THE IMMORTAL RULES

Author(s): Julie Kagawa

Stand-alone or Series: Blood of Eden #1

The Immortal Rules is the first book in a vampire trilogy by Julie Kagawa. When I first heard about this series, I got excited. Vampires were big in older YA, and they’re one of my favourite supernatural creatures. It was even more exiting to know that this book has an Asian main character. I did go into this a bit hesitant, as I do with all older books, but I was optimistic that I would like it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t love it 😦

The Immortal Rules follows Allison, an “unregistered” girl living in a vampire city. But after an attack from the monstrous rabids, she is changed into a vampire to survive. Allison flees the vampire city to get away from the enemies of her sire, and meets a group of humans on a journey to find Eden, a supposed safe haven for humans. She falls for Zeke, a human boy, and will do anything to keep him and the rest of the group safe.

Let’s start by talking about what I did like:

Characters

I loved Allison and Kanin. I really enjoyed the second part, and their relationship. There was a lot of information given about vampires, their habits, society, how they live, etc. It was well-done world building and we get more information about what happened to create the rabids, the monstrous creatures that are a threat to humans. Also, a virus? Eerily familiar to today’s events.

Allison as a main character is complex and well fleshed out. She toed the line between being the monster her vampire instincts and the Hunger dictate, and hanging onto her humanity. The way she messes up and tries to do better gives a great journey to follow.

Zeke was basically the epitome of goodness. A literal angel. I loved how kind and protective he is of the people who loves. His dedication to bring the group to Eden gets him through the hardest parts. Throughout the book he learned to become more of his own person and shed some of the things taught to him by Jeb, his adoptive father.

Plot

Kagawa knows how to write action scenes, and I felt really engaged with the story when there was a fight scene. I really enjoyed it. I also really liked that Allison was the vampire and Zeke was the human. It’s often always the girl who is the weak mortal, so it was nice to see the change!

Now unto things I didn’t really like:

Character Relationships

While I did enjoy the character individually, I didn’t like the romance between Zeke and Allison. It was, on paper, well done and it should’ve been great. But for some reason, it lacked the necessary chemistry for me. I couldn’t care less if they kissed or were separated. Which was unfortunate.

Slow Pacing

This book felt long, and there was a lot of writing. At times I started speed reading and skimming through parts. A good portion of the beginning was setting up to what the synopsis promised. We see Allison before she becomes a vampire and then as she learns to be a vampire until finally she finds Zeke’s group. The book did have a slow start, and it took be awhile to get into it.

Overall this story had all of the great elements that should make an amazing story. And while the story and events themselves were solid, and I’m defiantly interested to see what happens to these characters, I just had a hard time getting into the book and enjoying it. It felt like a chore to read. Which is ultimatum very disappointing.

Many people have enjoyed it, so I defiantly recommend that you read it if the synopsis intrigues you! This is a case of “good book but couldn’t get into it” and so it may totally be one you love.

So, my final rating is:

If you’ve read this book, let’s talk about it in the comments! I’d love to see what you think.

Thank you for reading and see you next time ❤