Blue Bloods Series (1-4 recap) by Melissa De La Cruz
Hyperion
Source: Bought
Format: Hardcover
I read book one through four of the Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz in the summer of 2009. I do not remember every detail, as I read them a while ago, but I do remember a lot. I am planning on reviewing Misguided Angel and the rest of the series individually, so I wanted to talk about the previous books first.
Blue Bloods
302 Pages
When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires. The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society.
The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapated mansion. Schuyler is a loner...and happy that way. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a popular girl from her school is found dead... drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn't know what to think, but she wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?
Could those vampire legends really be true? Steeped in vampire lore and set against the glittery backdrop of New York City, Blue Bloods will be devoured by Melissa de la Cruz's legion fans.
I loved
Blue Bloods. When I read it, I was recently recovering from my
Twilight epidemic, and this was the perfect fix. Don’t let the
Twilight reference scare you off, because the books are much different. One of my favorite aspects of this novel (whole series really) is that the vampires have a history. Most vampire stories talk about vampires always existing, not how they came to be. Melissa de la Cruz uses angel mythology to bring logic and reason to a made up creature. This brings a very real aspect to the characters, and overall, the novel. Being set in New York City, this series could easily be described as
Twilight meets
Gossip Girl but in a way all its own.
The book (again, whole series) switches point of view regularly. This could be choppy and confusing if not done right, but I feel that Melissa executes it perfectly. It adds a whole other aspect to the characters; you are not just seeing what one character thinks of another, but many characters’ opinions and views as well as options and views of that particular character. It makes the novel very three-dimensional and enjoyable. Of course it is annoying, yet intriguing at the same time, when one character leaves you hanging.
Masquerade
320 Pages
Schuyler Van Alen wants an explanation for the mysterious deaths of young vampires. With her best friend, Oliver, Schuyler travels to Italy in the hope of finding the one man who can help—her grandfather. Meanwhile, back in New York, preparations are feverishly underway for the Four Hundred Ball, an exclusive gala hosted by the city's wealthy, powerful, and unhuman—a true Blue Blood affair.
But it's at the after-party, a masquerade ball thrown by the cunning Mimi Force, that the real danger lurks. Hidden behind the masks is a revelation that will forever change the course of a young vampire's destiny.
Rich with glamour, attitude, and vampire lore, this second installment in the Blue Bloods saga will leave readers thirsting for more.
One fact you should probably know about me is that one of my dreams in life is to throw and over the top extravagant masquerade ball- like an old fashion ball with big dresses and coordinated group dances. So
naturally I loved this book even before I started reading. This sequel did not exceed
Blue Bloods but it may have just met its excellence. But that is expected, a sequel that is better than the first is very hard to come by.
Anyway, I was very impressed by both the plot and the writing of Melissa de la Cruz. I was amazed that she created so much depth and back-stories for her characters. It seems like there are endless twists, family prejudices and many more that only complicate cycle after cycle. Melissa must be constantly in her dream world (not necessarily a bad thing) or else this world she created could not have been so developed.
Each book takes place in NYC as well as another city/country (so far), this one also takes place in Italy – a place very dear to my heart. So maybe I am just biased because of masquerades and Italy both being in this book, but I thought it was a very good second installment. There was not a doubt in my mind that I would finish following this series.
Revelations
256 Pages
Have you ever wondered what secrets lurk behind the closed doors of New York City's wealthiest families? They're powerful, they're famous... they're undead.
Schuyler Van Alen's blood legacy has just been called into question--is the young vampire in fact a Blue Blood, or is it the sinister Silver Blood that runs through her veins? As controversy swirls, Schuyler is left stranded in the Force household, trapped under the same roof as her cunning nemesis, Mimi Force, and her forbidden crush, Jack Force.
When one of the Gates of Hell is breached by Silver Bloods in Rio de Janeiro, however, the Blue Bloods will need Schuyler on their side. The stakes are high; the battle is bloody; and through it all, Carnavale rages on. And in the end, one vampire's secret identity will be exposed in a revelation that shocks everyone.
Scandals! That is all I will say... (not really)…. But seriously, page after page there is a new scandal! And in no way is that a bad thing. I love finding out new pieces of information about the characters and their history. It makes me feel as if I am involved in the process of figuring everything out because Schuyler is in the same position as I am – new to the game.
Overall, this book was great (see a theme here…?).
The Van Alen Legacy
371 Pages
With the stunning revelation surrounding Bliss's true identity comes the growing threat of the sinister Silver Bloods. Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the Blue Bloods now find themselves in an epic battle for survival. Not to worry, love is still in the air for the young vampires of the Upper East Side. Or is it? Jack and Schuyler are over. Oliver's brokenhearted. And only the cunning Mimi seems to be happily engaged.
Young, fanged, and fabulous, Melissa de la Cruz's vampires unite in this highly anticipated fourth installment of the Blue Bloods series.
Yet again, I was not disappointed by this installment – I LOVED it! I think by far this was my favorite installment (up until this point). There is so much going on, yet nothing gets overlooked. You are not bombarded with the feelings of just
one character, which almost shapes your opinion of the other characters. You get an array of emotions from a range of different characters making your own individual opinion rather different from your peers. This book allows you to believe what you want, and side with what you want – there is no clear voice saying, “
this is how you should feel” like found in so many pieces of literature. I really enjoyed this aspect. The end left you completely on edge and made me confused by my own feelings. I felt bad for one character, and was angry at other character. Yet at the same time, I understood the character who I was angry with and felt that the character I felt bad for should just get over it (I won’t use names…). If that was confusing to read, it was because that was confusing to write and confusing to feel.
So those were very brief snippets of information and my feelings for each of the novels. The new installments will have much more detailed reviews, I just didn’t feel right writing reviews starting at book five in the series.
