Friday, April 2, 2010

The Van Alen Legacy - Melissa De La Cruz

With the stunning revelation surrounding Bliss's true identity comes the growing threat of the sinister Silver Bloods. Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the Blue Bloods now find themselves in an epic battle for survival. Not to worry; love is still in the air for the young 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.
Young vampires unite in this highly anticipated fourth installment of the New York Times best-selling series.

Title: The Van Alen Legacy
Genre: Young Adult, Vampires,
Publisher: Disney, Hyperion Books
My Rating: 4/5

Finally, a book well worth the wait. The storyline is engaging and flows fluidly through each chapter. This book starts off a year after the ending of the last book, and it gives the characters time to get over the fresh shock of all that had happened in the previous novel. It was fast-paced and the narrator changed every chapter so you would be switching perspectives quickly. I found that there was major growth in Mimi's character, and she's not the shallow little rich girl anymore. Sure there are times when she reverts to her previous 'lifestyle' but it is more so when she is out of her element. I loved the exploration of Bliss's character and I can't wait to find out what happens next with her. Schuyler has her own issues to deal with, her humanity at odds with her evolving vampiric nature. It definitely isn't an easy time for any of these characters, but I just enjoyed how they handled everything that has been thrown at them.
I loved the overall story that was being portrayed through this book, but found that the explanation of the "Van Alen Legacy" was too condensed. I found it wasn't explained particularly well and begs for re-reading of said passage. Otherwise, the book was excellent, and was decidedly much better than it's predecessors. All in all, a great follow up for this series.

This book counts toward the 2010 100+ Reading Challenge hosted over at J. Kaye's/Home Girl's book blog.

3 comments:

Bere said...

Wonderful review! I loved The Van Alen Legacy!
I can't wait for the next one in the series, I
feel like I have been waiting forever hehe =)

Allison said...

You just reminded me about how I never remember what happens with these books when I start the next one. I do remember that there was a lot of info and that the short chapters were felt like little teaspoons of this really big, crazy, awesome plot. Mimi just keeps getting better and better. Bliss is getting really interesting too. Gosh I think I love your blog (especially reviews!) It feels good commenting.

Corrine said...

Thanks Allison! I appreciate the comments and I'm glad you like the blog! :) (I think you just made my day lol!)

Bere, hopefully we won't be waiting too much longer eh? :)