The Van Alen Legacy

The Van Alen Legacy


By: Melissa De La Cruz
Reviewed by: gothiclolitamaiden, 16
Rating: It was alright...


“Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the Blue Bloods--an ancient group of vampires--now find themselves in an epic battle for survival following the stunning revelation of a young socialite's true identity and the growing threat of the sinister Silver Bloods.”

Let’s start with the positive. The Van Alen Legacy was probably the most exciting book in the series thus far, fast-paced and intriguing, and there was some (key word: some) character development. Melissa De La Cruz’s writing has improved since the first book, in my opinion, and fashion geeks will love her descriptions of the characters’ various outfits. Her sense of humor is mostly absent in this book, but this is not a total loss since the tone of the book is very serious in comparison to the rest in the series so far.

Now that I’ve stated the positive, I’ve got to talk about the negative. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m starting to get really confused. There is so much betrayal and scheming going on in this series, and it’s interesting, but I can barely keep track of it all. I’ve seriously considered going back and reading all of the books to try to make sense of the plot (which is steadily growing more garbled by the chapter), but I’ve got way too much on my To-Read list right now. There are so many characters, some of whom are double agents, and it is starting to bamboozle me. Added to all of this double-crossing is all the romantic entanglement, and don’t get me started on that.

The characters, though there has been a bit of development in this book, are still rather one-dimensional. We do see Mimi’s other side (won’t spoil too much), but everyone else is kind of boring. And the fact that all of the young protagonists are beautiful, rich, athletic AND smart is beginning to bug me.

The whole vampires-are-fallen-angels-who-are-constantly-reincarnated thing is beginning to be a bit ridiculous as well. I don’t mind authors messing with history a bit, and mythological references are great, but this is getting just a bit hard to believe (even for a fantasy/romance/vampire novel). I mean, wouldn’t someone eventually realize that half of the world’s leading politicians, businessmen and socialites were vampires?

Maybe I’m just nitpicking way too much, but this series is certainly not the pinnacle of vampire fiction. It stands out in a sea of cruddy Twilight ripoffs because of its original (relatively, even though the word “vampire” is thoroughly unoriginal these days) premise and its little quirks, but more thought-provoking fare can be found. It’s a weak little light in the darkness of the dying modern vampire genre, but a stronger light is needed to salvage the genre’s reputation. Come on, Anne Rice! Save us all from impending doom!


Recommended to: 14+ Mostly girls, but guys can enjoy it too, anyone who likes stories about vampires or glamorous people.