Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Review: The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Release Date: 15 April, 2014
Source: Harlequin Teen via NetGalley. Thank you!
Goodreads | The Reading Room



VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?

With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

MONSTER

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.
Review by Nara

Unfortunately, my expectations for this book might have been a little bit too high, because The Forever Song, the conclusion to this awesome series, was honestly a bit disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it was still decent, and I'd definitely read it if you've been following the series (because it does give you some closure) but there was just an overall....lacking.

The best aspect of this book was that it was very action-packed, making sure to keep the pace up at a reasonably fast speed. The worst aspect of this book was probably also that it was very action-packed. In fact, I'd wager that at least 70% of the book is dedicated to fight scenes between Allie (and her companions) and rabids. While this would probably make an excellent movie, on the other hand, reading a hundred very similar rabid fight scenes was a tad boring, to be honest. There are only so many ways you can stab someone with a katana.

**WARNING: The following paragraph contains MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR spoilers for The Eternity Cure.**
While I can understand why it might have been so, the whole Zeke drama got on my nerves a bit. Okay, so you've been turned into a vampire, fine. It may take some getting used to. I'm okay with you having a few issues with it. I just don't want to hear you bitching about it for the entire book. Freaking get a grip. There are more important issues at hand, least of all the whole saving humanity thing.

Although I must admit that it was extremely sappy at times, I did actually like the romance between Zeke and Allie. Dude, if you thought their romance was pretty sappy in the first two books, boy, you're in for a surprise with this one haha. Hint: the term "our forever" is overused. It's not pretty. And it also induced Twilight flashbacks. This is never a good thing when you're reading a book. Especially a vampire book. Especially a dystopian with badass, bloodthirsty vampires. Well, in any case, barring the forevers, Zeke x Allie was definitely a ship I could get behind- particularly when considering the struggles they faced in finally starting a proper relationship.

I suppose my problem with this book was that everything tied up a little bit too neatly. Even an event that happened towards the end that should have been tragic was kinda *shrugs*. Well, as I said at the start, I definitely would recommend that you read this book if you've been following the series. While not completely satisfying, it does answer any outstanding questions you may have had after the second book. And if you're someone who hasn't started the series, I would most certainly still recommend it. It's one that is quite well crafted, with vampires right out of your nightmares (that don't sparkle lol), and a crumbling world of decadence and disease. Get thee to a bookstore and get yourself some copies.

Liked it
Ratings
Overall: 8/10
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
World Building: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 4/5