Review: Gates of Paradise

Book Nine of the Blue Bloods series
By Melissa de la Cruz
Available now from Hyperion (Disney)
Review copy
Read my reviews of THE VAN ALEN LEGACY and WOLF PACT
Read my interview with Melissa and her guest blog

The Blue Bloods series had a strong premise and a great beginning, but it foundered for awhile.  The series always followed several narrators in each novel, but there were always some plotlines that didn't have the urgency or sizzle of the others.  Even in GATES OF PARADISE, Schuyler Van Alen goes on a side adventure that involves hanging out at a college party.  I mean, it's not like she should be worried about leading the charge against Lucifer and preventing him from invading Heaven or anything.

That being said, I think GATES OF PARADISE was a fitting end to the series and lived up to the promise of BLUE BLOODS.  It finishes answering the questions of Allegra's past (a plotline began in LOST IN TIME, Book 8) and reveals just what happened in Florence.  Mimi Force completes her redemption, and not a moment too soon.  I have longed to never read a point of view from the self-absorbed, bratty Mimi ever again, but she managed to change enough that I no longer wished an unhappy end upon her and was a little afraid that might happen.  And I do recommend that you read the serial WOLF PACT before GATES OF PARADISE because otherwise you'll have no clue what's up with Bliss or who those people with her are.

(But if you haven't read the series in awhile and are curious as to how it ends, you can probably pick up GATES OF PARADISE and figure out what happened in the mean time.  And no, not all of the books in the series are essential reading.)

The final battle does involve a touch of deus ex machina, but I can be more forgiving about that in a series that revolves around fallen angels who are vampires.  It's still an exciting scene that tugs on the heartstrings.  Melissa de la Cruz is determined to make her characters work for their happiness, which is only fitting.  Redemption is hard.

I can't help but feel that the Blue Bloods series might have worked better as an adult series.  It's come a long way from it's Gossip-Girl-with-vampires origins.  Given how many characters get married (or the metaphysical equivalent thereof) and all the past lives giving them knowledge and experience, it hardly feels like Schuyler or her compatriots are actualfax teenagers.  But I can't complain too much.  The series as is is pretty good.  Cruz's mythology is complex and involved and her plot is a delicate, crazy house of cards that somehow managed to hold together.

There are series I've been much sadder to part with.  But I'm happy these characters went out with a fitting end.  Schuyler, Jack Force, Bliss, Oliver Hazard-Perry, Kingsley Martin, Mimi . . . they're a group of teens who started out spoiled New Yorkers and ended up fighting the Biggest Bad of all.  It was quite a ride, and the highs were definitely worth it.

Review: Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel

Graphic novel adaptation of BLUE BLOODS by Melissa de la Cruz
Adapted by Robert Venditti
Art by Alina Urusov
Cover by Fiona Staples (Read my review of SAGA)
Lettering by Chris Dickey
Available now from Hyperion (Disney)
Review copy
Read my reviews of THE VAN ALEN LEGACY and WOLF PACT
Read my interview with Melissa and her guest blog

With the release of the final book in the Blue Bloods series, GATES OF PARADISE, it's nice that the graphic novel adaptation of the first book is coming out now.  I read it before GATES OF PARADISE to remind myself where Schuyler Van Alen and her friends started, eight books ago.  I think other fans of the series will also find it a pleasant refresher, although I don't know if they'll continue to read the graphic adaptations.

The story is still good.  Young prep school kids are getting murdered.  Others find out that they're actually vampires-cum-fallen-angels and the killer might be one of their ancient enemies, risen again.  It's not as smooth in comic form.  Robert Venditti chose to preserve the dialogue, but not the narration, and Alina Urusov's art can't convey everything the characters are thinking.  It makes for a brisk but shallow book.  I'd definitely forgotten how much actually happened in the first book.  It's a tad overwhelming when condensed.

The real standout in BLUE BLOODS is Urusov's art.  The characters may not be exactly as I pictured them, but each character design is distinctive and lovely.  The backgrounds are extremely impressive and I liked that the color scheme changed to suit each scene's mood.  Sometimes cover painting can feel like false advertising, but Urusov's work lives up to Fiona Staples' terrific cover.

BLUE BLOODS may appeal to comics fans, but I suspect most of the readers will be fans of the series who are eager to see a new interpretation.  BLUE BLOODS: The Graphic Novel is worth picking up for the novelty, but the original version is better.

Come back later this morning for my review of GATES OF PARADISE.

Why I Love Serialized Fiction by Melissa de la Cruz

Today's guest is Melissa de la Cruz, author of the Blue Bloods series.  Her new release is WOLF PACT, a serialized novel of which the last part comes out next week, on December 4th.  I reviewed the first part earlier today.  The action in WOLF PACT leads up to GATES OF PARADISE (Jan 15, 2013), the final book in the Blue Bloods series.  Read on to find out why Melissa decided to publish WOLF PACT as an eBook original serial.

