Review The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules 
Author: Julie Kagawa 

Published: April 24th, 2012 (Harlequin Teen)

Pages: 504

Source: bought
Series: Blood of Eden #1

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis from 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.

Before I started blogging I read a lot of vampire books and after a while it got a bit dull. They all started to look alike and I stopped reading them after I started confusing stories. It was time for a change! After that there was a lot more diversity in my book choices! 

So, why did I picked this one up? I've entered in the Paranormal Reading Challenge and last month was vampire themed! The second reason was that I loved Julie Kagawa's other books and I had looked at this book a couple of times, but the vampire theme was holding me back. Luckily it didn't disappoint! 

In The Immortal Rules Allie lives in a city ruled by vampires. She Unregistered, so she doesn't have to give blood like Registered people do, but this means almost no food and she has to go to dangerous places to get some. One night everything goes wrong and she's attacked by rabids. A vampire gives her a choice, dying or become like him. Allie hates vampires, but she values her life, so in the end she chooses to become a vampire. 

Allie is a tough girl and I liked that about her. I understood her hate for the vampires, but also why she became one of them. I must say that at some points it was heart to empathize with her. She doesn't let anybody in, including me as a reader. Although it was hard to put the book down! I wanted to know what happened next! How can a newly created vampire live among humans? 

I love Julie Kagawa's writing style. It makes reading her books so much fun! You just want to continue reading all the time and that's what I loved most about this book. I'd read some books that weren't that fun to read and it was nice to have that feeling again of always wanting to read this book. Every second of spare time I spend with this book! 

Even if you're tired of vampire books you definitely want to give this one a chance! 

Waiting on Wednesday (34)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week I'm waiting on 

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Eternity Cure 

Author: Julie Kagawa

Will be published on: May 7th, 2013 (Harlequin Teen)
Series: Blood of Eden #2

Synopsis from Goodreads: 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.

I've read The Immortal Rules a couple of weeks ago and it was so good! I thought I could jump right into the second book, but to my surprise it isn't published yet. I don't really fancy the cover, but it's about the inside, right?

What are you waiting on?

Review The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Lost Prince

Author: Julie Kagawa

Published: October 23rd, 2012 (Harlequin Teen)

Pages: 379

Source: for review
Series: The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1

Rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads: Don't look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.That is Ethan Chase's unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he'd dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister's world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

Do you know that feeling when you're writing a review about a book you absolutely loved and you just don't know where to begin? So maybe I should begin with saying: I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Yeah, that's right, this is absolutely a book I would recommend to everyone! Only downside is that you kind of have to read The Iron Fey series (and especially Iron's Prophecy). Well, you'll understand more if you have. 

After reading about this world through Meghan's and Ash's perspective I had to get used to Ethan. But I loved him right away! He's tough and hard, but with good reason. He doesn't want anything to do with his sister's world. But when weird fey start showing up and Todd, a half faery, disappears Ethan knows he must contact his sister to stop this. 

I loved reading about the characters from The Iron Fey series: Meghan, Ash, Grimalkin, Puck (YAY!) and Keirran. Well, technically Keirran is a new character and he's so cute! But the cutest of them all was Razor. Seriously, I think living with Julie Kagawa is so much fun, because she thinks up the most amazing nicknames! I smiled every time Razor hissed "Bad kitty!" to Grimalkin! 

But besides the amazing nicknames, Julie is just an awesome author! Just when you think you have it all figured out she gives the story a turn you didn't see coming! Everyone who's read the story knows what I'm talking about. Kenzie's secret? Wow, I did not see that one coming at all! And it made the story even more perfect! 

My head is filled with all these fan-girling thoughts that just don't make any sense. If you loved The Iron Fey I can only say one thing: Go and read this book!

Mini review Iron's Prophecy by Julie Kagawa

Title: Iron's Prophecy

Author: Julie Kagawa

Published: September 1st, 2012 (Harlequin Teen)

Pages: 76

Source: bought

Series: The Iron Fey #4.5

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads: Meghan Chase is finally getting used to being the Iron Queen, ruler of the Iron Fey. Her life may be strange, but with former Winter prince Ash by her side at last, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

But when they travel to the Summer and Winter courts’ gathering for Elysium, the oracle from Meghan’s past returns with a dire prophecy: “What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them.” Now Meghan faces a devastating choice that may determine the future of all fey—and her and Ash’s unborn child… 

I started this series a few months ago, but I stopped after the first novella, Winter's Passage, and last week I decided to finally read the other books! And I love this series! I thought the ending of The Iron Knight was perfect! But I was still really happy there was one small story left, Iron's Prophecy. 

What I loved most about this book was Puck! He's so funny! With those nicknames. Every time he says 'Furball' to Grimalkin I laughed so heard! Grim is so serious and that's what makes it extra funny! 

And those stories about Ash's and Puck's adventures! I can tell you, you do not want to miss this novella. If it was only for these stories. 

The rest of the story is kinda serious. Meghan is pregnant (yes!) and the oracles brings her a visit to tell her their kid could mean the end of the fey world. 
So it's the same perfect mix as the rest of the books: funny, but with a serious note. And I love Julie Kagawa's writing style! I couldn't put the books down!  

Stacking the Shelves (6)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Bloggers share what new books (physical or virtual) they got these week. This is the first week that I'm participating! I like getting new books and showing them. So here's my haul for this week! 

