Blue Bloods, Book 4: The Van Alen Legacy

So I was behind the ball in reading this book, The Van Alen Legacy, but I finally did, and I'm glad. I'll start this review by giving you a brief history about my time with this series. I bought the first novel and didn't enjoy it, but I because attached to Schuyler and her love triangle, so I

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decided to continue reading. Now done with the fourth book in the series, I believe the story has grown. I really enjoy the path it's gone and I really enjoy the story.

In the fourth installment the book takes place a year after the evens in Rio (from the third novel) and is written from three key character's points of view: Bliss, Schuyler, and Mimi. When we hear from Bliss we see her character dealing with the fact that she harbors a demon inside herself. She has to deal with that situation, and how she could try to overcome it. Schuyler had to run away with her best friend to try and save herself and attempt to save the coven from the evil Silver Bloods that are trying to overthrow the Blue Bloods, while dealing with her conflicting feelings between her best friend Oliver and her true love Jack. And lastly Mimi is on a mission to find the Watcher who disappeared, kidnapped, and then is thrown back into school while dealing with her duty to bond with Jack, of follow her heart and be with Kingsly.

I have been a critic of this series since I bought the first book a few years ago. I didn't like the writing style, and I didn't like the characters. My feelings have actually changed since that first fateful reading. I feel the author has grown as a writer, or maybe I've just grown as a reader. In any case, out of all the novels in the series, I enjoyed reading this one the most. I have a feeling it was because of the split attention, being able to know what is going on all around, rather than a solitary focus on Schuyler.

My one criticism of the story is that the reader is not always aware of the timeline because it jumps from person to person. The only way you are able to know what time has passed with when the characters explicitly state it's been such and such time since when such and such event happened. Sometimes I was confused, but for the most part I was able to make it through because the plot was compelling.

Overall this book was a great read, and by far the best in the series.

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This book takes place a year after the end of book 3.The conclave was pretty much annihilated Lawrence was killed and what’s left of the conclave believe that Schuyler killed him. So her and Oliver go on the run.

In previous book in this series I complained about all the “fashionista” stuff

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and was very happy that in this book it was not there. This book was full of action from beginning to end with each chapter told by alternating narrator’s- Schuyler, Bliss & Mimi. Schuyler on the run with Oliver, Bliss dealing with “The Visitor” inside her, and Mimi has become a Venator and is traveling with Kingsley Martin.

I really enjoyed this book and I feel it was the best in the series. It was action packed and made look forward to the rest of the series even more.I will leave it at that because telling anymore would spoil it.
I give this book 4 ½ Stars

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This is the 4th book in the Blue Bloods series and I am thoroughly disappointed that de la Cruz didn’t just wrap up the story and make this the final book. I was never particularly passionate about the previous books but they had an interesting enough plot so I have read them all, but I was

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really hoping this would be the last.

This book was bad! To the point of almost having a patronizing feel. By page 19, I was sick of the cliffhanger chapter endings. Each chapter rotated between the point-of-view of 3 people and each left me saying, dun dun dun…

The entire time I felt like I was reading Dan Brown’s version of YA. Maybe it was the fact that I had just read on her website that she thinks cliffhangers are key to a good story, but they were just so overdone. I wasn’t able to connect with the story because the chapters averaged 5 pages long so anytime I started to immerse myself in a scene the characters were switched on me. This not only switched the perspective but also the scene (often jumping continents) and the sides of good vs. evil. I read quickly in order to get to the end of the story, hoping that I could wrap it up and put it behind me once and for all. Alas, the story continues.

I also found the writing to fall flat throughout many of the chapters, which I don’t remember in her previous books. The last few chapters were the easiest to read because the story was finally coming together and the characters were all in the same room, which helped immensely when she quickly flipped between people.

I doubt I will read the next book which is saying a lot because part of my hoarding obsession means that I have to have the complete set in a series, but I just don’t think I could make it through another one.

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Schulyer has run away from the coven and doesnt stay anywhere for long. The only one she can count on is Oliver. (Her bestfriend) Schulyer is blamed for killing Lawrence (Her grandfather) in Rio but it was not her. She was the only one there so the coven asume that it was her.
Mimi has become a

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Ventor and is trying to find out about the silver bloods along with her team. Mimi`s and`s Jack`s bonding has been held back because of all the camotion going on. Will they still do it later?
Bliss has been abducted by Lucifer which she calls the Vistior. She can`t remember many things but she tries her best to get her life back. She learns about her past life and a shocking fact that she never knew and her father set her on a mission she has to do that she doesn`t want to.

