Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules
Author: Julie Kagawa
Published: 24th April 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Series: Blood of Eden #1
Source: eARC thanks to NetGalley and publisher

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. - From Goodreads

I had heard very little about this book and had blown it off as "just another vampire story". The reason I decided to read the book was Julie Kagawa. I have not read the Iron Fey series, it is one of those series I keep meaning to read, but I have heard so many good things about them. So with this series under her belt, I was hoping that Julie Kagawa would bring something different to the genre.

Allie lives in a future where society as we know it has totally broken down. A plague known as Red Lung has killed a massive number of humans, and in the search for a cure rabids were born. Now humans live in Vampire Cities protected from the rabids in walled cities, but there is a cost. Registered humans get food, but are kept as pets and willing blood donors. Allie is unregistered and this means that every day for her has been about surviving. Her whole world is turned on it's head when she is turned into a vampire and sent out to fend for herself.

I like Allie, she is quite a closed off character and at the start of the story when she was scavenging for survival I found her a little difficult to relate to. I began to warm to her, the internal struggles she had while discovering herself as a vampire were well written and made me like her even more. There are a number of other characters in the book that appear and then disappear. I liked Zeke, he made a great counterpart to Allie. All of the characters she encounters on her journey, from a human surviving in New Covington and on to a Vampire searching for Eden, were great. Don't get too attached to anyone though, this is an apocalyptic vampire book after all! 

We are all quite familiar by this point and some of them were beginning to feel really familiar. However the pairing of a broken society run, in the most part, by vampires made an interesting read. The story is a journey and there were a couple of times when the pace felt a little slow, but I always wanted to know what was coming next. The book is split into parts and these felt like they were well defined sections and I really enjoyed the change in tone or feeling that a new section brought.

I really enjoyed this book. The only thing I had a problem with was the cover. From the start we are told that Allie is a short Asian girl, but this does not fit with the girl on the cover. Details like this are a little annoying, how hard would it have been to find a model that looked like the description of Allie? Putting this aside, I will be reading the next book in the series, I need to know where Allie will be going from there!

Review: Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (VA5)

Title: Spirit Bound
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 18th May 2010
Series: Vampire Academy #5
Source: Own Copy

Salvation has its price.
The words stunned Adrian for a moment, but he kept going. "You're lying. What you're describing is impossible. There's no way to save a Strigoi. When they're gone, they're gone. They're dead. Undead. Forever."

Robert's next words weren't directed at Adrian. They were spoken to me. "That which is dead doesn't always stay dead...."

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri’s birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s—and to her best friend, Lissa Dragomir. It's graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives outside of the Academy’s cold iron gates to finally begin. But even with the intrigue and excitement of court life looming, Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri. He's out there, somewhere.

She failed to kill him when she had the chance, and now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her. And if Rose won't join him, he won't rest until he's silenced her...forever.

But Rose can't forget what she learned on her journey—whispers of a magic too impossible and terrifying to comprehend. A magic nextricably tied to Lissa that could hold the answer to all of Rose's prayers, but not without devastating consequences. Now Rose will have to decide what—and who—matters most to her. In the end, is true love really worth the price?

Fall in love with Rose and Dimitri all over again in Spirit Bound, the eagerly awaited fifth novel in Richelle Mead's enthralling Vampire Academy series. - From Goodreads

May contain spoilers from earlier books in the series:

This books was jam packed with action from the first to last page, so much good stuff happens. At the end of the previous book Rose failed to kill Dimitri, as we know when he sent her back her stake, and Rose returned to school. This should feel familiar to us, having Rose back at school, but after everything that has happened to her recently she seems to have lost a little bit of her spark. After Rose passes her Guardian test with flying colours (they have to invent new things to test her on, she is that good!) her, Lissa, Adrian and Christian head to court with school behind them. There they begin to discover things that the shouldn't and life changes drastically for at least one of them.

