"The Eternity Cure" by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 446

From Goodreads: "Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike."

Though I wasn't a major fan of "The Immortal Rules", I was still quite interested to see how Julie would continue on with Allison's story. Furthermore, I had hopes that this book would be better than the first, as Julie came into her own, growing as an author with each passing book. However, after having finished it, I must admit that I didn't find it to be a stronger book than the first. In fact, I think that it may be a bit weaker of a book, and I would go so far as to say that it suffers from "second book syndrome".

My two main complaints about this book are the overall storyline and the predictability. In all honesty, I feel like very little happened/ was accomplished in this novel- the large majority of it felt like filler. It felt like a recap of the previous book, with Allie travelling from her home to Eden (though in the opposite direction in this), facing down Sarren, Sarren once again going psycho-vamp on everyone, and Sarren eventually making a dramatic exit. Furthermore, I found the large majority of the book, the ending especially, to be extremely predictable. I think that Julie had intended it to take the reader by surprise, but I think that it did anything but.

That being said, I did appreciate that questions weren't answered with more questions in this book- we actually got concrete answers (well, assuming that you can trust the word of a psycho vampire). Furthermore, I loved Jackal in this book, I thought that he provided a lot of much needed comic relief- his dry wit is second to none.

All in all, while I personally was not a massive fan of this, I do believe that those who loved the first book will be more than pleased with this latest installment. Furthermore, despite my complaints I do think that I will continue on with it, if only to see how it is wrapped up.

Rating: 3/5

I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.

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ARC Review: "Dare You To" by Katie McGarry

Release Date: May 28, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 462

From Goodreads: "Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all..." 

"Pushing the Limits" was one of the most emotional books I can ever recall reading, the entire time while reading the book I had a stomachache because of THE FEELS. Therefore, when I learned that this book was to be about Beth, arguably one of the most broken and mysterious characters I have ever encountered before, I had expected it to be just as emotional, if not more so, than "Pushing the Limits". However, I must admit that I found it anything but.

Overall, the large majority of this story felt fairly flat to me (even despite being able to personally relate more to Beth than to Echo)- the romance especially. Though Beth and Ryan did know one another for a fair while before getting together, I still felt that there was insta-love going on. Furthermore, while this book is about Beth and Ryan's story I couldn't help but find that it was too much focused on them- I wish that the secondary characters had played larger roles in the story as I found each and everyone of them to be intriguing (even Gwen).

That being said, I did very much appreciate that this book had something which I very rarely encounter in other books of this nature- character growth. And from BOTH characters. Gone is the old broken, pessimistic Beth, hello to the, at times, bubbly and hopeful Beth. Whereas, gone is the old Ryan who allowed everyone else to dictate his life, hello to the Ryan who truly takes the reins, in the process learning more about himself than he could have ever imagined (and who picks up a skill or two along the way).

All in all, despite my complaints I did enjoy the book overall and I think that diehards of this series will more than likely be pleased with this installment. Furthermore, despite my complaints, I will continue on with this series, if only to see how Isiah's story wraps up.

Rating: 3/5

I received this book from the author to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way.

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