Review: Crown of Midnight by S. J. Maas

Title: Crown of Midnight

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass Series 

Past Reviews: (Book 1 Review) (Novellas Review)

Published: August 2013

Edition Read: Purchased Hardcopy

Level Recommended: Young Adult 

Overall: I enjoyed book two of this series more than the first, and I'm very intrigued to see where Maas goes with the final two books in the series. 

Summary: After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice. Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she willing to fight for?

Review: I know I wasn't too thrilled with the first book of the series (Throne of Glass), but strangely enjoyed the four e-book novellas more than the first book. I attribute this to slow pacing and the book being marketed as high fantasy, but with very little fantasy actually occurring until nearly the end of the novel.

Book two follows Celaena after becoming the kings champion. She is tasked by the king to dispatch his rivals, conspirators, and anyone else that he believes is opposing him. The opening scene of book two is, rightly, Celaena completing one of her assigned tasks to kill a conspirator. However, she is actually deceiving the king by giving her targets a choice. She can either kill them or they can disappear and never be seen again. 

Along with her ruse Celaena cannot tell anyone what she is  doing. Either to protect herself or to protect  those that she loves. When the king decides that Celaena is trustworthy he tasks her to infiltrate a group of conspirators where she is confronted by more of her past.

Maas did a good job bringing more fantasy into this series. This second installment broached many subjects in the world that Maas has created. Where did the magic in the land go? How did the king somehow stop magic from existing? How does the king continue to keep magic from reinstating itself into the world all over again. Why where Celaena's parents killed?

I truly enjoyed learning more about Maas's world and the players that built it. Throw in a blossoming love between Celaena and her captian of the guard and you have sold me on the story! Crown of Midnight continued with its slow pacing, and that did still make me wish that events moved along faster. Or, in some cases, wish it had been removed over all. 

However, I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this second installment. I can't wait for book three, Heir of Fire, to be released later on this year. While this series isn't blowing me away it is continuing to be apart of my To Be Read list. I hope to continue to see more of this world that Maas has created.  Slowly, Celaena's world and what was lost when the king destroyed magic is becoming more and more formed. I'm intrigued to know what comes next in Celaena's journey towards freedom and her seeking to find answers about her past.

Review: Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles, Book 2) Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer

Series: Lunar Chronicles, Book 2

Published: 2013

Edition Read: Hardback

Pages: 464

Level Recommended: Young Adult

Warning:  If you haven't read book one, Cinder, then don't read this review. It'll be spoiler-y for you.

Overall:After reading Cinder, late might I add, I was amazed by the sci-fi elements of the fairy tale retelling. I wasn't sure what to expect with the sequel, but I wasn't disappointed. It was a fun ride from beginning to end. 

Summary: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. 

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.  

Review: By the time I finished book two I really fell in love with Scarlet, Meyer's version of Little Red Riding Hood. Scarlet has a spunky but vulnerable nature. She knows that she wants to find her grandmother who was kidnapped from their farm, and that she's alive. Even after everyone else decides that her grandmother is lost. Most of book two appropriately follows Scarlet's quest to find her grandmother. Scarlet meets Wolf, a gruff and slightly scary man who participates in street fights, whom she both trusts and distrusts throughout the novel. After Scarlet learns more about her grandmother's whereabouts she convinces Wolf to help her find her grandmother even though he tries several times to deter her. 

Alternatively, Cinder finds her way out of jail and causes Emperor Kai plenty of stress in trying to apprehend her. Cinder tries her best to deal with the knowledge that she is Princess Selene, and understanding what that means for her and everyone else. Although you see less of Cinder in this novel, and believe me I wanted to see more of her, Scarlet is amazingly interesting and holds her own as the main character. The ups and downs of her and Wolf's relationship keeps you interested, and I even found myself rooting for Wolf and Scarlet. 

By the time I hit the end of the 464 page book I wished there was more. Meyer does a wonderful job of adding in this fairy tale with the original Cinderella retelling from book one without pulling you out of the world that was already established.  The sci-fi elements mixed with with the fairy tales is still refreshing and intriguing.  Too bad I have to wait until next year to read the third installment. 