Using some of the information that Rose found on her journey to find Dimitri in the last book, Rose and Lissa begin to discuss the possibility of using spirit to help those who have been turned into stigoli. Soon the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and before we know it Victor is being dragged back into the story along with his crazy brother and an angry Dimitri. Meanwhile at court we see the vampire politics in full swing while Lissa tries to navigate her way through the issues that come with her being the only surviving member of her family.

Rose feels like a completely different character in this book than at the start of this series. We can really see the transition between the reckless and, in comparison, carefree Rose from the first book and the more responsible and cautious Rose. I also loved watching her relationship with Adrian in this book. I think about half way through this book I became a solid member of Team Adrian. Within this story each of the characters had a significant part to play, and I always like it when everyone weaves into the story to compliment it and add in their own individual element.

Rose was not the only character to show a completely different side to them. I felt that the Lissa we saw in this book was far less annoying and actually brought something to the Lissa-Rose relationship. There is the possibility that I was just feeling forgiving when I read this book but I think that Lissa was becoming her own woman far less needy and dependent on Rose to think of all the ideas and protect her. Don't get me wrong, I still found her irritating, just far less so!

This book was faced paced and crammed from the first to the last page with drama, drama, drama!! This is good as after reading this book you could see that the last book was a much slower pace. I thought the story was exciting and the final cliffhanger left me feeling like I had been punched in the stomach (which someone had warned me about!) and moving right on to the final instalment!! A great series that I will be sad to finish!

Review: Marked (HON1) by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Title: Marked
Author: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Published: 1st May 2007
Publisher: St. Martins Griffin
Series: House of Night #1
Source: Own Copy

The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire -- that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends. - From Goodreads

So this is a series that I am well behind in picking up on. I am not sure why it took me so long to pick this book up because a few years ago I borrowed Divine By Mistake from my local library and loved it. I had seen these books in the bookshop and had read the back, but it took for someone to actually tell me to read them before I finally bought Marked.

We meet 16 year old Zoey on the day that she is marked. A Tracker comes into her school and announces this to her in front of her best friend, and that is essentially the end of her life as a human! Once the mark appears on a human they only have a limited amount of time to get to the House of Night before "the change" happens. When Zoey makes it to the House of Night she is immediately thrown into the life there and has to find her place even though it is obvious that she is not like the other fledglings.

I loved this series right away. From the start we realise that this is not a world like our own, humans are aware that vampires co-exist with them. As soon as Zoey is marked while she is standing beside her human best friend it seems like all of the humans treat her as if she is an outsider and shun her. Her uber-religious parents think that they can "save" her with a prayer circle. Zoey turns to her grandmother, who is one of my favourite characters in the book, and who helps her with her transition to the House of Night. Zoey is a loveable character from the start who seems a little cynical, but who is genuinely a nice person who you would love to have on your side!

I really liked the other characters in the book, Stevie-Rae, The "Twins", Damien, Eric and even Aphrodite. There is an ease to the dialogue when Zoey and her friends are talking which makes the speech flow and feel very natural. As for the mean girls at school, who are fondly known as the Hags from hell, some of the back and forth between them and the twins made me chuckle out loud (I do love a catty comment!).

Oh and I can't finish my thoughts on this without mentioning how hot, hot, hot Eric Night is - mmmm, yummy! Caught at the beginning of the book in a compromising situation this stud muffin is the perfect hunk of a man for all of the females in the book to drool over!!

This was a great book with a plot line that kept going right to the last page keeping you interested and engaged. I thought the final few chapters were great and left me wanting to pick up the next book to see what was going on. I know I am going to love this series and I can't wait to catch up with everyone else so I can talk about these books without being scared that I will stumble over spoilers!

Review: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead (VA4)

Title: Blood Promise
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 25th August 2009
Series: Vampire Academy #4
Source: Own Kindle Copy

Warning - Synopsis and Review Contain Spoilers!

Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love? - From Goodreads

NOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I practically threw my kindle across the room when I read the end of the third book. Dimitri can't be Strigoi! This was a major shock and I swear I actually cried when it happened. I did not see this coming, how could you do this Richelle?

