Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Genre: Paranormal, Post-Apocalyptic

Format: e-galley (provided by publisher via NetGalley)
Published April 24, 2012 by HarlequinTeen
More about the author: Website // Bio // Twitter
Find it on: Goodreads // Amazon UK

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.

My Review 

Rating: 5/5 stars

This book is a seriously thrilling ride. If that's not enough to convince you of its awesomeness, then I've got two words for you: post-apocalyptic vampires. This fresh take on a world with vampires sucked me in right from the start, trapping me in a whirlwind of terrifying rabid vampires and the quest to discover what humanity really means. This book manages to reign in a seriously bleak and bloody world and make it interesting.

The protagonist of this book could be hit or miss with readers. She's a survivor. She's had to make choices in her life to survive that perhaps she wouldn't have made otherwise and reacts to situations in the book because of this. I absolutely loved Allie because of her survival skills. Allie isn't a damsel in distress! I really enjoyed reading this book through the point of view of someone much more complex than the average paranormal protagonist, trying to discover what it means to be human. With the help of some new human acquaintances, whom I love, the reader sees the the stark contrast between the vampires and the human conditions. The side characters just add such a great element. Not all of them are very likeable, but if they were, it would go against the feel of this book! And it's the feel of this book I love.

The setting is what gives The Immortal Rules its edge. The dank post-apocalyptic world run by vampires is not a pretty one. Kagawa's landscape is full of rusty edges and rabid vampire-zombies out to kill you if you aren't killed by regular vampires first. But through it all survives the knight in shining armour, Zeke. He's such a sweet, yet rugged character. A natural-born leader. It's hard for Allie to not get feelings for him, despite her trying not to, and I think readers will feel the same way! (Although you can try to have feelings for him. I won't tell!).

Do you think you can survive this book? Then don't miss out and pick up this book today! If you're a vampire or zombie fan, this one is for you! If you like paranormal romance, this one's for you. If you like dystopians, this one's for you. Oh, you get the idea.