The awesomeness from last week was far gone this week. I had a job interview for a very nice job, but got rejected after two rounds. It took most of my time preparing, so almost no reading and I haven't bought one book this week. Maybe that's for the best, because my TBR pile is scary high! I did got approved for one awesome book on Netgalley! So it wasn't the worst week ever :). 

For review

Title: The Lost Prince

Author: Julie Kagawa

Published: October 23rd, 2012 (Harlequin Teen)

Pages: 379
Series: The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1

I loved The Iron King and when I saw this up on Netgalley I just had to request it and I got approved! I'm so happy, this made my entire week! And now I have the excuse to buy three more books, because I have to finish The Iron Fey series first! Haven't gotten around to it yet, but you'll probably see them here next week! 

What's your haul?

Review The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Title: De IJzerkoning

Original title: The Iron King

Author: Julie Kagawa

Published: June 12th, 2012 (Harlequin Young Adult)

Pages: 384

Source: for review
Series: The Iron Fey #1

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads: Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.  Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I had seen this book a couple of times on different websites, but I wasn't persuaded enough by the synopsis, so I never bought and read it. I had really no idea how much I would like this book. The book gets published this week in Dutch and I got a review copy for the reading panel of a Dutch YA website (young-adults.nl). So finally I have read it. 

This book has many good things. The story is great. Stories about fae can feel a bit uneasy, since they're so into treachery and stuff. It's the same in this book, but it didn't feel that way. There are fae who are willing to help, although most of them want something in return. There was a more positive vibe around it. 

I really liked the connection to A Midsummer Night's Dream, especially Puck. He's so funny! I laughed out loud sometimes. I loved the idea about the fae world existing because of the imagination of humans and if they remember stories and characters, they keep living. The world setting was really good. 

I liked the balance between the main characters. Meghan Chase, the 'normal' girl who gets more and more special as the story continues. The cat Grimalkin had many sides, sometimes he could be funny, but he could also be annoying and even a bit scary. Ash is mysterious and most of the time my feelings were mixed about him. 

I'm really enthusiastic about this first book, and I'm curious how the rest of the series will be.

Upcoming (4)

In Upcoming I talk about the books that I will review on this blog. So you know what you can expect here in the upcoming days / weeks. I hope you enjoy it!

This week

Review The Fame Game by Lauren Conrad

In Hollywood, fame can be found on every corner and behind any door. You just have to know where to look for it. Nineteen-year-old Madison Parker made a name for herself as best frenemy of nice-girl-next-door Jane Roberts on the hot reality show L.A. Candy. Now Madison's ready for her turn in the spotlight and she'll stop at nothing to get it. Sure, she's the star of a new show, but with backstabbing friends and suspicious family members trying to bring her down, Madison has her work cut out for her. Plus, there's a new nice girl in "reality" town—aspiring actress Carmen Price, the daughter of Hollywood royalty—and she's a lot more experienced at playing the fame game... When the camera's start rolling, whose star will shine brighter?

Filled with characters both familiar and new, Lauren Conrad's series about the highs and lows of being famous delivers Hollywood gossip and drama at every turn.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Review De IJzerkoning (original title:The Iron King) by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Review The Curse Girl by Kate Ellison Avery

When Bee is imprisoned in a magical, cursed house because of her father's selfish choices, she has just one plan... escape! But she must solve a riddle and help her fellow prisoners break the curse that binds them all before she can leave, and that is proving more difficult than she originally thought thanks to the bitter young master of the house, Will.

Will wants nothing to do with Bee or her help (and he certainly isn't planning on falling in love with her), but he might have underestimated just how determined and clever--and irresistible--she can be.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Next week:


Review The Game by Krystyna Kuhn
Atom published a new cover this week and it's so gorgeous! I read the book a while ago, but this cover deserves a review. 


Review Fated by Alyson Noël
I loved her Immortals series. I read the first few chapters so far and it is pretty good. 

My bookshelves (2)

In My bookshelves I discuss the books I got or want to have. This week I'll show you the books I got in the last week.

For review

Title: The Fame Game (Dutch version)

Author: Lauren Conrad

Published: May 21st, 2012 (Blossom Books)
Pages: 320

Source: gift
Series: Fame Game #1 
The new series by Lauren Conrad with Madison Parker as Hollywoods new favorite!

 Title: De IJzerkoning

Original title: The Iron King

Author: Julie Kagawa

Published: May 29th, 2012 (Harlequin Young Adult)
Pages: 384

Source: for review
Series: The Iron Fey #1
The Iron King is just translated in Dutch. I wanted to read this book for a while, and I got the Dutch version for review.

 

Title: Glitch

Author: Heather Anastasiu

Published: August 7th, 2012 (St. Martin's Press)
Pages: 320

Source: Netgalley
Series: Glitch #1

The synopsis of this book sounds good, so I'm curious how the story will be. 

Title: Between (Dutch version)

Author: Jessica Warman

Published: May, 2012 (Van Goor) 

Pages: 352

Source: publisher

I'm very happy to get the chance to read and review this book. I love books where the story is like a puzzle (or so I hope it will be).

Title: Fated 

Author: Alyson Noël

Published: May 22nd, 2012 (St. Martin's Press)
Pages: 352

Source: bought
Series: The Soul Seekers #1 

I loved The Immortals-series, so I can't wait to start in her new series.

Not for review

 

Title: Style Yourself (Dutch version)

Published: May 21st, 2012 (Blossom Books)
Pages: 240

Source: gift 
On this blog I mostly review YA and Chicklit. Since Style Yourself is neither, I won't review it here. But it's a really nice book, so I wanted to show it to you anyway.