Thursday, April 25, 2013

Review: The Eternity Cure

THE ETERNITY CURE
Blood of Eden #2
Julie Kagawa
Paranormal Young Adult
446 pages
Harlequin Teen
Available April 30th
Received from publisher via NetGalley

THE STORY (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.


MY THOUGHTS
The Eternity Cure is a beautifully dark sequel, delving deeper into the brutal vampire world of which Allie is a newly fanged member, and peeling back the layers of beloved characters to expose the painful and vulnerable flesh underneath. Ms. Kagawa does a brilliant job of slowly bringing us up to speed as we follow Allie in her search for Kanin, reminding us of the details we may have forgotten since finishing The Immortal Rules in a way that doesn't interrupt the pacing at all, instead the little clues and hints we need to jog our memories are seamlessly integrated into present events. Many times with second books in a trilogy, we find ourselves struggling with non-events–small dramas and superfluous details that don't necessarily move the overall story arc forward but rather set us up for the inevitable action-packed conclusion–but with The Eternity Cure we're given a multi-layered plot that only intensifies our connection to Allie, Kanin and Zeke, making us laugh, cry, and suck in our breath in the final chapter.

Allie is seventeen going on fifty, a world-weariness radiating from her as she sees and experiences things no one so young should have to, but she shoulders it without even the slightest of grimaces as acknowledgement of the added weight. Every moment of every day she struggles with her vampire nature, constantly trying to make choices that will leave the smallest possible black marks on her soul, but ultimately knowing they are black marks just the same. Though her future has the potential to be unbearably bleak, she never wallows or despairs of what might have been, even when reuniting with Zeke provides her with a poignant reminder of what she can never again have, instead she continues to put one foot in front of the other and mitigate the damage she has no choice but to cause as best she can.

Those who fell in love with Kanin despite his fairly minor role in The Immortal Rules will likely be thrilled with The Eternity Cure, his presence magnified and his past finally illuminated in all its gritty glory. He's still deliciously enigmatic in many ways and is never one to speak without purpose, so we can't help but treasure every word that escapes his lips as we know he's measured them carefully and is imparting something important whether we realize it at the time or not. Adding a little levity to Kanin's stoic presence is Jackal, a vampire we wouldn't have minded meeting a tragic end after his role in the deaths of many a human in book one, but we find ourselves snorting in amusement when he joins Allie on her quest, surprisingly grateful for his presence, his blunt nature, and his sometimes inappropriate sense of humor.

Despite its length, The Eternity Cure seems to fly by, tension wreaking havoc on our guts when Allie and company are tested and threatened but seem to emerge victorious, something we soon realize was simply Ms. Kagawa lulling us into a false sense of security as we approach the concluding pages. It's only then she comes at us from the darkness where we least expected her, a fist to the stomach doubling us over as Allie's world is suddenly and violently knocked off its axis, and we're left with hearts shredded but shockingly still beating, wondering whether the answer to Kanin's haunting question as to what kind of monster Allie will choose to be will forever change when we meet up with her again in the next book.

Rating: 4/5


More information on Julie and her books can be found here:


47 comments:

  1. I loved Jackal. Beyond words. And I love Kanin in a different way. I'm both happy and sad that there's no love triangle. Mostly because I think Zeke is boring.

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    1. I did too! He was hilarious, and I never really knew which team he was playing for which kept things interesting:)

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  2. Holy Cow the end was shocking right?!?!? But that's Julie always doing something like this and leaving us hanging…
    I also loved that we are getting so much Kanin in this book too. And yet, I still want more!

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    1. I'm not a huge crier with books, but this one had the tears flowing for sure. I get all teary just thinking about that ending.

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  3. I think I liked The Immortal Rules a teensy bit more but this was still really good. Loved devouring it this past weekend!

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    1. I did too, but I was really pleased with this sequel. I thought a lot happened, and I liked that it wasn't all build up for book 3.

