Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel by Melissa de la Cruz

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Hyperion

Pages: 112pgs

The Story

For this elite group of teenagers, New York is all about parties, fashion . . . AND BLOOD.

Schuyler Van Alen is a loner, and happy that way. But when she turns fifteen, her life dramatically changes. A mosaic of blue veins appears on her arms, and she begins to have memories of another time and place. When a classmate is found dead at a night club, the mystery deepens. Most surprising of all, Jack Force, the hottest boy in school, starts showing a sudden interest in her.

Schuyler wants answers, but is she prepared to learn the truth . . . especially when she discovers her part in it?

The sexy and secretive world of the Blue Bloods comes to life in this stunning graphic novel adaptation of Book One in Melissa de la Cruz's internationally best-selling series.

The Review

With the final book in the Blue Bloods series, Gates of Paradise, being released earlier this year, it's just really nice to have to have a graphic novel adaptation to bring back the love I have for this series and have me looking forward to yet another great addition to Melissa de la Cruz's much beloved vampire world. So when it comes to this new graphic novel it sure doesn't disappoint its readers and certainly NOT me because this new graphic novel reminded me of all the good times I had with this series and where this love of mine had all started from . . . it was really a great treat indeed especially for a super fan like me!

While some sections of the first book - which this graphic novel is adapted from - were cut out for obvious reasons as a graphic novel can't fit in every single scene, but I still enjoyed this graphic novel on a whole. Not only was the original character dialogue (well most of it) kept for this graphic novel rather than the narration part, but it also contained much of the original storyline too, featuring some really memorable scenes and some of my favourite characters too, which was great . . . even for a graphic novel of a much smaller form.

But what I loved most of all and where all of my high praises go straight towards is the artwork alone. Even with characters having similarities to Bratz dolls but I didn't care . . . it was beautifully drawn regardless and so were the backgrounds and the character emotions. Beautiful. Crazy beautiful. Now for some readers of the original series, the characters may not be the ones inside of your head (we can all argue here because we all see our characters differently), but for me most of the characters - especially the main ones - were EXACTLY how I imagined them as weird as it is, so I was very pleased on that part. So yay for that!

Overall, this was a fantastic graphic novel and really lived up to my high expectations. While I loved this book but I firmly believe this graphic novel will only appeal to those fans and readers of the Blue Bloods series or perhaps, if you're looking for something really beautiful, new and interesting to read, may help push new readers to start reading this wonderful vampire series!

The Rating

5/5 stars

Gates of Paradise by Melissa de la Cruz

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: ATOM

Pages: 368pgs

The Story

Schuyler Van Alen is running out of time. The Dark Prince of Hell is storming the Gates of Paradise, intent on winning the heavenly throne for good. This time he has his greatest angels by his side, Abbadon and Azrael, or as they are known in this world, Jack and Mimi Force.

Will Bliss and the wolves she has recruited to join her win the battle for the vampires? Is Schuyler prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice?

Love and vengeance, duty and and loyalty, life and death, are all at odds in the gripping, heartbreaking finale of the Blue Bloods series.

The Review

A big thanks to Hachette Australia for sending me a review copy of this book!

I've been with the Blue Bloods series right from the very beginning and it's been quite the ride for me and for many other readers too . . . I'm sure of it. So as we finally arrive to the point of the seventh and final installment  of the series, I have to say, while it's sad to say goodbye to some of my favourite characters, Melissa de la Cruz sure doesn't disappoint her readers as this book clearly outshines like no other within this very popular vampire YA series!

For whatever reason I found GATES OF PARADISE to be an absolute breath of fresh air and containing a somewhat different feel to it compared to what I have previously experienced from the other six books in the Blue Bloods series. If I had to guess and put my finger on it, I think this 'different feel' had a lot to do with the characters this time round and how advanced they are now in this final book - all matured-like, knowing who they are as individuals and how well prepared they are for this final fight of their lives, you know? But not only that, I also found the storyline to be very intricate and equally as engaging as the rest of the books in the series, so I think Melissa de la Cruz has clearly outdone herself to say the least with this book and boy did I love it! And now this series is all over . . . le sigh.

As I mentioned before with the characters, the one character that never disappointed me was Schuyler, our main leading heroine of this vampire tale. Having been through so much already with her past loves and friendships, Schuyler has finally come into her own and has become stronger unlike any other character in this series. Personally Schuyler was always such an unique character for me and one I think dearly of, so I'm really glad to have read her story and see it come to a very satisfying conclusion. Whether it's a good or bad one for some characters, as long as Schuyler and her love interest Jack (who I could go on and on about) are fine . . . on a whole I was fairly happy with this final book. Ecstatic even.

Overall, despite the ups and downs of the series and in this book (trust me there are a lot of complications for the characters in this one), GATES OF PARADISE was such an awesome book and one that was a very perfect and satisfying final installment of a YA series, so thank you very much to Melissa de la Cruz! I can't wait to read more books from you in the future!

The Rating

5/5 stars

Wolf Pact by Melissa de la Cruz

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: ATOM

Pages: 304pgs

The Story

Lawson and his brother escaped from the underworld and now lead desperate, dangerous lives. They're pursued by the Hounds of Hell from one town to the next, never calling any place home. But when the hounds finally catch up with them and capture the girl Lawson loves, the hunters become the hunted. Lawson will stop at nothing to track down the hounds, even if the chances of saving Tala are slim . . .