Review: The Walking Dead (Compendiums 1 & 2)

Title: The Walking Dead Compedium 1 & 2

Author: Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn, Tony Moore

Series: Ongoing

Published: Compendium 1 2009, Compendium 2 2012 (First issue published in 2003)

Edition Read: Traditional Paperback

Level Recommended: Adult

Overall: I started watching AMC's The Walking Dead, and like most people who love zombie stories I found myself needing to read the original series. I was not, at all, disappointed.


Summary: (Compendium 1) Introducing the first eight volumes of the fan-favorite, New York Times Best Seller series collected into one massive paperback collection! Collects The Walking Dead #1-48. This is the perfect collection for any fan of the Emmy Award-winning television series on AMC: over one thousand pages chronicling the beginning of Robert Kirkman''s Eisner Award-winning continuing story of survival horror- from Rick Grimes'' waking up alone in a hospital, to him and his family seeking solace on Hershel''s farm, and the controversial introduction of Woodbury despot: The Governor. In a world ruled by the dead, we are finally forced to finally start living.


Review: It's fair to say that I love zombie movies, books, and now the tv series, The Walking Dead. (I've reviewed at least three zombie novels and a triology just on this blog. I should probably have a tag especially for it.) Around Valentine's Day I ended up buying both Walking Dead compendiums off of Amazon for half off the original price. I really, really wanted to know what happened in the original story after watching two seasons of Walking Dead on AMC. I pretty much couldn't stop reading from the moment I'd started. The Walking Dead the comic starts very much like the series. Rick gets shot just before the zombie apocalypse breaks. He wakes up in a hospital, and begins his journey into finding his family whom he hopes is still alive. The act of trying to survive leads Rick into making decisions he never thought he'd have to make with the final goal being the safety of his wife and son. Every decision Rick makes is to ensure his family's survival. 

Any Walking Dead fan has to read the original comics. The comics delve into a dark side of humanity and survival that truly had me asking if Rick's decisions were right or wrong. I asked myself how far I would go if my own husband or children were faced daily with the possibility of death not just from zombies but from other survivors.  The comics are not for children, but as an addition to zombie literature it is definitely a keeper. Zombies eventually become the background for the even scarier evil of humans fighting for what's left of the food, shelter, and ammunition. Even the "good" people eventually come to the conclusion that they have to do horrible things to survive. Some of those people become the villains of Rick's story, like the Governor. 

If you have been putting off reading the comics like I did then what are you waiting for? Go to your library, bookstore, or Amazon and pick them up! Admittedly the compendiums are pricy--Right now they are $32 on Amazon, and that is just not cheap.--but considering how many volumes you get in one book. Well, for me it was worth it. 

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Throne of Glass

Author: Sarah J. Maas (Author Site)

Series: Book 1 of 3

Published: August 2012

Edition Read: Traditional

Pages: 406

Level Recommended: Young Adult

Overall: I forget how I originally ran across Throne of Glass, but I was thrilled to read this book. I read all four novellas leading up to Throne of Glass. My only regret is that I didn't read the novellas before the novel. Celaena is a tough cookie to love, but somehow Maas really pulls it off.

Review: I just have to restate that you have to (HAVE TO) read the novellas before reading this novel. I feel that you will really understand Celaena and who she is walking into Throne of Glass. I feel like once you know what there is to know in the novellas you'll read Throne of Glass in a whole different light.  I reviewed the novellas before delving into what I thought about the novel. 

When we first met Celaena she is 18 years old, and has served a year of her nine life sentences in the salt mines of Endoiver. Most people don't survive this long in Endovier, and Celaena is given a chance to become the King of Adarlan's Champion. The Crown Prince has chosen Celaena as his champion in a competition created to chose the best candidate for the position. In a choice between the salt mines and sure death and becoming the King's Champion Celaena agrees to the competition. Celaena is sure that it will be and easy enough competition to win, and after four years of service she will be a free woman. The competition is a shining light in the darkness of her time in Endovier.