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With the stunning revelation surrounding Bliss's tru identity comes the growing threat of the sinister silver bloods. Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the blu bloods now find themselves in an epic battle for survival. Not to worry; love is still in the air for the young

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vampires of the upper east side. Or is it? Schuyler has made her choice. She has forsaken Jack for Oliver, choosing human over vampire. But old loves die hard....and even coldhearted Mimi seems to suffer from the ties that bind.

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I swear this series just gets better and better as it goes on. I went from thinking book 1 was just ok to loving this one and not being able to put it down. We were totally left hanging at the end of Revelations and this book picks up almost a year after the events down in Rio. The chapter’s

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point of views rotate between Bliss, Schuyler and Mimi which at first was a little jarring but you quickly find the rhythm. There is a lot of action going on as we now know who Bliss really is and begin to see what plans her father is hatching. Schuyler and Oliver are also on the run after the Conclave accuses Schuyler of killing her grandfather. We find out a lot more information in this book about who people really are and the parts they played in the past. We also seem to get some sort of resolution in the Schuyler-Oliver-Jack love triangle. And no I will not say what happens. You should run out and buy the book to find out. The one small negative I had was on the Bliss-Mimi relationship. We don’t see them interact much yet we hear Bliss often referring to how flighty and superficial Mimi has been acting recently. Yet when we see her point of view and Mimi’s point of view I didn’t see what she was talking about. I was even surprised to find myself actually starting to like Mimi in this one. Still a wonderful book and I cannot wait for the next one!

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I don't know why I keep reading these books. The writing is only decent, the characters are decidedly two dimensional and basically I love it. The Blue Bloods books are basically a fun romp through a world of super rich vampires. And sometimes that's exactly what you need.

To be honest, I was a bit lost for about a third of the book, as I tried to remember what I'd read in previous books. Not only could I not exactly remember the details from previous books in the series, but I also mixed up the details of these vampire laws to that of other books I'd read. I think

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that the series has interesting, very "Gossip Girls" sort of appeal in its action and plot, and can see that it would be an exciting series for many readers. My one suggestion might be to pick them up as a whole, after they have all been published (or I should have revisited previous novels...but who has time for that). Overall, I found them to be entertaining, interesting in the composition of the vampire society and the relationships between characters. While there are scenes of sensuality between some vampires, I think that this is an easy series to get into, especially for teen readers.

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This book took me a while to read. Normally, I devour sequels in a day, but this took me four. I just couldn't get into it. I would have to grudgingly set aside time to read it, just because I wanted to finish it and move on. I don't know what it was about this book that made me lose interest, but

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I have a few ideas.
This book spent absolutely no time reiterating past events. This is in no way a stand-alone. So, if you want this to be your first Blue Bloods book, good luck. Even if you have read every previous book in the series (like me), you might want to re-read them prior to reading this one. I got lost a lot. There were many instance where I felt the author had just gave out a clue to a puzzle, but it went just over my head.
I am still not invested in the characters. Maybe its the multiple perspective chapters, or the third-person point of view, but I just don't feel particularly attached to the characters. I don't care who Schuyler (what a weirdly spelled name) ends up with, and I have a strong dislike of Bliss. The only character I remotely like is Mimi, and she managed to progress through out the book.
I don't know. This book was just all-right for me. By far the best part of it is the elegantly-crafted vampire lore, and just wish the author would cut out all the Gossip Girl-type nonsense. We get it. They're rich. They live fabulous lives I can't even dream of. De la Cruz should stick to the supernatural, as that is pretty strong.

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Schuyler Van Alen is a fugitive, running from the New York Conclave with her trusted conduit Oliver. They barely escaped persecution when the Conclave was about to convict Schuyler of her grandfather's murder. Their last hope is the European Conclave's protection, but at the party of the century

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something goes awry and an unexpected Angel of Destruction shows up. Schuyler is in a bigger mess than she anticipated.
I liked the multiple perspectives the book was told in, though I wish there had been more, like Jack or Oliver. This book finally tied up some loose ends, but uncovered more ends to be tied. I can't wait for her next book to come out.

