Review: The Van Alen Legacy, by Melissa De La Cruz

Title: The Van Alen Legacy (Blue Bloods, Book 4)
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Pages: 369
Publisher: Disney/Hyperion
Release Date: October 1, 2009

Genre: Young Adult
Keywords/Themes: angels, blood war, mythology, true love, vampires.

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.

Additional Info: Never read the Blue Blood series? A little hesitant? Why not check out the first chapter of The Van Alen Legacy » here. «

My Review: Typically, when a new series comes out ... I tend to wait for more than one book to come out. This was an exception. I heard so many good things about it, I had to get the first as soon as it came out -- and I've been patiently waiting for each book after to be published. The Van Alen Legacy has proven to be definitely worth the wait.

Sometimes, when people mix different paranormal creatures - this case being fallen angels and vampires - I cringe. It was the opposite with these books, I actually love the mythology that de la Cruz created in her Blue Bloods world. It's absolutely delightful!

The secrets of Schuyler Van Alen and the other Blue Bloods of Manhattan are slowly but surely being revealed, as well as how Jack truly feels about Schuyler. I must say, Jack Force was starting to become a lost cause for me. I don't know why, I just didn't think he'd prove to be nothing other than what Mimi described him as. In the latest installment, he proves me wrong. If he was a real person, I'd humbly apologize to him.

The story is divided between three alternate points of view: Schuyler, Mimi Force, and Bliss Llewedlyn. Honestly, I know some people think that alternating the POV can get confusing ... but, I don't think Melissa could have told the story any other way because there's so much going on in the story, and it's not all happening in the same place. Plus, it adds to the drama to be able to read what Mimi's fighting with her new love interest, and how it feels for Bliss to be possessed.

New relationships are formed and destroyed, old relationships are rekindled and/or broken, bonds are being tested, angels are breaking codes, the world is going to Hell in a hand basket and it seems as though Schuyler and her family are the only ones that know how to keep that from happening.

The Van Alen Legacy ended on a very happy and promising resolution, and I hope that the happiness continues into the next. I'm extremely eager to find out what happens in the next installment!

Rating: - I rarely give out a five rating because I seem to find flaws in everything I read, no matter how incredible the story is. Can't do it with this one - it's simply too good to give it anything other than a perfect score.

Other Books By Author: Melissa de la Cruz has close to 40 published works including the Blue Bloods series, The Au Pairs series, The Ashleys, and many other works. To see a complete list of her works, please visit melissa-delacruz.com

Source: Gift

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

Review: Hush, Hush; by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Hush, Hush (Book #1, sequel to follow)
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick (beccafitzpatrick.com)
Pages: 400
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: October 13, 2009

Genre: Young Adult
Themes: paranormal, high school, fallen angels, forbidden love, mythology

Synopsis: (From GoodReads) For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Additional Information: There are outtakes to Hush, Hush on Becca's site. To view them, click here. There is also a book trailer, posted below.

My Review: Nora Gray is just your typical teenage girl - except she has a mom that's always working, a father who was killed, and a lab partner, Patch, than infuriates her to no end on an almost daily basis. The worst part? The more she tries to avoid Patch, the more she seems to be drawn to him. And there's definitely something more to Patch, maybe even dark, but he's definitely not letting her in on it. As the story progresses, there's more that happens around Nora that she just can't ignore. There's the hallucinations, the attack on her best friend and her nemesis, and not to mention the burglar she found ransacking her room - at least, that's what she thought, until she called the police and they walked into a completely clean, non-ransacked bedroom. Nora decides to do her own investigation of Elliott and even Patch. However, that turns out to be dangerous and possibly deadly on both accounts. By the end, you'll find out that not everyone is as they seem - and even the best people have the worst intentions.

So, call it spoiler-ish or whatever, but I found the beginning of the first chapter, where Nora walks into her Biology class and learns she's going to be taught about sex, completely freaking hilarious. However, that soon turned to somewhat awe toward the author, because she really interlaced the sex ed with Patch's shameless flirting almost effortlessly. I loved it! The plot and back story on fallen angels was amazing, as well as the story with Elliott and his friend Jules being weaved into that plot at the end. The characters were believable and definitely high school students for the most part - though sometimes Vee tended to irritate me. I know girls like attention from guys and there was more going on with her being manipulated, but I never had a girlfriend to choose a guy over me as much as Vee did to Nora - so I couldn't exactly relate to their relationship. However, she did "take one for the team", so to speak, for Nora ... so, she gets back cred for that. The writing was wonderful, the dialogue never seemed to run on more than necessary, and I approve of the point of view. There was a great ending to go along with the story, some good redemption in the end and a good place for the story to end and another to begin. The story was fantastic, but I'll be the first to admit that this cover sold me and I bought it before even reading the blurb. FANTASTIC cover!

On a side note: I am absolutely sick of people comparing this book, as well as pretty much any teen paranormal romance, to Twilight. I am a HUGE fan of Twilight, but there were a ton of books about vampires before it. As well as books about girls falling for the "bad boy". There's also stand-alone books about werewolves, that don't even mention vampires in them - can you freaking imagine that?! I'm glad that Twilight has so much success, but people need to understand that not all ideas are new - they can just be deviated enough to make a good story. People use cliches, and that's okay as long as the story is good. Twilight is NOT the first book about a girl moving to a new place, falling for the mysterious and unobtainable hot guy, and find she's fallen into a forbidden love affair with the paranormal - so please stop treating it as though it's the Bible and people are trying to steal the ideas solely from Twilight to make big money. I'm sure some do - or is it books that have been circulating through agents for a while and they've only had a chance because of the Twilight Saga? We don't know, so we shouldn't treat it like we do. We should appreciate any and all books as their own entities and judge from there.

