Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Sep 07, 2009 Cindi Kelley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-read

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May 16, 2010 Marla rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series, zz-2013, abandoned-series, romance, serial-killers, challenged, zz-team-2013-challenge-wild-blue-d, buddy, young-adult, mystery

Imagine the Gossip Girls attending the Vampire Academy and being hunted by a serial killer. Characters were a little stereotypical and not well-developed or likeable, and romance was too bi-polar, but I will read the next one and see if it gets better.

Abandoned series:
After 2 books. I read the 2nd book and it was okay, but since it's been 5 years and I don't feel like continuing this series, I am going to abandon this series.

Likes:
* Vampires came over on the Mayflower
* Something is hunting the v ...more

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Jan 08, 2011 Logan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-library, own-from-trade, paranormal, young-adult

First impressions: I'm generally a fan of the alternating time perspective, and it worked really well here. Letters from a woman who came to America on the Mayflower are interspersed throughout the book, giving us clues about the mystery as the story progresses. Loved it! It felt spooky and different and gave the book a touch of old world classiness that mirrored the high society lives of the present time.

Lasting impressions: I thought the book was a giant success and am really glad I decided to First impressions: I'm generally a fan of the alternating time perspective, and it worked really well here. Letters from a woman who came to America on the Mayflower are interspersed throughout the book, giving us clues about the mystery as the story progresses. Loved it! It felt spooky and different and gave the book a touch of old world classiness that mirrored the high society lives of the present time.

Lasting impressions: I thought the book was a giant success and am really glad I decided to try out this series. It was a great cross of paranormal with a contemporary feel. I must say, this whole boarding school theme is growing on me.

Conflicting impressions: I figured out the mystery just a little too easily, and this coming from a girl who NEVER figures out the mystery.

Overall impressions: I breezed through this book in just a day or two, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Prissy, preppy New York girls are not usually my go-to characters, but here I felt they were all fleshed out well, with real personalities that didn't seem ultra thin. I especially liked Schuyler Van Alen (and what a name!), who both fit in, yet didn't. She marches to her own beat, yet can hang at a fashion shoot no problem. Sure, I'll model these designer jeans for you. Sure, I can get us into this club. Yet just when you thought she'd veer off into Mary Sue territory, she'd bring it right back to reality.

The world and setup here is quite interesting. Vampires are some of the most powerful members of New York society, called Blue Bloods because, well, they have blue blood. As teenagers, when they start to turn (because it's hereditary...kind of...but really reincarnative...sort of?) they are at their most vulnerable, and this knowledge is being exploited by something out there killing off the vamp kids, one by one. The narrative follows a handful of these young kids, some are vampires, some aren't, as they sort through these events.

The story builds nicely, and as the kids stumble through discovery after discovery, they eventually start to piece together what's happening. The book does at times feel like one big, long prelude to a larger story arc that will build in subsequent novels, but as a stand alone it is also completely satisfying. I loved de la Cruz's incorporation of the Mayflower history into the story, and I hope that we get to learn more about the vampire culture and how it is exactly that they regenerate. This is a quick, fun read, especially for fans of the vampire genre. ...more

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