Review: The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa

The Forever Song, book three of the Blood of Eden trilogy by Julie Kagawa, is the stunning conclusion to what I deem to be the best YA vampire series to date.  There.  I said it.  If you have not read The Immortal Rules and The Eternity Cure, stop reading now; while my actual review does not contain spoilers, the actual synopsis of the novel released by the publisher does.   A big one, in fact.    

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.                                                          @Goodreads

 It’s hard to write this without spoilers, but I am forcing myself.  After all, at the time that I’m posting this, most of you have not read it; it hasn’t even been published yet.  Therefore, this review will be a bit cryptic, much like my review for the other novels in the series.  You can read those here and here.

In the final novel in the Blood of Eden trilogy, Allie struggles more than ever with her humanity in the wake of significant personal tragedy.    The story opens with Allie, Kanin, and Jackal traveling to Eden in search of Sarren, the psychotic vampire that has embarked on a dangerous journey to destroy humanity so that the world can start over.     

Allie knows that she is now a monster.   She cares little for humans, beyond stopping Sarren from wiping out her food supply.  She is hurt on an epic level, and to make matters worse, master vampire Kanin, her sire, is filled with disappointment towards the monster she has decided to become. 

Sound good so far?  It gets so much better.

What is waiting for the trio on their journey is worse than anything they could have imagined.  And… I can’t really say any more than that.

There is a rather large development 29% into the novel that I did see coming, however, I was somehow still shocked and amazed when it did, because it was just done so well.  No disappointments with the last installment of this series at all.  I commend you, Julie Kagawa.  You are… amazing. 

One little qualm:  At the end of The Forever Song, as Allie is reflecting on the time she has been a vampire, it is stated that she has only been a vampire for about a year.  I didn’t go back and make sure that time matched up, but from what I remember… it does not.  All of that happened over just 1 year?  Kanin’s training?  Wondering around after she separated from him, before she found Zeke’s group? Staying with Zeke’s group until they made it to Old Chicago, and later, Eden?  That’s just the first book, and I believe four months separates the first from the second.    This was a very minor issue to me, just something I noticed.  Perhaps it was only a year.  Whatever.

My rating for both The Forever Song and the Blood of Eden is five whopping stars. 

Please note:  I received a free ARC of The Forever Song by the publisher (Harlequin Teen), and Netgalley.  The book was not advertised to be the last in the trilogy, and I requested it without knowing.  Once I realized, after I had read the reviews, I decided to purchase both the first and the second installment in the series.  Well played, Harlequin Teen.  

Expected publication date:  April 15 2014