Review: The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz

One of the few series that made me love the YA genre is Melissa de la Cruz' Blue Bloods. She was one of the few authors I've discovered by accident as I was making my way through an unfamiliar genre, and seeing her work loved by many made me happy as we are both Filipinas.

Title: The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz
Pages: 369
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Published by: Disney/Hyperion
Source: Bought
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

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.

The fourth installment of the Blue Bloods series is by far my most favorite book. The things that were waiting to be revealed in the previous three books, and the most crucial parts, the turning point of the whole story of the Blue Bloods, all of it takes place in the Van Alen Legacy.

I really admire Melissa because she is one of the few authors who was able to put a different, fresh twist to the often cliche, and one of the most written about creatures of all, Vampires and Angels. I do believe it's a very challenging and daunting task to be able to weave a whole new world with these two prominent creatures featured.

Melissa's story is very elaborate, and yet again, I found another author who is great in world building. What's different with Melissa's writing is that you picture the Blue Bloods life as a whole, not just the place where they live but the society, the hierarchy, their lives in a very convincing way.

In this book, we see Schuyler maturing by leaps and bounds as she gets accustomed to being the half-blood vampire she was born to be. On the run from the Clave, with only her best friend Oliver by her side, Schuyler struggles to find the answers to the events that lead to the death of her grandfather, while amidst the war between the Blue Bloods and the rising threat of the Silver Bloods.

I am satisfied with how Schuyler's character has developed in this book. Along with the discovery of a lot of the secrets that were left hanging in the previous three books, Schuyler made some difficult decisions that will ultimately define her role in the Blue Bloods' world.

The complicated love web involving the Force Twins, Mimi (Azazel) and Jack (Abaddon), Schuyler, and Oliver took a surprising sharp turn with Kingsley in the picture. I love how tangled their lives and relationships are, it was one of the things I love about reading The Blue Bloods series. Melissa was able to make this very complicated web the least confusing part in the story. By the end of the book a lot of realizations and hard decisions were made. I have to say that Jack Force is one of my most favorite male leads in YA. Not only is he Abaddon, one of the two most formidable Generals of Lucifer, but his character really is Abaddon personified. Strong and steadfast despite of the trials, like his love for Schuyler.

For the first time in the whole series, my heart ached for Mimi. The cruel, cold-hearted Azazel felt more "human", and more emotional in this book. I love how Mimi helped her twin brother, Jack, without hesitation, even when she knew that Jack was there to save the girl he really loves, and Mimi knew it's not her.

The Van Alen Legacy by far is the most action filled book in the series, and it's always a delight to read books where you are left guessing what happens next and you can't wait to flip on the pages and continue on reading just so you can find out how it ends. The build-up was impressive in this book, and the suspense just keeps you going to the very end.

At first I thought that extending the story to a fourth book is quite a stretch already, but I should have know that Melissa had a few more tricks up her sleeve and put most of them out in this book. Schuyler's journey hasn't ended yet, it's just starting.

My rating

Content (plot, story flow, character):


Shining: Worthy of a Goddess' Love!

Book Cover:

Can anyone tell me who the girl is in the cover?