Title: The Forever Song Series: Blood of Eden #3
Author: Julie Kagawa
Published: April 15, 2014
Genre(s): Urban Fantasy
Page Count: 393
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads: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, her triumph will be short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.
Oh, the angst. I didn’t really expect anything else from the conclusion to the Blood of Eden series, but wow was The Forever Song angsty. Aside from that, this was a fairly average book, nothing special. Not that I honestly thought Kagawa would blow me away with this.
Last time we saw Allison, she was setting out to get the big baddie, Sarren, on a quest for revenge. Also other stuff, but that’s the most pertinent issue. So we begin The Forever Song with Allison, Jackal, and Kanin on the road after Sarren. There’s a lot of walking, walking, walking, brief angst break, then more walking, then, surprise! Turns out Allie’s one true love is now a vampire. A very angsty vampire. So we deal with that for a while, before Jackal, true to form, has enough.
“Because I am a monster!” Zeke snarled back. His fangs flashed as he whirled around, glaring at me. “This is what I am, Allison! I’m a demon—you know it as well as me.”
“Of for fuck’s sake! […] Puppy, I am getting so tired of listening to you whine about this,” [Jackal] snarled at Zeke. “This isn’t rocket science. If you don’t want to be a monster, don’t be a bloody monster! Be an uptight stick in the mud like Kanin. Be a self-righteous bleeding heart like Allison. Or you can stop agonizing about it and be a fucking monster, it’s actually a lot of fun.”
Thank goodness for Jackal.
After that, things are more on track, and then there’s the big showdown. Sacrifices are made, blood is shed, tears are spilled, blah blah blah. The Forever Song doesn’t really have any surprises in store for the reader with average observational skills. It’s still entertaining in its own way, though.
Kagawa’s writing, plot construction, and character development are, as usual, only so-so. She can definitely put together a fast-paced, interesting storyline, but her work lacks finesse and professionalism. Things are always moving in her books, and they’re quick reads, so it’s easy to get swept away, but at the bottom of it all, there isn’t the best foundation.
I would not say this is Julie Kagawa’s best book, naturally. However, there are still enough remnants of The Immortal Rules (which was her best book) here to make it readable. The Forever Song is a satisfying, no-frills series finale, with extra portions of angst. Don’t expect too much out of it, and everything should be okay.
