Blue Bloods, by Melissa de la Cruz
reviewed by Saluki

For those of you who haven’t read the Blue Bloods series by author Melissa De La Cruz, all I can say is that you should add them to your must read list.  I have read all four books in the series, but today I will be reviewing the first book, Blue Bloods.

Among all of the various legends of how vampires were created, I find the back story created by Melissa De La Cruz to be one of the most captivating.  These vampires are fallen angels, banished to earth for following Lucifer.  Every one hundred years or so they are reincarnated, or “cycle,” as it is referred to in the book.  They can go out in the sunlight and can even eat human food.  They do need blood to remain strong, but they don’t kill humans.  Instead they take human “familiars” to drink from.  Of course, they are super strong and fast – the typical traits you would expect in vampires.  Another unique fact, Blue Bloods are born human and begin transitioning into vampires when they reach the age of fifteen.

The Blue Bloods we encounter in this book came to America on the Mayflower.  However, these pilgrims weren’t trying to escape religious persecution like most of the brave souls on board the ship.  Once they arrived in NYC, they quickly wove themselves into the fabric of the city, building museums, schools, libraries, and other cultural institutions.  They became the leaders of business and the bastion of high society.  These Blue Bloods stuck together over the years, knowing that their immortal status must be a closely kept secret.  Much like in the Twilight series, the most important rule the Blue Bloods follow is to not expose themselves to humans.

Schuyler Van Alen, the last of the line of a once distinguished family in New York City, is the central character of the book.  Unlike most children of wealth, she shuns designer labels and five star restaurants for dark, baggy clothes and dinners at home.  She lives with her grandmother, Cordelia, in what was once a beautiful mansion, the loss of her family fortune having reduced the home to a shell of its former self.   To her, the only thing bearable about living with her cold, distant grandmother and attending the highly private school Duchesne is her best friend Oliver.  However, she isn’t entirely miserable.  Like most fifteen year olds she has her share of drama, but with Oliver by her side, Schuyler feels like her life is bearable.

Then, she turns fifteen and starts to notice odd things happening. Suddenly, she craves raw meat, has flashbacks to ancient times, and has a mosaic of thin, blue lines running through her arms. If that isn’t enough, she is getting odd looks from some of the students at Duchesne including Jack Force, the most popular boy in school.  Then, Aggie, a student at her school is killed.  When Jack tries to tell Schuyler that Aggie’s death was way more than just a murder, Schuyler starts to wonder just what is happening to her life.  And, just when she thinks things couldn’t get any weirder, she is invited to join The New York Blood Bank Committee, a prestigious charitable organization in the city.  It is there that she learns she is a Blue Blood and that as a vampire, she cannot be killed.   She immediately becomes suspicious when she learns that Aggie was also a Blue Blood.  Schuyler immediately begins to question the ruling elite.  Why aren’t they investigating these deaths? Why are they keeping the details a secret?

Despite warnings to back off and let the adults handle the suspicious death of her classmate, Schuyler enlists Oliver to help her uncover the truth.  When she learns of other, similar Blue Blood deaths, Schuyler becomes more convinced than ever that something is hunting her kind.  What she finds out will not only shake her world, but that of the entire Blue Blood elite forever.

I was immediately sucked into the world Melissa de la Cruz created.  In fact, the first thing that struck me was the Gossip Girl feel of Duchesne and the students that go there.  I could see Blair Waldorf fitting in perfectly with Mimi Force, the most beautiful and powerful girl in school. That would be a pair of girls who love and hate each other in equal measure.  Much like watching Gossip Girl, this book draws you into a world where the students are gorgeous and picking on the unpopular kids is a blood sport.  You will immediately feel for Schuyler.  Even though she is from one of the leading Blue Bloods families, she is still a persona non grata in that world.  Part of it has to do with her non-conformist attitude and part of it has to do with her family’s fall from grace.   I definitely rooted for Schuyler as she came up against the Blair Waldorfs of the vampire world

The author did a great job of creating engaging characters.  While seemingly flawless on the outside, Melissa de la Cruz introduces the reader to a group of vampires who have let their many years on earth corrupt their true natures.  For a group of fallen angels trying to get back into heaven, they are doing a poor job of living lives worthy of their former home.

Of course, no good story is complete without a love triangle, and Blue Bloods does not disappoint.   This book lays the groundwork for the heartbreak that will befall Schuyler, Oliver, Jack, and Mimi over the next three books.   Much like Bella, Edward, and Jacob, choices are made in this book that have devastating consequences for the main characters.

I give Blue Bloods five out of five fangs.  It is an easy book to read.  The fast paced plot kept me turning pages well after I should have been in bed.  Have you read Blue Bloods?  Does this review make you want to read it?  Let me know what you think.