Friday 26 April 2013

Feature and Follow Friday #10

Feature and Follow is a weekly blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read!

Q:  Is there a song that reminds you of a book? Or vice versa? What is the song & the book?

I'm sure there is! It's just that I can't really think of anything at the moment. Instead, I'm going to talk about a song that I practically discovered because of the book and will always associate with the book! It's Asleep by The Smiths which... well, I think you would've got it by now... practically feels like the heart and soul of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. 

The protagonist Charlie discovers the song in the mix-tape his sister's boyfriend made for his sister. I downloaded it the minute Charlie described the way he felt about the song and I listened to it on repeat while reading the rest of the book. While watching the movie, I nearly squealed when the song was played! The movie wouldn't have been the same without Asleep by The Smiths in the soundtrack.

Also, Expectations by Belle and Sebastian (oh, I fell in love with this song the minute I listened to it) is a song I'm listening to on loop at the moment and I would love to think of a book it goes with! I cannot think of any good matches though. I thought Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett... in terms of general feel... but probably not! 


But I'm going to feature it anyway ;)

Which song reminds you of which book?

While I'm on GFC, Linky and can be followed by email, I'd prefer it if you could follow me on Facebook (Link to my page) since my Page is brand new ;)

Tuesday 23 April 2013

ARC Review: The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa

Publication date: 30th April, 2013
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Links: Amazon | Goodreads | The Book Depository
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4.5/ 5 stars
Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.
REVIEW

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa exceeded expectations last summer as I tore through the post-apocalyptic vampire awesomeness that it was. It was
Clever
Fast paced
Well characterised
Insightful
Gave me the right kind of kick!
Not your average in-season vampire book

The Eternity Cure, book two in Julie Kagawa's Blood of Eden series was equally engaging in every way. Most second books end up being more of a filler and a watered down version of the first part, but not The Eternity Cure!  There's enough conflict and adventure to keep things going.

Of course, initially, I got the feeling it was just going to be Allie Going Places in search of Kanin, her Master with minimal Zeke flashbacks... but thankfully, no. Rescuing Kanin, the vampire Allie owes her life to, from the clutches of Totally Deranged Sarren, isn't just a series of carefully-constructed obstacles. Jackal, Allie's blood brother... yes, the Prince character who wrecked havoc in the climax of the first installment, breathes life into the first half of the novel! You want to hate him, just like Allie does... yet he is so... three dimensional, I guess. Slippery, manipulative and yet his witticisms make you laugh and somehow, he earns your sympathy and makes you root for him!

There's also a search for the cure from the Red Lung virus, made worse by the new strain of the virus that's twice as deadly as far as survival of the human AND vampire races are concerned. This, again, is enlivened by wonderful character-centric plotlines. The Zeke-Allie relationship is as heartwarming and heartbreaking as ever (Zeke: must you always be such a saint?) and Stick's reappearance is a totally baffling yet brilliant touch to the plot! It was by no means a conventional turn of events and I loved how what Allie and Stick shared all those years was never in anyway forgotten. It added so much depth to the layers of hurt, desire for growth and much more that had disturbed Stick all along.

All in all, just like the first part of the Blood of Eden series, The Immortal Rules, The Eternity Cure is one heck of an adrenaline rush! I was constantly eager to know more, get to the bottom of the characters, the plot, the VIRUS, all while wondering about the fate of the characters we got to know so well in the previous part but don't really make an appearance here. As an amazing bridge book, I am not just waiting for the next book in the series but I'm no more uncertain about the Blood of Eden series having all the elements of an epic saga!!

As I said in my review of the previous part, it's post-apocalyptic dystopian vampire YA! If the genre itself has you excited, this is definitely a series you must check out. I wasn't the biggest fan of Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series, but in this series, she has nailed it!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

If you liked The Immortal Rules, you will love The Eternity Cure! Definitely preorder-worthy!