--

I'm a huge fan of serialized fiction.  To me they're like little TV episodes for a book -- tune in next week for the next installment! I actually started my fiction career by writing serial fiction. I wrote "Cat's Meow" which became my first novel as a weekly column for a fashion website called www.hintmag.com my friends and I started. I collected them into a proposal and then Simon and Schuster bought it as my first novel. After the book was published, Gotham magazine asked if I wanted to write a weekly serial for them, so I wrote "The Fortune Hunters" for a year. I sold it as a novel to Random House but I actually got too busy and wasn't able to publish it. (Maybe I still will one day, who knows!)  

So to me, going back to serial fiction is like coming home. Wolf Pact was not originally intended to be a serial or an e-book, but as I began to write it, I knew how IMPORTANT it was to publish it before the final Blue Bloods book came out, and how much of a richer reading experience Gates of Paradise would be with the wolves' back story. We decided to go the e-book route in order to bring Wolf Pact to the fans first. I wrote the novel as a novel, and when we made this decision, I had to figure out how to restructure it so it would fit the serial format. It worked out pretty well, because I'd laid out the book in four parts anyway, and from two POVs—Lawson and Bliss. 

Wolf Pact was years in the making, but writing isn't a machine-like process, it took a long time for the story to gel and to discover how the wolves' story related to the vampires. Once you unearth it though, it always amazes me how well it fits, as if it was there all along. I always forget a writer's job is to hunt for the gem of the story in the idea. You have to keep chiseling away to find it. When you do, your work is done, and you turn it in. :)

Review: Wolf Pact: Part One

Part One of Four
Companion to the Blue Bloods series
By Melissa de la Cruz
Available now from Disney Hyperion
Review copy
Read my review of THE VAN ALEN LEGACY and my interview with Melissa

WOLF PACT is a serial novel by Melissa de la Cruz exploring the wolves of the Blue Bloods' world and their relationship to Bliss Llewellyn.  The fourth and final part comes out next week on December 4th.  I am only reviewing the first part, which may seem a touch pricey at sixty-ish pages for $1.99.  But in the end that's a whole book for $7.96, which is below market price.  Plus, I think serials are fun and I'm happy major publishers are playing around with the model.

WOLF PACT begins in Hell, where Lawson and his pack escape from their masters before they can be turned into hellhounds.  But their escape comes at a price, and they are pursued by the hounds because they can still be converted as long as they're recaptured before they turn seventeen.  Meanwhile, Bliss and her Aunt Jane search for the wolves in order to ally with them to fight the Silver Bloods.

While WOLF PACT deals with a society that's not explored in the main Blue Bloods continuity, it's not really friendly to new readers.  Since Lawson and the pack are new to Earth, they are briefly caught up on the various factions.  But de la Cruz's world is too involved to be explained so quickly.  I can't be sure since I've read the Blue Bloods novels, but I suspect WOLF PACT will appeal more to fans than newbies.

Now, the Blue Bloods series is one that I once loved, but I've been disappointed by later installments.  I think WOLF PACT gets back to what made the first books more appealing.  There's action, a sense of fate, and what seems to be the set up for a neatly woven plot.  I'm intrigued enough to read Part Two.

Come back later today for a guest blog from Melissa!

Interview with Melissa de la Cruz

Melissa de la Cruz is the author of the bestselling THE VAN ALEN LEGACY, as well as a variety of novels for adults and young adults. She's also written for a variety of magazines, including one of my favorite publications, McSweeney's. She's a bicoastal woman, living in both Los Angeles and New York. She has personal familiarity with the setting of the Blue Bloods series, as well as many of her other works. In addition to the Blue Bloods series, she's currently working on the spin-off, which will begin with WOLF PACT in Spring 2011.

--

1. How do you balance writing a large number of series (Blue Bloods, The Ashleys, The Au Pairs)? (Do you have a favorite?)

The Au Pairs and Ashleys have ended already, now I have the Blue Bloods series and am starting two new paranormal series, Wolf Pact, which is a Blue Bloods spinoff and follows Bliss's adventures as she looks for the Hounds of Hell, and The Witches of East End, which is an adult paranormal series, about a family of witches who shake up a fictional town in the Hamptons.

Blue Bloods is definitely close to my heart, since it was my first paranormal series, but I am really excited about Wolf Pact and Witches as well. They're all quite different – Wolf Pact is very action-oriented and grittier than Blue Bloods, while Witches, since it is an adult series, has more adult themes, and is a bit more droll, but also sexier. I take my time and write each book on its own, I can work on all three when they are in the beginning stage but once the book really gets going I need to concentrate and I tend to finish the one whose deadline is nearest during the end stage.



2. How did you come to write "vampire" books? Was there anything specific that led to the creation of the Blue Bloods series?

