The Forever Song review

I want to note that I don't think I've ever been so apprehensive to read a book.
The Eternity Cure may actually be my new favourite book now, so I knew that The Forever Song would have to pull out all the stops if it was to be on par with the second book.

I'm having mixed feelings about this book. I'm not sure if I truly enjoy it or not.
Each book in the Blood of Eden series has impacting openings.
Book One: Kids being hung.
Book Two: Allie's badass bar fight
Book Three: Sarren's victims strung from a tree.

The ending of The Eternity Cure, we're sure of a couple of things.
Zeke is dead, though we're also sure he's now a vampire, and Allie has decided she's a monster.

I have to admit the thing I was most excited for, was Allie's persona now that she had deemed herself a demon. I was looking forward to an emotionless Allie who destroyed everything in her wake to get her retribution on Sarren.
Sadly, that didn't quite happen. Though that's how the novel starts out. Jackel can't get a crack in about her do-gooderness, she's uncaring and unfeeling, and Kanin tries appealing to her humanity without any luck. It's totally cool! Allie even entertains the thought of staying and ruling with Jackel.
But within fifty or so pages, she breaks down and goes back to normal.
I was glad for her, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd been cheated a little. This book could have been a deliciously dark story if they would have let that run its course a little more.

The plot went along exactly how I thought it would. There were no real surprises, which was disappointing.

The final instalment of the Blood of Eden series has a very different feel to it.
The previous two were based solely around Allie's struggles with herself and finding/fighting Sarren.
Without being overpowering and angsty, the books showed the blooming and struggling relationship on a human and vampire. It was a perfect balance of the two.
Now in The Forever Song, there is so much angst!
It's like Allie trying to discover what kind of monster she was all over again, but it was Zeke instead.
And Allie was being the overly attached girlfriend, worrying over his every move and emotion, wondering what it meant for their love.
I felt like. old Allie, as in Fringer Allie, and even newly turned Vampire Allie, would never resorted to that kind of melodramatic stuff. I know she had changed over the course of the books, and come to terms with herself as a vampire. But even then she always kept part of herself strong and unyielding. Zeke seemed to bring the steam right out of her.

On the subject of Zeke.
Evil Zeke. He had so much potential at being this almost unstoppable force that Allie wouldn't be able to bring herself to kill. Zeke was evil for all over maybe four pages, and how is his deeply rooted compulsion broken. A single bite from Allie.
This is when all the angst came into play. I think he must have referred to himself as a demon and/or monster about forty times.
I admit, it was interesting to read how Zeke battled with himself. Especially up on the roof. After that, it had been just whining.
Jackel had been right on the money every time he spoke to the pair of them.
"It’s not like I can’t wait for yet another riveting night of listening to you people whine at each other. Oh, woe is me, I’m a vampire. I’m a horrible monster who eats babies and murders bunnies, boo hoo hoo.”

Jackel is the saving grace in this novel, without his witty lines and snark, I wouldn't have enjoyed the book nearly half as much.
“Puppy, I am getting so tired of listening to you whine about this,” he snarled at Zeke. “This isn’t rocket science. If you don’t want to be a monster, don’t be a bloody monster! Be an uptight stick in the mud like Kanin. Be a self-righteous bleeding heart like Allison. Or you can stop agonizing about it and be a fucking monster.”

“Oh, isn’t that sweet,” came Jackal’s loud, mocking voice... “Let’s make goo-goo eyes at each other in the middle of a stinking corpse field, how very romantic.” 

“Seeing as this is probably my last hurrah, I don't suppose I could get you two bleeding hearts to massacre a village with me? For old time's sake.

Jackel went through a huge change from our first meeting of him, and I would really love to see a spin-off about him. The opening is there, so I hope Julie gives in to the demands of more Jackel.
His relationship with Allison is perfect, the two are always butting heads, and yet they protect each other fiercely.

My dearest Kanin. The unwavering father figure of the group. I'll mourn his lose terribly, but found his end quite fitting for him. I really liked the little speech he gave Allie in those final moments.

