The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa [Review]

The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa
Format: ebook
Source: provided by Harlequin Teen through NetGalley
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: March 17, 2014

Blood of Eden
0.5. Dawn of Eden
1. The Immortal Rules
2. The Eternity Cure
3. The Forever Song - Hardcover | Kindle

Julie Kagawa
| Website | Twitter | Amazon |

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

Thoughts on The Forever Song: I've really enjoyed this series (dark, broken worlds do it for me!) and this book satisfied my craving for blood, guts, and endings that tied things up nicely. Yes, the ending worked for me. Full circles and blood bonds and a forever that's not so bleak after all's been said and done.

So. Allie. She's had a bit of a rough ride. She's grown a lot since we first encountered her in book 1. She backslides a bit with the events that took place at the end of book 2 (as one does when THAT happens) and it takes time for her to find herself again. Her interactions with Jackal were hilarious (SHUT UP, JACKAL!) and I imagine Kanin rolling his eyes more than once at their bickering. If he was the type to roll his eyes, that is.

We got to see plenty of the broken parts of the world as Allie and her crew follow Sarren's trail. We also got to see plenty of what Sarren is capable of. And he's capable of a lot. He's not the resident psychopath for nothing, you know. He's all about drawing out the pain and hitting his enemies in the worst possible way.

He's just a big ball of screwy and he's brilliant enough to keep everyone on their toes as they try to plan for the worst.

All in all, this was a very satisfying ending to the series. We got love, redemption, family ties, and hope all rolled up in a blood stained flourish of flashing blades. Vampires. They know how to drop the hammer when it's needed.

Oh, and I'd love to see more of Jackal and the oddly noble moments that slip out when he's not trying to be a jerk. That guy ended up growing on me. Way more than I expected.