Book 2), Masquerade (Blue Bloods

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I thought book 1 was just ok but this one pretty much sucked me in and now I cannot wait to get the next book. It was a little predictable but the way the story was written will keep the reader hooked to the end. Mimi is really getting on my nerves though and I would not be upset to see the last of her. The biggest mystery that I cannot figure out is if Schuyler will end up with Oliver and spurn custom just like her mother or will she end up with Jack and break the bond between he and Mimi. Can't wait to find out what happens in the third book.

The sequel to Blue Bloods, Masquerade is the continuing tale of Schuyler Van Alen, a Blue Blood without a past. Blue Bloods are fallen angels transformed into vampires who are reincarnated with memories of their past lives, attempting to redeem themselves during their time on earth. In this installment, Schuyler and her best friend Oliver go to Venice to ask her grandfather for help in dealing with the Silverbloods, creatures preying on the Blue Bloods. In the meantime, a mysterious new boy with a knack for creating trouble has arrived at school. Masquerade also continues the development of the love triangle between Schuyler, Jack and Mimi Force. The Blue Bloods series is better written than the Vampire Beach books, with a stronger plot and better character development. However, Masquerade suffers from a flaw common to series books: a maddening, cliffhanger ending that prevents the book from standing on its own, and will leave readers frustrated until a sequel comes out. Recommended for public library young adult collections.

Well I certainly liked this book better than the first..it does grab you and keep you interested especially the last 100 pages I couldn't put it down.That being said I wish there was more character develpoment and less fashionista.I am wondering if anything is going to redeem Mimi she is the most awful person and I guess I like an anti-hero I can root for at least somewhat.I will finish this series off as it left you hanging so much that a person almost has to.My advice though would be to make sure you have ALL the books before you begin they are a quick read with major cliffhangers

Story of Courage:
A Book Review on Masquerade
By: Skye Aponte

Melissa De La Cruz's Masquerade about a young girl named Schuyler Van Alen, a persistent young vampire in search for her grandfather, Lawrence Van Alen, whom she believes, is the answer to her slowly dying grandmother's dreams, and will rid New York of the appending doom. Cordelia Van Alen, Schuyler's grandmother, was attacked by a silver blood, a group of vampires well known and dangerous to most blue blooded vampires living in New York like Schuyler. Schuyler takes matters into her own hands, as she heads to Venice with her human best friend Oliver in search for the one man who may be able too end it all. However, while Schuyler and Oliver are in Venice, a fierce masquerade ball is being thrown by the one and only, Mimi force, a vampire with desire for power, but it is hidden behind the masks that true danger lurks. With evil and back stabbing around every corner, and conclusions, that keep you turning pages, Masquerade is sure not to disappoint.
Melissa De La Cruz's style of writing is very unique in a sense that she is able to write the story telling the lives of two very different girls (Schuyler Van Alen and Mimi Force) in different places, and later on, able to unite them in some way, so when you look back the reader can see that their lives were somehow shared, and they were always united in some way.
Masqurade keeps you thinking outside the box, and eager for more. I would recommend this book to young adults that are curious about the mythical realm of vampires, but also enjoy the laid back feel of realistic fiction.

Thank goodness there were no fashion names dropping in this one. I think this was interesting enough. The author has so many secrets to reveal and she also adds new one along the way so it keeps you interested. However, she's making me have a very low opinion for Gabrielle. Seriously? The annoying triangle continue although it's easy to see which way it's leading to. I've always wondered why the author seems to give the same amount of face time to Bliss as Sky. Now I know, but I don't really like it...

"Masquerade" is an awesome sequel to Blue Bloods. Part of a great vampire series, it brings a new outlook on the whole idea and very interesting "connections" to the settlers in the New World. It makes the fiction feel like it could really have happened, as only great books can. If you love vampires I recommend giving this series a chance!

SPOILER ALERT: PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK!!!

Masquerade is the second installment In Melissa De La Cruz's Blue Bloods series. It continues where Blue Bloods left off, when Schuyler Van Alen's (the protagonist) grandmother was reprocessed through the vampire cycle, where she would eventually be reborn, after an interrupted attack by a Silver-Blood. The Silver Bloods are fallen angels who joined Lucifer after being cast from heaven. They completely drain vampire Blue Bloods so that they can gain all of their past memories. Being drained by a Silver-Blood means that you will not be cycled back into a new body, that you are mortally dead, and dead for good.
Schuyler Van Alen and Oliver Hazard-Perry are in Italy, searching for Schuyler's grandfather, Lawrence Van Alen. Schuyler and Oliver take a gondola ride, but Schuyler spots someone who looks exactly like her mother. She chases after her with super-vampire-speed powers, but the person is running just faster than her. She comes upon a regular house, which she thinks the person went into. Oliver catches up, and Schuyler demands to search the house. She learns from the housekeeper that someone who sounds awfully like her grandfather lives there. She sees a boy outside that she chases after at vampire speed through the streets of Venice, where Carnival (Mardi Gras) is taking place. When she catches up to him, he morphs into an old man, and she finds out that he is her grandfather, and that he has the vampire power of transfiguring himself. Schuyler tells him that Cordelia has been recycled, and that Silver-Bloods are roaming free again, killing vampires. Lawrence decides to come back to New York to try and convince the Committee (who has been denying the existence of Silver-Bloods) that the Silver-Bloods are back and deadly.
Mimi and Jack's relationship deepens when we see some of Mimi's past memories with Jack, where they are both bonded and deeply in love. But Jack can't seem to get Schuyler out of his mind, and he hides this from Mimi.
Jack and Mimi are leading the board that organizes the Four Hundred Ball, where they will be formally presented into vampire society. Mimi also decides to have a Masquerade after-party for young blue bloods, and she plans on announcing a bonding date between her and Jack soon.
Bliss thinks that she is going insane. She finds herself in strange places with no memory of ever getting there, such as the bottom of a lake, drowning. A mysterious person saves her, and she thinks that it is Dylan (even though he is still missing from when he escaped arrest). She keeps blacking out, but is increasingly convinced that Dylan is still alive. When she feeds for the first time, Bliss regrets her decision because it created a bond with the red blood (human) even though the only person Bliss like is Dylan.
Schuyler goes to the Four Hundred Ball, then later the after-party, where she is kissed by a secretive masked stranger that she thinks is Jack. Schuyler is a little confused though, because he seemed cold to her since she first mentioned Silver-Bloods. Schuyler keeps getting weaker because she has to take a human familiar so that her vampire and human blood will stop fighting for dominance, but the only human she would consider would be Oliver, and she is worried that feeding off of him will change their friendship, taking into account the fact that feeding creates a bond that cannot be broken between the vampire and host.
Kingsley, a darkly handsome blue blood, enters Duchesne. Mimi is attracted to him (even though she would never forget Jack) and Kingsley plays off of Mimi's jealousy of Schuyler to convince her to work dark magic to call up a Silver-Blood and destroy her. Instead, Mimi ends up destroying half of the vampires' library, in the process freeing a Silver-Blood and killing an important member of the Committee, Pricilla Dupont. People are starting to wonder if Mimi is a Silver-Blood.
Oh, and Charles Force battled the human court and won. Schuyler Van Alen was officially adopted by the Forces - and now she has to move in with them, her crush, Jack, and her formidable enemy, Mimi.

