Julie Kagawa is one of those very special authors that never stop amazing me. With each new book she releases, the more I love her! and with The Immortal Rules, the first in a brand new vampire series, she totally rocked my shelf! With a blend of dystopia/post-apocalyptic and paranormal world, Julie Kawaga brings to the shelves a highly frightening and strikingly awesome new Vampire novel! Indeed, The Immortal Rules introduces a female vampire character who knows very well how to hold a Katana! Allison Sekemoto, the badass heroine, is saved and sired by a Vampire who teaches her everything she needs to know to survive....until their path parts and Allison, after wandering outside the Vampire city, founds herself among a group of humans who are in search of Eden, a city free of Vampires and Rabids (beastly and brainless vampires created as a result of wrong scientific experiments) Also, Kanin, Allison's sire, is pretty much one of the greatest Vampires I have read in YA and believe me when I say that I'd put myself on my knees to adore him! Unfortunately, I didn't have enough of him in this first installment but by the end of The Immortal Rules, I felt like an unspoken promise that he will be back with all of his charming badass-ness! In addition to Allie and Kanin, there is the love interest who shines in this novel with goodness and a noble heart. It is incredible appealing to read a character such as Zeke (yes, the love interest), he is merely seventeen year-old, yet life has made him grow-up pretty fast. He is one of those few perfect characters whose perfection doesn't bother nor does it make him less credible or real. Zeke's good will and noble soul are definitely two qualities I love to see in the characters I read and I think it brings the excellent contrast and balance to the evilness Kagawa's created for the dark and cruel world of The Immortal Rules. Julie Kagawa has certainly created a powerful cast with a highly addictive and brilliant plot that will lure readers to loyally follow this story until the very last installment of the Blood of Eden series! The Immortal Rules is a bloody ride filled with the most awesome action scenes, danger, suspense, flying body parts and lots, lots of blood! Of course, there is also the necessary dose of romance that makes this novel even more bloody perfect! So, if you thought that there were no enough mean and scary vampires in YA, here you have some of the cruelest vampires ever! They could be, indeed, pretty hardcore rivals even for veterans like Nosferatu and Dracula! Bloody recommended!

So… I’ve never read any Julie Kagawa books before this… *ducks the boo’s and paper balls*. Now I can firmly say that it was crazy to ignore her writing for so long! The cover features Allie post transition in dramatic monochrome as she sheds a bloody tear. I especially love the elaborate front and back endpapers, they give a feeling of the vampiric aristocracy. The story begins with a human Allie trying to survive in this post apocalyptic world where if you’re not kept as a walking blood bag for vampires, especially for the spoiled royal court, you’re scrounging around on your own - just waiting to be a midnight snack to some night time creature. Besides the vampires there’s also the rabids, mindless ever hungry beings created by a mutated virus that threatens the existence of humans and vampires. Kagawa creates a perfectly dark and gritty world for this story. You can feel the desperation of survival when Allie is surrounded by ruins of former buildings, or the eeriness of an apocalypse with abandoned vehicles on roads and bloodied homes. Kagawa takes the very overused idea of vampires and puts an engrossing science spin to it. Kagawa kept some of the original lore of vampires (no sunlight, super strength, blood lust) but she manages to set them a bit apart with unique rules for what changes into what with the virus spreading. I especially loved the idea of the rabids, they’re like a blend of vampiric zombies that are relentless in their pursuit of blood. Allie initially may not be a super heroine, but I admire her for her strong will to always survive no matter what. She even tries to help others, even if they’re ridiculously useless because while the world has fallen- she doesn’t want to give up hope in humankind and what it used to be like. But faced with her own mortality, she chooses to survive - no matter the consequences. Afterwards we’re thrown into this intense world of vampires, with super senses, strength and above all, Blood Lust. Katana’s seem to be the weapon of choice these days in books, and it’s no different in The Immortal Rules, but Allie wields it with surgical accuracy and grace with her new abilities. Kanin is an intriguing character as Allie’s creator, driven into hiding and full of secrets, he teaches Allie the ropes until his past finally catches up to them. Allie goes through some changes in her transition from living to undead, but she manages to keep some semblance of her humanity throughout it all. She struggles with it everyday, but she uses her determination to keep a shadow of her former self as