I liked how the climax of the book was executed, and feel fairly happy with this trilogy's conclusion.
I love Julie Kagawa's writing style, and I'll definitely be picking up her other series.
I wish I could The Forever Song five stars, but it just didn't have the edge to it that I hope for, but on the whole, it was still a good read. So with that in mind, it gets 4 stars from me.

The Eternity Cure review

Warning: Contains minor spoilers.

Ok. I need a second to calm my brain. I literally not five minutes ago finished reading The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa.
I really love the first book in this series, and I'm happy to say that I love this installment even more!

The Eternity Cure is the second book in the Blood of Eden series, that follows the interactions and journeys or newly made vampire Allison Sekemoto.
In the first novel, Allie encounters a group of humans looking for a place populated entirely by humans, the only place of its kind.
Allie travels with this band of humans, who are unaware of the vampire in there midst and bonds especially with son of the leader Zeke. Until a fatal run in with the Raider King Jackel leads to Allie's secret being revealed and lives being lost.

Eternity Cure picks up a couple of months after the end of The Immortal Rules and Allie is on the hunt for her sire Kanin.
I love the idea and mystery surrounding Kanin, and the whole idea of Allison saving her mentor from a deluded vampire with a grudge was captivating.
Dearest Kanin, he goes through quite the ringer in this book, and we finally learn a little more about his past and the reasons behind some of the choices he has made.
It's safe to say that Kanin found his way into my heart in The Immortal Rules, but after The Eternity Cure, he has found himself a much bigger place in it. 
As an dafter thought, am I slight crazy for kind of shipping Allie and Kanin? Is that weird? I hope not.
Just with when she was down in the dungeon with him, and he was all like, 'it's you... you came...' I can kind of see it.

Along her search, Allie ends up forming a reluctant alliance with former raider king, and blood brother, Jackel.
Who might I say, it absolutely brilliant in the book. Though we see him on briefly in The Immortal Rules, his role is solely that of the 'bad guy'. Though, in this book, Jackel becomes and unlikely and sometimes undependable ally. His constant snark and comments bring some much needed comic-relief to an otherwise slightly darker novel than the first book. He stole  the spotlight every time he opened his mouth. I love him. New fictional crush? Check!

Our awesome foursome, I couldn't help but root for them, hoping beyond hope that they got everything they wanted or needed. Even though I've already read this book once before and knew what was going to happen. Though not the particulars of those situations because it had been a long while since I'd read it. 

I've never read a book with such perfect pacing. You are never wanting things to hurry along, there isn't a single dull moment in the entire novel.
In a genre that has been overworked so much in the past five years, Kagawa has surpassed many's expectations at newly released vampire books.
The story is so original and intriguing that it's easy to see why it stands out from the droves on vampire and dystopian literature.

I have to say also, that this is one of the best book endings that I have ever read. I honestly don't think I have ever been more inclined to buy a sequel than Julie Kagawa's heart-shattering final chapter and epilogue.
A jaw-dropping ending so good, not a single gif would every be able to represent any of my feelings.
What a way to end a book. Pure magic! Writers should seriously take note.

On a final note. All throughout these first two books, we see Allison changing dramatically.
From starving street rat, to newbie vamp, to badass katana wielding chick.
But the underlying concept of these books are Allie's struggles with the monster within her. Trying to decided, in Kanin's words, what kind of monster she will be.
I keep thinking back to some of the best quotes in the book.
“It's not the physical scars that are the most painful.”  - Zeke
"Lesson learned. I was a monster. I would never forget that again." - Allie
"Fight it as long as you want--in the end, the monster always wins." - Jackal
 That's just a few, but there are so many good quotes to be found in this novel.
But after the ending of The Eternity Cure, will we be finding a completely different Allie. I think so. And boy let me tell you, I don't think I've ever been so buzzed!

Well I could probably talk about this book for hours more, though you're more than likely to be bored shitless by now, so I'm signing off.

