Blue Bloods - written by Melissa De La Cruz - is not the story I had expected it to be. Nor is it a story worth jumping up and down over as I consider it to be a merely passable read; although the setting and overall plot is a bit interesting and the story itself somewhat entertaining, I found a few characters to be a trifle irritating and the dialogue a bit confusing. Also, although I suppose this book could be considered a piece of vampire lore literature, the primary focus is on prissy and rich teenage social life in New York, the overall tone of the book somewhat reminiscent to that of an episode of The Hills, should you have heard of the show....not one of my favorites to be honest.

Before I begin, a quick history lesson - The Pilgrims, those of The Mayflower, were blue bloods. In other words, they were vampires. I sure as heck never learned that in school!

The primary protagonist of Blue Bloods is 15-year-old Schuyler, a descendent of the Mayflower Pilgrims. Despite being dirt rich and attending a prestigious private school, Schuyler is perceived as a loner type of individual. Within the past few weeks, she has been noting some odd changes of her body - the appearance of vibrant blue veins along her arms as well as unexplainable peculiar behavior on her part, not to mention her supposed hallucinations. After a period of time, it becomes obvious what is occurring to her, although she will remain in the dark for a bit longer.

Mimi, the second primary character, is even richer, and dirtier too, being a floozy spoiled brat. Appearances mean everything to her and, although she becomes a bit shaken when one of her entourage is found dead in a drug closet drained of all her blood, she manages to maintain her witchy attitude and dashing good looks.

Finally, Bliss is the third protagonist, and she is also experiencing some strange changes within herself, the most peculiar being when she awakens monstrously hungry and downs an entire package of raw hamburger, along with a few uncooked steaks.

In a nut shell, the story follows the three protagonists - all three ladies greatly differing from one another save for their unanimous confusion and blue bloodedness - as well as a dangerous killer and blood drainer that is on the loose, the vampy higher ups remaining mum on the situation due to their denial.

Although the story revolves around the three primary individuals with much of the book fairly individualized - each girl's segment having a different tone - the individual developments and occurrences of each girl knit together as the story progresses. Blue Bloods is told from the third person perspective, save for historical (and entirely fictional) Pilgrim letters that are scattered throughout the book tying into the plot in one way or another.

The first few chapters of Blue Bloods took a bit of effort to get through; I did not feel any connection to the characters at the beginning of the book and it took a while for me to actually get pulled into the story. I also became a little irritated at the primary characters, and there was simply too much emphasis on designer knick knacks and who was wearing what. Hence, this book focuses more on New York nightlife and clothes than on vampires.

I was expecting something intriguing and compelling from Blue Bloods. However, although there are some good moments and exciting ones as well, I would not even consider usage of the word compelling as an adjective to describe the story overall. Also, there isn't much romance, but there is some sexuality.

Overall, the focus of Blue Bloods did not seem to always be on the story or the development of the characters themselves. Rather, the focus seemed to be set on social status, designer this and designer that and such. Therefore, I felt disconnected with the characters at times and did not really find them likable. It was not until nearly halfway through the book that I actually began to absorb into it and actually enjoy what was happening. Hence, the longer the story progressed, the better it got. Yet, as the beginning felt muddled, and it took a good while for me to actually get into the book, the story, and the characters, I can barely bring myself to half heartedly recommend this book.

Recommended: No