True Transformation

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

* ARC provided by the publisher for review
* book will be released April 24, 2012 

5 out of 5 gnomes

A refreshing look at the world of vampires where *gasps and gazes is wonder* vampires are actually creatures to be feared and not get cozy with.  Okay, if you couldn’t tell, I really like Julie Kagawa’s take on vampires. The whole story feels like one of those old-school sweeping epic kind of books.  

The journey of Allison Sekemoto as she grows and changes makes for quite an interesting character study.  Having the different sections that separate the story really add to the tension and will have you eagerly awaiting what happens next. The story also has one of the best closing lines that I’ve read in awhile (it may literally have you cheering aka wanting the next book ASAP.  

Each section seems to grow stronger and as it goes along and then there’s the ending which just propels the action forward even more. Human - In this section you see through Allison’s eyes how this world works.  She is unregistered which means that she is the among the poorest of the poor and always looking for food. She is part of a gang that scavenges just to survive and food and safety aren't exactly guaranteed. There's always the fear of knowing that you're never truly safe. Vampire - Being a vampire is not easy but it does have some benefits. These benefits of course include things like the potential to live forever and more agility and strength. The older you are though, the less human you will possibly become because it's hard to hold on to your humanity when humans are your food source. There are no vegetarian vampires here so there's only one option when feeding. Her teacher too is one very interesting vampire and I really want to know what his full story is.

Monster - Traveling with a group really puts Allison to the test. She doesn't want to be a monster but may be forced to act like one. When you're a vampire, you can only put off the hunger for so long before it pretty much drives you crazy. Then there's the fact that nobody trusts vampires so it's not easy to get a chance to bite someone. This problem comes to the forefront and leaves her much more alone then she was before.
Wanderer - This section was my favorite because it shows just how much Allison is capable of. She's determined and fights for what she believes in. She really has to learn to accept herself for who she now is.  It's not an easy road by any means but this journey is well worth following. There is a lot of excitement and action in this section and you find out some very interesting things about the group she traveled with. There is some great mythology set up in this world and this section just brings everything together very nicely.

Expect the unexpected as you read this book. If you’re like me you may have thought that there would be a love triangle but boy is that solved rather quickly and gorily.  

Overall I would definitely recommend this book especially if you like your vampires scary and your heroines awesome.  I know I'm definitely rabid for more.