The Eternity Cure
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden #2
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Dystopia
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Summary:
She had done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie’s birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever – and possibly end human and vampire existence.
There’s a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago – and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time.
Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never have imagined having to make.
First Sentence: I smelled blood as soon as I walked into the room.
My Review:
I could not wait for The Eternity Cure to come out, especially with the sort-of cliffhanger the The Immortal Rules left us with. The Immortal Rules was probably the best vampire book I’ve ever read due to Julie Kagawa’s brilliant storytelling abilities. I knew, without a doubt, that I would definitely check out The Eternity Cure once it was released, especially when I heard the promise that there would be more blood and more gore.
The Eternity Cure started with a bang! I was immediately sucked in into the story and loved Allie’s badass new attitude. She’s still embracing what it means to be a vampire, with Jackal along her side to “help.” Allie’s trying to stay true to her human morals, no matter what happens.
“Of course they do,” Jackal said, as if that was obvious. “What fun is feeding from bloodbags you don’t catch yourself? It’s like having a stocked lake and never fishing from it.” (94)
And Zeke is back! I was personally not expecting that, especially with the way The Immortal Rules ended. We get to see more of Zeke’s romantic side with an added bonus: this time, Zeke is tough and not as innocent as before. What he went through in The Immortal Rules was a huge eye-opener for him and he took charge in The Eternity Cure. Zeke knows what he can handle and what he can not handle, without turning his back on his morals. I personally like him this way.
“I’ll remember my promise, vampire girl,” he whispered back, forcing the words out through the agony. “If you remember yours.” (357)
One character that I thought I would never ever see again came back: Stick. Excuse me, I mean his other name, which I would not say because it’s a spoiler. But boy, did I hate Stick. Throughout the book, I was literally chanting KILL HIM, KILL HIM, KILL HIM! and was so disappointed when Allie didn’t, even though she had plenty of changes to. I knew Stick would bring in major problems for Allie later on in the book and boy, was I right. Stick is a disgusting little wimpy thing who thinks everything is about him or has to do with him.
…but I wasn’t thinking straight anymore. I stared at this…thing below me, this creature who I thought had been human, once. (419)
The Eternity Cure has a lot of recapping, but this time, it’s a good thing, for me at least. I read The Immortal Rules the month it came out, which means I read it a little more than a year now. I was originally planning on rereading The Immortal Rules because I was afraid that once I started The Eternity Cure, I would be totally lost, but it turns out I didn’t need to. However, if I had remembered everything that had happened in The Immortal Rules, I would be annoyed with the amount of recap in The Eternity Cure. The Eternity Cure recapped the smallest important details.
I will probably freak out some people by saying this, but there was not enough blood and gore in The Eternity Cure. I was promised a lot of blood and gore from people who’ve read The Eternity Cure already, and that got me really excited. (Hey, don’t judge me. This is coming from the person who watched The Grudge in the dark and wasn’t scared. Okay, maybe I was a little scared, but still, I was scared of the innocent little kid who just stares at you.) In the end, what could really clarify as being bloody and gorey in my book was the ending, but the ending wasn’t scary either. I guess I’m just too tough to scare.
When the barkeep returned, I was already gone. He would find the bodies – the ones stupid enough to stay and fight – lying where they had fallen, a couple in pieces, but most of them still alive. I had what I’d come for. (12, 13)
In the end, I really don’t know why I gave The Eternity Cure three stars. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t that invested in it; I only mildly enjoyed reading the book. I was expecting The Eternity Cure to be darker and bloodier, like everyone said, but I just didn’t get that. I’m not saying The Eternity Cure is a bad book, it’s just not exactly my version of the perfect book. Will I recommend The Eternity Cure? Sure, especially if you love action-packed novels.
I’m currently reading it and while there are some scary parts, I haven’t encountered many bloody scenes. It’s also a bit.. slow. I don’t know, the pacing seems different than in The Immortal rules. But I still like Addie and Jackal is a great addition to the cast :D Awesome review!
Mel@thedailyprophecy recently posted…Review 160. Marie Lu – Legend.
I’ve never noticed it was slow because I kept putting it down to read other books.
And yep, the lack of blood saddens me. It’s just bloody in the end. ):
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: The Eternity Cure – Julie Kagawa
I reallllllllly want to read this!
Claire K. recently posted…Review: Leave Of Absence
You should definitely read it, it has some more romantic scenes with Allie and Zeke together! ;D
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: The Eternity Cure – Julie Kagawa
Only 3 starts?! That’s a shame! lol
I really loved this one. It WAS very dark and bloody, just the way I like it!! :D
I’m really glad you would recommend it to other people, though.