long as she can. This created an amazing internal debate throughout the story between primal need and what she feels is right. This tension is further fed by being surrounded by a dependant group of humans that creates some of the most stress inducing moments ever as she attempts to pass as human. But with her immortal life in front of her, she finds a cause worth fighting for that has a fast approaching expiry date if the rabids and vampires have anything to say about it. The cast of secondary characters throughout the story, although minor in their parts - come together to form a complex story that in turn makes each character sear themselves into your head through their actions. This was especially true with the character of Stick - who takes the role of slimy rat to a whole new level. The love interest/second in command of a small human group Zeke was amazing as a strong, but sensitive character in a landscape where softness can quickly get you killed; Zeke definitely turns it into a strength. The relationship that develops between Allie and Zeke is so genuine, and built on life or death moments that ends up creating a much stronger relationship than normal - which is definitely put to the test. The Immortal Rules is packed with terrifying-run-for-your-life action, deep dark secrets, and a glimmer of hope at the end of a rabid infested tunnel. It ends on an amazing note, with a definite direction for the next book. I can’t wait to read the next one, whose title has just been released as “The Eternity Cure”.

A part of me was hesitant to start any new series centering around vampires, but since Julie Kagawa is one of my favourite authors, there was no way I could resist reading The Immortal Rules. If there was ever an author who could manage to bring a new spin to the vampire genre, it would surely be Julie Kagawa. The term "cinematic" first comes to mind when describing The Immortal Rules. The book was thrilling and action-packed, and with Julie Kagawa's excellent world-building skills, the dark post-apocalyptic setting is brought completely to life before your very eyes. When Allie finds herself attacked by rabids while venturing for food on the outskirts of New Covington, she's unexpectedly saved by a Master Vampire named Kanin who gives her a choice: live and become vampire as the price... or die. Allie's will to survive is stronger than her hatred of vampires though, and she soon learns what it really means to be a vampire. However, Kanin is secretly on a mission of his own in the city, determined to undo a past mistake, and when his enemies find them, Allie and himself are forced to part ways. Allie's escape from the city she's lived her entire life in takes her on an unexpected journey, one in which she must hide her vampiric nature from the ragtag group of humans she suddenly finds herself traveling with. They're trying to find Eden, rumoured to be the last place of human salvation and untouched by vampire influence, but after years of fruitless searching, it's beginning to seem more like they're chasing a legend. And as Allie struggles with her new immortality and the monster she feels she's becoming, she finds herself drawn to the very much human Zeke. In a world where everyone is selfishly only looking out for themselves, Zeke's kindness is a novelty to her. I'm just not too sure how I feel about the spark of romance which developed between them because I still see him more as a good friend than anything else... Despite the fact that The Immortal Rules is almost 500 pages in length, I was still wishing the book would never end! I am absolutely looking forward to reading the second novel in the Blood of Eden series, The Eternity Cure. Julie Kagawa has imagined true creatures of the night who inspire terror and fear at their mere mention. The Immortal Rules is written with an intensity that is simply pure addicting to read! You can also read this review at: http://midnightbloomreads.blogspot.ca/2012/06/immortal-rules-by-julie-kagawa.html

Considering that this book is about vampires-in-control dystopian, I expected it to be darker than the Iron Fey series. I'm always a little nervous reading a new book from an author whose previous series I love. Will it live up to my expectations? This one definitely did. It had a well-thought out world, characters I fell in love with, and I couldn't put it down. Alli just might be my favorite character of the year so far. She's self-sufficient and is an asset to the groups she belongs to and she cares about her friends. And she hates vampires. Vampires control her city and the humans, at least those who are registered, are treated like cattle, exchanging blood for meal tickets. Those who aren't registered have to rely on themselves to find food. When Allie ventures outside the city wall, she finds a stash of canned food and brings her gang back the next day. They get trapped in the dark and attacked by a group of rabids. Vampire Kanin finds Allie and offers her immortality instead of death. She accepts. The book doesn't make being a vampire sound in any way fun. Both Kanin and Allie, when talking about being a vampire, don't glorify it. We see Allie's struggle not to hurt anyone in the group she joins in her travels and hold on to her humanity and keep up her appearance as a regular girl instead of a deadly vampire, especially important when the leader of the group hates vampires. There's more than a few times where I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach from Allie's emotions. The people she gets attached to make it easy to love them. There's a lot of action in this book and the ending promises even more to come.