Obviously this book will never get anything less than 5 stars from me.
Julie Kagawa has ripped into my emotions so deeply, I feel a physical longing for her writing and her characters.
I can't wait to read the conclusion to one of my favourite series of all time!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children review

I was incredibly excited to read this book. The combination of these creepy photos and the blurb, had me hoping this book was going to be a creeptastic read that chilling and engaging.
Unfortunately, that assumption was pretty far off how this book actually is.

I do commend the way that Ransom Riggs has woven these two media's together.
True, the photographs and story create an unforgettable tale. Though the plot and story itself isn't that strong.

I couldn't help but draw comparisons that Miss Peregrine's actual school was like a watered down younger version of the X-mansion aka Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Though that may just be an unlucky coincident because I watched the latest X-Men before starting this book.

Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children held so much potential to be an amazing book.
The beginning started out strong in the first couple of chapters. It's witty and funny, and filled with a couple of creepy stories and dealing with loss.
The second half of this book is so completely different that it's a little jarring.
Once Jacob actually arrived on the island, things went downhill from there.
The allure to the old abandoned house is quickly done away with. Then BAM, time travel.
Though I wasn't expecting it, I admit I liked the nature of the time travelling in the book. The idea of loops, all over the world, was interesting, and sounded believable.
One question I do have though...
Did Peregrine and her charges always live in the loop, or was is created the moment the bomb was about it hit, in an attempt to stay alive?

I kept waiting for things to turn creepy or spine-chilling or ghostly.. or something.. but it just never happened. The story feels more like it's aimed at a younger audience than me. It was the typical childhood fantasy/nightmare that monsters are real, and they very well may be hiding under your bed. That is pretty much the entire premise.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this 'coupling' either. I find it kind of gross, that this girl is like 87 or something really, though she still has the mentality and psychical appearance on a 15 year old. She did god knows what with this kids grandfather and loved him enough to keep letters on her persons at all times, and yet they're still sucking face.

For the first time in a long while, I don't think I'll be buying the subsequent sequels.
I do hate to give low ratings to books, but my opinion can't be helped. That said, I'm giving this book 2.5 stars.

Throne of Glass review

I'm considerably late to the Throne of Glass party, the same as I usually am with all the really popular reads.
I get incredibly apprehensive when buying new books, because I hate it if I don't enjoy it. Honestly, I feel like a bad person if I don't like books.
As my holiday neared, I knew I wanted to take away something new and not a reread. So when I saw a second-hand Throne of Glass for only £2.51, I thought, well why not? And I can happily say that I'm glad I'm finally at this point, and that I've done it in my own time.

This book had me gripped from the very first pages. If I knew how consumed I would become while reading this, maybe I would have chosen a less all consuming book. I got seriously sunburnt because I was so engrossed. It was totally worth it though, because I loved this book.
Though I feel I was slightly cheated with the way this book is promoted as an Hunger Games-esque /high fantasy/violent assassin novel.

This one of those books that seems like the book equivalent of Marmite. People love it or hate it.
Their main problem being with the main character herself, Celaena Sardothien.
She's arrogant, vain, impolite, witty, and a whole bunch of other traits that people either felt endearing or just plainly hated. I fall on the side of endearing. I really liked Celaena as a character, though I didn't quite like her as an assassin.
I mean, that's my main problem with this book.
We are constantly told by Celaena herself how good of an assassin she is, and yet we hardly ever see her living up to that. She's told to dial back her skills in training and tests, and then at the final battle, though she's drugged, she gets absolutely wrecked.
I was so hoping for a novel with fight scenes after kick-ass fight scenes, yet instead I was shown countless flirting sessions and a lot of walking around a castle.
Though I suppose if Celaena was out killing people and actually showing us how she became Adarlan's Assassin, she couldn't be a 'hero' or a literary 'role model'. Even though that's how the book is labelled.

I love the beginning of this novel. A prisoner assassin being brought forth from the slave salt mines of Endovier. That was quite cool, I kind of wished we got a little more scope on it.
The writing is engaging and witty, though I felt the pace slowed slightly in the middle, leading up to the big competition.

