Painted Words: Episode 8 - Revelations (Blue Bloods 3)

In the third book of the series, we find Schulyer van Alen and her blood legacy being dangerously questioned.  Is she a Blue Blood, or are her worst nightmares coming true as she is accused of being the dreaded Silver Blood.  To make matters even worse, she's not the only one with problems.

As Schulyer's world crashes down around her, she learns more and more about the twistedness of the relations she calls family.  As her home-life is suddenly changed, and all of her resolve is put to the test, Schulyer continues learning about the history of the Blue Bloods. 

One of the many secrets which the Blue Bloods hold is that of their age-old prisons in which they hold the Silver Blooded demons which once plagued them.  The prisons exist throughout the world within our ruins, inside of our natural attractions, and all of the secret places of the world.  When one of the gates is opened unexpectedly and a holy place burned in black hellfire, Schulyer loses someone special in the wake of the destruction, not to mention the Blue Blood ranks being thinned out.

I found this book to be quite intriguing as well as a very on-the-edge-of-your-toilet (or sofa) read.  de La Cruz is one of few authors with the amazing ability to continue surprising me.  I keep thinking I have the plot figured out, only to find that perhaps I don't, which makes me come back for more.  If you are looking for an excellent series with vampire lore, historical fiction, mystery, romance, and drama all rolled into one, these books knock that whole idea out of the park and into the world of super-imagination.  I highly recommend this book and the entire series so far.

Painted Words: Episode 7 - Masquerade (Blue Bloods 2)

In the second Blue Bloods novel, Masquerade, the main character, Schuyler Van Alen finds herself caught up in the mystery of who is killing off her fellow young vampires.

Schuyler herself is a  bit ofo a mystery to the rest of the vampires.  Most of the vampires are the fallen angels, while she is half-human.  Therefore, she does not have the memories of past lives which the others hold to so tightly.

Upon her grandmother Cordelia's passing, Schuyler and her familiar, Oliver rush to Italy in search of her long-exiled grandfather, Lawrence.  Upon discovering his whereabouts, it is up to them to continue researching the disappearances and murders of other vampires.  The investigation is dangerous, and Lawrence finds he must teach Schuyler practically everything she must know about being a vampire.

Amid all of the drama and adventure, the famed Four Hundred Ball presents the new vampires and announces their former angelic beings.  However, it is the after-party where the truly frightful makes itself known to the teens.  Meanwhile, Schuyler is left to wonder the age-old question of "Who was that masked man?" 

As mentioned in my previous Blue Bloods review, this is a series about vampires who were once the angels of Heaven, now fallen.  The series really keeps readers on their toes.  De La Cruz has done her writing abilities justice here, and I applaud her work in the field.  These books are obviously written for teens, but as an adult, I find them quite enjoyable.

All of this and more in the second book.  Continue reading for more reviews on this series.

Painted Words: Episode 5 - Blue Bloods

I recently happened across some really awesome books by Melissa de La Cruz.  This particular novel is the namesake of the series, Blue Bloods.  I look forward to introducing it to you.

This series is (as evidenced by the cover) about vampires, however, it is a bit different from most of the vampire books I have read.  Most vampire book authors do not talk about where vampires came from.  It is simply that the first vampire bit a human, who turned into a vampire and there you are; that's where they came from.  However, de La Cruz takes the story much further back. 

In this series, Lucifer was thrown from Heaven and followed by other angels.  These angels are vampires, or Blue Bloods.  They are then cursed to a life on earth during which they live through the "cycles of expression" in which they reincarnate multiple times.  Each reincarnation retains the memories of their past lives. 

Lucifer and a handful of the 400 vampires later discovered that they could feed upon other Blue Bloods, thereby consuming their victim's entire existence.  In doing so, they are considered to be "abomination".  The series follows the stories of several young vampires, who happen to have lived during the move to Plymouth Rock and have since maintained their status as founders of America. 

De La Cruz has done an excellent job creating an interesting historical vampire fiction.  She has even included several of our historical mysteries which have never been solved, making it seem that vampires could have been the reason for these occurences. 

In this first installment of the series, not only are we introduced to most of the characters involved, but it holds an upbeat and extremely interesting mystery novel.  I highly recommend this series, and will continue reviewing it as I finish the books.