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. The reading world seems to have been taken by storm by Julie Kagawa. She wrote an amazing series called The Iron Fey — a series I’m still woefully behind on, only having read the first book (but really loved it!) — and is now sharing a new series, Blood of Eden, going away from the faeries and entering the world of the vampires. To some, vampires might be completely overdone. They’re everywhere! In a ton of books, on the TV, in the movies. Everywhere you turn, someone’s falling in love with a vampire or a vampire is trying to make it in the human world. To me, vampires are still holding a place in my heart. Reading Twilight was what got me back into reading and it introduced me to the wonderful world of YA books. I even really love watching The Vampire Diaries on TV (though I really disliked the books), and Being Human is one show that my husband and I both agree on. When I saw that NetGalley had Julie Kagawa’s latest book up for grabs, I pounced on it like … well, like a ravenous vampire. I couldn’t wait to dig in and enter the wonderful world of vampires that Kagawa will have created. If it was anything like her world of faeries, then it was bound to be good. However, I was disappointed. A lot of my disappointment in this book lays in the fact that it took me forever to read. When I like a book, I like it. I want to lay down with it, crawl inside of it, and actually be a character in its world. I don’t want to put it down. Even with audiobooks, I find that I’ll find random things to do around the house — you know, those piddly things that you put off — just so I can listen to my audiobook and not feel bad for just sitting around doing nothing. But this book, The Immortal Rules, just didn’t grab me like I wanted it to. It was dreadfully slow-paced. Even though Julie Kagawa’s writing was just as beautiful as ever and her dystopian world of vampires was exactly how I had wanted it to be, I found that I could only get through maybe 30 pages at the most before falling asleep. I had no desire to keep myself awake to finish this book. And at just over 500-pages, that meant this book took forever to finish. A lot of my hesitation in reading it was with the characters. When I started reading this, I was comparing it to another vampire book that I had read years ago, The Last Vampire, by Christopher Pike. In that book, I could not relate to the main character at all. I felt that she was flat and displayed no emotion. The main character in this book isn’t so flat, she displays a lot of emotion (which is understandable since her human life was cut short), but she also displays such horrid characteristics as a lot of the female leads in books like this. She doesn’t think, goes out on her own in a world where she wouldn’t have dared to go out on her own in, and just does a lot of stupid things. And Stick! Stick! I can’t understand why all books must have such an annoying character as Stick. I would like to think that if the world did come to be ruled by vampires and we were all to fend for ourselves that a character like Stick would die out early. For the entire time he was in the story, I was annoyed and didn’t understand how such seemingly-strong characters could put up with him — or, for that matter, how he would have even survived for so long. The only character I really liked was Kanin — Allison’s creator and mentor. He was a pretty cool vampire and I was sad that he wasn’t in a lot of the book. Instead, it was filled with characters who I couldn’t connect with and, really, characters I just didn’t like. For me, the plot moved slowly. At about page 350, the pace suddenly picked up and I was interested, but then it dropped back down and I wasn’t interested again until about page 450. This book just seemed way too long. Pages and pages of description for one small thing bored me and I just wanted to finish the book so that I could read something else. I wanted something more exciting to happen, or for something to just grab my interest and make me want to keep turning the pages. Unfortunately, the pacing was so slow and I was left wondering why so many people were gushing about this book. Like I said earlier, I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn’t grab me, which is sad because a lot of the book bloggers I love — whose opinions I cherish — LOVED this book to no end and I just couldn’t understand why. I still have a huge appreciation for Kagawa — she has an amazing way with words and can craft sentences like few authors can — but I think I’ll stick with the Iron Fey series instead.

