Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa De La Cruz




Synopsis: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.

Review:
Melissa De La Cruz’s Blue Blood series continues to deliver with the “Van Alen Legacy”. If you’re a fan of the fist three books your going to love this one. The story starts with Oliver and Schuyler on the run from the Venators in Paris, Mimi in Brazil looking for Jordan, and Bliss in the Hampton’s trying to figure out how to seize control back from the “Dark Passenger“. Basically just a little time after Revelations left off.


I personally love the Blue Blood series but this book did take some time to get into. The writing flowed really well, I just think the formatting of the book could have been planned better. Cruz is no stranger to writing a chapter focusing on one character and then the next chapter writing about another. It worked well in the previous books because the character interacted with each other more, in The Van Alen Legacy the group of characters didn’t cross paths until the end book. Each individual spent so much time apart in the beginning it was hard to focus on the plot. You jumped from Schuyler to Mimi, Mimi to Bliss, and Bliss back to Schuyler, it was infuriating. Just when you got into the chase in Paris, Cruz switched you to Brazil, and when you got into Brazil she switched you to New York. It drove me completely nuts flip-flopping between each one with a different story, different place, different thoughts. I just couldn’t connect. Finally I just sectioned off the chapters labeled Sky and read those completely through, Then I did the same for Mimi and Bliss. I sectioned the chapters off until their storylines crossed paths again then I read the book normally. Sectioning the stories made it a much easier read and I enjoyed it so much more.


It was amazing to visualize each character’s growth between the first book to this one, Mimi‘s not a total “Ice Queen“ anymore, Sky learned how much she would sacrifice for love, and Bliss learned to take control of the situation.


All in all a fantastic read! This is definitely one of those books that leaves you begging for more!


I can’t wait for Misguided Angel (Blue Bloods, #5)!!!

The Questions: (max 5*)

YA or Adult-- YA

Tearjerker -- ** I didn't cry but my sister did at the end of the book.

Comedy--* not so much in this one.
Action-- **** a lot of running and fighting.

Drama-- **** Drama, Drama , Drama!

Gruesome--N/a

Love-- *** The love triangle isn't the main focus in this book.

Worth the money to buy?--Yes buy it if you bought the first 3. If you haven't I suggest buying those first.

How many paws:


Friday, October 16, 2009

Hush, Hush By Becca Fitzpatrick is a classic paranormal tale with suspense, mystery, and an out come you never saw coming.





Summary: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.






The Review: The summary and the cover art drove me to read this book. The cover is breathtaking and AMAZING!!!

Anyways down to the business at hand...

Patch’s mysterious and dangerous undertone drove the story to it’s full fruition. Lets face it if it wasn’t for him and his angst driven ways- I would’ve never finished. He was the binding that kept this book together. If you edited him out of it you just be left with a semi-heroic heroine who not only second guessed herself constantly, but deep down has a masochistic death wish. At one point I secretly yearned for the stalker/revenge seeker, to take her away… Maybe then I would’ve found out more about the mystery behind Patch and not the type of bra Nora picked up at Victoria Secrets.

As you can see Nora and I really never got along … Her friendship with Vee unnerved me. I just didn’t understand how she let her best friend drive her into certain situations. If my BBF didn’t listen to me or made me do something I didn’t want to do…they wouldn’t be my BBF for long.

I wasn’t a fan of some of the dialog but all around it was a well written story. The book wasn’t littered with too many sub-plot lines. The author did however make the mistake of putting too much suspicion on the wrong people, making it easier to for the reader to figure out who was behind the stalking/revenge plot.

The hype surrounding this book made my expectations too high and it just felt like a let down when they weren't met. I kept waiting for something more and when it never came, I became disappointed. But if
your looking for a good YA mystery/suspense book to read, then pick up a copy… Just don’t buy it expecting it to be the next Twilight


The Questions:

YA or Adult--- YA


Tearjerker --- N/a


Comedy-- * There's a pinch of comedy between Nora and Vee but not a ton...

Action--- ** - Towards the end.

Drama--- **** - Tons of drama between Patch/Nora...

Gruesome--- N/a


Love---- **** -Teenage love/lust



Worth the money to buy?--- Uh, yea it was good enough to buy.... But I'll probably never re-read it....



How many paws:

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