Book Review: THE ETERNITY CURE (BLOOD OF EDEN BOOK 2) by Julie Kagawa

Book Review:  The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden Book 2)

Author:  Julie Kagawa

Publisher:  Harlequin TEEN

Category:  Young Adult Dystopian Fiction

“People are food.  You know it as well as I do.  so don’t expect me to feel terribly guilty about killing your humans, not when you reek of blood and death.  You’re not any less of a monster than I am.”- Jackal

“A human?  Ready to die for a vampire? What a loyal little pet you are.  But your master has no control over you now….Run, little human…Run.”- Sarren

“….I’m not as strong as you are.  I can’t do what you do, what’s required to be a vampire.  Please.  If it comes to that, let me die as a human.  Promise you’ll let me go.”- Zeke

Description via NetGalley:

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 — 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...

Allie 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 choose between the mortal world and her immortality.

My Summary:

Blood calls to blood.  That’s how Allie knows she’s on the right path in looking for her maker Kanin, who was forcibly taken by an ancient, psychotic and powerful vampire named Sarren.  But another blood calls to her, that of her vampire brother’s, Jackal, the one who destroyed many of those she cared about before they found Eden (The Immortal Rules: Blood of Eden Book 1). 

Desperate to find Kanin, she and Jackal form an uneasy alliance, to last only until they find their maker and stop Sarren from releasing the red lung virus on the remaining humans. 

What she didn’t expect to find on her search was Zeke, the human she left behind in Eden despite the fact that she loved him.  Zeke left assured safety for the unknown for one purpose only: to find Allie and bring her back with him. 

Zeke goes where Allie goes, even in the company of Jackal, whom he despises and blames for the death of his kin.  When they reach New Covington, Allie’s former home, they find crazed humans more dead than alive.  The virus has been released and Kanin is near death.  They have to confront Sarren for the cure before it’s too late.  But what if the cure does not exist? What if their world is finally at its end?

My Review:

The Eternity Cure begin months after the end of Book 1, and upon reading the first few words, I was hooked.  The pace is perfect with twists and turns that kept me up all night. 

Julie Kagawa is a consummate storyteller.  Her words on those pages play like a movie in my head, I can actually imagine scenes playing out as I read her books. That's how good she is... Books filled with imagination, suspense, adventure and love. 

If you are a huge fan of Julie Kagawa’s The Iron Fey series (Me! Me!) DO NOT expect this to be at all similar to it.  This is a total departure from the Iron Fey. It is much more violent, gory... Bloody. But still with as much heart and romance you'd keep coming back to.  To say that Kagawa is good is not enough. To want more from her is to be expected. 

If based alone on the books she has churned out so far, we can already be guaranteed a lot more thrilling rides in the different worlds created by her.  There is only one more book in The Blood of Eden series and I cannot wait to find out more about the mystery that is Kanin.  Also beware of the cliffhanger.  The end might just make you scream.

That said, I can only hope and wait for more of The Iron Fey, for although Allie Sekemoto and Zeke Crosse are great characters, there's none I love more than Meghan, Ash and Puck.

Happy reading!

Here is my review of THE IMMORTAL RULES:

http://readingtsinoy.blogspot.com/2012/05/book-review-immortal-rules-by-julie.html

You may visit the author’s sites at:

http://juliekagawa.blogspot.com/

http://www.juliekagawa.com/

Book cover photos lifted from www.goodreads.com

Book Review: THE TEMPORARY WIFE by Jeannie Moon

Book Review:  The Temporary Wife

Author:  Jeannie Moon

Publisher:  InterMix

Category:  Adult Contemporary Romance

 “Meg, I don’t want to let you down.  I’m afraid that I will, but I want to give you everything, absolutely everything.”- Jason

“Have faith Jason.”- Meg

“I have faith in you, just not in myself.”- Jason

“Then I’ll have enough for both of us.”- Meg

Description via NetGalley:

It was an offer she couldn’t refuse…from a man she couldn’t resist. 

Kindergarten teacher Megan Rossi is devoted to being a mother to her best friend’s five-year-old daughter, Molly. When the child was orphaned, Meg became the little girl’s legally named guardian—over the objections of Molly’s wealthy grandparents, the Campbells. Now the Campbells are petitioning for custody, and Meg is faced with a long and expensive legal battle. The last thing she expects is for her former high school boyfriend—and the Campbells’ estranged son—to offer a solution: marriage.

Billionaire software developer Jason Campbell knows his parents don’t have Molly’s best interests at heart—it’s all about control for them. There is one way he can ensure that his sister’s last wishes are honored. He will offer Meg the protection of his name and lawyers until the custody arrangement has been finalized , then he’ll secure his niece’s future with a very generous divorce settlement. Jason’s considered all the scenarios, except one—that the sparks that once flew between he and Meg might reignite a burning passion. And that his confirmed bachelor heart might just melt away from the heat…

My Summary:

Meg’s heart was broken at 16 when, believing she was pregnant, Jason left her to the wolves, also known as his rich, holier-than-thou parents.  And though Meg grew up with the Campbell kids as her father was their longtime employee, they never saw Meg as anything but a social climber.   Years later, the wounds have not quite healed, especially since the Campbells are once again after Meg, this time for Molly.