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i was honestly a bit apprehensive about this fourth installment.. i read mixed reviews and was afraid that i would be disappointed with the outcome of the van alen legacy.. the only reason that i carried on with the series was because i wanted to know what would happen to Jack and Schuyler..

to be

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honest, though, i absolutely LOVED this book! the way it was put together was a bit disorienting at times (esp with the switching of the points of view: schuyler-bliss-mimi) but it did not take away anything from the storyline at all.. i dare say that de la cruz has grown much as a writer with the progression of the series and i commend her for her brilliance in this book..

the revelation and demise of kingsley martin's person here was very well put together... i really felt sorry for mimi.. the way that she has grown from a spoiled rich kid to a Blue Blood with feelings and a person who can think for herself was also nicely written.. i mean that she can finally allow herself to rise above tradition and make a change.. if you love someone ehh?

also, i hope that oliver finds himself a nice Red Blood.. maybe, Bliss? now that she is human? at least they both already know much about the Blue Bloods..

before i give away too much of the story, i'd like to say that i highly recommend this book and the whole entire series..

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So, I'd firstly like to address the fact that this is not the last book of the series. I don't know why I was led to believe that it was, but let me tell you, it is a huge disappointment to read a book and discover that the saga is still not over when you've finished. I kind of just want to see

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this series end. I stand by what I said last time, I'm in it for the plot. I do have to commend de la Cruz, as I thought her writing had definitely improved significantly in this book. But it's still a lot of "ooh, look how fancy we are" and not that much substance, and what substance it does have, it moves excruciatingly slowly. I did feel like a lot of what happened, happened too conveniently, too much like wish fulfillment for all of the characters, tied up way too nicely. I'm still sick of the fact that Jack Force...exists. I do suppose that the fact that I feel so strongly about the characters means that they are developed quite well. [And I must ask, did anyone else see the Bliss/Harry parallels? Or is it just the freak in me noticing these things? :P] The one exception to the idea of well developed characters is seen in Mimi Force. I found her storyline boring as ever. I'm left, yet again, with that nagging feeling of not having a clue what a sequel could possibly contain. The defeat of the bad guys, I suppose? There's not much room for character development then, is there? In which case, I'm hoping really hard that the plot moves along faster, or I might give up on these books just yet.

Rating: 4/5

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WOW!! who would of thought that the book would end this way!!

The fourth book in the Blue Bloods series was an excellent book. Book 5 is supposed to be titled "Misguided Angel" and will be out in the Fall of 2010. This book was an excellent addition to the series. I am liking this series more and more with every book I read in it.

The third book in the series

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really left us hanging. At the beginning of this book Schuyler and Oliver have been on the run for over a year, Mimi has joined the hunt for Jordan, and Bliss has been taken over by the Visitor and left to hide in a dark corner of her own body. Schuyler risks everything trying to contact the European Blue Bloods for support; her and Oliver can't stay on the run forever. Mimi concludes her hunt for Jordan and is struggling with whether or not she should bond with Jack. Bliss is trying to fight for the right to possess her own body as the Visitor (Morningstar) pushes her out. A number of the Blue Bloods assume their eternal angels persona's as the battle for Blue Blood survival escalates. Jack and Mimi's bonding is back on, but Mimi is finding herself curiously drawn to a traitor Silver Blood. Will they go through with the bonding? Are Schuyler and Jack really through; or will Jack change millennia of past by not bonding with Mimi? What about Oliver, is he destined to be a third wheel? The fight for survival is taken to yet a higher level as the Blue Bloods try to destroy all the Silver Bloods in their midst.

This was a great book. Action packed and fast-paced; the plot moved at a nice clip with some great twists thrown into the plot. You really love and empathize with all of the characters. I love that the plot is getting so much broader and that the whole of human civilization now rests on the Blue Bloods ability to fight both Morningstar and the Silver Bloods. This series is growing to epic proportions and I am loving all the detail and intricacy.