Though the plot can be quite easily guessed, I still thoroughly enjoyed its setting and characters. I liked Princess Nehemia, and Chaol Westfall. I also enjoyed Dorian's banter.

As can be expected of love triangles these days, I didn't much care for it. It was pretty pointless really. The book centred more on the romantic side of things than whole reason she was actually there: the competition.

Taking all these slight grievances into account, I still loved this book, and already I've bought the prequel and the next instalment.
I feel very much compelled by the world and characters in this series, and I can't wait to see how Celaena's story progresses now she's the King's Assassin.

I don't want to give this book any less than five stars, but because there is only one or two things I found at fault, it deserves more than 4.5, so I guess, in its own category, Throne of Glass gets a rating of 4.8 stars out of 5.

The Immortal Rules review

Writing a review for a book that you've already read is a little difficult.

I read The Immortal Rules just over two years ago now, and I've read it about three times between then and now.

I wrote a very weak attempt at a review, back when I had no idea what I was doing, when I first bought this book, so I guess I'll see if there is anything I can salvage from that.

Almost everyone knows Julie Kagawa for her The Iron Fey series. Though I admit I haven't read that series, I mainly bought this book because I had made the grave error of bringing along the wrong book in a series I was reading on a weekend trip to the coast.

Now, I don't but books without some pretty extensive research going on first. So when I was having a little tizzy about what I would do now, I decided to do something I hadn't done before.

I went into my nearest supermarket, and then just picked a book at random, going only on the back cover. 

I was completely nervous and apprehensive about starting it, but Vampire books were so big at the time, and also one of favourite genres, I was hopeful that this would be a good one.

The Immortal Rules is the first book in a trilogy titled Blood of Eden.

The book centres on main character Allison Sekemoto, a human 'Fringer' who is killed, and then has to choose what kind of monster she becomes as she awakens as a newly made Vampire.

The book is split into four 'parts'. Human, Vampire, Monster and Wanderer. I like books that are split this way, though I don't have a particular reason as to why. I guess just because it signifies though it's the same story, it's a different section, you treat it differently.

I had the unfortunate coincidence of reading Eve by Anna Carey, just before this and couldn't quite help remarking on the similarities of the plot and story, though I didn't quite care for that book and this one bested it by miles.

I really love Allie's first section of this book. I feel you connect to her that much more because you are aware of all the trials she's had to go through before she even becomes a vampire. It's just you and her that know these things about her, as she doesn't really share her human life with those she meets throughout the book.

Her character goes through so much development, and it really is a defining factor. Allie is the embodiment of BADASS. She is tough and has a sort of cut-throat attitude because she had to. She's not afraid to challenge situations and people, or speak her mind. It's fun to watch the trouble her mouth sometimes gets her into.

I mean, who doesn't love a badass katana wielding vampire?

Secondary characters do a lot for this book too, they certainly deserve a mention. They're some of my favourites. Zeke, Stick, Jeb, Kanin and Jackel. They're all so diverse and bring so much to the world that Kagawa has created. 

I love the back and forward between Allie and Zeke. They're almost complete polar opposites. The both of them always trying to show the other the good and bad in life.

The writing is witty and fun, and I easily find myself becoming so entranced that I find hours have flown by without my knowledge. The pacing is perfect for the story and never one do I find myself bored or wanting things to hurry along. 

Though fairy books aren't quite to my taste, Kagawa's writing style and pace I think could easily persuade to give her other series a go. 

This book absolutely blew me away, and still does every time I read it. I feel like, for me, The Immortal Rules is a book I could read over and over and still not get bored of it. 

I can think of no defining bad qualities of this book. If I was nitpicking, I didn't really find it believable how easily Allie is accepted into the group she comes into contact in.

Oh, and how I wanted more on Kanin. But that's sort of a mute point because I know we see a lot more of him in the next instalment The Eternity Cure.

I don't even have to think about what my rating for this book, it 5 stars back when I first read it and it's 5 stars now too.