taken from Goodreads:
"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. 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 girl from her
school is found dead . . . drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn't
know what to think. Could those vampire legends really be true? Steeped
in vampire lore and set against the heady backdrop of the rich, young,
and powerful in the heart of New York City, Blue Bloods will be
devoured by Melissa de la Cruzs legion fans."
I didn't know anything about this novel when I picked it up; I was on vacation, I was at Target, I needed something to read, and Cami was ready to leave the store before we even got there. I've read the Twilight books, and I'm not surprised to see one-billion-and-one teenage vampire books on the shelves in every bookstore I visit. When a series like that hits it big, there are always authors ready to hop on the bandwagon and take it for a ride. That's what de la Cruz has done.
The premise of this is interesting, right up until it gets ridiculous: when the Puritans crossed the ocean on the Mayflower and settled in America, they weren't just Puritans. Many of them were vampires, who'd lived and died time and again, being "reborn" into a new physical shell so continue to live out their immortal lives. They are called Blue Bloods, and the novel deals with a young group of Blue Bloods just coming into their powers in New York's upper class, among the richest of the rich.
There's so much that could've been done with this concept; at least, that's what I kept telling myself as I read it. But then again, to be honest, that's not the book de la Cruz wrote, and I don't think it makes any apologies for what it is. This is Gossip Girl for the vampire scene -- it's a mashup of vampire fiction, high-end fashion, and more stereotypes and clunky plot lines than you can believe. There's nothing believable about any of the characters, and if I hear one more designer name mentioned, I think I'll scream. There's nothing impressive about de la Cruz's writing either; she really needed a better editor for this series; that could've solved some of the surface issues.
This book was annoying and entertaining at the same time -- how is that even possible? I don't know, but I've got the next two books in the series checked out from the library and they're sitting on my nightstand right now, waiting for me to dive back in. It's like reality TV -- you know it's bad for you but you can't help watching anyway.
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