My editor for Au Pairs asked me if I wanted to try my hand at a horror/fantasy book and I came up with Blue Bloods. I had always, always wanted to write a big epic fantasy but I never thought anyone would give me the chance to write one given my fashion/chick-lit background. So I feel very grateful that Disney took a chance on me. I feel like Blue Bloods is the book I've always meant to write.

3. What kind of books did you read as a kid? What are some books you've read recently and enjoyed?

As a kid I was a voracious reader and I read everything from the classics to Sweet Valley High and Sweet Dreams. My absolute favorites were Stephen King's books especially The Dark Tower Series, and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

Now that I'm an adult I don't reach much fantasy, I like to read the kinds of books that I would never write myself – I read cooking memoirs. Anything by Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain. On the YA side I recently read Elizabeth Scott's Love You Hate You Miss You and Frank Portmann's King Dork and I loved loved loved both.



4. You've also written several books for adults. Do you approach adult literature differently from young adult?

Not really – I think Blue Bloods is really for all ages. And so are my adult books. I think the adult series will be sexier in nature and it deals with some adult themes like politics and that sort of thing, but I just write for myself. And I wanted to write a fantasy book that was like Grey Gardens mixed with Alexander McCall Smith and Julian Fellowes.

5. Your bio says you've also worked as a fashion and beauty editor. (Any tips for the winter?) How have your job experiences influenced your writing?

I feel very lucky that I was able to work in the magazine industry. It helps you develop a thick skin, and sharpens your instincts. As a former beauty editor: moisturize, moisturize, moisturize for the winter! My work covering the glittery scene gave me a lot of material to use when I was starting Blue Bloods. But I feel like the story has taken its own course, and I haven't worked at a magazine for almost a decade now, and I like exploring new worlds and new themes.

Review: Fade Out vs. The Van Alen Legacy

By Rachel Caine
Released Nov 3 by Signet
Review copy provided by publisher
Read my reviews of CARPE CORPUS and LORD OF MISRULE

The Morganville Vampires is not my favorite vampire series, but it's one that holds steady and comes up with something interesting for each book. I expected FADE OUT to be the start of a new arc. Instead, Rachel Caine only teases with what is to come. FADE OUT focuses on a standalone story in addition to snipping a few loose ends. It works very well, as newcomers can pick up FADE OUT from the store without becoming too lost.

Claire's out of sorts because Eve has been cast in A Streetcar Named Desire, and now she's hanging out with her costar Kim. It doesn't help that Kim is clearly into Shane - who admits to Claire that they had a one-night stand. Michael has a shot at fame, but he can never leave Morganville. And Myrnin is more dangerous than ever, which makes me ridiculously excited. (Apparently, I am the kind of person who thinks daffy, mostly friendly characters who ultimately look out for number one and will stab you in the back without blinking are awesome to read about. In real life I avoid people who would betray me.)

The story moves along at a nice clip, which is good since Caine doesn't have many pages to waste. (The short page count always leaves me wanting more, but it does keep the story tight.) Amelie clearly has plans for Claire, and they aren't looking like plans anyone would want to participate in. Caine has always done a good job of keeping the vampires threatening even when they ally with the humans, and she continues in that vein not only with Amelie and Myrnin, but with Michael, who the readers and characters first knew as human.

I liked the breather of a standalone story, but FADE OUT has me ready for the next arc. I hope Caine continues to write books that deliver in and of themselves while contributing to the Morganville Vampire series as a whole.



By Melissa de la Cruz
Released Oct 6 by Disney Hyperion
Review copy provided by publicist

I thought the Blue Bloods series was awesome when I first came out. It was an interesting premise (reincarnation instead of eternal life), played with Christian mythology, and centered around a pun. All bonuses in my book. But while Caine has been dazzling me with her pacing, Melissa de la Cruz is lacking.

Part of the problem is the way she divides the novel between the narrators: Schuyler, Bliss, and Mimi. Each girl gets about five pages before the book zooms off to the next narrator. As soon as I would get into one girl's voice and story, I would be reading a different segment. I got frustrated wanting to know what would happen to someone who I wasn't reading about. Eventually I started reading by skipping and reading one girl's story as a whole, then reading the next. Short chapters are usually a ploy to keep you reading, but it felt like it slowed me down.

What helped even less? I didn't find all three of the stories compelling. Most of the story movement occurs in the last third of the novel. I think the most frustrating part is when everyone goes back to school. Who wants to read about the characters going to school when we could be reading about the battle for the fate of the world?

I'm not saying THE VAN ALEN LEGACY was a complete loss. There were some big developments at the end, and hopefully they'll cause big reactions in MISGUIDED ANGEL. de la Cruz built up some momentum, and now she needs to keep that up. Especially since the series began so promisingly.

Come back tomorrow for a short interview with Melissa de la Cruz.