Book review- Blue Bloods, by Melissa de la Cruz
Spoilers alert!

Synopsis:

      

Within New York City’s most elite families, there lurks a secret society of celebrated Americans whose ancestors sailed on the Mayflower. They are the powerful and the wealthy—and in fact, they are not human. They are the Blue Bloods, an ancient group of vampires.
Schuyler Van Alen has never fit in at Duchesne, her prestigious New York City private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapidated mansion. Schuyler is a loner—and happy that way.
But when she turns fifteen, Schuyler’s life changes dramatically. She has a mosaic of blue veins on her arms, and craves raw meat. The death of a popular girl from Duchesne is surrounded by a mystery that haunts her. And strangest off all, Jack Force, the most popular boy in school, is showing a sudden interest in her.
Schuyler wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?
Steeped in vampire lore and set against the glittery backdrop of New York City, Blue Bloods will be devoured by fans of Melissa de la Cruz.


Book Review:

      When I started Blue Bloods, my initial reaction was, oh, here we go, another vampire book, but a chapter of the way through, I realized that this was not "just another vampire book." De la Cruz immediately introduced me into a world of wealthy, powerful, Manhattanites, who happen to be Blue Bloods. Vampires.
       Schuyler van Alen (pronounced Skylar), the heroine, immediately appealed to me, probably because of her refusal to be "normal." I loved her from the start.
       Mimi Force, a secondary character, I hated. She is bossy, entitled, and a spoiled rich brat- but the great part about that is that the author obviously wanted us to think that about her. So great job, de la Cruz!
      Mimi's sort-of bestie Bliss Llewelyn (I sincerely hope I spelt that right) is a side character in the beginning, and grows more prominent in the second half of the book. I wasn't sure how I felt about her until then, when I decided that I liked her.
     The part of this book that really hooked me was in the first couple pages, when Mimi and her human "familiar" are at the club, and she is looking at her familiar and wondering whether or not to suck his blood. That section is loaded with a lot of mysterious innuendos that made the puppy dog in me sit up and bark for more.
      From the  first page, it is obvious that there is going to be a love triangle- the girl, the hottie, and her best friend she just sort of realized was male, single, and, also, hot. The triangle seemed to me extremely forced. I mean, where have we seen THAT before, people?!
      I was not extremely pleased with that aspect of the story. 
      The threat of the Silver Bloods and the whole fallen-angels-vampire connection was well written. I enjoyed the subtle references that weren't explained until later, which, also, made me want more.
      So, in conclusion, I loved this book, even with its flaws, and recommend it for anyone 12 and up.
      4 out of 5 stars.