Celaena travels from Endovier to the Glass Castle where the King of Adarlan lives, and where the competition will be held. She is given a room of her own, fine food and clothes, and told that if she fails just one of the tests in the competition she will be sent back to Endovier and never given another chance at freedom again. Throughout the competition other champions, and mixture of thieves, warriors, and killers, begin to be found dead. Not just dead but mutilated, the next one worse then the last. Celaena takes it upon herself to find out just what is causing these deaths while at the same time restoring herself to health winning the competition. In the end, Celaena's arrogant and tough exterior is slowly chiseled away, and she eventually allows herself to care for others. She befriends the Princess Nehemia, and in her quest to learn the causes of such brutal deaths finds herself even more of a target in the competition. 

What I thought: I really found Celaena's arrogance to be off-putting. While I understood that Celaena had been hell and really had no reason to be sweet or kind. However, the author does not tell you why Celaena had been sent to Endovier. Or, if she did, I completely missed it. All we are told in the novel is how notorious Celaena was before being sent to Endovier, but somehow most people had no idea that Celaena was just a teenaged girl. Eventually Celaena's toughness is chipped away and you see a character you can connect with, but it takes quite a while to see it. This is is also the case in the novellas. By the end of both the novel and the novellas you really connect to Celaena and who she is. It just takes some time to get there. By the end I wanted to read more about Celanea and had already taken a side in the love triangle that had been pulled together in the novel.

Oh, my goodness, the love triangle! At first Celaena is not at looking to fall in love, and honestly why the heck should she? If you read the novellas you can see just how her last love ended. I kept reading the novel wondering just what the heck the summary meant by a love triangle between Celaena, Prince Dorian, and Captian Westfall. It takes some time, and little bit of forced mingling of feelings between Prince Dorian and Celaena, but eventually the love triangle takes place. I'm personally shipping Celaena and Captian Westfall, because no matter how I read it the relationship between Celanea and Prince Dorian seemed so forced. Captian Westfall on the other hand seemed much more authentic, and quite similar to how Maas portrayed Celaena and Sam's eventual love for each other. Chaol and Celaena gain a mutual respect for each other, and eventually fall in love. Celaena and Dorian just don't have that same relationship.

Overall the novel ended with quite a bang, and I ended up going back to the novellas to get answers about Celaena's past that weren't answered satisfyingly enough in the novel. It bothered me every time Celaena thought of Sam, Arobynn, and how much the King despised her enough to sentence her to Endovier, but there was no backstory written into the novel to understand why. Even so, I ended up loving Celaena, chosing Team Chaol, and wondering just what would happen next between Celaena and the King that hates her so much. I can't wait to read the next novel in the series, Crown of Midnight, in August of this year. 

Review: Throne of Glass Novellas by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass follows the heroine Celaena Sardothien, 18 year old assassin and main character of the series.

Bloomsbury published for e-book novellas written by Maas to be published before Throne of Glass was published in August 2012. 

I purchased these e-books with the intent to read them all before Throne of Glass was published and thus would be caught up with Celaena and her world before I delved into the novel.

I really wish I had actually accomplished this task before reading the novel. I believe it would have made the novel a much better experience for me as the novellas really told a history not really broached by the novel. 

I'll review the novel separately, but before I can do that I felt I should review the novellas first. 

Celaena Sardothien is 16-17 years old in the novellas. Her homeland was destroyed by the King of Adarlan who also outlawed magic and set about destroying and conquering as much of the world as possible. For Celaena this meant that her family and past were destroyed, and that she was picked up and raised by the King of the Assassians, Arobynn Hammel. She has been trained and raised to be the best, and she has always wanted everyone to know it. In The Assassin and the Pirate Lord Celaena has been sent to collect a debt owed by the Lord of the Pirates for Arobynn Hammel. Celaena is accompanied by Sam Cortland, and once both assassin's have arrived they realize that the debt they are here to collect involves slaves from a war torn country. This causes Celaena to start a chain of events that will eventually reverberate throughout the rest of the novellas and lead her to the beginning of the first novel, Throne of Glass. 