I have a confession. I like vampire novels. Not the more recent vampire novels that always devolve into love stories but the gritty, dangerous ones from writers like Anne Rice and Kristen Painter. So when I heard that Julie Kagawa was tackling the vampire novel I was excited (but a little nervous). She's easily one of my favourite authors and after getting a look at that eye catching cover I had high hopes for the story. And you know what? She delivered. Julie Kagawa makes no apologies for the vampires. They are dangerous, they're blood thirsty, they can not be vegetarians and sooner or later they will kill somebody. That's the way it should be.It helps that she's set this story in a post-apocalyptic setting where vampires are the supreme overlords of many of the major cities. The idea that we would essentially become blood slaves in order to survive is a pretty chilling one.I've heard a lot of people describe the setting as dystopian and I don't think that's quite accurate but it is definitely a jaded version of our own world and one that I was fascinated with. Just because the vampires are dangerous however, doesn't mean that you feel disconnected from them. The Immortal Rules is set from Allison Sekemoto's point of view - a.k.a from the vampires point of view not from the POV of a sappy human that is in love with said vampire. You get an in depth look of what life was like for a human in this world and later what it was like for a vampire. Allison may become a dangerous and blood thirsty killer but she still has a personality and a heart and you get to experience all of her struggles right along with her. The fabulous Julie Kagawa has done it again - she has created an amazing world with interesting characters for me to become obsessed with. I have no doubt that I will be following this series just as eagerly as I do the Iron Fey. Final recommendation: For all of you who love a good old fashioned gritty vampire novel. And of course for fans of Julie Kagawa. She doesn't disappoint. This and other reviews at Hooked on Books (http://christashookedonbooks.blogspot.com)

i would have to say this is the best vampire book i have read sence twilight i love the fact how she foced on vampires and the monster they are instead of it mostly based on a love story i give it a 100 thumbs up

Dystopia + Vampires = win! This book was so good I don't even know where to start. I absolutely loved it and hadthe hardest time putting it down. Julie Kagawa has once again created an amazing world and a cast of characters that you just have to love. I was a little worried going into this one because I was worried that there was too much hype for it, but it definitely deserves the hype. Ok, so first of all, look at that cover! When I first saw it all I can wonder about is why she is crying. What could possibly make a vampire cry? Well, it just made me want to read it. Although something I don't understand is why her eyes are red. Yes, I know vampires in some books have red eyes, but in this world vampires can easily pass for human, so you would think their eyes would be normal. I mean, if they're red the humans can just look at their eyes and know. I know, it's just a cover, but it just doesn't make sense to me. So basically, the story revolves around Allie and her struggles with being a vampire. Allie HATED vampires with a passion, but when faced with a choice of either becoming a vampire or dying at age 17, Allie opts to become one of the walking dead. Honestly, I probably would have made the same choice. Allie is forced to leave the vampire city she grew up in and finds a group of humans travelling in the wild, so she pretends to be one of them and joins them. How is she going to be able to resist drinking their blood? She doesn't want to drink from them and possibly hurt them, but if she doesn't feed,she could lose control and someone could die from her bloodlust. All the while, they are searching for Eden, a vampire free city. They are being persued by Jackal's gangs, Allie has no idea why. Will they find Eden? Or will their group die one by one from the hardships of the wild? This is definietly a plot that keeps you glued to your book. Allie, the protagonist is an extremely kick ass, katana weilding vampire. She doesn't want to be a moster and hurt people by drinking their blood, but she needs to feed and she needs human blood. I found her to be a somewhat emotional vampire, she grew to care for some of the humans in the group she travelled with. Most vampires wouldn't care in the slightest, except for keeping the humans alive for an easy meal. Allie is a character that I came to care for and look forward to seeing what happens next to her. It's interesting to see how