We get some recap of The Immortal Rules at the beginning of The Eternity Cure, and that was just fine with me. It was very well done, and I needed it. The review made it very easy to fall right back into the world and the characters that I cared about so much.
Allie has left Eden and is trying to find Kanin. She knows he is in danger, and possibly dying. Because he is her blood, she feels drawn to him -- but for some reason, she's being drawn in two directions. When she finally reaches her destination it isn't Kanin she's found. And there begins a non-stop adventure filled with surprises and danger and heart-stopping action.
It's very easy to get through The Eternity Cure. We've already come to love the characters in The Immortal Rules, so it's easy to get pulled right into this new adventure -- the continuing search for a cure -- but much more than that. Almost every character from The Immortal Rules makes an appearance -- and some have made surprising transformations. You would think the world couldn't get any more dangerous, but now it's not only humans and vampires, but another virus that is wreaking havoc and may wipe out everything.
I enjoyed the twists in The Eternity Cure, and there were many of them. I enjoyed the romance and the crazy banter between characters. The world is, as in The Immortal Rules, exceptionally created.
I would highly recommend this second book to everyone who enjoyed the first. However, I just have to mention a couple of things that bugged me. First is repetition. Allie says "if I were alive, my heart would've been slamming in my chest," or some variation of that, at least four times. Now, I'm reading the ARC, so maybe some of these got cut. I can only hope.
Secondly, and kind of related to the "lack of life" premise, is that Allie just seems TOO human. The vampires bleed. To me that doesn't make sense, if their hearts don't beat. Allie mentions not being bothered by the cold, but revels in a hot shower. She cries warm tears (OK, they are blood, but still, they are warm.) That doesn't make sense. So these are little things, and I know we have to believe that Allie is very human-like -- otherwise we wouldn't like her as much and we wouldn't support her relationships. I get that. But it still bothered me. She IS a vampire, and I though at times Kagawa wanted us to forget that.
Yes, there's a cliffhanger, but there is also definitely the end of an episode. Some things have been resolved -- and I guess i'ts more of a big surprise -- not so much a cliffhanger. It was OK with me, and I'll definitely be looking forward to the third book.
Like I said, The Eternity Cure is a must read for vampire fans(after The Immortal Rules, of course.) Kagawa can write dialog, action, and characters that make you care. This is one of the best paranormal worlds I've ever encountered.
Published by Harlequin Teen, April 30, 2013
eARC obtained from NetGalley
448 pages
Rating: 4/5
I'm glad that you liked the book enough to give it a four, because for that is still a pretty high rating. But your grievances with the book are very valid as well. I kind of feel that if as an author you want to write about vampires they need to be legit vampires. If you make them too human, well then it feels to me like you are using the Vampire theme as a gimmick when really you should just be writing about humans to begin with.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Annette. Glad given the pros and cons it's still a four star sort of book, really looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteAmazing review, Annette! I agree, there are a few too many human comforts and conventions that don't make sense for vamps. I definitely noticed the temperature mentions and found them annoying. Still, I really enjoyed this sequel and am very excited to read the next one.
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