Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

I had heard this book compared to Twilight but aside from both books being about vampires there wasn't much I found that was similar.

Blue Bloods starts out with Schulyer Van Alen, a teenage girl at a ridiculously rich school in New York. Schulyer's father died before she was born and her mother has been in a coma since just a few weeks after she was born leaving her stately (and slightly intimidating) grandmother to raise her. Schulyer's only real friend is Oliver and they feel like the Outcasts of Duchesne High School.

As the story progresses we see many other characters from their own point of view. We see Jack & Mimi Force, twins and Blue Bloods. We get some of their previous life memories, their personalities and quirks etc. Many of the chapters start with diary entries that date back to the days of Plymouth and Roanoke Island. Little by little we learn that Schulyer and many of the other students at Duchesne are vampires, "Blue Bloods," for the way their veins pattern through their skin and the glow of their blood when the lights are out. We find out that the Blue Bloods are fallen angels trying to get back into heaven through the guidance of the two archangels that voluntarily became vampires to help them find their way back (Gabrielle & Michael). We also learn that nothing can kill the Blue Bloods, except another Blue Blood by drinking them completely dry. Those vampires that suck the blood of others are true devils and go crazy with the additional memories of the one they sucked dry. They are called Silver Bloods for the way the additional blood shows in their veins and the silver slits of their eyes.

Finally, near the end we learn that Schulyer is not one of the vampires that has been around for forever (one of the Four Hundred). Her mother (the angel Gabrielle, or Gabriel) had a child by a Red Blood, a human, and so Schulyer is a new soul. There is also a prophecy that said the child of Gabrielle would save the Blue Bloods. As of yet we don't know if she will be instrumental in saving them from the Silver Bloods or getting them back into heaven or maybe both. We do know that Schulyer is unusually gifted in that she can sometimes control the minds of humans and has a bloodhound as an angel protector.

The book is a little bit confusing because the information changes very fast sometimes. At one point Jack and Schulyer are dancing at one of the highschool formal dances and they share a memory which is confusing since as a new soul, Schulyer should not HAVE memories. Jack waves it off later as he was projecting his memory onto her but I don't think that is necessarily the case.

It was very obvious from the beginning that this book would only be the first of several since it seemed to take a long time for the action to get started. I started to get near the end of the pages with no end to the action in sight. As with many other books that are serial, I think I'm going to have to wait until I've read the second or third book to decide whether the series as a whole is worth it.

Hush by Donna Jo Napoli

Hush by Donna Jo Napoli

Hush is based off an Irish legend of a princess that was captured and made a slave and who through her silence won back much of her freedom.

Melkorka starts out as a beautiful, headstrong Irish princess that still has a lot of growing up to do. For her birthday she begs her father to take them to see the Viking town of Dublin. Her entire family pays bitterly when her brother loses a hand and her family goes to "war" over the dishonor. Melkorka and her little sister Bridgid are sent away somewhere safe only to become captured and made slaves. For the rest of the book Melkorka doesn't say a word. She takes the motto of her mother to heart, "Hush."

Bridgid eventually escapes the slave ship but we never know what has become of her. Melkorka travels through much of the world to see Russian cities, Arabic cities, Norse cities etc. Through it all she is silent which cloaks her in an air of mystery. Her captor is reluctant to give her up because she is so beautiful and because he thinks she is an enchantress of some kind. Mel is able to win some much needed food and clothing for her fellow captives through his fear and admiration of her. She does eventually get sold to a Norseman that impregnates her.

Boiled down like this it doesn't sound like a terribly good story but it actually is. Donna Jo Napoli has a way of taking the facts and weaving a life into and around them. By the end you feel much in tune with Mel and the choices she has made. It's an interesting story that does end reasonably well. It is a story that can teach girls and young women to be strong despite adverse conditions.

Kiss of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, 1) by Lara Adrian

Kiss of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, Book 1) by Lara Adrian

Okay, so I might have devolved into trashy paranormal romance novels but is that really such a bad thing?

I've obviously been on something of a vampire kick lately (blame it on Edward Cullen, I know I do) and I can't find it in myself to regret it. I've read some really intriguing (okay, that might be a stretch) novels and have sort of been working out a vampire truth theory. Well, okay not really but I have been trying to sort out the "facts" if you will of vampirism. Each author perceives them differently there aren't many straight truths that haven't been bent or twisted. I find that interesting (so sue).