someone who despises vampires copes with being one. We do have a love interest for Allie, but it's not a love triangle! His name is Zeke and he has been raised to despise vampires. We can't help but wonder what will happen when he finds out Allie is a vampire, because it can't be good. You can't help but love Zeke because he always sees the good in everyone. Everyone gets a chance to prove themselves and he is just so nice to everyone. He was orphaned at age 3, thanks to a nasty vampire, and was raided by Jeb. Jeb is a preacher and trained Zeke to hate vampires and how to fight. I just can't believe how well Zeke turned out after being raised by crabby Jeb. Overall, The Immortal Rules is an amazing story that everyone who loves vampires or dystopians must read. Julie Kagawa is a wonderful author who seems to know exactly how to make a world we can imagine and crave more of. She's created monsters that freaked me out to even read about, the mindless rabids. The Immortal Rules had me glued to the pages, too enthralled to put it down. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what happens next for Allie. Would I recommend it? Definitely. I'll be buying myself a copy to enjoy. It really is a great book, a must read in YA literature. [http://owl-read-it.blogspot.ca]

Reviews can be found at http://readingbetweenclasses.blogspot.ca/ Cover Impressions: This cover doesn't do much for me. Firstly, the main character is Asian, this model is .... not. I don't like that. If the person on the cover is meant to represent a character, then make them look like that character. No white-washing please. Secondly, the expression on the model's face is bland, I would prefer her to look upset, or angry or determined or ... something. Thirdly, the tear, while eye catching, seems off somehow. Perhaps it is because it starts in the very middle of her eye, perhaps it is because it doesn't wash away any of that heavy eye makeup. I do like the font and am thankful that, although Kagawa is already a successful author, her name doesn't appear bigger than the book title. The Gist: In Allison Sekemoto's world vampires rule with an iron fist and humans are treated as no more than cattle. Here she fights for survival alongside other scavengers, constantly aware of the threat lurking in the shadows. When her daring leads to a deadly attack, Allison is offered a choice: die on the dusty street or become what she loathes most. Review: The Immortal Rules is one of those rare YA novels which combines an interesting world, and an action packed plot with a strong, capable heroine. Allison is not your average YA female, she pulls her weight and doesn't depend on the men around her to act as her savior. She never balks at an impossible situation and she doesn't whine. When she is faced with a task and other issues threaten to steal her attention she says things like "I would sort all this out later" and "though I hated this, I forced myself to concentrate". Despite her claims to own the keys to lonerville, Allison continually surprises herself, and the readers, by risking herself in order to protect that people that she is supposed to think of as nothing more than food. The world that Kagawa has created combines the dystopian elements of a post-plague city ruled by bloodthirsty vampires with the heart-thumping zombie-like "Rabids" who stalk the lands outside. The rabids are terrifying, difficult to kill and can erupt beneath the very ground you walk on. Their mindless quest for blood creates exciting battles and heart-thumping moments as we push for human survival. As Allison travels with a pack of humans, ever conscious of their tempting vulnerability, she struggles with her hunger and fights to pull together the tattered remains of her humanity creating a sense of suspense as we wait for the inevitable. While the second half of this novel is ruled by action, the first half does contain a certain amount of info-dumping, mostly through Kanin - Allison's maker. I did not find this too distracting as the world Kagawa has created is a very interesting one, but I do wish that the character of Kanin had been a little more animated in his lessons. I am very confident that, now that the world building has been established, the other books in this series will scarcely give the readers a moment to breathe. Teaching/Parental Notes: Age: 16 and up Gender: Either Sex: None Violence: Vampirism, swordplay, gunfights, violent attacks by "rabids" Inappropriate Language: Yes Substance Abuse: None