I'm off my soap box now.

Rating: - It was verging on three, but I think that the mythology behind the story as well as the development of the characters made up for any qualms I may have had about giving it three stars. Did I mention the cover looks amazing? Seriously, this is a great read for people who love paranormal romance as much as I do.


Summary: This story is a good read not only about fallen angels, but a more in-depth look into the tales of fallen angels, including a new take on Nephilim. Add to that some typical teenage behavior, a sadistic plot to extract revenge and a slightly forbidden love affair (yet not so much) and you have a fabulous light read that will get you through those tedious afternoon hours!


Target Audience: Teenagers (and older) who are into some paranormal romance with some slight Biblical references.

Source: Impulsive purchase.

Other Books: Becca Fitzpatrick is working on the sequel to Hush, Hush - named Crescendo - which will hopefully be out some time soon.

Review: Fallen, by Lauren Kate

Title: Fallen (Book #1, Fallen series)
Author: Lauren Kate (laurenkatebooks.net)
Pages: 464
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: December 08, 2009

Genre: Young Adult
Themes: boarding school, fallen angels, forbidden love, reincarnation

Synopsis: (From GoodReads) There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

Additional Information: Amazon.com's book trailer for Fallen is below.

My Review: The story starts out with Luce being late for the tour of the new boarding school she is attending, Sword & Cross. You're introduced to a few of the characters that become a big part of the story, such as Gabbe, Cam, and Arriane. Instantly, Cam takes a liking to Luce and so does Arriane, volunteering to show her around the grounds then demanding that Luce cut her hair like her own. Soon after, Luce spots Daniel Grigori, who she is immediately attracted to. More odd than that, she feels as though this isn't her first time seeing him. When Daniel spots Luce, he gets wide-eyed right before smiling and gallantly flipping her off. Even though he was rude to her, Luce continually finds herself thinking about him and looking for him. That is until she has a run-in with Molly, who quickly welcomes her to school with a big plate of meatloaf over her head. However, thanks to Molly, Luce is introduced to Penn - the late school caretaker's daughter who decides to stay at Sword & Cross because that's where her father is buried. Although a little eccentric, Penn turns out to be a good information source for Luce. Luce and Daniel talk every once in a while, but each time she's left even more confused than before. A little less than a hundred pages into the novel, you have your first big scene of action that kind of puts the whole novel into swing - before then, it's just a bunch of introductions, Cam flirting with Luce, and you sort of get an idea of why Luce is in Sword & Cross. However, it's never really fully fleshed out in the story, which either may be a hole in the plot or something the author plans on telling in the next book. Either way, you know enough to know there was a tragic accident, she was blamed for it, and now she's in a boarding school with other "troubled teens". I'm going to stop with the play-by-play, but I will say that as the story unravels, you figure out that a lot of people are not what they seem. You also get the whole story on why Daniel seems so familiar to Luce, as well as a big back story on why they may never be able to be together.

Alright, I'll admit ... I judged a book by its cover - bad. Reading the blurb on the back, I didn't really think there would be anything all that intriguing in the book. Why? I thought it would just be a book where you follow a girl who drools over some really hot guy the whole time and that's about it. I have to say that I was definitely wrong. The story is pretty wonderful. As I said in my review for Evernight, the cover would fit better on that. However, not every book has a cover that fits well with the story itself. So, I'll say that, as just a cover, it's an attention-grabber and it's very beautiful. And really, what's better than being a proud owner of a good book with a gorgeous cover? The prologue to the story is actually a flashback, with unnamed characters, but you quickly understand it as the story goes along - and it does it's job as a prologue by catching your attention, making you want to read more. The plot? As mentioned, it does have some holes and you will have some questions after you read the novel. Since it is a part of a series, I am hoping the author will fix that by answering the questions later on in the series. So, I'm going to be lenient on that until I read more of the series. I loved the characters and they fit their persona well - though I do think that Arriane lost a little of her spark as the story went along. I think she faded back a little too much and didn't keep her spunkiness that she originally started out with. There IS an epilogue that goes with the story. After you read it, you'll have a "Whhhhaaaat?!" moment, but it's a good one! It really gets your blood pumping for the next book. The writing is wonderful, as well as the point of view ... which follows Luce in third person, but you do get a grip on the surroundings too. I forgot to mention that the ending is a little heart-wrenching, but it's necessary and gets your hopes up for the sequel.

Rating: - It was a tough decision between three stars and four, but ultimately I do think this book is more of a four star read than three. It has a good plot, good characters, and it's a great read. There are some holes, but not enough holes to question the overall story itself or the characters. At the end of the book, you have a great grip on the story, the backstory, the characters, and a small hint of things to come. It's definitely a book that I would recommend to buy.

Summary: You could say that Fallen is about a girl who starts a new school and instantly falls for one of the hot guys there. However, it's much deeper than that. Fallen is on a whole new level about a girl who is basically re-introduced to someone that she loves, but is really forbidden to love. Once her past is revealed to her, it quickly turns into two forces fighting for the girl and the girl desperately trying to find a way to stay with the one she loves.

Target Audience: Again, this is another paranormal romance novel in the young adult genre. It's not about vampires, but another supernatural force. If you want a book that deals with some biblical themes (don't worry, it's not a Christian book - obviously!) mixed with a little horror and romance, then you'll like this book.

Source of Book: This book was a purchase I made for myself during one of my many bookstore raids.

Other Books By Author: Lauren Kate has another young adult book out called The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. However, you won't find any paranormal in this one - it's more of the mystery/suspense types. There will also be a sequel to Fallen, it's called Torment - though I don't think it has a release date yet.