Great review, I really like your review.
My FF
Sapir @ Diary of a Wimpy Teen Girl
Sapir recently posted…Feature and Follow Friday
I know! I was expecting to give The Eternity Cure at least four stars! ):
Yeah, it was dark and bloody, but I wanted it to be even MORE dark and bloody. I’m a horror addict, if that even makes sense.
Thank you! (:
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: The Eternity Cure – Julie Kagawa
I found the world-building to be quite dark, and the atmosphere was fabulous, but the pacing is a bit inconsistent – so instead of page-turning addictiveness like The Immortal Rules, this was more of a casual read.
Ugh, Stick, horrible creep!
Great review :)
Kat (AussieZombie) recently posted…Review: The Program by Suzanne Young
Yeah, you’re the second person that mentioned the pacing. I didn’t really notice the pacing because I read other books while I also read The Eternity Cure. :P
And yes, ugh, Stick! I wanted Allie to kill him so many times it wasn’t funny.
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: The Eternity Cure – Julie Kagawa
I could not get into the first book – it was a DNF for me – but I’ve been wanting to go back and try to read it again so I can move on to this one because most people seem to have really liked it.
Shannon @ Twilight Sleep recently posted…New Series Announcement from E. J. Stevens!
Definitely give The Immortal Rules another try Shannon! It’s really good, the best vampire book I’ve ever read. :D
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: The Eternity Cure – Julie Kagawa
Great review. Definitely one of my favorite reads of this year. I bet that if Julie Kagawa didn’t recap anything from the first novel I would not have remembered anything. The recapping definitely helped in remembering and making the book go by much smoother rather than a chain wreck trying to wrack my brains to remember who was who and what was what and where was where. Glad you enjoyed the book!
Courtney Ann recently posted…Friday Hops (5/24/13)
Yep, I definitely agree with you on the whole recapping thing. Thank goodness there was recapping! :D
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: The Eternity Cure – Julie Kagawa
We already discussed the recapt thing so I won’t go into it again, but you made me re-think the blood-and-gore part. You’re right, there aren’t actually all that many super bloody parts, but for me there was still a lot of violence, just sometimes on other levels. It was… maybe a bit more subtle? Not sure how to put it.
And omg Stick. I wanted to kick him when he’s down!!! Grahhh I hated him so much. I mean I got him… on one level. Didn’t make anything ok though. What a rat.
I’m sorry the book didn’t blow you away :( But sometimes the mood is off, or you’re just not that wowed but it’s hard to say why. The ending is so mean though – and now we’re waiting for books three *sigh*
Carmen B. recently posted…Blog Tour review and excerpt: Girls Love Travis Walker, by Anne Pfeffer
I like violence that actually makes you upright flinch and not the subtle kind that slowly creeps up at you. I’m hard to satisfy/scare because I watch Criminal Minds where the most horrible things happen plus serial killer documentaries. :P
I tried to look at things from Stick’s point of view, but the way he thinks that everything is about HIM just prevented me from doing so. It’s like, not everything has to deal with him you know, why be so self-centered?
As for the ending, I didn’t really “feel” the cliffhanger, if you get what I mean. It didn’t make me eager to get the next book in my hands RIGHT now. I have a theory about the Zeke thing though and it isn’t good. o:
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: The Eternity Cure – Julie Kagawa
That was my complaint with this as well: Allie is more badass, Zeke is more badass, Jackal is badass – where is all the dark bloody gore!? I think this focused too much on the relationships Allie had with everyone, which is why I kept catching myself skimming.
Kelly recently posted…Armchair BEA: Introductions & Classics!
I totally agree Kelly, where is all the blood and gore?! I was expecting The Eternity Cure to have TONS of blood and gore because that’s what people said the book has, but in the end, it left me feeling very disappointed. ):
Kelly recently posted…Top Ten Books That Made Me Cry The Hardest
I read this book a couple of months ago. I’ve been dying to read it and I really enjoyed it. I agree with you on the recapping part. And I must say it got a little bit tiring from bits to bits. But, overall, I absolutely loved this book. Especially the cliffhanger at the end. I mean, come on! I just can’t wait for the next book in the series!!
The cliffhanger did leave me drooling for the next book. :P
I hope it’s fabulous!
Kelly recently posted…Summer Road Trip Giveaway Hop
I love horror to so I don’t have too high of expectations on that front. Thanks for the review!