Nevertheless, he also has a fiercer side which helped me to warm up to him. We (me and Zeke) had issues when he wouldn't trust Allison, but he resolved them quite nicely. The rest of the humans are equally as adorable, if also slightly dumber. It was frustrating, watching them tramp around looking for their Eden. Humans are such flawed creatures. But it is absolutely impossible not to get attached to every single one of them. Except Ruth maybe.

The Romance: This doesn't actually start until hallway through the book. By that time, Allie has already become a vampire, been betrayed, learned Vampire history, learned how to use katanas, and had to fight off psychotic rabids and grinning vampires. No romance though....until, enter Zeke. He is just a ray of sunshine. But it makes him and Allie work. Her dark side trying to suck his blood and him tripping over himself to talk to her. Just kidding. Actually no, not really but they do get to know each other, and even though he mistrusts her, he still loves her (and stuff). 

The Style: Not much to say here. Allie's POV is great and in depth with her struggle to come to terms with the fact that she is now the thing she hates the most. The dialogue is fierce and funny at times, and each character expresses their own little quirks (ex. Dorothy).

Overall: If you are bored of Vampires, don't read it I guess. What can I say? There are the typical "I don't want to be a monster and drink human blood" conundrums. But if you are looking for a fresher take on the whole Vampire genre, I highly recommend this one. No irritating, arrogant, sparky boys here. Just great characters, a terrifyingly real world overrun by evil, and a lot of blood.