Well, after the attack on the school by the Strigoi everything was left turned upside down. During the attack in the last book Christian and Rose teamed up to be a badass killing machine, with his elemental use of fire and her awesomeness they worked together to kill loads of Strigoi. Unfortunately they took some victims with them when they retreated. When a team is put together to rescue the captured, there are more casualties with one in particular - Dimitri.

I thought this book had a much different feel from the previous ones. For one Rose and Lissa spend the majority of the books apart from each other. This does not prevent us from knowing what is happening with Lissa as Rose can still go into Rose's head no matter how far apart they are. To me this felt like the beginning of the end concerning my relationship with Lissa. I know she is a princess and i know there were other influences, but come on!! She treats Christian like crap and does not give a second thought to Rose off on her journey. Boo Lissa!! Hiss! I am sure I am not the only one who feels like a break from Lissa is a good thing for Rose!?!

This book is Rose's journey to find Dimitri and follow through on a promise made to each other. We meet a few new characters on this journey, including Sydney. Now unlike Lissa I think Sydney, the alchemist with the cool tattoo, is awesome! Oh and how can I forget Dimitri's family? It made me wish I was a member of the Belikov family, well kind of... except for the whole blood wh*** thing (lets at least pretend to keep it clean here folks!).

Following on from the last book, there were a number of points where I cried throughout Rose's journey (I should have just read the books with a box of tissues within reaching distance). I don't know what it is about the Vampire Academy books, but I am completely sucked into Rose's emotional state. When she is feeling confused and woozy or when she is upset, so am I. The ending of this book left me on the edge of my seat desperate to know what's going to happen next.

Review: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (VA3)

Title: Shadow Kiss
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 13th November 2008
Series: Vampire Academy #3
Source: Own Copy

Warning: Description and Review Contain Some Spoilers!!

Is Rose's fate to kill the person she loves most? It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since Mason's death, Rose hasn't been feeling quite right. She has dark flashbacks in the middle of practice, can't concentrate in class, and has terrifying dreams about Lissa. But Rose has an even bigger secret .... She's in love with Dimitri. And this time, it's way more than a crush. Then Strigoi target the academy in the deadliest attack in Moroi history, and Dimitri is taken. Rose must protect Lissa at all costs, but keeping her best friend safe could mean losing Dimitri forever... - From Goodread

If I could marry a series of books it would be this one!! I love them so much!! OK, so I will roll back on the loving and the exclamation marks but Richelle Mead is able to keep all of her story lines away from the obvious, but without seeming too crazy or off-the-wall. If that was not enough we have the smoking hot Dimitri, who makes you want to crawl into the book just to touch him... hmmm... Dimitri... OK, sorry I'm back!

We left off at the end of book 2 with the death of Mason after they had spent a good portion of the book in a ski lodge. This death has an impact on everyone involved, but for Rose Mason's death triggers something in her which means she can now see Mason and other ghosts. Now, I can't remember if this was covered, but why was she not seeing ghosts the last time she left protected grounds? Like when her and Lissa ran away, or when they were stuck in the Strigoi house at the end of the last book. I have the feeling the reason is that it was triggered with the trauma of losing Mason, but I'm not sure. I remember she was seeing them on the plane on the way to the ski lodge before mason was killed and they gave her a killer headache, why was this the first time?

Oh, how can I be 2 paragraphs in and not have mentioned Adrian. I am firmly in the camp of Team Dimitri and it is clear that Dimitri and Rose are supposed to be together, but I love an underdog. This means that secretly I am also rooting for Adrian. I mean it is clear that he is a damaged soul who just needs some love. Argh it makes me feel so torn! Also in this novel I think I lost a little bit of love for Lissa. I mean come on woman can't you see your BFF needs you?!?

I liked that this book was based back at the school on familiar turf we already knew about. In this book Rose also has training which puts her as Lissa's Guardian withing school where the trainers will jump out and attack like real Strigoli. What does this mean? It means some awesome fights!! This book takes you from highs to lows to a real attack on the school. One that is so bad, it leaves you shaking the book to try and change the outcome, then moving straight on to book 4 without stopping to even look at another book. Well done Richelle!

Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1)
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Published:  2nd March 2010
Series: Hex Hall #1
Source: Own Copy on Kindle

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her. - From Goodreads

I love a delinquent! I love a book about high school! I love magic and the unusual! I love being surprised! Luckily for me this book has everything I love and more. Hex Hall is a school for Witches, Faeries and Werewolves who misuse their magic.

When Sophie misuses her magic and creates a disaster at her old school she is sent to Hex Hall. Set away from society Prodigums (Supernaturals - Witches, Faeries, Shifters etc...) can learn to control their powers and more importantly, hide their powers from those who want to hunt and kill them. Sophie is assigned a room with the only vampire on campus and when students start turning up attacked all fingers are pointing at the Vampire.


This has a bit of everything I love and it did not disappoint me. The story was exciting, thrilling and fun all at the same time. The romance aspect of this book was good and has a way of throwing you in different directions. This book felt like it was over way too fast for me because I gobbled it up in one go and it left me wanting more! Bring on Sophie and her magical drama!!

Review: Vampire Academy (VA1) by Richelle Mead

Title: Vampire Academy
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 16th August 2007
Series: Vampire Academy 1
Source: Own Copy

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . . Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever. - From Goodreads

I have been sitting on this review for a while, so long in fact, that I have reviewed book 2 of this series before reviewing this one!! The reason it has taken me so long to write this is that it took me a little while to figure out if I liked the book or not. I was on the fence between thinking I really enjoyed it or it annoyed me. The story stayed with me even after finishing the book, and while I was reading other books.

Richelle Mead has created a world where there are two types of vampires (Moroi and Strigoi) and the Moroi are looked after by Guardians who are half breeds of Moroi and humans called damphirs. The story follows Lissa Dragomir (a Moroi princess from a royal bloodline) and Rose her Guardian. Rose and Lissa share a special connection where Rose can share Lissa's feelings.

The story begins with Rose and Lissa being found and brought back to their school, which is a boarding school for vampires and guardians to learn to fight (the guardians) and use their magic (the vampires). Rose has to catch up on the Guardian training she has missed and has to train every day with the sexy Dimitri (even his name is hot!!). There are some great additional characters including Mia and Christian which make this book great.

Ok so I think it is obvious that I really do like this book. I am currently on the 4th of the series and love being engulfed in this world.

Review: Frostbite (VA2) by Richelle Mead

Title: Frostbite
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 10th April 2008
Series: Vampire Academy #2
Source: Own Copy

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…
It's winter break at St. Vladimir's, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy's crawling with Guardians—including Rose's hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn't bad enough, Rose's tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason's got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks… This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.
But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price… - From Goodreads

After reading this book I feel like I want to crawl into Richelle Mead's head and wander round. She has created this amazing world with 2 types of vampires and a half breed which all interact with each other in specific ways. The Moroi are a peaceful non violent vampire who specialise in one specific branch of magic each. Due to the moroi being a peaceful race the "half breeds" also known as damphirs are charged with being the moroi's guardians. So far so good... There are then the vampires who have drained humans blood to the point of death or have been fed the blood of the Strigoi. These evil vampires only want to kill the Damphirs and Morois. Good huh!?!

Well in the second installment of this series I was pleased to see that Rose and the sizzlingly hot Dimitri still had some amazing moments. I absolutely love watching the dance that both of them preform. We know it can never happen yet both of them are itching for each other!! I also enjoyed watching the other relationships in the book play out, Rose and her mother, Rose and Lissa, Lissa and Christian, Rose and Mason and the ever charming Adrian.

This book played out in both the school and the school's ski lodge. I enjoyed this change of pace with a easing up on all the training Rose did in 'Vampire Academy' but not without the interaction with other guardians. I found this book slightly more difficult to get into as Rose had lost a bit of her "grin and bare it" attitude which she had in the first book. She seemed to complain a bit more at the start of the novel, but either she got over it quite quickly or I did, as I was soon engrossed in the story and had difficulty putting it down.

I am looking forward to the next in the series!