Book Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

  Title: The Immortal Rules                                             Pages: 504
  Author: Julie Kagawa                                                     Source: Netgalley
  Publisher: Harlequin Teen                                            Published: April 24, 2012
  Series: Blood of Eden #1                                              Purchase: Amazon

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire 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 is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for

The Immortal Rules has an amazing synopsis - one that immediately grabs your attention despite the fact that it's just another vampire novel. It's not, though. It's so much more than all the vampire novels out there. It has heart and passion and an amazing plot.

Allison Sekemoto captured my heart. She is such a tough girl, constantly putting herself on the line for the Unregistereds in her group, especially for Stick. She does everything in her power to keep her and her group alive, even when she's trying to distance herself from them so she won't get hurt if one of them dies. I love how much heart she has!

Even though there wasn't a lot of romance, it was still wonderfully written. There isn't really a love triangle, but I could see one happening if Julie Kagawa wants to write one. It'd be a heck of a love triangle, too.

The writing is amazing. It's so straight forward, but it has so much passion and realism behind it, even though it's in the paranormal genre. Kagawa's world-building is amazing and I realize now why her Iron Fey series is so popular. She has that certain something that makes the characters and world come to life.

And boy, does Kagawa know how to write a plot. Much like the amazing Suzanne Collins and Carrie Ryan, she doesn't hold back. You grow attached to characters and then they're killed off, but at the same time it's amazing because it's so realistic. On top of that, the plot is so unique. Dystopian meets paranormal? Sign me up any day. Especially if it's Kagawa writing it.

Overall, I loved The Immortal Rules. It grabbed my interest and held it for all 504 pages (which is no easy feat!) and I would highly recommend it to any vampire, paranormal, or dystopian lover. I would recommend it to anyone actually.

Pass or Read? Read right now!

Cover thoughts: Not a terribly unique cover, but I'd totally pick it up in a bookstore. I love how she's crying blood, but I wish she look just a tad bit more Asian, or her face was shorter or something, as that's how I pictured Allison. I really like the colors as well on this one!

Author Interview: Julianna Baggott

Today I am interviewing Julianna Baggott, national bestseller and author of the Pure series.

Here's my review of Pure.

Find Julianna Baggott on:
Website | Twitter | Goodreads


What made you write/want to write a dystopian/sci fi novel? Besides finishing the Pure series, do you think you'd ever write another dystopian/sci fi, or do you think you'll venture out?
As I've written over a dozen books (across genres), I might write just about anything. I've fallen in love with dystopian. (And I don't think PURE can be defined as truly sci-fi.) I'm a buckshot writer. I don't think much of definitions and boundaries. I do think of audience but usually try to narrow that audience (while writing) to one person. (PURE is dedicated "To Phoebe -- who made a bird of wire" -- my daughter who is now 16, the age of the main character.) I've ventured far and wide and will probably keep venturing out and returning to landscapes I love.

Pressia is such a unique name - how did you come up with it?

Names are very strange. They come to define characters, sharpen them, make them real. I collect names just as I collect images and places and gestures and phrases ... Writers are collectors of odd things.

Is there a certain thing you found yourself doing a lot while writing? (listening to music, taking frequent breaks, drinking or eating certain things?)

I do take breaks. I'm a grazer so eat, return, eat, return. I also have 4 kids, 2 dogs and a cat so interruption is part of my creative process. Sometimes I'll crank a song. Things are desperate then, and sometimes I have to go out and drive. Just see scenery shifting by.

How do you handle negative reviews - do you read them or ignore them?

Some are really important to hear, especially with the first book in a trilogy. They sometimes shape the way I talk about a book, too. Others simply don't resonate with me so I can't really learn much from them. And then, occasionally, there will be a line of a review that's really damaging. Writing is such deeply personal and psychological work and writers tend to be the raw types -- born that way. There was a review in 2003 and one line was so devastating -- to me as a woman writer -- that it really changed what I was willing to hand over. It's a strange and delicate process, going public with your work. I know that I'm paid to do it, but that makes it no less personal.  

How much research did you have to do for Pure?

