Reading Under the Willow Tree

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Sequels are a hard thing to master, middle books in a trilogy even more so. I cannot count the amount of times I have been burned reading a sequel to a book I really loved. The Eternity Cure made me nervous. It made me nervous because I thought The Immortal Rules (book 1) was one of the best YA books I have ever read, it made me nervous because I wanted it to be amazing and I was terrified I wouldn’t be. I really shouldn’t have worried, Julie Kagawa has never let me down in the past and she didn’t start now. The Eternity Cure was not like The Immortal Rules, it was different and I loved it because of those differences.

It is quite hard to pin point what Kagawa does right with these books. What is it that makes me love them so much? I think it is a combination of everything the story, world building and writing but I think it is probably the characters that make this series one of the best.

If I thought about an alter ego for myself and what I would like her to be like someone like Allie would come to mind. I often find female YA characters a little annoying even if I adore them but not Alison. She is loyal, loving and fierce.

She grows up a lot in this book and becomes even more likeable. I love everything about her, I love her honestly with herself, her desperation to remain human whilst trying to feed and contain the monster within. She is willing to sacrifice, willing to die for those she loves and what she believes in and she does so quietly. She isn’t throwing a massive pity party about how cruel life has been to her, she is sulking or moaning, she just accepts it because it cannot be changed. She is strong and heroic and I absolutely love her.

The men in this series are just as likable and to be honest Julie Kagawa really needs to stop creating male characters that I want to procreate with. I am only human and these men are slowly killing me.

Zeke was a bit of a revelation to me in this. I really did like him in The Immortal Rules and I think he is a perfect love interest for Allie but I was not interested in him myself, that changed in this. It appears that Zeke is growing up, in The Immortal Rules he was still a boy in The Eternity Cure he is turning into a man and I like the adult he is becoming. He spends most of his time in this book around vampires and it takes a lot of courage to do the things he does but he does them for Allie because he truly loves her. It is one of those situations where you don’t need to hear him say it, you just know it and can see it in everything he does.

Next up is Jackal who came straight out of left field. In The Immortal Rules he was a villain and he was awful. There was nothing to like about him but in this things changed…at least I think they did. I found myself surprisingly and disturbingly attracted to Jackal and I liked him…a lot. For a guy who professed not to care about anyone or anything he sure did a lot of caring. I suspect that under the cold and sarcastic exterior there is a heart of gold. I am not really sure if adoring Jackal was the author’s intention or if it is just my twisted mind but I loved him regardless.

Then there is my one true love Kanin. I loved Kanin from the first page he appeared in The Immortal Rules and I still love him now. He is one of my all-time favourite characters ever and is in my top 5 book boyfriends of all time. If something ever happens to him I will never forgive Kagawa, if something happens to any of them I will have a hard time but Kanin more than most.

It wasn’t only the characters that had changed. The Eternity Rules is a lot darker than its predecessor, with a lot more peril and danger thrown in. It was about relationships, trust and sacrifice. The ending was harsh and I think I sat in my bed with my mouth wide open in shock for at least twenty minutes after I finished. I actually don’t know how I will wait for the last book in the series but I am scared of getting to that point as well because the thought of this ending is pretty scary because I like it so much.


The publisher provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review