Up until I hit the final novella, The Assassin and the Underworld, I was a little underwhelmed with Celaena. She is very self involved, but there is reason behind it. In the world she has grown up in she has been taught to be competitive beyond measure. She has to be the best, and to be the best she must believe she is the best. However, this egotistic nature is hard to read and feel like your nose isn't being rubbed into how wonderful a character is. Throughout the second and third novellas Celaena falls in love with Sam Cortland.  When she does finally realize that she has fallen in love with Sam she allows herself the luxury of dropping her need to be the best and just enjoy her love for Sam. She would do anything for him, and their relationship is well fought for. She does all that she can to ensure that she and Sam will have a life without the Assassin's Guild and without Arobynn Hammel. By the time I finished the last novella I found myself turning digital pages as fast as I possibly could just to know what happens next. 

Now, if you ask me these novellas should have been the first novel in the Throne of Glass series. While I will review Throne of Glass the novel I just feel that Bloomsbury made a mistake in not taking these novellas and publishing them in as the first novel. Although I had planned to read these novellas before Throne of Glass I hadn't read novella four before I read Throne of Glass. All throughout the novel I kept wondering what the heck happened that landed Celaena in Endovier, what happened to her great love, and why did the king hate her so much? I felt like the novel didn't answer these questions, and you were expected to read the novellas to find out. BUT, at the same time you're told you don't HAVE to read the novellas to understand Throne of Glass. I felt that keeping these important elements to Celaena's past a secret, quite possibly because the publishers and author wanted you to buy and read the novellas, left huge holes in Throne of Glass. Okay, not gigantic holes, but enough to bother me.

I felt that reading the novellas would have greatly enhanced reading the first novel. The novellas left me with a connection to Celaena, and the love she and Sam held together. I would have walked into the first novel with a connection to her and that would have really helped me understand Throne of Glass and Celaena better. The novellas, and especially The Assassin and the Empire, left me with a real connection to Celaena, the world she lives in, and her hatred for the King of Adarlan. Sarah J. Maas's writing is great, and her world building is fairly seamless. Not surprisingly I didn't learn or understand the king's hatred for magic. Magic, although Maas stated that in the world of Throne of Glass magic does play a part and the king has set out to outlaw and destroy it completely, isn't a huge factor in the novellas. Most of the novellas are set in places and times were Celaena doesn't encounter much of it. I'd say the most magic is seen in novella two, The Assassin and the Desert. I'd really love to see how magic does pay out in the rest of the series.

Over all I enjoyed the novellas. I will definitely read the second novel in the Throne of Glass series, Crown of Midnight, that will be out in fall of 2013. However if you really want to walk into Throne of Glass with a better understanding of Celaena and the world that Sarah J. Maas has created for her it would be best to read all four novellas first. I really, really hope that Bloomsbury will publish the novellas together in one bound book so that more people can be introduced to the series in a better way. Not everyone will have read the novellas before the first novel, and not everyone will have an e-reader to do so. Plus, having the novellas in bound form on my bookshelves will really round out my collection, and help me re-visit Celaena's world whenever I want. 

Airhead by Meg Cabot

Airhead (Series) by Meg Cabot
(Goodreads) (Author Page)

Emerson Watts, 16 and female, loves playing video games, and hanging out with her best friend, Christopher, who she is also secretly in love with. Of course. During a Stark superstore opening Em is involved in a serious accident which leads her to wake up as Nikki Howard, teen supermodel. Em finds that she has to get used to being so physically desirable while at the same time hold onto her feminist ideals.

Which isn't easy. Not when you're used to being judged for your brain rather then your looks.

When Em decides to go back to school and finish her high school degree she has to balance the stresses of fulfilling Nikki Howard's contractual obligations along with homework. She also quickly realizes that she is being watched. She's not sure why, but she's willing to put a stop to it. And she's pretty sure the spy-er is the head of Stark enterprises.

Now, I'm a huge Meg Cabot fan. I think I can say that I easily enjoy about 80 % of Meg Cabot's books, both YA and Adult. Sometimes I don't like her books for whatever reason. I just don't instantly love them. Take Airhead for example. While I thought there was an really good premise of a girl whose brain is transplanted into a super model's body I felt that this book moved along rather slowly. I mean, how extremely interesting to see what it's like to be a celebrity, and even more interesting that Nikki is being spied on for some reason by, probably, Stark enterprises. Most of this first book, however, was focused on Em easing into Nikki's life with no real focusing on the most interesting part of the book. WHY is Nikki Howard being spied on? WHY isn't Em more interested in figuring out that mystery then the mystery of why her best friend, and secret love, Christopher has changed so much after her "death"?

