Mashup Book Review: The Immortal Rules and The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

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Goodreads Blurb:

The Immortal Rules:

"To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for… again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins."

The Eternity Cure:

"In Allison Sekemoto's world, there is one rule left: Blood calls to blood 

She has done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever—and possibly end human and vampire existence. 

There's a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago—and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time. 

Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never have imagined having to make."

Review:

I'm doing a mashup review for these two books mainly because I read them one after another so I really have no idea where one ends and the other begins.  Oops?  I didn't even take new notes on The Eternity Cure! *shakes head*

So let's get on with it shall we?

I really loved this book and just the whole idea of the disease and vampires controlling everyone.  It's a new spin on an old idea and I think Ms. Kagawa did it brilliantly.

This book also contained excellent moral dilemmas about the whole question of drinking blood only from certain people and what not.  It really makes you think.  Allison did choose to be a vampire but she also is having a really hard time adapting her morals to her new lifestyle.  I loved Kanin's role in the story - how he tried to help her realize that eventually she was going to kill someone.  He is really depressed and all that but he is right.  His role is so crucial.

They both have brilliant storylines that had me reading well past 2 in the morning - not stopping until I finished.  I actually finished both books in one night!

The world building was also wonderful.  I could picture in my mind all the scenery and how decimated the earth is after the disease tore through city after city.

The Final Verdict:

I couldn't find anything wrong with this book - it's so amazing and addicting.  I can't wait to read the third book in the series (The Forever Song)!  These two books were utter perfection in my eyes.

5 stars

Quotes:

The Immortal Rules:

“You don't dwell on what you've lost, you just move on."-Allison”

“The closer you got to someone, the more it would destroy you when they were inevitably gone.” 

“We are vampires, Kanin had told me, on one of our last nights together. It makes no difference who we are, where we came from. Princes, Masters and rabids alike, we are monsters, cut off from humanity. They will never trust us. They will never accept us. We hide in their midst and walk among them, but we are forever separate.
Damned. Alone. You don’t understand now, but you will. There will come a time when the road before you splits, and you must decide your path. Will you choose to become a demon with a human face, or will you fight your demon until the end of time, knowing you will forever struggle alone?” 

“Hunger flickered, always there, but I pushed it down. I was a vampire. Nothing would change that. But I didn't have to be a monster.” 

“Words define us,' Mom continued, as I struggled to make my clumsy marks look like her elegant script. 'We must protect our knowledge and pass it on whenever we can. If we are ever to become a society again, we must teach others how to remain human.” 

“Sometime in your life, Alison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. Accidentally or as a conscious, deliberate act. It is unavoidable. The question is not if it will happen, but when.”

 “You are a monster.” Kanin’s deep voice droned in my head again, as I forced myself to move, to walk away. “You will always be a monster, there is no turning back from it. But what type of monster you become is entirely up to you.” 

The Eternity Cure:

“I have good news and bad news The good news is that the jeep is still where we left it, and I got the damned thing working again."
"What's the bad news?"
"Something took my fuzzy dice.” 

“Oh, don't mind me," came an extremely sarcastic voice near the wall. “You two go ahead and make out–I'll just sit here and bleed quietly.” 

“Only death will take me away from you, vampire girl," he whispered. "And even then, I'll watch over you from wherever I end up.” 

“Next time you two decide to go on a bloody killing spree, at least send me an invitation so I know that you care.” 

“What's the matter? Scared? Need your big vampire brother to go down first.” 

“You're not a saint. You're a demon. Own up to it.” 

“There are no good choices, Allison," Kanin offered in a quiet voice. "There are only those you can live with, and those you can work to change.”