The Immortal Rules Review

The Immortal Rules
By: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden (book 1)

Where to start. This is the first time I've done a formal book review (via blog or video), so bear with me while I get my jumbled thoughts together. PS: This will be a spoiler-free review!

I'm one of those people that no matter how overdone vampires are, I still love them. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my favorite show of all time, Vampire Academy is my favorite book series of all time, Vampire Diaries USED to be a favorite (seasons 1-3 are still favorites), and I loved Twilight. I guess I still do. The movies may have ruined them for everyone else, but I'm not gonna let the movie criticism ruin my love for the books. Twilight is the series that got me back into reading again. After so many years of forced reading for Accelerated Reader points (don't even get me started), I was addicted to reading again. But I digress.

So first off, wow. Just. Wow. This book. It's such an original storyline in a genre of overdone storylines. I know everyone says that, but it's really the truth. Julie Kagawa creates a world and a story that's so original that even though it's about vampires, it still feels new. I'd put this book in the middle of a dystopian and supernatural venn diagram. In the Bout of Books 10 READ-A-THON, one of the challenges was to match the book you're reading with something it goes well with (food, another book, a movie, etc). This book made me want to watch the Walking Dead. (I've been on season two forever, but this book made me really want to catch up.)

Second, a big part of why I loved the book so much was the strong female lead. Allison is a great protagonist. She's strong, independent, funny, and despite everything that happens to her, she still puts other people first. And really, her life pretty much sucks. You can pretty much figure that out if you read the inside blurb of the dust jacket. But she's not weak or annoying. She's likable and she's strong and smart. Too often, the female lead is annoying and stupid. Allison is none of those things. She reminds me a little bit of Rose Hathaway (of course, my favorite female heroine in my favorite book series), but she's not quite as...I'm not sure what I'm trying to say. They're similar in that they're both strong female characters, which, obviously, I love.

The supporting characters are great too. I love Kanin. I can't wait to see more of him in the next book and get to know him a little better. It's weird because I totally ship him with Allison (is that a spoiler?) in a non-romantic way. I just love them as a team. I can't wait for their reunion in the next book! Zeke is also a great supporting character. Or main character? I'm not really sure what to consider him. I really like him as a character. I think he has a lot of depth and I hope we see more of him in the next book! 

I loved all the characters, even the antagonists. They give the story a good dynamic so it's not just sunshine and rainbows all the time. I mean, I'm someone who prefers generally happy endings, but there does need to be some struggle before that. The story is just so interesting and it really hooks you. It's very dark, but I like that. It's just got so much depth and it's not just another teenage vampire story. It's dramatic, but not immature. I feel as though I'm forgetting something, but if I am, I can always go back and add it later I suppose!

One thing I will say about this book, is it is a little slow getting into. It's definitely interesting, but there is a lot of world building, so if you're feeling like the action is going too slowly, KEEP GOING. I promise you that once the action starts, it never stops. There's always something going on to keep your interest and the story is addicting. I couldn't put it down once I got to a certain point and it kept me up in the wee hours of the night thinking about it.

I gave this book 5/5 stars, no question. I know I've only read the first book so this may not be accurate for the rest of the series, but based off the first book, this is now one of my favorite series, second only to Vampire Academy (only because that will always be my favorite...hard to forget your first love and everything). I can't wait to dive into the next book. The only reason I haven't devoured it yet is because I don't want it to be over and end so soon. This is definitely a series I want to own, so I'll be buying all the books...ASAP. That way I can read the last two at my leisure without dying waiting for my turn in the hold queue at the library ;)

Have any of you read this book? What did you think? Have you read the last two? Which was your favorite? Leave your thoughts below! Just no spoilers for the next two books pretty please :) My sister just read the last one and finished it last night. She's been killing me with all her whimpering noises while she read and her crying towards the end. It's frightening me.