Review: The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

THE FOREVER SONG

Blood of Eden Series #3

by Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin Teen (April 15, 2014)
Genre: Paranormal, Dystopia, Young Adult
Format: aARC (416 pages)
Source: Free book from publisher (NetGalley) for honest review
Find It: Goodreads | Amazon Print | Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 stars)

Summary
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, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

At A Glance
A really good ending to the series but the traveling part was so boring.

The Good
The Forever Song may have been a little predictable, but I still loved it. And Kagawa threw in enough surprises to keep me on my toes. I feel good with how everything turned out. There were sad parts, fun parts, and amazing parts. Definitely a lot of feels in this one.

I have to be honest, Jackal made this book. Jackal has everything I look for in a character. He's snarky, funny, and a little evil with a dash of good. I hung off every word Jackal spoke, obsessed over every mysterious action, and giggled with every smartass joke he threw out. His character has developed the most in this series. He is evil, he always will be, but he also has this potential for good. His actions may seem selfish and rude, but often he has good ulterior motives behind them.

Allison was badass in this book. I loved how she let the monster control her in the beginning. She did some bad things too, which surprised me, but nothing too horrible. Because deep down, Allie will always be a good person..er..vampire. But she still remained badass as she full-on kicked the butt of every bad guy. She has also grown a lot since The Immortal Rules.

Zeke. *sigh* I loved how 'different' he was when he first came into the picture and I loved how he ended up in the end, but him in the middle of the book...well, just read about it in the Bad section.

There was some very good action and fight scenes throughout the book. The characters felt like they had all grown and accepted who they were. There was some good twists and turns as well. Of course, I recommend anyone who hasn't read the first two books to do so because this is an overall very good vampire series.

The Bad
The Forever Song has a lot of similar elements as the first book. Some good, some bad. What I didn't like was we again encountered chapters and chapters of traveling. WTH? How is that suppose to be entertaining? I just don't find 'road trip' style books to be that fun, even when the travelers are vampires. Because, all that is happening is walking or driving and A LOT of self-reflection and contemplation. I can only take so much of that, even from a most beloved character.

There was a lot of angst from all the characters, but Zeke annoyed the crap out of me the most. For those who have read the first two books, I think you pretty much have guessed what happened to Zeke. I wont say it out right but, dear God, he needed to get the f*ck over it! Such an whiner.

The Snuggly
Allie and Zeke go through a lot in this book. Sometimes I really thought they wouldn't end up together. But near the end, they started getting their crap together and they became an amazing couple. And finally we get some bow chicka wow wow! Though it's not described so it's suitable for a YA audience. I like where they were at in the end.

Final Thoughts
A good, solid ending to the series even with the hiccups. It was nice to get into a vampire book again. I will miss some of the characters for sure. I would like to read other series from Kagawa soon. Very recommended.

Quotes
“I am proud of you, Allison Sekemoto,” he whispered as he drew back. “Whatever you decide, whatever path you choose to take, I hope that you will remain the same girl I met that night in the rain. The one decision for which I have no regrets.”  - Kanin


“Seeing as this is probably my last hurrah, I don't suppose I could get you two bleeding hearts to massacre a village with me? For old time's sake." - Jackal 


“If we are talking about choice and regret, what has happened cannot be undone. And dwelling on the past changes nothing. You will only drive yourself to insanity if you do.”  


“Oh, isn’t that sweet,” came Jackal’s loud, mocking voice... “Let’s make goo-goo eyes at each other in the middle of a stinking corpse field, how very romantic.”  


“So, this is me, all of me, forever. No more looking back. No more regrets. From now on, vampire girl,” he lowered his head, brushing his lips across my skins, “I’m all yours.”  

Blood of Eden Series:

Book #1: The Immortal Rules

Book #2: The Eternity Cure

Book #3: The Forever Song