The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Release Date – April 30, 2013

Publisher Website -  HarlequinTeen

Publisher Social Media -  Twitter

Pages -  446 pages

My Rating- 4.5/5

**obtained for review from publisher**

***Small Spoilers***

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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.

The Eternity Cure has it all -vampires, romance, and intense action. You may think you’ve read this before, but you’d be wrong. Julie Kagawa takes the vampire story and owns it. After reading The Immortal Rules, I knew this series was going to be epic and Eternity Cure showed me how right I was. 

Julie Kagawa’s characters are the heart of her novels. Heros and villains are both so layered and lines are blurred often within the two. They are capable of both heroic and cowardly acts and this makes them compelling. Her development in this novel especially is wonderful.

Allie is one of my favourite female characters. Kick ass, intelligent and capable are how I would describe her. Her desire to be a ‘better monster’ is admirable, and that sliver of humanity that keeps her grounded makes her character more compelling. She’s not perfect, and has quite a bit of self doubt, but she’s loyal, and tries to do the right thing.

Allie’s desperate need to find her sire, Kanin, drives her. She feels responsible for him and wants nothing more than to protect him from Sarren. She’s not prepared for what she ends up finding. A new strain of Red Lung that threatens vampires. The novel presents a likely scenario of the entire population becoming extinct, humans and vampires alike. It creates a ticking clock that makes the pages tense. 

Jackal surprised me in this installment. Dangerous, selfish, and dastardly in the first novel, he presented a different side in this one. I’ve seen comparisons to Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I have to admit they are spot on. He’s clearly influenced by him,  his sarcastic sense of humour especially. He is a fun character, that I found myself enjoying this time around in a way that was most unexpected….even when he was at his worst.

I was delighted to see Zeke again. The human who weakens Allie’s cold exterior and brings out the humanity in her. The romance in this novel is so well done. Electric, swoon worthy and subtly sexy. A romance where each of them knows the other fully. Every weakness,  every strength and the ugly parts underneath. They get each other and they are a match in the most star crossed sense.

Allie’s remaining human tie, Sticks, makes an appearance in the most unexpected way. His return into Allie’s life came as shock due to the manner in which it happens. His attitude, however, is unsurprising. After his hurtful reaction to Allie’s vampire transformation it was clear that Sticks was not someone Allie could count on. Hurt feelings can linger, and resentment can grow and fester. Those in the sudden position to administer what they consider payback can be dangerous. 

Everyone knows that Julie Kagawa can tell a story and suck you in. Her Blood of Eden series may just be her best one yet. Fraught with excitement, danger, and high stakes the pacing is impeccable. This novel had my feelings jumping all over the place, and finally tore them out in the last 10-15 pages. All the more crushing, and heart stopping due to the wait for the next novel.

The ending of this novel left me breathless with so many theories of what is going to happen next. An ambiguous ending for one of our characters left me full of speculation for what could be in store for them.  This is a vampire series that one of the best in it’s genre. Daring, intense, and with fantastic characters.