The Iron Traitor - Julie Kagawa

The Iron Traitor (Call of the Forgotten #2) -

Julie Kagawa

Grade: YA
Rating: 5/5 Stars

In the real world, when you vanish into thin air for a week, people tend to notice.

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all. (Description from Goodreads)

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For those who don't know, The Iron Traitor is book 2 in the Call of the Forgotten series by Julie Kagawa, a spin off to The Iron Fey series. What I love about Ms Kagawa is that her books seem to be getting better and better with every release. Whilst I liked The Iron Fey series, I am loving Call of the Forgotten. I find it easier to connect with the characters and the world. Perhaps because there's more "human" interactions. You can never trust the Fey.

The Iron Traitor begins with Ethan and Mackenzie (Kenzie) returning from their trip into the Nevernever, only to find that 2 weeks has past in the real world. 2 weeks without their parents knowing what had happened to them or where they were. To say their parents were upset about this is an understatement. Nevertheless, Ethan and Kenzie are determined to get back to reality and try their hand at a "normal" relationship. Unfortunately "normal" doesn't last long. Not when Keirran (the Iron Prince) has gone missing and the whole of Nevernever is searching for him.

I always say if you want to truly enjoy a novel you have to finish it within 3 days. That way you are focused on the story and hence more connected. Well, due to unforeseen circumstances, it took me 3 weeks to finish this book.... And I loved every second that I was able to read it. Even in the short time frame I was able to read in, I found myself being drawn into the world and connect with the characters. I was always looking forward to seeing what would happen next. Let me tell you, a lot was happening. Just a snippet of things: Ethan was forced to acknowledge his feelings of betrayal and abandonment from Meghan. Kenzie was forced to deal with her father and her sickness. Annwyl was knocking on deaths door, and poor Keirran would do anything to save her even if it meant his own death. And then there's the prophesy that seems more and more likely to happen.

There were so many intense moments that you truly appreciate when Ms Kagawa throws in a character like Puck and suddenly a dangerous situation changes from intense to comical. "What? I never make things worse. I make things more interesting". That you do Puck, that you do.

I loved this book, and highly recommend this series. I can not wait for the next book (especially after that cliffhanger of an ending)

5/5 stars


Kerrie
(Also published to Goodreads)

The Eternity Cure - Julie Kagawa

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) - Julie Kagawa
Grade: YA
Rating: 5/5 Stars

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.

Description taken from Goodreads
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It's very rare for me to say I enjoyed the sequel more than the original but I'm going to say it now. The Eternity Cure was such an amazing ride and (in my opinion) more enjoyable than The Immortal Rules.
Crazy Vampires, murderous humans, street rats, mole men, rabids plus a new breed of horror, this book had it all.

I liked the pacing of this book. Things were happening straight off the bat and continued throughout the novel.

It starts where The Immortal Rules ended, with Allie searching for her sire Kanin who has been kidnapped and tortured by the crazy Vampire Sarren. What follows is an awesome ride full of surprise encounters and fast paced action.

I loved Allie in this book. She has really grown into her vampirism and she has become this kickass heroine. She's not afraid anymore. She knows who she is and what she believes in and won't let anyone stand in her way. Which for me is a sign of a great female character.

Now onto the boys... While I'm a huge Kanin fan, Jackal stole the show for me in this book. His constant sarcasm, taunts, threats and smart ass comments were hilarious. I'm not sure how Julie did it but I could almost forget all the horrible things he had done in the first book. It's like he started with a clean slate, and I really liked him. Can't wait to see what he's like in the next book.

Speaking of the next book- can I have it now?! Please! The ending of The Eternity Cure will leave you with your mouth wide open in shock. To end a book like like- Julie, that was just plain mean! Brilliant but mean. It will leave you desperate for the next book.

I loved The Eternity Cure and would definitely recommend it. 5/5 stars!


Below are a couple of links you might be interested in:

The Trailer for The Eternity Cure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgUDAtC9x7Q


The Official Page for Blood of Eden

http://bloodofeden.com.au/


Many thanks to Harlequin Teen for review copy and links

Kerrie

Originally Posted on Goodreads

The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1)- Julie Kagawa

The Lost Prince- Julie Kagawa
Grade- YA
Rating- 5/ 5 Stars




Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.
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Even though you could technically read this book without having read the prequel, I would highly recommend that you read The Iron Fey series first. Having that extra background information on the characters and the world just makes things both easier and better. And while you're at it, read the short story Iron's Prophecy (since Ethan doesn't know about the prophecy, he misses things that you will pick up on).
Now on with the review...
Julie Kagawa, you have done it again! Her world building of magic and Fey is utterly memorizing. Everything from the descriptive world and characters to the actual storyline keeps your eyes glued to the page. To be honest I was wondering how I'd feel about this story being written from Ethan's perspective. Now I know I needn't have worried. The last time you read about Ethan, he's only a child and Meghan is telling him goodbye. In The Lost Prince that little boy has all grown up and Ethan has become a tough (and very swoon-worthy) young man. I absolutely loved Ethan.

