The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa is the third and final installment of the Blood of Eden Series.  I fell in love with this series for 5 reasons:

1.       Allison- She is badass to the bone.  I believe that was my first reaction after I read the first book.  I looked at no one, because I was alone, and said “Holy shit, she’s badass.”  I didn't want to punch her, or burn the book.  From the first page to the last, Allison never changes.  She is strong and determined.  The one thing that does change is her confidence in herself not to become her worst nightmare.

2.       Kanin- I mean he is an awesome sire.  He saved Allison from death, turning her into a monster she hated; however, he asked her first.  Kanin had his own demons to battle and as this series unfolded it is not hard to see why he might have had a conscious.  I think the end was justified and frankly I am happy things turned out for Kanin the way they did.  In the end, he found what he was looking for.  Also, his deadpan way of being was great addition to Allison and Jackal’s bickering. 

3.       Jackal- Aside from being the bad guy in the first book, I fell for this bad boy vampire brother of Allison.  Tied to her through Kanin, Jackal has been the complete opposite of Allison.  He has never denied being a jerk, and does not deny his true nature… kind of reminds me of Damon from Vampire Diaries.  He is a vampire through and through.  In the end, I think he got what he deserved as well.  Jackal was a necessary evil, one that pushed Allison into both the good and the bad path.  I loved his banter and frankly I like those characters.

4.       Zeke- Ezekiel was. The. Best.  I fell right in love with him.  Allison also felt similarly, and they worked. (Thank you for not doing the whole love triangle thing, it gets in the way).  Zeke was the first connection to the human world Allison loved that really accepted her and taught her to accept herself.   What happens to him sucks; he did not really get what he deserved most of the time.  All four of these characters are just puppets in Sarren’s scheme for utter destruction.

5.       World Building- Kagawa’s worlds are always rich, but real enough that you almost feel like you’re standing there.  This world was gritty, harsh, dark, and really horrifying.  I could see how these cities mentioned would look the way they were described.  For something to be scary, it needs a bite of reality.  While I don’t believe in vampires, I will say that that is the only unrealistic thing about it.  If you take that out, you end up with a not so violent book, and it would fall flat into a regular evil government story. 

I am sad this book is ending, but I am glad I went for the ride.  Now to wait for all her other books to come out!

5 stars.  Thank You NetGalley!