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Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden, book #3
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 15, 2014
Source: from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS
Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?
With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.
MONSTER
Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.
In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.
So, The Forever Song is another book that April and I read "together" and discussed afterward. We chatted back and forth about it, and I pretty much pasted the contents of our discussion below for your reading pleasure. We tried to stay spoiler-free for the entire series, but as always, read at your own risk.
Jen: As a series finale/the ending to a trilogy, I found The Forever Song to be adequate yet slightly mediocre. I liked it, but it didn't have the pull for me that the previous books in the series did. I found that I could easily put the book aside and read other things without my mind wandering back to it, wondering what all the vamps were up to while I was elsewhere. This saddens me because this is one of the best vampire stories I've read in awhile, but it also should be noted that my lackluster feelings on the finality of the series are in no way detrimental to my opinion of the series as a whole. It's still one of the best vampire series I've ever read.
April: I really loved this one. Though I do know what you mean as far as being able to put it down. I didn't think about it much when I wasn't reading it. It's certainly not as gripping as the first two. But overall, this series is pretty awesome.
The thing that made The Forever Song for me was Jackal. He kept me laughing the whole time. While I love all of the characters, Jackal outshines them all in my eyes.
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I also love what a survivor Allie has proven herself to be over the course of the series. She's suffered loss time and time again, and yet she keeps moving forward. Allison battles her humanity the entire time, questions whether she is a monster, and yet I don't think it was ever tested as much as it was in this final book.
April: Yes!! Allie has always been strong through-out the series, but in The Forever Song, she really shows her strength. Both mental and physical. I can't imagine what it must be like for a vampire fighting off that hunger. But I do love food and if humans were like cupcakes to me, it would be really hard to contain myself. So major props to Allie.
And how about that twist? That "No Freaking Way" moment! I won't mention what it was, but I so didn't see it coming and I'm not sure why I didn't, but wow. I was hesitant at first whether I was happy about it, and it took me a while to warm up to it, but in the end I think it worked out alright.
Jen: Ha! I actually had a few of those moments, but I think I know which one you're talking about. :) I actually expected something along those lines, and I was anticipating and dreading it at the same time. But you're right, it did work out plot-wise and hurting-my-heart-wise, so I'm okay with where Kagawa took the story from there. That last thing that happened, though, that last major thing...that gutted me. I actually cried some. I don't cry often or easily when reading, but damn.
I wish I'd felt such powerful emotion -- even if it was only hatred toward Sarren -- for the entirety of the book, and not just in a few spots. It just felt like the guts of the book was lacking: we're moving along well, exciting things are happening, then we fall into that valley of a middle where I stayed away from the book for well over a week because I was kind of bored, and then we're at the end, which is damn near explosive with all the things that are happening. I mean, the middle wasn't a total snoozefest because we were learning things about the characters, even when things weren't happening to them, but I needed more to hold my interest at that point.
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I agree that the middle didn't hold my interest as much either. I put it down as well, but picked it back up way sooner than you did lol. I found it interesting enough, but I think my biggest problem is that I'm not as into vampires as I was when I first started reading this series. The ending sure was jam packed though! Near explosive is the perfect way to describe it. Once I neared the end it was hard to put down and I was pretty happy with the conclusion. I'm kinda sad that it's all over now but I feel like there could definitely be a spin of if she chose to write one.
Jen: Yep, I was in the market again for a good YA vampire story when I found The Immortal Rules, but I've since overcome that desire. I do appreciate that Kagawa's vampire tale featured a post-apocalyptic setting, which made it very different from those that came before it, and the series will forever have a place on my shelf. This ending is bittersweet but satisfying. And, yet, I still find myself hoping for more of this world by way of a Jackal spin-off. (Nope, I'm not going to let that go. :D)
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.
Find Julie:
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
This Author! Everyone is raving about this author and I have never read anything by her. Maybe I should do it. But I don't want to read book series at the moment, knowing that I won't finish them anytime soon. That Thor GIF though :P
ReplyDeleteAwwww, you should totally give her a try!! I love her books. Love love love!! :)
DeleteThere's a good reason why people rave about Julie Kagawa...she's kind of awesome. I liked her Iron Fey series, but I love this one so much more. Hope you give her a try soon!
DeleteI loved this book. I thought Julie did a great job with the ending. She renewed my faith in the trilogy. Allie is a kick butt character and the reason I kept going. I especially loved her relationship with Jackal in this book. He's so great I would love to see a spin off series with him for sure. And, while I wasn't surprised about the twist, I am glad it happened. Allie was in such a slump for the first part of this book, I thought she would be so self destructive she would be done. I'm thankful that didn't happen! Great review!
ReplyDeleteLol, no one was really surprised about the twist except for me. I think my head was somewhere in my ass that week. :oP
DeleteAgreed...this was definitely one of the better series endings I've read recently. I'm pretty happy with the direction that the story took in this final book, too. I'm also glad that I'm not the only one hoping for a Jackal spin-off. :D
DeleteAs I'm sure you know Jen I didn't love this one. It's always interesting to see how others rate books though. I'm actually shocked by the 4 stars considering the issues both of you mentioned. Anyway.... I am definitely for a Jackal spin off that character is the one redeemable and consistently likable thing about the series. I would happily just follow him wherever the path takes him.
ReplyDeleteWell, I didn't dislike it, and overall, I found it pretty enjoyable. Every time I'd (finally) get back to it and start reading again, I'd find myself fairly engrossed, but it was just hard to make myself go back to it for whatever reason. As far as series endings go, I think it was solid, so I rated it accordingly. But I agree, the most consistent aspect of the story throughout the books was my man Jackal. I'd like to see his story BEFORE he met up with Allie, not where he wanders off to. :)
DeleteYes! Jackal spin-off! And I agree with your comment above, Jen. I'd like it to be more of a companion series though: before, during, and after. I'd so love to know what he's really thinking in some of the moments of The Forever Song.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, to that GIF!!! That is so Jackals face/smile. Or at least how I'll always picture him now.
I love the co-review thing. I'm currently looking for a co-blogger/reviewer myself and hoping to find someone I work as well with as you two do together. :) Xo!
Sabrina @ I Heart Y.A. Fiction
Haha, I'm glad we're in agreement. This must happen! :) I think from the moment we met Jackal, even when he was the evil Raider King, I still pictured him as Thor, lol.
DeleteI hope you find a great co-blogger! It's kind of the best. :)
Thanks for the review! I've been trying to decide whether or not to start this series, and I think I will, if only to meet this Jackal.
ReplyDeleteValette M. @ Book Snatch
I *wish* I had the patience to wait till a series was complete to start it! Especially when so many seem to end on the wrong note for readers. But this series was good from start to finish. And yes, you must meet Jackal! He kind of makes these books. :)
DeleteGreat joint review ladies! I enjoyed this one but it was the weakest out of the series for me :-( I would love to see more Jackal!
ReplyDeleteMore Jackal! More Jackal! Since it seems like we're all in agreement, I think we need to petition Kagawa and make this a thing. :)
DeleteLoved this book and it's ending. Loved the banter between Allie and Jackal. I think Jackal needs his own book! Julie renewed my faith in the trilogy. I have not read many I've enjoyed the ending of in the last year. Julie did a fabulous job, IMO.
ReplyDelete