Although I had to have a couple of things explained to me about the history involved with this book I still enjoyed it quite a bit. The plot is very interesting and very different from what I have been reading as of late. The angels bring a new twist and I am ready to find out the final outcome. It is much better than the first book in the series and I am now convinced that the rest of the series will be great.

I think "Masquerade" was better then the first novel, but still not a ten for ten. Though this book unmasked some of my questions about the vampire history and tradition, I will still left confused and unsure at the end of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and the untraditional way de la Cruz has chosen to portray the vampire. However, I am still hoping that in the third book Cruz's focus is on the vampires and not the clothes on thier backs.

I confess to being a sucker for romance and the confusion that comes along with being in love with your best friend while still falling for the "jock." It may be a little cliche, but I can appreciate Cruz's efforts in the complicated twist of Skyes relationship with her best friend. The character development of this novel was exceptional and the climactic end of the book left me eager to read the next one.

Masquerade did not disappoint me at all. It had action, romance, suspense, and of course vampires. As the sequel to Blue Bloods, I thought Masquerade was just as excellent as the first. All throughout it left me wondering, and I couldn't put the book down. I love how the characters interact and just love reading about them. The ending was perfect and left me hanging for more. I'm excited to read the third book Revelations which I just bought in paperback.

I cannot personally judge this book but can say that my daughter loves all of thes books in this series and we have sent many of them to her at college and she has said that she loved reading them and has passed them on to her friends at college who have also said they have thoroughly enjoyed them.

Wow! Like the first book, Blue Bloods, I was instantly pulled into the story of Schuyler Van Alen (whose character I love, by the way). I love all of the characters in this series and I love everything about this series. It's fast-paced, extremely interesting, well-written, and has just the right amount of detail. This book is a must read if you read the first one, and I'm unbelievably excited for the third book, Revelations. I love how Sky's relationship with Jack is explored even more in this book, and I really enjoyed the twist at the end concerning Allegra Van Alen aka Gabrielle. I got through this book so fast because it was so good. There was never a dull moment. You will love this book!

I, for one, was thrilled when I heard there would be a sequel to "Blue Bloods." As soon as a friend of mine got it, she handed it off to me when she was done. Like her, it took me 6 hours to read cover to cover. Fast paced and just as good as the first, Melissa de la Cruz reveals enough answers to satisfy the reader's appetite (I can't count how many "Oh my God!" moments I had), but leaves just as many cliff hangers to leave you hungry for another installment. I cannot wait to read the continuation to this excellent story.

i absolutely loved this book. its a real cliffhanger, but that only made me more interested in reading the blue bloods. i have more questions than when i started and i'm hooked. i cant wait to find out what happens to mimi and jack and schuyler!

I liked this book series, except that the author would tell the story through one character, then when something exciting happens, she changed it to another character telling what was happening from their point of view. I would have to keep reading to see what happened to the first character. I did enjoy how these books explained the vampire world differently than the other vampire books I had read. It's amazing how the author came up with her story. I can't imagine having that kind of imagination!

Seriously. This series really sucks you in. You think you know people but they can really surprise you as well. I couldn't believe what happened at the end. Thank goodness the 3rd book was already out. I don't know what I'd do with myself.

Like so many of my favorite movies and books, Masquerade takes you to Italy, and to one of its best cities, Florence. Experience the city through Masquerade and travel with Schuyler on her journey to find her grandfather. Not that into Italy, not to worry, your not there for long. How could we forget about the Force Twins! There are plenty of questions answered and many raised, but I am sure that you will love this book. If you were not sure about Blue Bloods, then be sure about Masquerade, it was thrilling.

(daughter of user)
Masquerade was definitely a more solid novel than Blue Bloods, which is to be expected. It really went into more detail about some things, which was definitely good. It'd be nice to know more about Jack and Mimi's past lives. This book gave a little bit more of that, but not enough for me, anyway. While reading the book, I found myself torn between wanting Schuyler to be with Jack and wanting her to be with Oliver, while also wanting a combo of the two for myself(haha). I hope that in the next book, Oliver gets a bigger role, and that Schuyler stands up to Charles so she can talk to him again. It was ridiculous that the court let Charles adopt her. Looking forward to Revelations!