The second part to the Blue Bloods series, Masquerade, is a whirlwind of revelations regarding the Van Alens and the entire Blue Blood society. I was anxious to get my copy from the library and continue reading about these young vampires and their families. I looked forward to Schulyer's adventure to find her grandfather, Lawrence. However, that journey was short-lived. While I was initially disappointed that the journey started and ended quickly, my disappointment was overcome by curiosity.
***Spoiler Alert***
She finds her grandfather at the behest of her grandmother--a trip that takes her to Venice. She spies people who look like her mother and who remind her of people she should know from her past lives, but disappointments in her quest make her doubt her ability to find her grandfather, who holds the key to defeating the Silver Bloods.
After she finds her grandfather, her disappointment only deepens when he refuses to help her in her quest to uncover the Silver Blood and Blue Blood past and defeat the impending threat to her teenage friends at an elite New York prep school. Returning to New York thrusts her back into the thick of her teenage confusion over Oliver, her conduit and friend, and her crush on Jack Force, who is bound through blood to his sister, Mimi. Schulyer's desire for the unattainable is palatable in this second book in the series--a desire that most anyone who has had a crush on a boy can certainly relate to.
The adventures in this book are even more dire than the first, with the Silver Blood presence even more apparent despite The Committee's denials and entreaties that the Silver Bloods were defeated many centuries ago. Schuyler's coming of age as a vampire is also wrought with risks to herself and her conduit, who soon becomes her familiar---further complicating her feelings for him and his growing love for her.
The intricacies of this world start to unfold quickly in the book, and as you may have guessed Mimi figures in profoundly because after all her rival for Jack's bond is Schuyler. Jack is a character torn between duty and passion, and his actions clearly define his dilemma--stuck between his lifelong, eternal blood bond with Mimi and his passion for the daughter of Allegra Van Alen, Schuyler.
The history of these character's past lives unravels quickly to reveal some shocking connections.
***End Spoiler Alert***
It's a quick read, and held my attention much more than the first book. I was excited to see what would happen next. The end leaves the door wide open for a third book in this young adult series about teenage vampires, and I hope that Melissa De La Cruz does not disappoint. I recommend this book for people who enjoy YA reading and vampires alike. This not a horror series by any stretch of the imagination, not too much gore here. It's more like a commentary on the teenage relationships in high society and coming of age, just with a vampire twist.
Showing posts with label melissa de la cruz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label melissa de la cruz. Show all posts
Mar 16, 2008
Feb 7, 2008
Blue Bloods, So That's Why They Are So Powerful
Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz is another vampire series. I tend to find those don't I? Well, unlike Stephenie Meyer's vampires and werewolves, this story centers on a secret society or civilization of vampires. These rich families are not only the Rockefellers of this fiction work, but they also are vampires; is that how they got so rich and powerful--mind control? Then again if you lived for centuries at a time, I assume you would cull enormous wealth as well. Schuyler Van Alen is a 15-year-old girl in a New York prep school, and she is an outsider. She doesn't really think to highly of her classmates, Mimi Force and Jack Force, among others. She sees herself differently, and that could be related to her convoluted background and heritage. Her father is gone, her mother is in a coma, and her grandmother is the only one caring for her along with the driver and the housekeeper. But she does have one great friend, Oliver.
***Spoiler Alert***
Schuyler comes to a realization that not all is what it seems in her family, and her connection with her grandmother and with Jack Force are stronger than she realizes. A civilization dating back to the landing at Plymouth Rock and beyond has survived hundreds and thousands of years. This civilization has hid right under the noses of humanity, but they are the richest and most famous of all society. Models, rockstars, artists, designers, photographers; you name it and they are probably vampires--I mean Blue Bloods. It certainly is a different take on the term.
Generally, Blue Bloods are consider the highest of society members, usually due to birthright. But in this book, vampires are the Blue Bloods and their blood is not red. It is blue. Ok, so this sounds a bit lame, and it is.
However, what captured my attention is the interactions between the students themselves, regardless of their heritage. There are the outsiders, the bad boys, the elite group, the jocks, etc. I guess Stephenie Meyer was right when she said in a Borders' Summer Book Club interview that high school and those years in adolescence are the easiest to return to for adults and it is something many of us share from one side of the fence to the other. I was an outsider in school, but some of my friends were in the "cool" group. Schuyler's plight as an outsider is something I can relate to, but I can also relate to her sense of self and knowing that she doesn't need her classmates' acceptance to be a human being, or in this case a vampire with attitude.
The premise of the book is a hidden legend within the society, kept from all new Blue Bloods who come of age, and only known by very few of the Elders. The Croatan or Silver Blood that preys upon his own kind to garner more power. I liked this twist on the legend and its tie-ins with American history and the lost colony of Roanoke.
***End Spoiler***
I picked up this book to get me away from the seriousness of The Road, which is a great book, but a bit heavy. I wanted something lighter in subject that would read fast and keep my attention. I found that combination in Blue Bloods, and I am anxious to read Masquerade, the second book in the series.
***Spoiler Alert***
Schuyler comes to a realization that not all is what it seems in her family, and her connection with her grandmother and with Jack Force are stronger than she realizes. A civilization dating back to the landing at Plymouth Rock and beyond has survived hundreds and thousands of years. This civilization has hid right under the noses of humanity, but they are the richest and most famous of all society. Models, rockstars, artists, designers, photographers; you name it and they are probably vampires--I mean Blue Bloods. It certainly is a different take on the term.
Generally, Blue Bloods are consider the highest of society members, usually due to birthright. But in this book, vampires are the Blue Bloods and their blood is not red. It is blue. Ok, so this sounds a bit lame, and it is.
However, what captured my attention is the interactions between the students themselves, regardless of their heritage. There are the outsiders, the bad boys, the elite group, the jocks, etc. I guess Stephenie Meyer was right when she said in a Borders' Summer Book Club interview that high school and those years in adolescence are the easiest to return to for adults and it is something many of us share from one side of the fence to the other. I was an outsider in school, but some of my friends were in the "cool" group. Schuyler's plight as an outsider is something I can relate to, but I can also relate to her sense of self and knowing that she doesn't need her classmates' acceptance to be a human being, or in this case a vampire with attitude.
The premise of the book is a hidden legend within the society, kept from all new Blue Bloods who come of age, and only known by very few of the Elders. The Croatan or Silver Blood that preys upon his own kind to garner more power. I liked this twist on the legend and its tie-ins with American history and the lost colony of Roanoke.
***End Spoiler***
I picked up this book to get me away from the seriousness of The Road, which is a great book, but a bit heavy. I wanted something lighter in subject that would read fast and keep my attention. I found that combination in Blue Bloods, and I am anxious to read Masquerade, the second book in the series.
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