The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz (Book 4)

The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz is the fourth book in the Blue Bloods series.  The pacing of this story is much better as each chapter is told from a different setting and set of characters, increasing the tension for readers looking to uncover the grand plan of the Silver Bloods.  Schuyler and Oliver, her human conduit, have been on the run since the end of the last book, and after more than a year of running from the Venators, they have done little to uncover the truth of her family’s legacy or the plans of the Silver Bloods.  In many ways, Schuyler has taken a backseat in these books to allow Mimi to come into her full powers and true destiny as she and her fellow Venators search the globe for the Watcher, who was taken from Bliss Llewellyn family. Bliss, on the other hand, has her own set of problems as she fights to regain control over her life and uncover what her father, the senator Forsyth, has been up to behind closed doors.  Meanwhile, she realizes that even the people she has lost are carried with her always and are available to help her regain control and take appropriate action to prevent further devastation.

“Stepping into someone’s subconscious is like discovering a new planet.  Everyone’s internal world is different and unique.  Some are cluttered, stuffed with dark and kinky secrets pushed to the edge of their minds, like racy underwear and handcuffs shoved in the back of a closet.  Some are pristine and clear as a spring meadow:  all hopping bunnies and falling snowflakes.  Those are rare.”  (page 26) “Memories were moving pictures in which meaning was constantly in flux.  They were stories people told themselves.  Using the glom — the netherworld of memory and shadow, a space the vampires could access at will in order to read and control minds — was like stepping into a darkroom, into a lab where photographers developed their prints, submerging them in shallow pans of chemicals, drying them on nylon racks.”  (page 70-1)

Meanwhile, the Forces begin to realize that the bond that they share may not be as unbreakable as they have been told it is.  But beyond that, they must don their previous lives and knowledge to battle the forces of evil and save not only their Blue Bloods society, but also humanity.  De la Cruz has stepped up the detail in this novel, carefully unfolding the layers of her vampire society’s past and the political machinations that continue even amidst the ominous threat of the Silver Bloods who may have infiltrated their community. The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz renewed my faith in the series, even though little time is spent on the actual Van Alen legacy.  Cruz has further developed her characters, though the love triangles can be a little tiresome.  It is an action-packed guilty pleasure, looking for a novel to spend a few entertaining hours away from the television and the turkey. About the Author: Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat. Photo © Denise Bovee