The only hope he has lies in Bliss Llewellyn. Bliss, too, has lost someone to the beasts and will do anything to get them back - even if it means joining forces with the insolent, dangerously good-looking boy with a wolf's soul.

The Review

A big thanks to Hachette for sending me a review copy of this book!

WOLF PACT is the first installment in this new YA werewolf series and is a crossover with another Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods series. In the darkness of the Underworld, all werewolves are destined to become hounds of Hell on the 18th moon, however for Lawson and his other pack mates, they soon decide to escape their suppose 'fate' before it's all too late which then leads them into all sorts of trouble. So while escaping to the earth's surface these pack of wolves try to evade the hounds as much as they can but when Lawson begins falls in love . . . everything is hanging in the balance and life or death must be determined in the end.

At first I did feel nervous about reading this book, not because I don't have enough trust in the author (really I adore Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods series and it's one of the best vampire series out there), but it had more to do with the events of this actual book - the length of it and its characters. With so many things happening in this particular book, there is quite a lot to take in and if you haven't already read the Blue Bloods series then you will probably not understand this tale too much even if it could stand on its own, so I do highly recommend reading the Blue Bloods series that this series is also based on. In saying that, another thing was the characters. They were 'good' in some way but I still wasn't immersed nor moved by their presence. Whether this had something to do with the length of the book or the fact that the story was a bit confusing . . . I really don't know . . . I just hope the sequel will bring something back for me to savor . . . something fiery and interesting.

Overall, even though WOLF PACT didn't impress me (not like I hoped it would), but for such a short read and for a new young adult series, Melissa de la Cruz still manages to get the story moving along and enables her readers to get to know each one of the characters as much as possible.

The Rating

2 1/2 / 5 stars

Lost in Time by Melissa de la Cruz

Release Date: 6th October, 2011

Publisher: ATOM

Pages: 336pgs

The Story

After their beautiful yet brief bonding ceremony in Italy, Schuyler Van Alen and Jack Force are forced to separate. To fulfill the Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler travels to Alexandria to search for Catherine of Siena and the Gate of Promise. But Schuyler quickly discovers that everything she believed about the Gate is wrong. Meanwhile, Jack makes the difficult decision to return to New York to face his twin and former bondmate, Mimi. But instead of a bitter reunion, he is faced with a choice for which there is no good option.

Mimi, with a most unexpected travel companion in Oliver Hazard-Perry, jets off to Egypt, too, to search for Kingsley Martin, her long lost love. With all roads leading to Hell, Mimi learns that not all love stories have happy endings. But she'll have to put her own feelings aside if she's going to save her crumbling Coven.

Packed with heartache, twists, and vampiric folklore, Lost in Time is sure to satisfy hungry fans' cravings for more Blue Bloods adventure.

The Review

Being a long-time fan of Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods series, I knew for a fact that I was going to enjoy every book she writes up but I can see where the fans concerns come from. This is the sixth book in the YA series and much like the House of Night, the series seems to not end. But unlike the House of Night series I'm forever faithful to these books because the stories are not ridiculous and it's everything you want in a book - full of romance, suspense, heart-pounding action, and full-on high emotions. And Cruz does in yet again.

In the first chapter, LOST IN TIME dives straight into the newlywed romance between the two main characters Schuyler Van Alen and Jack Force. Whom I love to death. So for those who haven't read the series, that was just a small spoiler there. So yeah, they end up getting together and are now married in a vampire bonded way. So fans will be pleased by scenes of theirs and trust me . . . it won't disappoint. But the new wedding bliss ends nearly too soon when things get super crazy but in a crazy-good way and not to mention really complicated, but like I say to all my blog readers, I won't spoil anymore than that.

Now after the first chapter, the story is spilt between three narrators which are Schuyler Van Alen, Mimi Force and Allegra Van Alen, with each character earning their equal time of the spotlight to tell their stories. The first of the three different tales is of Jack and Schuyler's journey to Egypt, attempting to discover a solution to the blood trial and Schuyler's 'destiny'. With Jack, he's doing his own thing while Schuyler is trying to find the gates of Hell - yes this is true - and its gatekeeper, Catherine of Siena. Meanwhile there's Jack's sister, Mimi Force, whom returns to New York and she sets off towards danger which leaves her Coven entirely unprotected. And there's of course the story of Allegra Van Alen - a story that I won't spoil any further for you. Some readers might not like this book because of the different narrators as it confuses the reader. But not in this case, which is why I'm still a fan of the Blue Bloods series.

With Melissa de la Cruz's writing being both beautiful and almost poetic, the story of LOST IN TIME moves in unexpected directions and readers will be soon be swept back up into the lives of all the characters that we love and miss. And adore. Like all the books in the series, readers will have no trouble in reading this book very quickly and if you haven't already caught up into the cult coven of this series . . . I really, really recommend you start joining now. With the way things ended, I have no doubt in my mind that the next book and the final epic conclusion of the series, will lead to the ultimate showdown between the Blue Bloods and the Silver Bloods, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book because I'm left wanting and lusting for more!

The Rating

4 1/2 / 5 stars