I have also been enjoying the past memories that come back to the characters and how their personalities change as they take on the persona of the immortal angel's soul that they represent. All in all I really don't have any complaints about this addition to the series and I am eagerly awaiting the next book! This is kind of surprising to me since I thought the first book in this series was just barely okay; the first book was all about fashion and high-living in Manhattan. Somehow though De La Cruz has taken this series to the point of actually being an epic story that matters; it is surprising to me and very satisfying. I have always liked Cruz's writing style, it is very readable but not at all dumbed down, she balances action and description well too.

So do you still get some of the high life in this book? Well, of course! Bliss attends some fashion shows and Mimi has to prepare for her bonding; so there is some high fashion and high living. I am just thrilled that Cruz was able to mix those things with some actual solid storytelling and a wonderful far-reaching plot; so creative and so entertaining. Now I have to wait a year for the next one!

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The fourth book of the Blue Blood series continue as Schuyler and Oliver hide from the Silver Boods, Mimi Force is chasing a wild goose, and Bliss is struggling with a Dark Force that is taking over her body. From New York City, they each fly all over the world from the slums of Rio to the

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coffin-like hotel rooms of Tokyo . The book gives enough background information to remind readers what has happened in the previous books, the complicated histories of the characters, and the various beings they represent. This series is a great blend of crossed lovers, and a mythology of vampires and angels. Expect more to come in this series.

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Schuyler and Oliver are on the run because the conclave believes that she is responsible for her grandfather's death. Mimi is on a mission with Kingsley to find Sophia (the watcher), Jack and Charles Force are missing, and Bliss is falling in and out of consciousness as "the visitor" takes over her

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body to do his planning. All of the characters are worried about what the silverbloods, led by Leviathan have planned. Schuyler and Oliver sneak their way into the European coven's party only to run into Jack and Charles. They attempt to escape, but something happens and Charles is lost. This leads the group back to New York. Mimi finds the body that Sophia had inhabited in human form, but they have come too late and the body is dead. Kingsley finds that Sophia left the body and the group also returns back to New York. In New York, things attempt to go back to normal. Jack and Mimi schedule their bonding ceremony. Bliss tries to fight the visitor for her body and go back to school. Schuyler's mother wakes up and she finds out about her legacy, and Oliver realizes he might lose Schuyler to Jack once again. Will Jack and Mimi get bonded? What is the visitor planning?
I always enjoy Melissa De La Cruz. I find her writing extremely easy and catchy. It is not a grand literary exemplar, but they are always fun with understandable vocabulary. I always hand these books off to my students that are reluctant readers because they are full of adventure with multiple eye-catching characters. I particularly like switching narrators and finding out what each one is thinking. I didn't find this book as exciting as her previous novels, but this one seemed to be a much faster read. The one thing that I can always say is the Blue bloods series has made me research the angels a bit more deeply than I previously had. The biblical back stories are great to know as you travel through this fictional series. I really like what De La Cruz has accomplished with these characters. I honestly can't wait for the next one.
4/5 stars

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This book confused me. Granted, I haven't read the previous three of the series in the past year, but even with a wikipedia update and other book descriptions, I still couldn't quite catch up. The character's names just keep switching, or more accurately, they have multiple names to begin with.

And

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although the history of the story is rich and interesting, making biblical and early americana references for example, the story-telling is choppy in places. It is told, like it's predecessors, in four different points of view. But unlike the first three installments, the characters are no where near each other for most of the book. While this method of storytelling can be catching, especially as a way of offering different view points of the same situations, in a novel as short as this it was distracting and unfulfilling. Some chapters were so short, they felt almost like fillers. While others ended in cliff-hangers that really weren't cliffhangers (though the author seemed to want the reader to believe so).

The ending sounded thrilling and read as such, but again, I was too confused to really be drawn in. I kept having to ask myself: just who is it we're talking about here and why are they being called so many different names?

All in all, if you're a fan of the series: read on. There's another one to come and heaven knows, if it's going to be this confusing, better not skip an installment. End note though: I wouldn't have kept reading if this had been the quality of the first book of the series.

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Of the series I believe that this one was my favorite... and I cant wait to see where the story goes from here... Im really hoping that she will follow Skylar and Jack throu to the end, and keep Bliss and Oliver's progress going too. I looked at the new book that she has out for this series and I

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feel like its not really neccessary for the progression of the story lines. Also will Mimi end up killing Jack in the end?

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I really enjoyed this book. I enjoy seeing Sky grow and her relationships develop with the other characters.I doubt that I will the series again after it comes to an end, but we will see.