In this novel the main male lead is named Lucan, a Generation One vampire that leads warriors of the Breed (a simplistic name for the good vampires, ha ha) against the Rogues who have given into their bloodlust addiction. As a Gen One vampire Lucan has the most strength and power but also the most temptation to fall into bloodlust which is where our female lead comes in.

Gabrielle Maxwell is an artist, a photographer of lonely, desolate places that somehow convey hope to the average viewer. She generally feels alone in life until she witnesses a brutal murder outside of a nightclub. When she reports the strange murder the police brush her off as crazy and even her cell phone photos won't convince them of what she saw; a man brutally torn apart and cannibalized by a group of men with fangs and feral yellow eyes. Lucan protects Gabrielle from the rougher elements of the Rogue society that are after her for her rare gift of finding vampire locations. Lucan has a hard time protecting her from himself (he just can't get enough of her for some reason), especially after learning that she bears the mark of a Breedmate (a woman with the genetic capability of bearing vampire children). By feeding from Gabrielle Lucan would be tied to her for life, a burden that he doesn't want or need in his warrior lifestyle.

Of course Gabrielle breaks through all of that in the end and they learn that it is Lucan's brother controlling the Rogues in the upcoming war (and so the saga continues). But Gabrielle and Lucan live happily ever after so to speak. All in all a likable enough story. We'll see how the next one goes.

I have a feeling this is going to be another one of those series where I look back and think, "If they'd have just talked more and had sex less this never would have happened..."

Before Midnight: a retelling of "Cinderella" by Cameron Dokey

Before Midnight: a Retelling of "Cinderella" by Cameron Dokey

This was an interesting retelling of the classic tale Cinderella by a good storyteller. I thoroughly enjoyed some of the new concepts presented like the magic that was so prevalent that it was commonplace. I liked the way the author started the book, with the knowledge that we are all made up of multiple stories with multiple beginnings narrowing down into one perfect end of a person. The author had a way of writing about her characters that was both detached and loving - a bedtime story for her children to fall asleep to.

There are some main differences from the other major written works of Cinderella and a ton of differences from the Disney Cinderella many children have grown up with. In this book Cinderella is Cendrillon (the French version of the name) but her real name is Constanze after her mother who died at her birth. Her father is a nobleman but is alive for the duration of the book and cuts himself off emotionally from his daughter blaming her for the death of his beloved wife. As he leaves his infant daughter with Old Mathilde who delivered her he also leaves a baby boy. Mathilde gets to name both children and raises them as equals. She names the young boy Raoul.

In this story Cendrillon's father does remarry and sends his unwanted wife to the same stone house where his unacknowledged daughter lives. Through her goodness and kindness Cendrillon is able to get the nobleborn stepmother and her two daughters Amelie and Anastasia to become a real family for her. There are no ugly stepsisters in this story; just ones who have a little more growing up to do. It is a very happy ending for everyone: Amelie ends up with Niccolo (a younger nobleman's son from another country), Anastasia falls in love with Raoul (who turns out to be a prince) and Cendrillon falls instantly in love with the Prince Pascal who is twin brother to Raoul.

It is a lovely story with many good lessons in it. Cendrillon admonishes her father for turning his back on love. Mathilde advises her young charges that nothing is impossible just perhaps not as you would expect it. We learn that things can change in a blink of an eye and that sometimes it may take years of wishing and hoping to get what you want. All in all this is a beautiful bedtime story.

The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter

The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld Series, 1) by Gena Showalter

I ordered this book from the library because it showed up in my Amazon.com recommended list. I'm not positive what book I read or bought or reviewed that made them think I would like this book but they did okay and I'm not sorry I read it. It just wasn't on par with what I normally like to read.

This is a paranormal romance focusing on the immortal warriors of the gods who felt slighted when the gods chose Pandora to guard the box of evil instead of one of the other warriors. Thinking to prove Pandora an incompetent woman the warriors opened the box and let the demons loose on the world. The gods punished the warriors by making each of them bear one of the demons set loose from the box. I thought that it was an interesting (and feminist) prospective to the old Pandora's box story.

The first novel follows Maddox who bears the demon Violence. Maddox carries a second curse in addition to Violence. Since he slaughtered Pandora in his first demon rage the gods cursed him to die every night at midnight in the same way that he killed her.

The other main character is a woman named Ashlyn who has heard voices for all of her life. She can hear all of the conversations that have taken place where she is from all through time. This makes her a valuable asset to the people who employ her skills seeking out the paranormal who would normally prefer to remain hidden. It is on a trip to Budapest that Ashlyn learns about the angels/demons on the hill with extraordinary powers. She intends to visit them in the hopes that one of them is able to quiet the voices that she hears constantly.

