Tagged: julie kagawa
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
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.
(Summary courtesy of Amazon.)
Finally, a real vampire story!
I can’t tell you how ridiculously happy Julie Kagawa’s version of vampires made me. Vampires are stone-cold killing machines; they’re designed to kill humans. They don’t sparkle in the sunlight and they certainly aren’t century-old virgins. And vampires are powerful, so they naturally end up ruling the world, rather than being in hiding like they are in so many modern books.
Allie is a great protagonist. She’s strong and accepts being a vampire relatively well, even though she got off to a pretty shaky start. Kanin is an awesome vampire and I suspect we’ll learn a lot more about his mysterious backstory in the next book. Or at least I hope we do because there’s a lot of hints about his past.
The plot is fast-paced, the characters are amazing and the world-building is nothing less than I would expect from an author like Julie Kagawa. Blood of Eden looks to be a promising series and I honestly can’t wait for the next book. Even if you don’t like vampires in general, you will love this book.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
(Cover picture courtesy of Julie Kagawa’s website.)
My name is Meghan Chase.
I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who’s sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I’m not sure anyone can survive it.
As most of you are aware, I am a shameless Julie Kagawa fan. I love the entire Iron Fey series, but The Iron Queen (the third book) is my absolute favourite. Here’s why:
Meghan Chase has finally acquired a backbone.
Unlike in The Iron Daughter, she has finally learned how and when to hide her emotions and lie. She’s also more sure of her love for Ash and has stopped doubting him so much. Overall, she’s just a better character and she’s far less helpless as she learns how to fight and use her glamour. By the climax, when she faces the new Iron King, she shows incredible bravery and makes an enormous sacrifice in order to save the Nevernever. It’s satisfying and extremely touching at the same time because readers could see hints of Meghan’s inner strength before, but now it finally shows through.
Since the stakes are even higher than before, there is hardly a dull moment. The plot speeds along at a tremendous pace as the battle for the fate of the Nevernever begins. This is the kind of book that will keep you reading into the early morning; you won’t want to put it down. And the ending will make you desperate to get your hands on the last book in the series, The Iron Knight.
I rarely read series in order, but Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series is an exception. I was amazed at the world-building in the first book, captivated by the admittedly cliché love triangle in the second book, but what I loved in this book was the quality of the writing. The wonderful thing about reading an author’s first series in order is that you get to see how much they improve in writing, characterization and world-building. Julie Kagawa has improved greatly since her debut novel and I think we can expect great things from her in the future.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Latest YA News
Well, I was right! Some ambitious director has picked up the rights to Conn Iggulden’s Emperor series. According to Wikipedia, it is to be directed by Burr Steers and it will be a trilogy. The first film will attempt to combine Emperor: The Gates of Rome and Emperor: The Death of Kings. This actually makes sense because the first book is very slow and could easily be condensed and added to the second book. Apparently this has been news since May 20, 2010, but I just found out about it and I wanted to spread the word. So, Conn Iggulden fans, you’re in luck! The movie will apparently be called Emperor: Young Caesar, which is a title so horrible it makes me want to gag. Could it be more predictable? Oh well, with the name “Caesar” in the title, it will draw a larger crowd.
Blood of Eden by Julie Kagwa was just released on April 24 as well. So if you love Julie Kagawa, or real blood-sucking, human-eating, stone-cold killing machines that don’t sparkle, check it out. I haven’t read it yet, but I plan to get my hands on it as soon as humanly possible. For more information, check out the official site here.
Kristin Cashore is an amazing writer and the third book in her Seven Kingdoms series is coming out on May 1 of this year! I mentioned this before, but after it got an excellent review from a reviewer who managed to obtain an ARC, I am even more anxious to read it.
If You Love the Iron Fey…
This is the novella about the events that take place between The Iron Queen and The Iron Knight (the third and fourth books respectively) in the Iron Fey series. Summer’s Crossing is only about 72 pages long, but it really is an enjoyable read, especially if you’re a fan like I am. Here is a link to the PDF where you can read the book online. But be warned, it’s only free for a limited time!
And if you’re in a romantic mood, check out An Iron Fey Valentine (PDF), a short story written by Julie Kagawa about Ash and Meghan’s first Valentine’s Day together. I wouldn’t recommend reading it unless you’ve already finished The Iron Knight, since it is a spoiler.
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.
Worse, Meghan’s own fey powers have been cut off. She’s stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can’t help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.
Once I picked up The Iron Daughter and started reading it, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop until I was done. Not only is it even more spellbinding than the first book, The Iron King, the characterization is brilliant and the plot is superb. Unlike many second books, it does not suffer from Book 2 Disease.
In the beginning, Meghan manages to frustrate me as she pines for Ash, openly displaying her feelings for him at court. Ash had told her emotions were a weakness at court, so she should have hidden them, but she did not. What stopped me from hurtling the book at the wall was the fact that soon she figured out how to hide her feelings. I can also forgive her because Ash is her first love and your first love makes you do incredibly stupid things.
Despite this temporary nuisance, there is really nothing much to complain about. The plot zips by and I flipped through the pages as fast as I could. There is something about Julie Kagawa’s writing that keeps you spellbound and makes you (quite literally) gasp for breath after you’ve finished the last page. And of course her true talent lies in leaving readers desperate for the next book, if only to find out who Meghan chooses: Puck, her best friend or Ash.
I give this book 5/5 stars.