I suppose you'd need to read book 2 (book three coming out in May 2010), but I don't think I'll be finding out any time soon. Since I'll be waiting for the paperback release of book 2, Being Nikki, in order to continue the series. Although it does sound like, from the summary, things are heating up greatly for Em Watts, now Nikki Howard. Sounds like you will find out just why Stark is spying on her, and just why Nikki's family is so absent in her life. I believe that this book is still well received by fans of Meg Cabot's books. So don't take my review as a reason not to read it. Even though I didn't love book one it certainly hasn't made me not want to read the second book.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Amazon Page-Author Page

Katsa was born with a special ability and is known as a Graceling. Others in Katsa's world have Graces that are different for each person, and each Grace is defined as a superhuman ability to do a task- swimming, fighting, archery, and mind-reading to name a few. Katsa's Grace is deadly. When she was just a child she killed a man quickly, and without truly meaning to do it. Her uncle, King Randa, decided then to allow Katsa to hone her Grace, and then tasked her with the duty to bully or kill anyone that defied his authority.

Katsa's life continues this way until she meets Prince Po who is searching for his kidnapped grandfather. Katsa befriends Po because she able to fight him, and he is able to stand up to her beatings. Their relationship quickly turns into friendship. Po gives Katsa the ability to look at her Grace, and herself in ways she could never have imagined before.

I can't really summarize this story anymore without giving away too many plot points.

Cashore is a wonderful world-builder. She has a way of creating such vivid and wonderful history and scenery that the reader will be submersed in the novel completely. Katsa, although stubbron and angry, is easily relateable as a character and main voice of this novel. Katsa is used to being defined by her ability as a bully for her uncle King. She may find ways to work outside her uncle's notice, but she still feels defined by what he asks her to do. Her world view is thoroughly challenged by Po who is Graced as well. The progression of the novel shows a great progression of Katsa not only in her life, but how she perceives herself as well.

Although there were a couple predictable story lines in Graceling none of them felt forced. Instead they progressed naturally, and comfortably. Cashore took her time to allow events and changes to happen in a way that mimicked life. In this way Cashore has shown a real ability to allow natural growth occur in her novels without losing her readers. Although I felt that this method of story telling did cause the novel to drag at times over all the effect causes the readers to really know and understand the characters. Graceling is a perfect example of a character driven story that really succeeds.

The only real problems I saw with Graceling, beyond the points where the novel dragged, was the closeness that Katsa and Fire had to each other. (For more about Fire read my review on that book.) Like Fire, Katsa refuses marriage or children although the purposes of this are not fully fleshed out. Fire refuses children or marriage because she wants her monster genes to die off with her. Katsa simply refuses marriage or children because she wants to be completely independent. She doesn't want to have to report herself to anyone but herself. Her motives for choosing a marriage-less and child-less life are completely selfish and not to keep her future children from becoming Gracelings. There are no genetic co-relations between Graced people having only Graced children. Quite the contrary, non-Graced people have Graced children. It isn't quite explained how or why Gracelings are born, but this simply strikes me as odd. One would think that eventually this selfish motivation would change, but it does not.

Like Fire, Katsa is constantly the center of attention because of her differently colored eyes, and is constantly and easily recognized. However I truly wonder how easy it would be to really notice that a person has differently colored eyes. Whenever I see someone with heterochromia it takes me a while to actually catch it. And, if Gracelings are so abundant, why would anyone really take notice of her immediately. Variations in eye color for Katsa, one green eye and one blue eye, aren't as fantastic as Po's, one gold eye and one silver eye. Yes, she is famous as her Uncle King's henchmen, but I had to wonder how people could really distinguish her so easily when all her fame was word of mouth.

Over all though Graceling is a book that deserves it's popularity. Cashore is such a talented writer and story teller I can't wait to see her third book, Bitterblue, which she is currently writing. If it is anything like Fire or Graceling I'm sure readers will be in for a treat.

Edit: Read an amendment to this review posted 01/19/10.