The warriors that house the demons have been living (so to speak) in Budapest for quite a long time and have become benefactors of a sort to the people. The castle on the hill houses not only Violence (Maddox) but also Death (Lucien), Wrath (Aeron), Pain (Reyes), Disease (Torin) and Promiscuity (Paris). When Ashlyn comes up on the house on the hill only Torin and Maddox are home and Torin will not touch another living creature for fear of the plague that he could spread. So Maddox goes to frighten her off while fighting off his own violent rage since the hour is so close to his death time. He sees she is being followed by four men (hunters) and slaughters them before pouncing on Ashlyn thinking that someone has sent Bait to lure him out of the safety of the castle to kill him. Ashlyn proves to be different from what he expected; she is not scared of him and even seems to cling to him. For whatever reason when Ashlyn is near Maddox the voices go away and she is so grateful that they abated that she won't leave his presence. Of course since he harbors the spirit of Violence this provides some rocky tangle-points but eventually both Maddox and the demon want her and form a truce of sorts to protect her.

While reading this book I was very much okay with the plot line -- it was an interesting plot after all. But in retrospect I just can't see how plausible it is for anyone to remain with Violence or with Violence wanting to protect someone. I also felt an enormous amount of pity for Torin (Disease) because I can't think of a way the author could give him a happily ever after. I also found it amusing that the voices of the past stopped because they were, what scared? of the demon of Violence. As far as I can tell from this first book there are 12 demons within warriors total and only three books. I'm a little sad that not all of them are going to be getting a human romance to counterbalance the inner demon. It was also not addressed how the warriors were going to live once their human counterparts got old and died. It was sort of a depressing realization.

I did order the next book and I'm hoping that at least answers some of those questions...

SweetHearts by Sara Zarr

SweetHearts by Sara Zarr

This is an excellent growing-up novel for any teen. Jenna Vaughn is a senior at a small charter school in Utah who, on the outside, has it all - friends, a boyfriend, a great body etc.

What Jenna's friends don't know is her rocky childhood or the one boy who helped ease her loneliness.

Peppered throughout the book are memories, little things that Jenna remembers about Cameron Quick and her own childhood. She remembers the day he snuck a ring and a note into her lunchbox saying that he loved her. She remembers being teased by the popular kids and being called Fattifer. She remembers the week Cameron spent at her house and how hyped on sugar he got after eating chocolate chip pancakes. She remembers the dollhouse he built for her birthday and escaping from his father. She remembers compulsively stealing food.

One day Cameron doesn't come to school and then he's just not there for a few months. When Jennifer finally gets her courage to ask the teacher says that he's moved away and the kids at school tell her he has died. Either way Cameron is gone and he didn't even say goodbye. Eight years later on Jenna's birthday Cameron shows up again to place a birthday card and a cheap plastic ring in her mailbox.

Jenna is thrilled Cameron is alive and hurt that he never contacted her before this. She's never forgotten what he meant to her but she's not sure how to incorporate him into the new life she's built for herself.

There are aspects of the book I really related to and I really felt some heart-tugs for Jenna and Cameron. The book was well-written in almost a journal style with randomly interspersed memories and completely from Jenna's point of view. The reader only knows what Jenna knows and sometimes this is helpful and sometimes it hinders the whole Cameron picture since it's based on her childhood information.

I felt the end was unfinished but even that felt right after I thought about it. Jenna's mother said she always felt there was something unfinished about Jenna and Cameron and Jenna reflects later that that unfinished something was love. The book felt unfinished because their love is unfinished and that made me feel infinitely better about the ending and not really KNOWING how the two of them end up and if it all works out.

All in all an excellent book.

Touch the Dark by Karen Chance

Touch the Dark by Karen Chance

This was a confusing book in my opinion.

Cassandra Palmer (Cassie for short) is basically a normal human with clairvoyant abilities in a world where vampires, werewolves, fairies and ghosts coexist stealthily with humans. With her psychic abilities and the fact she can see ghosts she is very much a commodity in the vampire mafia world of Tony, a 3rd level master who killed her parents to keep her talents in his control.

Cassie escapes from Tony's clutches and three years later the book starts. A wide cast of characters is introduced including Cassie's ghost symbiot Billy Joe, several historically prominent figures (Cleopatra, Rafael, Rasputin, Jack the Ripper etc. as vampires of course), a few different ruling bodies for the magical communities (Silver Circle, European Senate, Dark Fey etc.) and some that we only really learn about in passing like Cassie's parents.

