Review: The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Eternity Cure
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden, book #2
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 30, 2013
Source: received from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

Is Julie Kagawa a vampire?  Seriously, she writes Allie's character as if she herself has gone through the transition from human to vampire, and yeah, this monster has been done and redone, but I don't know that I've ever read a vampire story -- especially from the point-of-view of the vampire -- that I've loved more.  And I've read a lot of good ones.  Trust me.

It's not just the writing or the characters that make this series so remarkable, though those things do set it apart from others.  It's also the world....the plague-ravaged, vampire-ridden, desolate world.  I highly suggest reading the Dawn of Eden novella in the 'Til the World Ends anthology to see more of how this world came to be, though more of that is definitely explained in this book.  (Also, the novella does contain a sexual encounter that might be a tad too explicit for some of my readers.)  It's also the misbegotten journey across this crippled world to find Kanin that makes it even more compelling.  Can't forget that...it was the primary focus of the story.



Which brings me to my favorite part of the book:  JACKAL.  Yes, I still have mad love for Kanin, but Jackal kind of stole the show for me in this novel.  Granted, he gets a lot more screen time, but even so, he reminded me of another vampire I initially loved to hate and then just flat-out ended up loving because of his snarky, you-can't-make-me-be-good attitude.  I saw a lot of Damon Salvatore in Jackal but not in a way that made it seem like the author totally ripped off his persona.  (And, no, I didn't make this comparison just so I could use Damon gifs, but how awesome is it that that worked out for me?!?)

     "No problem, little sister." The leer returned, making him look normal again.  "Comment number one--hhow much do you weigh to snap the bridge like that?  I thought you Asians were supposed to be petite and dainty."
     Okay, moment over.  I sheathed my blade and glared at him.  "And here I almost thought you weren't a complete bastard."
     "Well, that's your mistake, not mine."

I just imagine that there are very few moral vampires and far fewer that waver between what is good and what is wrong.  It only made sense that in Allie's struggle, she would encounter kin who were losing the battle.  Not all vampires can have the moral compass of that Kanin fellow.



I wrestled with a connection to Allie in the first book.  I didn't feel her story but rather watched it as an outsider, and that often hinders my ability to really get engaged in a book.  But this time around, it felt personal.  Her struggles were my own.  Her pain and frustration was mine to feel, as well.  And her love...oh, wow...that was totally mine, too.

     "What, then?  Don't tell me you feel something for the little...Oh."  The vampire blinked, then curled his lip back, disgust and pity crossing his sharp features.  "Oh, sister.  Really?  That's just sad."
     "Shut. Up. Jackal."

I didn't really ship the Allie/Zeke pairing in the first book either, but this book changed all that for me.  I don't know what Kagawa did differently -- if anything at all -- but this time around, this story owned me.  My heart bled for these characters and what they went through are still going through.



Yeah, that ending made my head want to go all explodey.  But it was worth it.  'Cause I know the next book will be even more fierce, even more badass.  And I can't freaking wait!


Rating:  

About the author:

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyper-active Papillon puppy.

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