Ethan is trying to lead a normal life but its not easy being a human with "the sight". Especially when the Fey realise and cause havoc for you and those you care about. It is for this reason that Ethan tries to distance himself from everyone (hoping to stay hidden from the Fey) and also the reason for Ethan's "bad boy" rep. When something starts targeting half breeds and a school mate disappears, Ethan must re-enter the Fey world in order to find him and stop the Fey killings.

I really loved everything about this book. All the new characters that were introduced were awesome (*coughs* Kieran) and it was especially exciting to see all the old characters again (I may have screamed out someone's name in excitement when he made his first appearance). Can't wait for the next book to see how everything plays out... especially with that prophecy still to come.

Kerrie
Originally Posted on Goodreads

The Immortal Rules - Julie Kagawa

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)
                                              - Julie Kagawa
Grade: YA
Rating: 4/5 stars

"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for. (Description from Goodreads)

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I'd been putting off reading 'The Immortal Rules' for a quite some time. While I'd heard amazing things about the book and love YA vampires stories, something was holding me back. When I started the book I was a little disappointed. It seemed my unknown stalling was justified, but the book does pick up and I was really invested in the story by the end. A different type of vampire story than I'm used to.

The book is broken up into 4 sections, each outlining a different time in Allie's life. Allison Sekemoto is introduced to us as a human living on the outskirts of a Vampire City struggling to survive in a lifestyle where you're either the pets (or food source) for vampires or you're an unregistered human who barely makes it through their teen lives. But Allie's life changes when she's turned into a vampire. I'm not giving anything away here - all that information can be found in the blurb. My disappointment came from this same blurb. It was interesting, and exciting and really helped to dragged you in...but I felt like it was too detailed. It told you too much of what was going to happen. I thought the events in the blurb would take up a couple of chapters and then we'd dive into the main storyline, but when it covered over a third of the book I started to get pretty frustrated. There's only so much of the plot you want to know before starting a book and when you spend most of the beginning waiting for new information, it's hard to enjoy. I'll admit, the second section of Allie's life - which detailed the transition from human to vampire, and showed her efforts to fit into her new existence, was a lot more interesting than her human life before. But there didn't seem to be anything new. If you'd read the blurb, you knew what was coming next. Fortunately we hit a point in the story where we were now covering new ground - the third section of the book, when Allie joins a group of humans outside of the vampire city limits. I enjoyed this part of the story so much more because it gave the story a purpose. The action, adventure, danger and excitement is what made the story pick-up for me. That's what kept me reading.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the world it was set it. Vampires are out in the open and they've taken charge of the destroyed world that is the setting for the story. Sometime in the past, the world was struck by a deadly virus. Believing vampires were the cure for this virus experiments were made to help save the human race - the only sustainable food source for the vampire society. But the experiments went wrong and a mutated being was created instead: rabids. A bite from a rabid is deadly. I loved it. It gave the story a dark edge. The vampires were these "all powerful" rulers, evil in their decisions and actions; but at the same time there was a creature out there more dangerous than them. I love the twisted nature of it all. You were never sure when the next rabid would pop up or what damage they were going to cause - Who would fight? Who would survive? Was anyone safe? It all helped to keep you on the edge of your seat and definitely made up for the disappointing beginning.

There is a fair bit of action - the story doesn't lack in excitement once it gets past the first third of the book, what with rabids popping up all over the place, it's hard to avoid. What I love is the main character's approach to it all. After Allie becomes a vampire, she's introduced to my favourite book-action weapon: the Katana and she gets to use it a lot. She may have got extra cool points just by carrying it around on her adventures. I do like a good story that involves sword/katana fights!

And what would any story be without a little romance. I'm sure we can all guess what was going to happen. Allie, the new vampire hiding in a group of humans, becomes pretty close with the good looking human boy, Zeke. Tension builds between the two of them as she struggles with the fact that his blood speaks to her vampire side. And then there's the whole vampire-human relationships...they never work out. It was a cute little side to the story that broke up the danger and disaster nicely.

The ending left me with a few questions, which I'll be waiting patiently to find answers to. I'm hoping book #2 will jump straight into the action. Can't wait.

4/5 stars


Kim
(Originally posted on Goodreads)