When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires. The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society. The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries.
But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a girl from her school is found dead... drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn't know what to think. Could those vampire legends really be true? Steeped in vampire lore and set against the heady backdrop of the rich, young, and powerful in the heart of New York City, Blue Bloods will be devoured by Melissa de la Cruz's legion fans. Taken from Goodreads.
Sigh. I just . . . I know I'm not the only one who is over vampires. I feel like I don't need to explain that. But my friend gave me these cd's, knowing I was looking for something else to listen to while working, I couldn't just say NO now could I. It was free after all. So despite the big bite marks on this chick's neck that was hard to overlook, like a big red WARNING sign I blew right past, I put the cd's on my iPod and . . .
City of Bones first draft?! That was my first thought. Because it starts off with Schuyler (pronounced Skylar - I've always disliked that name so I was tainted from the get-go) who is nervously standing in line with her boy best friend (strike #2 - must all BFFs be of a different gender these days?) to get into a nightclub with fake IDs. Much like City of Bones sans the Simon witticisms. And after openly declaring my love for the Mortal Instruments series, you can imagine how thrilled I was by something that seemed like a janky spin-off. By which I mean - not thrilled at all.
To be fair though, as far as vampire stories are concerned, I thought there was some creative spin on the mythology of the undead. The connection to fallen angles, the phases of vamp evolution, the fact that there is something ancient and mysterious that is hunting them. It makes for some good storytelling.
But. But but but.
If there is anything I've learned lately, it's the importance of connecting with characters. And without relatable or sympathetic characters, it doesn't matter how interesting the story is. If you've watched all 6 seasons of LOST I'm pretty sure you're with me on this one. And I love the Losties. The Blue Bloods though? Not so much. I didn't connect with any of them. In fact I think it's safe to say that I don't care whether they all Live Happily Ever with their true loves and an endless supply of Grade A blood, or whether they all get struck by God's holy lightening bolts and are forced to do the Macarena in Hell with Lucifer till the end of time. And as much as I dislike not having resolution to a story, I just don't think I care enough about any of them to read (or listen to) the rest of the series.
Part of the problem is that I don't know what any of them want. I don't know or understand their motivations. They all seemed one-dimensional. And while there are multiple perspectives from different characters, and therefore multiple conflicts and love interests, none of said conflicts- and particularly said love interests- were believable or compelling. Jack and Schuyler lack chemistry, We Could Make An Awesome Power Duo togetherness, or any kind of emotional bonding. He's gorgeous, she is gorgeous and vulnerable, he doesn't understand why he is attracted to her, yada yada yada. Which, by the way, I find valid because I don't know what he sees in her either. She's boring and whiny, kind of like everyone else in the story. Are you having flashbacks to any other famous vampire series right now? Because I know I am.
My other problem was the narrator. She just sounded too old to be reading first perspective views from teenagers. Kind of like a grandmother. And let me tell you, picturing my grandmother reading a kissing/heavy flirting scene or something made me slightly squeamish. Speaking of - there are one or two scenes that are really innapropriate. If I had a teenage daughter I wouldn't let her read these.
Frankly, I would really only recommend this to fans of Twilight-ish books, unless you're dying for a fluffy summer read where the setting isn't limited to high school.
2.5 out of 5 stars. It just fell flat for me.
Book source: Friend (who got it from the library).
No comments:
Post a Comment