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  4. You think the reminders from Immortal Rules didn't interrupt the pacing a bit? I thought the pacing issues were similar in both books, a tad slow in the beginning... But wow!! You put words to what I meant when I spoke of Allie's struggle (in my own review). World-weariness is so correct. And yes, I agree with what you said about Kanin and Jackal. I love how mysterious both of them are, despite the fact that we were given answers about both... and again you're right. That ending does leave it up to the reader to imagine how far Allie will go the next time round. Can't wait to read the next book! Beautiful writing as always, Jenny :)

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    1. No, the reminders didn't bother me at all. Mostly I was really grateful for them because I'd forgotten a lot of details from The Immortal Rules. Maybe if I read these consecutively it would have been an issue, but reading them a year apart made me thrilled to have a reminder or two:)

      I really love Kanin and Jackal as well, they were both highlights for me. I'm of course now dying to see how they help Allie moving forward:)

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  5. I've finished this story recently and I really enjoyed. Well after The Immortal Rules Kanin was my fave character so I was happy to see more of him. I had some problems with the fist book but this one was great! Great review Jenny :)

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    1. Kanin is a reader favorite I think. There's just something about him that makes us all want to know more:) Glad you enjoyed this one!

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  6. I’m really hoping to finish it!! I gotta to make some time for reading!

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  7. Jenny your reviews summed up everything I felt about this book so perfectly! I adored Allie's strength, she had so much crap thrown her way but still came out so strong. I was hoping we'd get to know Kanin's character a little more, so was surprised with the depth that Kagawa went with him. The ending just killed me, I will definitely be crying it out in the corner waiting it for it with you! Awesome review! :)

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    1. JASPRIT! THAT ENDING!!! *dies inside* I was a mess. I loved Kanin and Jackal, and I hope we continue to learn more about both of them as we stick with Allie:)

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    1. No, but I seem to have a serious problem with spammers. O.o

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  9. OK. I won't be reading your review, sorry, babe! I think I already told you in your um.. blog tour post that I want to avoid ANY possible spoilers. Even the little ones with this series. I just got the first book and I can't wait to dive into this dark world. I bet it'll be a lot different than The Iron Fey series which I absolutely adore and love. I'm glad you liked it though (4 out of 5 is pretty darn great :-))

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    1. It's definitely different than the Iron Fey books - darker:) I've loved both so far, can't wait to see what you think Siiri!

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  10. Everyone seems to love this, Jenny, so I'm excited to get to it myself! I love that Kanin has a bigger role in this book because that's exactly what I want. I'm so scared to start this though because I've heard about the ending and I'm not sure if I could tolerate that. Still, I'm definitely going to be reading this soon because I loved the first book!
    Fabulous review, Jenny! :)

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    1. The ending is rough, I won't lie. BUT, there's hope there as well, it's just obviously going to take time for the things that happened to get sorted out:)

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  11. I loved both Kanin and Jackal -- they were WONDERFUL additions to an already awesome story. I wasn't sure what she was going to do with the love story but I'm intrigued to see where it goes. Zeke's a great, determined character and is a perfect foil to Allie.

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    1. AGREED!!! Loved Kanin, loved Jackal, and really loved the fighter Zeke turned out to be. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well:)

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  12. I have heard some great things about this series! I am glad there is a little recap in this one, sometimes that doesn't happen and it is nice when it does (as long as it doesn't feel like they are retelling the whole last book anyways).

    Great review!

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    1. I was definitely grateful for the recap. I remembered major things about book 1, but I didn't remember smaller side characters or little details, and I thought she reminded us of those things in a fairly seamless way.

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  13. I just skimmed this because I haven't read the first one yet. I'm glad that you gave it 4/5 though! : )

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  14. I wasnt a huge fan of the first book so I've been wary of this one but I've seen so many good reviews that MAYBE I'll check it out

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  15. I am all for more Kanin~ I was one of those readers who was disappointed that he had such a small role in the first one. I am trying to start this soon, and such a huge fan of Kagawa's world building. I can't wait to see what she does this time!