The action is quick and sometimes hard to follow especially since Cassie and Company make intuitive leaps that I might not make as a mere mortal. Still the characters and how they interact with Cassie and further the plot are interesting. I enjoyed seeing the historical characters come to life (well as vampires) and the little interesting snarky comments about how they became what they did. Cleopatra got the single line about how she wasn't bitten by an asp. Rasputin got a full paragraph about how historians had been arguing about how long it took him to die and that it was hard to kill someone who was already dead. (Historical note: Rasputin was a "holy man" in Russia in the early 1900's who curried favor with the Empress Alexandra for his hypnosis healing of her hemophiliac son Alexei. Rasputin was assasinated by Russian royals who were displeased at the influence he had with the monarchy. They fed him tea and cakes that contained mass quantities of cyanide which didn't kill him immediately as it should have. So they tried clubbing him, shooting him several times and rolling his body up in a carpet and dumping it into the river. When his body was fished out several days later it was determined that he had died of pneumonia because his lungs had filled up with water.)

In the end Cassie becomes the Pythia, a job she thoroughly does not want. She is a part of but outside the jurisdiction of everyone else in the magical community and has the power to settle disputes. Among other interesting things the previous Pythia lived for over 400 years. Cassie does not necessarily look forward to all of that and still has plenty of questions to settle about her parents and the vampires that once controlled her life. I recommend reading this one and have ordered the next one.

Prince of Magic, Prince of Fire & Prince of Swords by Linda Winstead Jones

So since I last updated (some 18 days ago) I have completed:
Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore
Prince of Magic, Swords & Fire (3 books) by Linda Winstead Jones
Lucky's Woman by Linda Winstead Jones
Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
Goddess of Love by P.C. Cast
Storm Front (Harry Dresden Files, 1) by Jim Butcher
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer







I REALLY need to restrict myself so that when I finish a book I write about it.





Since I just finished the 'Prince' Trilogy by Linda Winstead Jones I guess I'll jot that down before my need to read overwhelms me yet again.


The Prince of Magic was the first in this Trilogy that for some reason is called "The Children of the Sun Trilogy." Since the three main characters of these novels are the children of the Sun Witch, the Moon Witch and the Star Witch (from the Fyne Witches Trilogy, a name that makes perfect sense...) the name doesn't quite make sense to me.

Reading these easy novels is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. There seems to be some small plot lurking somewhere and it has to do with the emergence of a demon that eats souls and has inhabited the body of Emperor Arik's son Ciro. Ariana, Sophie Fyne Varden's firstborn, is a witch who has been working in the palace at Arthes to help heal the Emperor who has been dying since his son disappeared (when he was taken by the Isen Demon).


Sian (which is not a great name in my opinion) is a wizard who has the general ability to move things and make illusions. He enters the palace bearing a prophecy from his grandfather which has to do with the firstborn of three "fine" women which the Emperor (knowing the Fyne Sisters) is immediately able to translate to "Fyne." Ariana, being one of the firstborn of the prophecy seems too delicate to be of any use in the war to come so Sian takes it upon himself (stupid, arrogant man) to teach her to strengthen her magic and combat skills.

As any good guilty pleasure goes he falls irrevocably in love with her, risks his life to save her and in the end she saves him and maybe the world as they know it since she is one of the few who can weaken the Isen Demon that threatens them. It was my least favorite of the books I think but then I had trouble finding Sian's character to be likable. Perhaps it was the odd illustration on the cover or her description of his too large nose. Maybe it was his spiky, snarly personality that seemed completely undeserved. I have no problem with a tortured hero but he didn't really have the past to justify his snarky behavior.






This second book by Linda Winstead Jones in the 'Prince Trilogy' or 'Children of the Sun Trilogy' was by far my favorite. In Prince of Fire the plot from Prince of Magic continues but is now focused on Keelia, the daugher of the Queen Mother of the Anwyn Juliet Fyne and Queen of the Anywn in her own right. As the Red Queen that was prophesied about a long time ago (in the Fyne Sisters Trilogy) Keelia is supposed to take a Caradon lover (a species that is different from her own in that on the full moon they turn into panther-like cats and not wolf-type creatures like the Anwyn) and unite their peoples. Keelia doesn't see this a likely possiblity since her people are already at peace. Even though Keelia is a psychic she just didn't see him coming. Literally.