The Van Alen Legacy

The Van Alen Legacy: A Blue Bloods Novel

by Melissa De La Cruz

Blue Bloods was a series I came into contact with fairly recently. Around the time the third book, Revelations, came out I was browsing for Christmas presents for my friends. For one I was looking for a vampire book since Twilight was such a huge hit for her. I saw the covers of Blue Bloods and thought, hum, why not? Eventually I became a fan of the book and she, I believe, never really got into the stories. I have all four books now with The Van Alen Legacy being my most recent addition. (Copied from an earlier entry of mine. To continue reading it and learn more about the Blue Bloods series click here.) The rest of this review will spoil earlier volumes so tread carefully.

The Van Alen Legacy picks up directly where the third book, Revelations, left off. Lawrence Van Alen, Schuyler's grandfather, is dead, and the Conclave believes that Schuyler played a part in his death. They do not believe her when she says that Lawrence was killed by Leviathan. So Schuyler and her best friend Oliver do the only thing they can think of; they run. Legacy starts one year after Lawrence's death, and continues to cover, at best, a few months of time and is narrated by the three girls; Schulyer, Bliss and Mimi.

Some good things about this book:

A lot was answered. Schuyler's true feelings towards Oliver and Jack, Mimi's feelings about Jack and Schuyler, what has taken over Bliss, and what the Visitor is planning to do. The fact that it starts off almost a year after the last books gives the characters a chance to get past the utter shock that they may be feeling. I even believe that narrating with three different characters allowed De La Cruz to successfully tell the reader about events happening that still moves the story forward at a quick pace.

The way that De La Cruz (seemingly) gave the love triangle between Oliver, Jack and Schuyler a very realistic (supposed) ending. I say 'seemingly' and 'supposed' because this series is still on-going and has plenty of time for this love triangle ending to change. I know that many people are tired of love triangles, and there is only so far you can go with one before fans become bored of it. Thankfully De La Cruz has (apparently) realized this and ended it. I won't tell you which way either. You have to read it for yourself.

Somethings I didn't like: Quite simply De La Cruz's story is becoming very big. She did very will with the Van Alen Legacy and managed to continue to make the reader enjoy and become sucked into the story. I was disappointed at the explanation of what the Van Alen Legacy was. It was done so quickly and some what forced that I had to re-read the page it was explained on to get it. My first reaction was "what?" and then after re-reading the page "oh that's it?". This is one of the reasons why I didn't enjoy the fourth books as much as I did the first three. So much was tied up and so much was started that this book felt more like a filler then a real addition to a great series.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next two books slated to come out in 2010 and 2011, but I can tell you I'm pretty sure werewolves will make a debut into the Blue Bloods world by the next book. I hope De La Cruz treads carefully. If she tried to over-extend herself too much with Angels, Vampires, and now the entire Rome story by adding in werewolves she might just end up jumping the shark! I really hope she doesn't!

The Blue Bloods Series

The Van Alen Legacy: A Blue Bloods Novel

by Melissa De La Cruz

Blue Bloods was a series I came into contact with fairly recently. Around the time the third book, Revelations, came out I was browsing for Christmas presents for my friends. For one I was looking for a vampire book since Twilight was such a huge hit for her. I saw the covers of Blue Bloods and thought, hum, why not? Eventually I became a fan of the book and she, I believe, never really got into the stories. I have all four books now with The Van Alen Legacy being my most recent addition.

To be completely honest, with this series it took a bit for me to really get into it. Blue Bloods starts off with Schuyler Van Alen a loner who attends an elite school in Manhattan. She is a part of an ancient family line that helped found Manhattan, and, in effect, makes her completely wealthy. (Side note: It took me forever to realize that her name is pronounced like Skylar. The odd spelling kept throwing me off.) Although Schuylar is an outcast in her school she has more in common with the popular, beautiful crowd than just her human ancestry: they are all also blue bloods.

Now here is where it gets a bit tricky and confusing. Once the young blue bloods reach the age of fifteen they start to change. They begin to crave raw meat, have nightmares set in different times in history, and prominent blue veins begin to appear. The blue bloods act like vampires and they walk like vampires, and even De La Cruz calls them vampires. Schuyler, and the reader, soon learn that these changes are because she, and all blue bloods alike, are fallen angels living on Earth as part of their punishment for trying to overthrow heaven. But honestly can you be both a vampire and a fallen angel? It's a confusing element of the story.

