The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Goodreads Summary:
"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.

My Review:
I have wanted to read this book forever! I loved the cover it is absolutely amazing. I finally got it for Christmas and dove right in. The story is unlike many of the vampire stories out there. This is not an Edward kind of vampire. This is how I imagine vampires if the existed. Viscous night lurking creatures who have to feed on humans, not animals to survive. Allie starts out human. As an unregistered human living in the outlying area of a New Covington, a vampire city. She scavenges for the little food that is available and her treasures include books that she has had her whole life. Her life takes a turn for the worst when her and her friends go out to gather food and are attacked by rabids. The mutated humans/animals who are blood thirsty monsters. She is left dying on the road when a passing vampire gives her a choice. Become a vampire or die. She chooses to become the thing that she hates most....a vampire.

Allies life as a vampire is hard at first as it should be. Her sire Kanin helps her learn what it means to be a vampire who doesn't live in the city. They have to feed off humans and try to not leave a trail. She learns to fight and use her new strength and power against her enemies. Kanin keeps a lot of secrets. He used to be a vampire master. He had to escape his own people for allowing research to be done on fellow vampires to try to cure the disease raging the Earth. He continues to search for answers up until he is kidnapped  This leaves Allie on her own to escape the city and find a new place to call home. She eventually runs into a group of humans and tries to blend in. They are unaware that she is a vampire. She gets attached to them and especially Zeke. Zeke is the second in command of the group behind Jeb. Zeke is somewhat of a love interest here. The cute human who is nice to Allie. Don't get me wrong this is not an Edward and Bella love story. This is how it would really be. Anyway, they have been searching for years for Eden. A place free of disease and vampires. They have been searching for years.

Everything is going ok until Allie is outed as a vampire. She is then shunned from the group and is forced to leave. I loved that she continued to stay with the group hiding in the shadows to protect them. She is trying to hang on to what is left of her humanity. She can chose what kind of monster to be. Things change yet again when the group is taken by King Jackels raiders. Allie saves who she can but, not everyone lives. Her and Zeke have to find a way to trust each other and rescue the survivors. This proves difficult. The raider city is huge and Jackel is truly evil. They took Jeb because he holds research to finding the cure. Allie learns about her vampire family here as well. She learns that the dreams she has been having are actually through Kanins eyes and he is being tortured. Allie has a tough decision to make. Does she stay with her humans until they are safe in Eden or does she go find Kanin and do what she can. There are a lot of obstacles for her. She is again alone to start a journey with no leads.

This is how the world would be if vampires were truly around. the way the author describes everything and builds this world is outstanding. The review is hard because there was so much information in this book. It was an amazing start to what will be a great series I have no doubt. I can't wait to see how Allie's life progresses. So many questions left. Will she save Kanin? Will she ever see Zeke again?