If you had any doubt that Julie Kagawa was capable of writing something just as spectacular as The Iron Fey, those doubts would be a waste of time. Once again, Julie has spun her magic and turned out something purely golden with this new dark and gritty tale about vampires and humans struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The Immortal Rules, Julie’s first book in her new Blood of Eden series, is a gripping story told from the perspective of a newly Turned vampire determined to hang on to her humanity in a world where basic survival is the only goal. Allison (Allie) Sekemoto begins the story as a human, barely surviving on the fringe of a society ruled by vampires and where humans are ultimately their food source. Allie's life as a human had not been easy for her...starvation, scavenging, fighting just to keep what little she had...was her way of life. She was tough and street-smart, practical and no-nonsense, and at her core, was her tenuous grip on humanity. What I loved about her was that we got to see how she fought to stay true to herself as both a human and as a newly Turned vampire. Once she became the creature she hated the most, when her inner demon was screaming at her to flee, she struggled with her humanity versus her new, self-preservation instincts. She was now a vampire afterall -- a monster -- but what she had to decide was what KIND of monster she would be. In most stories, including this one, vampires are believed to be soulless beings...Allie challenged that statement at every turn. She was not just a protagonist...she was a heroine in the truest sense of the word. And yes, as a vampire, she was 'KICK-ASS'! One of Allie's lucky breaks was that she couldn't have asked for a better sire and mentor than what she got in Kanin. They were actually a lot alike, and in a tough and no-nonense approach, he taught her the mechanics of surviving this crazy world as a new vampire. Throwing her in situations where she had to learn things the hard way ultimately served her well. Kanin had that classic, sexy, vampire arrogance about him but, in his own way, also struggled to maintain that fleeting hold on humanity. I ADORED Kanin! And something that really surprised me...it wasn't until I was about a third the way through the book that I realized that there was no romance in the story up till that point. Anyone who knows me knows a good love story is an essential component in my reading criteria...but The Immortal Rules was THAT good...I didn't even miss it! But fear not...there WAS a perfectly-balanced, star-crossed love story--with a tinge of desperation thrown in--between Allie and Ezekiel (Zeke), who is very much human...and a good example of a human, at that. Ezekiel is the 'second in command' of a group of humans attempting to find a non-confirmed place called Eden--a place free of vampires and where people are working on a cure to the virus. Zeke is the guy who takes the hits for everyone, is fiercely protective of his people, and sees the good in everyone, including--and especially in--Allie. Of course, this was also put to the test. And Zeke is hard to resist for Allie. She knows deep down that it's unlikely that a promising future awaits them, but he stirs something within her-- even in these desperate times, or perhaps because of these desperate times--that she cannot ignore and is holding onto that one bright spot in her life that is Zeke, against her better judgement. All the complimentary characters were extremely well written. Good or bad, or somewhere in between--each had their key part in the story...Jebeddiah, Caleb, Ruth, Stick, Jackal, among others were stand-outs for me--whether I liked them or not. And we can't forget the cree-pee rabids that were a persistent and bloody threat throughout. Rabids came about from some ill-fated experimenting on some vampires while trying to cure the Red Lung virus and is the only population that is growing. They are visceral, savage and attack viciously. They are like the zombies of the vampire world. The Immortal Rules was intense and a true page-turner. 485 pages?! Pssht...I didn't want it to end!! But it did wrap up nicely...and also sets the stage for the next book, of which I cannot wait for! I was completely engrossed in it and didn't want to put the book down, but sometimes, I just HAD to...but couldn't wait to get back to it. So my most favourite author has done it again!! I've come to the conclusion that Julie could probably write about mud puddles and create a compelling story. I will also add that I will not compare this new series to my beloved Iron Fey books as that would be like comparing potato chips to chocolate...both are sinfully delicious but in different ways. Finally, I wanted to thank Harlequin Teen for sending me my own copy of the ARC as well, after I realized I was quoted in the 'Praise for The Iron Fey' page. What an incredible surprise and an honour! Thank you!