Even through years of separation and hate between their parents, the friendship between Meg and her best friend Grace, Jason’s sister, never wavered.  So much so that Grace named Meg guardian of her one and only child Molly, should anything happen to her and her husband…. and it did.  A car accident left Molly in Meg’s care, something that the elder Campbells are out to contest.

Enter Jason. Again.  To do right by his sister, make up for his mistakes with Meg and thwart his parents, he proposes to Meg a marriage of convenience.  A year of marriage that would secure Molly’s future as well as Meg’s.   Out of desperation to keep Molly, Meg agrees, despite knowing that her strong attraction to Jason still exists and is in fact, even stronger now 15 years after their failed relationship. 

Things quickly crossover from pretend love to real.  But what will they do when what they fear most confronts them? Will letting go be easiest for both?

My review:

This plot has been used and abused by so many that it’s easy to exchange one book for another.  What does make this different is it has heart. Both lead characters Meg and Jason are endearing in that they are good people with bad experiences who are otherwise perfect for each other.  And Molly is a total sweetheart.  The other characters were okay though they felt unimportant because they were so under developed.  I liked Grant, the guy Meg dated before she married Jason.  But he was used for a couple of thrill points and that was it.  As for Harper, she was a b**ch for the most part then unexpectedly comes through as a heroine in the end, her total turn around just left me baffled.

That said, I did not like the pace of this story.   I felt as if the writer wanted so much to get to the next that she rushed through scenes and points.   Scenes that could have pulled in the reader more.  Add to that the many, and I mean many, flashbacks and moments of doubt by Meg and Jason that was just overdone.

As a whole though, the book is still worth the read.  The chemistry between Meg and Jason alone is enough to make me pick me up the book again.  The book is sweet and romantic with an ending that may leave your eyes with a tear or two... if you don’t mind repetitions that is.

You may visit the author’s site at:

http://jeanniemoon.com/

Book Review: REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver

Book Review:  Requiem

Author:  Lauren Oliver

Publisher:  HarperCollins

Category:  Young Adult Dystopian Fiction

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.
But we are still here.  And there are more of us every day.  Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.
Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.
But we have chosen a different road.
And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.  We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

DESCRIPTION VIA GOODREADS:

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge

********SPOILER ALERT********SPOILER ALERT********

Alex is alive. 
Lena's dream and nightmare has come true.  Alex lives but he is no longer the Alex that she knew and loved.  He is cold and filled with hate.....hate that is directed towards her.  

Despite all this, Lena knows that she still loves Alex. She never stopped.  And though she already has Julian who sacrificed his old life and joined the resistance for her, She cannot deny her true feelings.

Lena and her fellow Invalids keep moving.  They are no longer safe in the wilds.  The regulators, who now acknowledge that they exist, are on the hunt and the uncureds are the prey.

The beginning of it all

Lena's best friend Hana is cured and has been paired with the greatest catch in Portland's safe world, Fred Hargrove, its soon to be mayor.  But something is wrong.  Hana still feels and dreams what she is not supposed to.  Lena and the people Lena loved still matter to her, guilt for what she has done to Lena and Alex still eat at her and she feels the need to help Grace, Lena's favorite cousin whom she accidentally found in the bad part of town. And though Fred seems perfect, Hana knows there is more to him than he shows.  She finds out that Fred used to be married to someone else, but his wife later just disappeared.  If she resists Fred's controlling nature, will the same thing happen to her?

This book is the end of Lena and Hana's journey.  Told in both their perspectives, it is interesting how they transform into the people they become, especially Hana.  

As one of the cureds, Hana is an anomaly.  She cares. Too much.  And gets in trouble because of it.  The old feisty Hana still exists within the new one and though her feelings have been essentially numbed, she stills feels.  Hers is my favorite character in this last installment of the series.  She evolves in spite of the cure, and I like how she becomes the linchpin between the good and bad at the end.  She is the answer to Lena's future, despite being its destroyer in the past.

As for Lena, she has gotten strong.  She no longer runs away and is now like her mother, a brave member of the resistance.
Lena's only flaw is her love for Alex. Heck even I was torn between Alex and Julian.  Both sacrifice so much for her love but in the end she can only choose one.

Lauren Oliver created an interesting dystopian world that we delve into again in Requiem.
But my patience was stretched through much of the book, with its many descriptions and overlong scenes. 

Honestly I was disheartened with the lack of Julian and Alex.  One of the things that attached me to the series to begin with were these two men and I was looking forward to reading thrilling scenes with those two plus Lena.  Instead the love triangle just fell away and much of the book is about escaping, then fighting for their right to exist.  Both Alex and Julian were built up so much in the two previous books that this just left me with...... nothing.
So if you're a Julian or an Alex fan, lower your expectations... perhaps then you may still enjoy Requiem.