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  16. Jenny! Between your review and Kelly's, I'm feeling the need to pick up book 2. Why must you do this to me? WHY?

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  17. I really loved this book! I still love TIR slightly more, but I'm still thrilled with this installment (though the ending killed me!)

    I love Kanin and Jackal, for very different reasons, and I have a friend crush on Allie, she's a bamf. Love your review, so glad you liked it! :-)

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  18. Gah, your review was too good. I'm super curious about Jackal now, how on earth does he end up one of Allie's sidekicks?! And that ending sounds like it really brings the feels. I'm dying to start reading it, I just have to wait for my copy to arrive... Hurry up, mailman! ;)

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  19. Lol, Kanin, sorry inside joke, it means rabbit in Swedish

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  20. Let me just say that the ending wasn't a surprise to me... ;) OMG! Didn't you just love Jackal in this book??? I'm also with you on Allie's development. I love that she is becoming her own "person" so to speak. Enjoying this series as well! :)

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  21. I started this one and have read a bit here and there but because of my frequent headaches I haven't read it completely yet. Having a kindle fire has it's downsides. Like being unable to ever complete a book on it! Anyway, I'm really loving it so far and can't wait to get back to it. Now headache, GO AWAY!

    Sorry I've been absent. We're having a 'fun' week doing things outside the house. Like yard work and visiting the zoo. ;)

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  22. Although I love Kanin, I'm not a huge fan of this series in general. I think Kagawa has such original ideas, but her execution of them always falls flat for me, which is a shame, so I'll be skipping this one. Fantastic review, though, Jenny!(:

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  24. WOWZER! Seriously 446 pages? That is just craziness though I am sure JK made them fly by.

    Also have to love the spam comment above me "female mind mastery"---poor men fail every time LOL

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  25. Wonderful review and I agree it flew by way too fast and omg that ending! The wait for the final book is going to be unbearable! Awesome review Jenny!

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  26. Okay, first that was an amazing review. You describe so clearly what happens in the novel, I really can't think of a better word than amazing.
    Second, I am soooo glad I decided to put my review off for another day than tomorrow. I do not want to follow this review! lol Boy did you say it all and really well!

    Heather

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  27. I've only read one book of Julie Kagawa which is the first book of her Iron Fey series, sad to say I didn't enjoy it so I didn't continue reading that series. But I might still try her other works and this series sounds better than Iron Fey.

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  28. I cry every time I see this cover because they FREAKING CHANGED IT. Makes me insanely bitter that I won't have matching covers now.

    I need to read this one. I loved the Immortal Rules, but I've been so nervous it won't match up to the epicness that was in the first book. But your review makes it sound solid, so you know I'll read it.

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  29. Yay Jenny! I'm so excited to read this one as well. And jealous that you got to read it! Awesome review :)

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  30. I'm so glad to hear there's a re-cap because lately, my mind is like a sieve! I love the fact that even though this is a longer book the pages fly by. That usually means the story is pretty gripping. I'm a little nervous about the ending after reading your review, Jenny! Brilliant as ever, my dear! :)

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  31. Thank goodness for a multi-layered plot - it drives me crazy to read a sequel where nothing significant happens.

    Fantastic review, Jenny!

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  32. I agree, this was a pretty good sequel and I was so grateful of Julie's recapping skills. Because I remembered surprisingly very little of the first book, so that was nice. Jackal and Kanin were definitely the characters that left the most impact on me in this one, though I do like Allie overall. I'm curious to see where the story goes next, for sure!!

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  33. I loved Kanin so I'm glad he has a bigger role in this one. And, I'm curious to see a new side of Jackal. I still need to get around to reading this one!

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  34. Sadly, this one disappointed me.. Though I have to admit, I was also glad that Kanin had a bigger part in this book! and that ending.. wow! Great review!
    - Farah @ MajiBookshelf

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