The mixing of two fantasy-type elements into one hybrid monster made me almost check out of this book. Add into that the whole, to me, unnecessary fashion elements of this series. ( To De La Cruz's credit fashion is her thing. She is very much apart of the fashion world and all the famous designers that exist in it.) However, I was never someone that into fashion, and to be honest I believe fashion in teen reads is becoming overdone. When I sat down to read this book I did not expect the fashion shows, but it is one thing I can at least overlook. It's a part of the story, of the characters, so my personal preferences need to take a back seat here. Besides I'm sure there are plenty of teen girls who love fashion much more than I.

One thing I find very odd though is the love triangle between Jack Force, a very popular and handsome boy, his twin sister Mimi Force, and Schuyler....well it gets pretty hairy. They are all immortal fallen angels. They are all reborn into human bodies, and none of them are really related to one another, but it's still damn creepy when a twin brother and sister are actually ancient lovers. It's almost on the same level of creepy as Twilight's imprinting.

All of that aside I really enjoyed a lot of what Blue Bloods had to offer which was a story about a girl who falls for the popular, handsome boy and learns so much more about herself than she ever thought possible. The most interesting parts of the book are when Schuyler learns about her fallen angel heritage, and how many of the seemingly random elements of her life are all actually intertwined with what she is. The romance and mystery deepens with each new volume, and if I am this far into the series and still grabbing the hardcover De La Cruz is doing something right.

Look for my review in the near future. For now I leave you with the official book trailer for The Van Alen Legacy.

Thirst Book 1 by Christopher Pike

Reviewers Note:
Since Thirst is an omnibus I'm going to be reviewing each book on it's own. So once I finish one book I will review it and then the next.

Thirst No. 1
The Last Vampire

Alisa is a vampire, and has been for the last five thousand years. She is a killer and a lover. All Alisa wants is to be left alone. To live out her long life away from prying eyes for as long as she can. But someone has decided that they are very interested in Alisa. Someone has hired a private detective to learn about Alisa. Once this very same detective learns about Alisa's amazing wealth he decides to confront Alisa outright.

Once Alisa learns that this detective knows much about her, a little too much actually, she becomes obsessed with learning who it was that sent him after her. An obsession that introduces her to Ray, and suddenly Alisa must choose; Ray's life or her own.

I did not misremember Pike's ability to have very mature situations in his YA books. This book starts with a seemingly quiet scene that quickly escalates into a very dangerous situation for one of the books main characters. Alisa, the narrator and protagonist of this series, is a cold woman. It is the way she thinks, the way she speaks, and in the way she interacts with other characters. She has a strange intuition about everyone she meets, and has a very calm way of digesting each situation she finds herself in. Right off the bat, I loved this character. She is nothing like other vampires I have read, to this point, because she is written with a grace and maturity not all vampire characters are given. And really when you have supposedly lived hundreds to thousands years this kind of characterization should be used more often.

There are a couple of things that bothered me about this book, as much as I loved it. The book, originally published in 1994, was slightly dated. For example, Ray is amazed that Alisa knows as much as she does about computers. Even in 1994 I believe that with the age range of these characters, 17-18, Ray shouldn't be so amazed at Alisa's ability to use a computer. Also Alisa uses a zip drive (several actually) in one scene which is fairly out of date with today's technology. I understand exactly why the author or editors wouldn't have wanted to update this book since it may change the story. However, the age range it is marketed to may wonder about these small details.

Another thing that bothered me was near the ending of the book and involved Alisa devising a plan of escape. I won't go into detail since of course that would spoil some things, but if you have read the book you may remember. If not the clue I will give you is rockets. It seemed like a contrived plan at best. However Pike did very well with the ending and I have to say I was very surprised at how the book ended.

One thing I will really commend Pike on is the use of an original origin story for both this kind of vampire and how Alisa became a vampire herself. It was very clever and intriguing way of showing how a vampire is born.

I'm delving into the second book, Black Blood, now. Already the first chapter is capturing my attention. Well see how it goes. Tell next time!