You may visit the Author's site at:

http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com/

Here are my reviews of DELIRIUM and PANDEMONIUM:

http://readingtsinoy.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-review-delirium-by-lauren-oliver.html

http://readingtsinoy.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-review-pandemonium-by-lauren.html

Book Review: THE RUNAWAY KING by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Book:  The Runaway King (The Ascendance Trilogy #2)

Author:  Jennifer A. Nielsen

Publisher:  Scholastic Press

Category:  Young Adult Fantasy

“I had arrived early for my own assassination.”- Jaron

“You have become so unstable, obviously the only thing wrong is with you.”- Gregor

“…you are Jaron’s friend.  I have so few friends I don’t say that lightly.  You don’t belong here.  You never did.”- Sage

“I don’t belong in your world, Jaron.  You have the princess.  Win her heart.  Be hers.”- Imogen

“Do you hate me, because I’m not her, because you’ll have to marry me one day?”-  Princess Amarinda

Description Via Goodreads:

A kingdom teetering on the brink of destruction. A king gone missing. Who will survive? Find out in the highly anticipated sequel to Jennifer A. Nielsen's blockbuster THE FALSE PRINCE!

Just weeks after Jaron has taken the throne, an assassination attempt forces him into a deadly situation. Rumors of a coming war are winding their way between the castle walls, and Jaron feels the pressure quietly mounting within Carthya. Soon, it becomes clear that deserting the kingdom may be his only hope of saving it. But the further Jaron is forced to run from his identity, the more he wonders if it is possible to go too far. Will he ever be able to return home again? Or will he have to sacrifice his own life in order to save his kingdom?

The stunning second installment of The Ascendance Trilogy takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of treason and murder, thrills and peril, as they journey with the Runaway King!

********SPOILER ALERT********SPOILER ALERT********

Jaron is King. But someone wants him dead.  He believes the surrounding kIngdoms, especially Avenia headed by its King Vargan along with the Avenian pirates, plan to invade Carthya, his kingdom. After a failed assassination attempt, by his former friend no less, the regents are pushing for a steward in his stead.  Buying himself a few days, Jaron sets out with his trusted friends Mott and Tobias.  He then leaves both behind with a plan for Tobias to secretly take his place as King temporarily while he sets off to look for the pirates, the very ones who tried to MURDER him years before and set his life as an orphan and a thief in motion. 

On the way Jaron, who once again has taken his orphan name Sage, rescues the granddaughter of a nobleman named Harlowe.  Later on he meets and is set up by a young thief named Fink to be captured by their group headed by Erick.  Sage convinces Erick to take him to the pirates and  there in Tarblade Bay, the home of the pirates, he finally meets Devlin, the pirate king.  Baiting Devlin with his knowledge of the Royal treasury’s secret location, Devlin accepts Sage and brands him as one of them.  What Sage didn’t expect was to find a friend, the one he would do anything for, with the pirates…..

Jaron/Sage hasn’t changed.  He is still the same boy we met and loved in The False Prince:  reckless, impatient, frustrating, impulsive, snarky, brutally honest and every other not so good adjective you can possibly think of.  He can be annoying but you will end up rooting for him still.  He does what he thinks he has to do for his people and his country.  And since he spent years with no one to trust, he cannot see his friends for what they are and how much they care for him.  Jaron does things his own way so it is a miracle (plus clever writing) and pure luck that he survives through everything.

As a hero and a King, Jaron is flawed.  So much so that while reading I wanted to smack the (imaginary) king so many times I was squeezing my tablet instead.  But he is BRAVE and LOYAL.  And he would willingly give up his life and his freedom for the people he loves.

Obviously I REALLY love this book.  There were no dull moments.  From start to finish I could not put it down.  Every page, every second, was an adventure I loved being on.  I was scared most of the time for Sage and could only breathe a sigh on the 2^nd to the last chapter.  As for the end?  The cliffhanger will leave you wanting the 3^rd and last installment of the Ascendance trilogy NOW.  I honestly cannot wait for the next book. 

I also like that the characters we loved in the 1^st book are present here.  Mott, Tobias, Kerwyn, Roden, Imogen and Amarinda.  Of them all I like Amarinda the most.  Not just because she is the princess and future wife of Jaron, but I appreciate her loyalty, love for Carthya and quiet strength. There is a touch of romance in The Runaway King, but none too distracting.  Hopefully there will be more in the next book.

Jennifer Nielsen is a wonderful writer.  She has created in these books a world I would dare not live in but would need to see and feel if only in my imagination.

Read The Runaway King. But before this do read the 1^st book, The False Prince.  And fall in love with the Prince who would be His Majesty. Jaron, the Ascendant King of Carthya.

Here’s my review of THE FALSE PRINCE:

http://readingtsinoy.blogspot.com/2012/06/0-false-18-pt-18-pt-0-0-false-false.html

You may visit the Author’s sites at:

http://jenniferanielsen.blogspot.com

http://www.jennielsen.com/index.php