Review: Masquerade, by Melissa de la Cruz

Masquerade (Blue Bloods, #2)
by Melissa de la Cruz
Hardcover, 320 pages
Hyperion
Published May 1, 2007
ISBN: 0786838930
ISBN13: 9780786838936

My Rating:

Schuyler Van Alen is starting to get more comfortable with her newfound vampire powers, but she still has many unanswered questions. A trip to Italy in search of her grandfather only serves to make things more confusing. What secrets are the leaders of The Committee hiding? Meanwhile, back in New York, preparations are feverishly underway for the famous Four Hundred Ball. In true Blue Blood fashion, the ball is totally fab, complete with masks, and hidden behind this masquerade is a revelation that will change the course of a young vampire's destiny.

The thrilling sequel in Melissa de la Cruz's vampire mythology has all the glamour, attitude, and vampire lore that made the first book a hit.

Masquerade picks up where Blue Bloods leaves off. Actually, within the first few pages of the sequel, we're pretty much told what happened in the last book. I guess that's for the benefit of people that either didn't read the first book in the series or completely forgot about what happened?

This book is a good follow-up with a lot more explanations and deeper explorations into our characters and their histories, as well as keeping with the history of the vampires. Bliss' story also gets more deep and complicated. We start learning about her past and who her true mother is - which is a plot twist in its own. There's more on Jack and Mimi, their history and their upcoming bonding. I'm really trying to like Mimi, but she makes it impossible. Jack's infatuation with Schuyler is still there, and it seems to be getting stronger - especially when Schuyler returns with her conduit Oliver and her grandfather just in time for the masquerade ball. Oliver is enduring, as always. The mystery man at the ball adds a little intrigue as well. Schuyler's character is more fleshed out this round, and she's definitely an intriguing heroine for our story.

I have to say that the amount of pup culture references are definitely cut down drastically in this one - but Bliss and Schuyler modeling just seemed out of place. I think that was De La Cruz's way of still showing off her knowledge of that stuff. The writing didn't seem to flow as smoothly in this one, but it didn't make me like the story any less. The ending definitely leaves you hanging for the next book, but it keeps you sated enough until you get around to the third book.

To read my review on Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods #1), click here.
To learn more about author Melissa de la Cruz, click here.
To buy from Book Depository, click here.


Review of the Series: Blue Bloods  |  Masquerade  |   Revelations  |  The Van Alen Legacy