The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa De La Cruz, which is the fourth installment in the Blue Bloods Series, did not disappoint at all. It far exceeded any expectations I had. I have been waiting a long to read this book, since last November to be exact when I read Revelations. And this whole time I kept

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wondering what was going to happen, I was far off. I didn't expect anything that happened in this book. It was so unique just as all the books are in this series. It's so far from any other vampire books that I am use to reading. Especially, about having a human familiar and also having past life's. Which is very interesting to read about. But, I must say the cover to this book is one of the best covers I have ever seen. I'm guessing that's Mimi? But I cannot be for sure.

I loved how short the chapters were, and how you got to know what the characters were doing in three different points of view. I loved reading about Bliss and her "visitor" that was quite different. But also, I would of loved to have at least a few chapters in Oliver's point of view. He is probably my favorite character of the series. I just feel so sorry for him all the time. I also like Sky, but sometimes I don't understand what she does (meaning the whole love thing with jack). Bliss use to be my favorite character but anymore... I'm not so sure about that. But I must say, the characters have really matured in this book a lot. And you get to see how the truly feel about one another. And when I say this, I mean Mimi the most. She really changed. I was happy for her. & even felt sorry for Mimi's out come at the end of the book. When usually I would of felt happy.

Yes, my expectations were endlessly passed. There is everything in this novel to; mystery, romance, action, suspense, lost, and grief. Again, I will recommend this series to everyone. But I do recommend reading all of the books in order, or it will get very confusing. I seriously cannot wait till the next installment in the series. Again, I will be getting it as soon as the day it comes out. This is one of my all time favorite series.

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My thoughts... In case you are new to the Blue Bloods series, this is the fourth book. I recommend you start with book one Blue Bloods, or you will be confused. That being said, I should have reread the last book before I read this because I found myself rereading to avoid confusion. Melissa build

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an elaborate world of Angels and Demons. She takes as classic tale of vampires and makes them into something more, something not of this world.

I was impressed by the amount of character development that occurred in this story. The main characters, particularly Schuyler, Bliss and Mimi are no longer kids. They are dealing with some more difficult issues like loneliness, betrayal and death. I was especially impressed with Mimi, she showed the most growth, in my opinion. I was also surprised with the book setup. As you will discover upon reading several chapters, the book rotates. One chapter to Schuyler, one to Bliss, one to Mimi. It alternates through the first book. Initially, I was a bit annoyed, but once I got used to the flow, I kind of enjoyed it. This format built quite a bit of suspense and made it harder to put the book down.

This installment explained quite a bit, but did leave the storyline open for more books. Although there wasn't a huge cliffhanger, I will be picking up the next book when it comes out! I really enjoyed reading this one.

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I really enjoyed this one. Not as much as I loved the first two, but it was still very relaxing and easy to read. I enjoyed the fact that it was split up so much into so many perspectives- it helped break the book up and made it easier to get through. Schuyler's character was very weak in this one,

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and lacked any real personality. One minute she was ''definitely staying with Oliver'' then the next minute she's ''definitely going with Jack'' and this kept switching the whole way through. I loved the other characters a lot more than I did previously. Bliss's story was captivating, and it was wonderful to get to know Mimi more- she's such an interesting character. I was very annoyed with the story surrounding Allegra, it was very flimsy and a let down, given that it's been built up during the other three books. The ending was okay, but really turned the story upside-down, so it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

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Pretty interesting. Should have been more in depth.

Mini Review: This was my least favorite of the series so far. Some of it was fabulous, like the ending and some of it was just so uneven - sort of like my writing. I found that the story jumped around way too much and there was way too plots going on at the the same time. The character development

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was uneven. I did like the fleshing out of Mimi's character, she is still a total bitch, but at least she is more interesting and realistic one. Schuyler has become a total wuss and I was extremely bored and frustrated with the chapters from her point of view. I also went from wanting to hug Bliss and slap her upside the head. I enjoy the back history of the Blue Bloods which is why I will keep reading the series, but I am not as excited about reading the next book in the series as I was with the first three. And seriously now there are going to be Werewolves too -- please do not go all Twilight on me. These books will probably appeal more to the intended audience instead of old Mom's like me.

3 Dewey's

I borrowed this from Keira

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