Thursday 31 May 2012

Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa




  Title: The Immortal Rules
  Author: Julie Kagawa
  Publisher: Harlequin UK
  Publication Date: April 24th 2012
  Source: NetGalley
  My rating: 4 stars
  
  Reviewed by: Jasprit

 




     
“Immortality is a lonely road”

I’ve been in a bit of vampire funk lately, I haven’t really been enjoying my paranormal reads as much as I used to, with my last vampire read being a book in the Sookie Stackhouse series which has been going, abysmally downhill as of late. You can imagine I went into the Immortal Rules with a bit of trepidation. But I need not have worried because I soon realised that it was a refreshing change, to my usual reads.

Allie is brought up in a world where everyone is aware of vampires. The vampires have control over everything, if they’re not around then they have their pets deal with the problems. In a vampire controlled society; there are two options; you’re either a registered or an unregistered. Being a registered, the vampires know about you and you have to donate your blood, in return for this you will get food privileges. Being an unregistered you’re typically under the radar, vampires don’t have the knowledge of who you are, where you live and you don’t have to donate blood, but you don’t get any food. You’re basically left to scavenge around for any scraps you can find without getting caught. If caught you then face the consequences of being hanged. Allie has to deal with the relentless life of being an unregistered. Hiding away and risking her life day in day out to find what she can. However everything changes one unfortunate night, she’s located a basement with a vast amount of food which can feed her group for a long time. As a group they decide to venture out and try and bring it back. But they’re attacked by rabids on the way back, her friends are gone and Allie’s left to her death. But then a vampire appears giving her a choice; choose immortality and become a vampire; something she’s hated with a passion or choose to die. Allie feels the life hasn’t gone out of her yet, she’s still got so much to live for, so she chooses to become a vampire.

The world that Kagawa created was immense; I’ve read vampire books before, but with this one it was different, it was better. There was always the fear of the unknown; not knowing when a rabid or a vampire could be around the corner and constantly risking your life to survive any way you can.

I loved Allie’s relationship with her sire Kanin, the banter between them and his exasperated looks. However I felt that her time with Kanin was quickly cut short. I would have loved to have gotten to know Kanin’s character more. For the time he was around he was illusive and secretive, I felt that we only scratched the surface with his character. I’m hoping that we’ll have the chance to delve deeper with his character in the rest of the series.

It was also a refreshing change to actually read a book from vampire’s perspective or a human turned vampire. I felt that all I’ve read in the past is the human falling in love with the vampire and the vampire not being able to be with them. But this was different; it was good getting into Allie’s head, getting an understanding of just how hard it was to control her hunger. We were given a great insight into this when she decided to tag along with a group of humans under the pretence that she was a human herself. There was some seriously heart pounding moments which I thoroughly enjoyed and it was exhilarating watching Allie hiding her vampire side from the humans, her super strength and speed, not being able to go out in daylight and not being able to eat. Just as Allie started to form a close bond with several people, so did I. I didn’t want her to be separated from them, even though I knew it was impossible for her to remain with them forever.

It was heart wrenching at times watching Allie battle her internal struggles; she didn’t want to be a monster, she didn’t want to feed off people, but without feeding there was no way she could survive.

The Immortal Rules was a book which brings traditional vampires back with a bang, it was full with tantalising tense moments, unexpected surprises, it’s fast paced, action packed and just leaves you wanting more. I’m extremely looking forward to getting stuck into the rest of the series.

A big thank you to Harlequin UK for the opportunity to read this book.

16 comments:

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

Great review, Jasprit! I'm glad to see this went well for you. I loved the originality of the vampire world too and really liked the fact it was from the point of view of the vampire. Hopefully the next book will be just as good! :)

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

I'm totally with you on the worldbuilding, Jasprit, it was really very good, which is why I wanted more of it. I was super depressed when Allie left the city. Hopefully she'll go back to look for Kanin in the sequel and we'll get to learn more about the vampire social structure.
Awesome review! I'm glad you had fun with this.

Beverley said...

I recently won this book in a giveaway and I'm really excited to read it! I like how it's been described as the 'new Twilight' yet it is probably much different from Twilight. I'm glad to hear that Allie doesn't want to be a monster despite turning into a vampire! Fab review, Jasprit :)

Jenny said...

YAY JASPRIT! I'm so glad this one got you out of your paranormal funk a bit:) I just adored Allie and the world, and I completely agree with you that there needs to be more Kanin. I feel like we'll get more of him moving forward there, so I can attempt to be patient:) Beautiful, thorough review my friend!

Bailey said...

Wow you've convinced me to read this next. :) I really haven't been feeling vampires lately but from how you describe them, I think I'll love this book. Allie sounds like a great heroine and I love the mysterious guys like Kanin. Awesome review. :)

Pooja. S said...

I LOVED The Immortal Rules too! It was soo good and totally what I've been wanting from a vampire book for god knows how long! I loved the banter between Allie and Kanin too. I wish we see more of Kanin in book 2. Fab review, Jasprit! So glad you loved it too xD

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad that you loved The Immortal Rules, Jasprit !
I thought it was an amazing read too.
I, myself, was very disappointed that Kanin and Allie had little on-screen time, but I have a feeling we'll see a lot more of him in the next book.
Great review, Jasprit ! :)

Rachel said...

Awesome review Jaspit! I also completely devoured this incredible story! I hope Kanin is in a big chuck of the next one too! I love how this story was so chilling and uneasy to predict.
If you are looking for another amazing series with a girl vampire main character, you should try the Evernight Series by Claudia Gray. (one of my top five series)

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I agree,Jasprit, This brings back the traditional scary vampires which I loved. Kagawa is a master world builder and that is why I love all her books. I, too, felt cheated that we didn't get more time with Kanin. I hope he plays a bigger role next book. Talk about getting your heart ripped out at the end....

Jaskirat@SeeitORreadit said...

Fabulous review!!!!! I am a huge fan of Julie Kawaga's work so I can not wait to read this one1!!! I love the fact that there is a unique approach to vampires and that you thought it was refreshing! I NEED to grab a copy of this one ASAP!!!!!! Thank you for the review :)

Following!

SeeitORreadit

Nicola said...

I love your reviews, Jasprit. :)

I totally agree about this book. I was so over vampire books there for a while (a while being YEARS) but this made me want to get back into them. I wanted more Kanin too though!

I totally recommend ReVamped by Ada Adams-- another vampire book that brought a refreshing change to the genre. :D

Ari (Reading After Midnight) said...

I didn't know what to read next but maybe I'll pick this up, as I should have an ARC of it. I am not a vampire fan, but this sounds great and I trust you reviews. I hope to like it just as much ;))
Happy midnight reading!

Vegan YA Nerds said...

I like that you said that this is better than other vamp books, these days they all need to be better otherwise they're just the same old ideas in the form of different stores. Your review has convinced me I should put aside my doubt and read this!

Jasprit said...

Aww thanks Nicola! I love your reviews too! I know what you mean I was kind of put off vampire books for a while too, I'm glad this book changed my feelings about them! And thanks for the rec I will try and check it out! :)

YA Anonymous said...

Great review, Jasprit! I was looking for a book to give to my friend and this is going to be perfect for her. I'm still not over my vampire fatigue but I think I'll start with this once I get over it. :)

Maggie

Shane @ItchingforBooks said...

Awesome review!

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