A lot of research went into PURE. In particular, I read a good bit about the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the images of the aftermath as well, which made a huge impression on me not only as a writer but as a human being. And with much of the speculative parts of the novel, I researched a lot innovation in science. Incredible things are already being invented out there. That was truly humbling.

Fun question: If you could write your next book/next addition to the Pure series anywhere in the world, where would you write it?

I can't write in places where I'm distracted by a foreign language -- even accents new to me. I love language so much that it completely derails me... So I'd better -- at least for the writing itself -- not wander too far. 


I want to thank Julianna for taking the time to answer my questions! 

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters...

Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash...

There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.

Buy Pure at Amazon!

Review: Pure by Julianna Baggott

  Title: Pure                                                       Pages: 448
  Author: Julianna Baggott                             Source: Publisher
  Publisher: Grand Central Publishing       Published: February 8, 2012
  Series: Pure #1                                             Purchase: Amazon

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters...

Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash...

There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.

I had not heard much about Pure before I read it and while I ultimately came out liking the book, there were a few flaws that stood out to me.

Pressia was a fantastic character. She was strong and independent and doesn't like leaning on others, so she doesn't have to owe them favors. She lives on people owing her favors, to ensure her survival in the bleak and dangerous world that is her home.

I didn't see much growth in Pressia, though she did get more optimistic as the book went on and I was glad that she did.

I enjoyed the other characters immensely as well. The only character I had a slight problem with was Bradwell. He was always the "brain" of the pack and was always the one to explain all the conspiracy theories to the other characters. While it would have been okay if they were kept as theories, Bradwell was always right, which was highly unrealistic.

Another problem I had with the characters, is there were too many "points of view." I say this with quotation marks, because the whole novel was in third person, so for example, a chapter would be about Pressia, but Partridge's thoughts were explained as well. This wasn't that big of a deal, because it went further in depth with the story and characters, which is always a good thing.

The writing was beautiful. It was absolutely lyrical at times, but this had its drawbacks. Some passages were a bit hard to decipher and I had to reread the paragraph to truly understand what just happened. Also, a lot of the new vocabulary wasn't explained at all, or explained later in the story when I had already guessed what it was, using context clues. Now some of the vocabulary words were very straight forward, but I would have liked a description of them nonetheless. Another, smaller gripe I had, was things got a bit too political at times for my tastes, though this was easy to overlook, because it would soon go back to the story.

The plot was amazing. It was action and emotion-packed. I found myself caring about these characters and hoping that everything would be okay for them. I guessed a few of the twists, but I was left stunned by the rest. Julianna Baggott pulled out all the stops for Pure and she didn't back down until you were done reading and craving book two.

Overall, I really liked Pure, even with all the gripes I had. I was able to look past these flaws and see Pure for what it is: a wonderful addition to the dystopian genre and definitely a book series I'll read. I'd definitely recommend to fans of the dystopian and sci-fi genres.

Pass or Read? I'd say give it a shot!

Cover thoughts: I really, really like it. It has that dystopian feel and it has to do with the story. It also continues on the back, with a mechanical butterfly like the ones Pressia makes, which was a wonderful touch.

Review: The Way We Fall (Luxury Reading review)

  Title: The Way We Fall                                Pages: 304
  Author: Megan Crewe                                 Source: Luxury Reading
  Publisher: Disney-Hyperion                       Published: Jan 24, 2012
  Series: The Way We Fall #1                       Purchase: Amazon

Kaelyn's town has come down with a mysterious - and deadly - virus. First, you're itching and you cannot stop. Next, you're acting like you're friends with everyone. Then there are paranoid hallucinations. And lastly, you're dead.

The Way We Fall is about exactly that - a falling civilization, hindered not only by the deadly virus, but by the healthy inhabitants inside doing anything it takes to survive - even if that means killing someone.

Kaelyn holds her own and shines as a brave heroine, risking her life to help those with the virus and her family. She sometimes breaks down, sure, but who wouldn't when the town you grew up in is crumbling beneath you? I felt proud of Kaelyn and would definitely want her on my side, should a deadly virus ever hit my town.

To read the rest of my review, please go to Luxury Reading!

Cover thoughts: I really like that this cover is yellow, because it really stands out against a lot of book covers, but I just don't see how it has to do with the story that much. I do like it, though.