After having finished the incredible book last year known as The Eternity Cure, I was more than happy to get my hands on a copy of The Forever Song. I have to say, I adore the solid purple on the cover. It's plain but beautiful at the same time. I had high expectations for this, not only because the last one was so good (and one of the very rare times when the second installment was actually my favorite), but because I just really wanted an awesome novel after having finished a particularly disappointing one . . . *coughRuinandRisingcough*. Overall, I felt felt pretty satisfied with it. 
 My only real complaint is the beginning. I almost never have issues getting absorbed in a book written by the great Julie Kagawa, but this was different. Allison, Jackal and Kanin spend most of their time traveling, and through it all Allison would not stop talking about what a monster she is. I totally got her deep emotional turmoil, especially after what happened with Zeke. But it kind of got on my nerves after reading it for the thousandth time. Once I got past all that, things started to get a lot better. 
 Jackal is still the same sarcastic antihero as before. Though of course I disagree with his personal opinions about humans/love/being a vampire in general, I can't help but adore him because he constantly said exactly what I was thinking and made me laugh while doing it. If Kagawa were to ever write a spin-off series centering on him, I would be all over that. Kanin was calm, collected and completely amazing like always. I'm not going to lie - I'm more than a little disappointed that he remained a "father figure" throughout the series - honestly I think he would have been a great love interest. But eventually I accepted the way Allison's "family" was set up, however grudgingly. He's made a lot of mistakes, yet he still tries to be good. 
 I am happy to report that Zeke grew on me a little this time around. I've mostly been indifferent towards him up until now, but he's forced to face some difficult challenges in this book (well at least one major problem), and I liked how he eventually came to terms with it. As far as the romance goes, it's not my favorite. But at least I didn't hate it. Sarren was back in The Forever Song and - trust me - this dude didn't hold anything back. He would definitely be on the list of "Top Ten YA villains you definitely DON'T want to meet in real life". He was just so incredibly demented, and it seemed like he just wouldn't die. He was like this horrid dark cloud that just kept coming back no matter how hard the characters tried to do away with him. 
 The action and the plot were just as engrossing as I predicted it would be. However, I seem to be developing this horrible tend where in the last book of a series, my favorite character dies. This has kind of hit me hard lately and I seem to be in a bit of a reading slump at the moment. Anyway, The Blood of Eden books are awesome, and I'd recommend then to anyone who likes dark fantasy. Honestly I still prefer The Iron Fey, but it would have been insanely difficult for her to top that. I am extremely excited for Kagawa's next book, Talon, which is apparently about dragons. Mind. Blown. 
 4 stars