Joryn is Caradon (naturally) and has gifts and talents of his own. Aside from the panther he can shift into at the full moon, Joryn commands fire that can open the spirtual doors between worlds (and make normal campfires I suppose). Joryn kidnaps the Anywn Red Queen and holds her prisoner for several days as he tries to determine why she would have put a curse on his people that when bitten cause them to turn into soul-less half beasts at the full moon, unable to shift fully into man or panther. Keelia is suprised by his assumption that she has cursed his people and steadfastly denies any such power. After days of watching her Joryn has to agree that she is incapable of such maliciousness even if their separate species have been unfriendly in the past.




After a time it becomes necessary to move on and face the real perpetrator of the curse on his people and Keelia is determined to help him. They strike an uneasy truce; a partnership and they have a hard time keeping their hands off of each other. After awhile Keelia tries to convince Joryn that they are mates because all the signs are there. He adamantly denies any such assumption (stupid, stubborn man).




Unknowningly Keelia has a part to play in the firstborn prophecy and must betray love for victory. She is kidnapped (again! You would think being psychic would really cut down on her odds of getting captured in plain sight) and taken to the wizard responsible for the Caradon curse. The wizard wants to take her for his wife and create with her a baby according to the will of the Isen Demon. Joryn immediately goes after her but is himself captured when Keelia reveals to the wizard his exact location and when he would be resting. When Joryn is brought to her, he can see that she is not herself and that her will has been sapped by a talisman so all the hurtful things she says to him can be dismissed as she wasn't in her right mind etc. Of course it all works out in the end for Joryn and Keelia but Ciro and the Isen Demon are not defeated yet and there is one more person left to fulfill the prophecy and put an end to the fighting.




I really loved how absolutely stubborn these two characters were. Keelia is imperious and absolutely used to getting her own way without being frail or delicate or clingy. Joryn is addicted to the freedom he thinks he has and spurns her requests at every opportunity until he can't deny what they both want. One part I found particularly amusing was when Keelia demanded sex and Joryn being completely bull-headed turned her down because of her wording of the demand which was more like an imperial decree. Lol, no one ever said these were based off of reality...



In the last novel of the 'Prince' series the Prince of Swords, Lyr Hern, son of Isadora Fyne knows full well the trouble he is getting into when he travels from his home in Trynfyn (a different country) to assist his cousins in war against the Isen Demon. He knows that he is part of the firstborn prophecy and that he must find the Crystal Dagger in order to defeat Ciro and reclaim peace for the land. He is an honourable man who has earned his position in the Circle of Bacwyr as Prince of Swords and never uses his ability to stop time without just cause.

What he didn't know was that finding the Crystal Dagger meant finding Rayne, the daughter of the wizard Fynnian who made brief appearances in the first two books as the woman that Ciro "loved" and planned to marry and impregnate. As a woman that was pure in body, heart and soul this apparently made her the perfect carrier of his child. This scared the socks off of Rayne (as it should) and so when Lyr rescued her from the prison of her own home she gladly gave him the Crystal Dagger that her mother had fashioned and made him take her to a safe location.


Lyr didn't want a complication like Rayne added to his little warrior party and was pretty much determined to leave her at the first stop they made until he discovered Ciro's plans for her and her white soul. Knowing that having a child by Ciro would be worse than death Lyr tried to convince himself to kill her outright but couldn't make himself take that dishonourable action especially as she was so innocent of any crime. Rayne did try to sully her soul with cursing (which was amusing) before deciding that a sin like lust and covetousness would do just fine. She decided that maybe if she wasn't a virgin (pure of body) that Ciro might not want her anymore. After an interestingly straightforward conversation about her own deflowering, Lyr comes to her room to fix that oversight.


This seems to unleash some of Rayne's own magic which has to do with the Earth and growing things. Before long Lyr and Rayne find out that Rayne is an Earth Goddess incarnate and has the power to manipulate vegatation, rocks and water. This proves to be a useful gift in the end. With the crystal dagger and some illusory magic Lyr is able to get close enough to defeat the Isen Demon and Ciro before anything truly dark happens. But the story is not over as Lyr still has to prove his love to Rayne and the true heir needs to be crowned Emperor.


This was my second favorite novel mostly due to Rayne. She was an interesting enough character but I still liked Lyr better. At times Rayne seemed passive and fragile - not as strong as the other female characters even though she was supposedly an Earth Goddess. It was also a bit unresolved with some of the other characters but one can assume Ms. Winstead Jones is setting herself up for another interesting trilogy.