Book Review: The Eternity Cure - Julie Kagawa

Title: The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2)

Author: Julie Kagawa

Release Date: April 30th 2013

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Source: NetGalley

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Newly-turned vampire Allison Sekemoto must follow the call of blood, like breadcrumbs, to save her sire and mentor Kanin from Sarren, the psychotic vampire holding him captive. The trail leads Allie to her old home in New Covington and the Fringe, but there’s no time for nostalgia.

A new strain of Red Lung—the insidious virus that decimated the human population decades ago—has emerged. This time, it’s fatal to vampires, too. A cure might be among Kanin’s many secrets—if Allie can reach him in time.

But when the brave, fearless human boy she left safely behind re-enters her life, Allie is torn between the remnants of her humanity and the bloodthirst that consumes her. How can two people so different feel so much for each other? One was born good. The other was reborn a monster. It’s a love as undeniable as it is impossible.

Right from page one, I knew The Eternity Cure has outdone The Immortal Rules. The story opened better, with immediate action that prevented me from putting the book down.

In this book, I got to see the side of Allie that I'd wanted to witness in the first one: an unapologetically ruthless vampire. That's not to say that she had lost the good in her, but only that, when called for, she utilized her vampiric capabilities without thinking "Oh I can't kill this person even though he's made my life completely miserable." She knew what and who she wanted, and she was determined to keep them, all consequences be damned.

The other characters are not to be overlooked, as well. There's Jackal, whose totally unforeseen team-up with Allie brought about a lot of bantering, which, thinking about it now, were the only reprieves in this grim book. Then there's Kanin, who proved to be not entirely formidable. And I may be overthinking or something, but I just feel like he'll be, or at least try to be, more than a mentor and a father figure to Allie in the third book—a ship waiting to float, yes. And then there were Prince Salazar, Sarren, and Stick, in my personal who-I'd-love-to-stab-in-the-eye order.

One of the surprises in here was Zeke coming back into Allie's life—or maybe because I started reading this without bothering to even glance at the blurb, haha. Anyway, their romance didn't become the reprieve I'd thought it would be because as if Allie didn't have enough on her hands already, what with rescuing Kanin and finding the cure, she also had to constantly worry about Zeke, whose being human inevitably made him weak against Allie's vampire acquaintances, both enemy or friend. Still, I liked that the romance got more time in the limelight than it had in the first book because it provided even more chances to see what Allie's really made of and for her character to develop.

And as if the fast pace wasn't enough, The Eternity Cure was also packed with a ton of unexpected twists. Up until the end, Julie Kagawa kept me on the edge of my seat, never giving her pitiful characters any break from her cruelty. I can go on and on about how amazing this sequel was, but I'll end this with I need The Forever Song ASAP!

MY FAVORITE PART was the ending. It was just so damn explosive and heart-breaking and ugh.

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