Ridiculously good and is it too soon to wish for the next book?

Another great one- 5 stars…I am still reeling from the ending of this book. Kagawa sure knows how to wrap up a story and have the reader continue to want more. I had to hurry to get up this morning to have a discussion with my sister about what happened just to talk it over with someone.

I won't mention anything here regarding the end but I am going to spoiler tag this whole thing as I don’t want to inadvertently ruin this for anyone.

Spoiler

The book picks up almost where The Immortal Rules left off. Allison is trying to find Kanin to rescue him from Sarren. She has definitely gotten stronger and thankfully her blood bond with Kanin allows her to track him. She is also able to sense what is going on with him as she has dreams that are allowing her to see everything that is happening to him through his eyes. Eventually Allison has a problem as that feeling she has been tracking breaks into 2 different directions. Turns out, not only can Allison feel her sire, she can also feel anyone who shares the same blood….Yep folks, that is correct- Jackal is back and Allison has agreed to work with him to find Kanin and help find Sarren/the cure.

The Red Lung takes center stage here as Sarren has done the unthinkable and released the virus into New Covington. People are infected and guess what….vampires can die from it now too. A lot of this book is relationship driven. The end goal is Sarren and the cure but most of what happens is based on the character relationships/conflicts and I was completely ok with that.

I will say, I was happy to see Jackal return. His character has major flaws and to be honest, I don’t know if he is truly bad or just misunderstood. Regardless, he brings some added levity, truth and tough love that the story needs. His relationship with Kanin is one that we actually don’t find out a lot about until the end all we know is that Kanin told him he would kill him if he ever saw him again. Because of that, you know Jackal has definite ulterior motives to help Allison in her search.

As is always the case for me, characters (on top of a good story) make or break a book. I was not disappointed here. Allison is a great main character because of the normal things – yes, she is tough and can hold her own up against (in a physical and verbal fight) Jackal, but she also struggles with who she is now. It was the internal struggle that she had that made me really enjoy her character. Throughout the story, it is apparent she still fights against what she calls “the monster” and every time she is near Zeke she has to fight against the urges the monster calls out. I thought Kagawa did an excellent job of showing Allison as 2 different people – her human self and her vampire self.

You may have noticed I said Zeke….he is definitely back and I won’t mention how that comes to happen as I really liked how he was reintroduced. Just know this, he is still swoony and I had to highlight a bunch of his conversations with Allison. I loved that he didn’t give up on her…he gave her the opportunity to decide what she wants but didn’t let the fact that she had this other half that could destroy him, scare him off. Throughout the book, he asks Allison to do some pretty tough things (if necessary) and I also loved that she called him out on it. It didn’t change anything…he still expected her to respect his wishes but at least they understood each other.

Another character that returns is Stick. Again, I won’t say where or how but know this….he is a complete douche…that’s right, I used douche in a review.

If you can’t tell, I really enjoyed this book. I don’t know how I will hold out for book 3…I mean, that ending…..GAH! Julie Kagawa…to steal the words from my sister’s update – you are an “evil genius” and I love you for it.

Trust me when I say that if you have not started reading this series, you will want to. If you can’t handle series books that leave you hanging put it on your “to read” list and definitely pick it up when it is finished. I myself will be waiting anxiously for the next book…as I normally do when I find a series to love.