Julie Kagawa

The Forever Song (Blood of Eden)

Betty

Marissa Luzio 

So. This is it. The end of the Blood of Eden series. Wow. What an impeccable ride that was! This book was by far the best ending of any series, so much angst and struggle between all of the characters. The book picks up where Allison, Jackal and Kanin are searching for Zeke and Sarren. A huge surprise happens and hits us with a ton of bricks. Like damn, poor Allison hasn't had a single break. Allison, like in the last book, seems to be even more ruthless with killing and is even stronger. She doesn't stop to get back the boy she loves, kill Sarren and the disease once and for all. Just like the synopsis stated, the final hunt is on, and Sarren better run from Allison's wielding katana. 

Jackal still cracks me up in this book, and he never ceases to surprise me. He shows a more compassionate side in this, NOT TO GET CONFUSED: He isn't nice, he isn't caring, he IS however an asshole and he definitely doesn't care if Allison, Zeke or even Kanin dies, but he DOES try to save Allison in some parts. He does surprise us at the end as well, and it was a pleasant surprise indeed. Whenever it comes to Jackal, I feel like it is my duty to share a quote because he's just way too funny, so here it is:


"Oh, isn't that sweet," came Jackal's loud, mocking voice... "Let's make goo-goo eyes at each other in the middle of a stinking corpse field, how very romantic."


The ending was so fast coming and I was not ready for that. Something happens that I still can't comprehend why it had to happen. WHY KAGAWA WHY. I remember crying and crying through the end till the last page. Kagawa definitely knows how to write a friggan great and dramatic finale. Don't expect to be happy at the end as well, even though I don't know how anyone could be, considering this amazing world is coming to a close. 

Stakes are high, Eden is about to become infected, heartbreaking decisions are made, and sacrifices will happen to save humanity and vampires together. 

This will be missed. Goodbye Allison. Goodbye Kanin. Goodbye Jackal. Goodbye Zeke and finally, Goodbye Blood of Eden.

IF you liked this review, check out more of the series I did on my blog, as well as other YA reviews.
http://keepcalmandloveboooks.blogspot.ca

baelgia

3.5/5

I enjoyed this one less than its prequel, The Eternity Cure. Jackal and Allie's banter never failed to amuse, but it got old and cliched after a while. But even if his lines were typical bad-guy-kind-of-not dialogue, Jackal still remained my favorite character. Sorry, Zeke. I mean, it's not like I have anything against Zeke, but he just seemed so unrealistically good. I would even pick Kanin's solemn/brooding Master-vamp attitude over Zeke's goodness.

I think it's exactly because I couldn't really care less for Zeke that I didn't enjoy this book as much as Book 2. I wasn't rooting for Zeke and Allie here like I did in Book 2, when their romance somehow felt more real. I teared up when (view spoiler)[Kanin died (hide spoiler)], my heart died a little when (view spoiler)[Jackal left and Allie refused his invitation to travel the world together (yes, I knew she wouldn't have chosen Jackal over Zeke, but it still hurts, you know?) (hide spoiler)] but at no point did I feel anything for Zeke.

Overall, it was an okay read. It had its moments, but unfortunately, it didn't shine as brightly as Book 1 and 2 had for me.

Julie D.

Aw, this was such a good ending. I'm so happy.

Lonneke

“I am proud of you, Allison Sekemoto,” he whispered “Whatever you decide, whatever path you choose to take, I hope that you will remain the same girl I met that night in the rain. The one decision for which I have no regrets.”


(view spoiler)[ Such a epic ending to the series! There are so many things going on, it really kept me on my toes. I don't even care about the predictability of this book, it was just SO good. I love the characters. Allison has grown so much from the start of this series, but in this book she really reached her full potential. I also really liked the character development of the other characters, Jackal in particular. He went from villain to good guy without losing plausibility.

Just a really good plot, amazing characters and enough stakes to keep you interested. I love the Iron Fey series and this series is almost just as good. Would totally recommend this if you're into YA vampire books!  (hide spoiler)]

Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

4.5 STARS

I had no doubts that Julie Kagawa would give me an unforgettable last book of this trilogy–and what a fantastic ending it was. Everything in this book is touched upon, leaving nothing open. It was an altogether incredibly satisfying end to this series and these characters that I’ve grown so fond of.

Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a rocky start at the beginning. Allie is mourning Zeke’s death and is spiraling downward into madness. She is pitiful and very nearly loses herself to the darkness of her vampire, and has to internally battle her way back to humanity. Thankfully, she’s not alone in her battle–she has her sire Kanin and her vampire brother Jackal alongside her. I have to admit, I liked this part the least in The Forever Song, but I trusted Julie Kagawa to take me in a direction I wouldn’t be disappointed with.

Note to self: Never doubt the amazing Julie Kagawa!

The three of them are on the search for Sarren, and there’s no shortage of blood and guts and gore. The action is riveting–I’m always in awe of how detailed and gripping Julie Kagawa writes these action scenes. I love them! They’re never just the same fight, kill, die thing over and over. Julie Kagawa manages to keep you on your toes, and nothing is ever expected.

The best part of this book is the amount of depth Kanin and Jackal have. These two have been on the journey with Allie for a long time, and their relationships only manage to get stronger. Kanin is my absolute favorite character of this series–he is the father figure to Allie, providing her with his own wisdom and advice, but as the series progresses, they become near equals. Kanin is such a fascinating character. Despite how long he’s been a vampire, he manages to retain his humanity, and he teaches and guides Allie to do the same.

Jackal, on the other hand, is as self-centered and rude as usual, but there’s no doubt that there’s a fondness between him and Allie. These two have been through tons together, so it’s only a matter of time before they truly become like brother and sister. And every word out of this vampire’s mouth is freaking hilarious! He lightens up so many tense scenes, but there’s also a seriousness to him that we never truly see until now.

The Forever Song is everything I expected from Julie Kagawa. It had a strong, satisfying conclusion, and yet I knew I’d miss all the characters when it was over. This series is seriously one of the best vampire books, one of the best post-apocalyptic books, I’ve ever read. It’s well written, well developed, and you come to care for the characters more and more as the series progresses. I’m sad this series is over, but I have to admit that it concluded perfectly!

Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.

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Don’t miss the Blood of Eden trilogy by the New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Fey and The Talon Saga! This darkly thrilling series, set in a destroyed, near-future world, will captivate fans of the Divergent, Hunger Games and Maze Runner series. 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. Originally published in April 2014.

The Forever Song

Giulia 

Gretchen Gomez

If I would've finished this book it would've been the death of me.

And it would've been a sad world for many people because OH.MY.EFFING.GOSH. this was such a piece of shit and I died because of a crap finale.
I was really expecting this book to be like IMDRINKINGSOMUCHCOFFEEBECAUSEIDIDNTSLEEPLASTNIGHTREADINGTHISBOOK

NO! You want to know what happened? I kept yawning. I kept rolling my eyes. I kept putting it down. And every time I would pick it up, I would roll my eyes some more.
I had to pick up another book -side note: I NEVER READ TWO BOOKS AT THE SAME TIME- in order to try to finish this book.

The sad and embarrassing part is that I was already telling everyone in my circle about how they needed to read this series because it was phe-nom. And these past two days? I've been like DO NOT READ THE IMMORTAL RULES BECAUSE I'M GOING TO THROW THIS SHIT OUT THE WINDOW!!!!

I stopped reading at exactly 200 pages in.
And:
There was no character development.
The plot twist was pathetic.
There was way too many unnecessary recapping of book one and two.
The author detailed all the action "oh I took my katana and took a deep breath and I swirled cutting the..." oh shut the fuck up. BUT she couldn't come up with a good character development? Done.

One minute you have a certain character wanting to kill Allison and the next he's swooning asking for forgiveness wanting to save the world with her.

  
    WHAT?!?!?!?!?!
  

Jesus take the wheel.

Yup this made me not want to pick up a Julie Kagawa book ever again. 
Because I experienced all the feels on book one and two and you know what I experienced in this last book? SHIT!

The Forever Song (Blood of Eden)

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