The Van Alen Legacy: Blue Bloods Book 4 Review

Title: The Van Alen Legacy (Blue Bloods Book 4) 
Author: Melissa De La Cruz 
Publisher: Hyperion Book 
Publication Date: October 6, 2009 
Pages: 384 
My Edition: Hardback 
Reading Level: 9-12 
Where I got it: Library 

Summary from  
Melissa's website:
With the stunning revelation surrounding Bliss’s true identity comes the growing threat of the sinister Silver Bloods. Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the Blue Bloods now find themselves in an epic battle for survival. Not to worry; love is still in the air for the young vampires of the Upper East Side. Or is it? Schuyler has made her choice. She has forsaken Jack for Oliver, choosing human over vampire. But old loves die hard...And even coldhearted Mimi seems to suffer from the ties that bind. Young vampires unite in this highly anticipated fourth installment of the New York Times best-selling series.

Review:

The Van Alen Legacy is the fourth book of the great Blue Bloods series and is just as good as the first three. I really liked how the chapters change from either Schuyler's, Bliss's, or Mimi's point of view. It was interesting to read about their different adventures and was a pretty smart idea since it wrapped their different stories together. The only thing I didn't like about the book was at several points throughout the book, I was confused because either I didn't read carefully enough and missed something or at some point information was left out.

The characters are well-developed which make them fun to read about, and I love Schuyler and Oliver. I couldn't believe what happens to Bliss, but I wouldn't spoil anything. The Van Alen Legacy is also a little depressing because of the deaths and Silver Bloods attack in Rio from the previous book and some major traumatic events in this sequel. There are many twists, and things I did not see coming. Also, it had a lot more action and less romance.

Once I got midway through, I couldn't stop reading and found myself wanting to finish quickly to find out how it all would end. The ending was very surprising and a total cliff-hanger. I now can't wait to read the next book in the series, Misguided Angels (publication date 2010). The cover is really great, and I love how the black buildings always reflect where the story takes place. Altogether it was a great book, and a nice addition to the series.

Rating:

Contest ~ A Brief History of Montmaray ARC! CLOSED

CLOSED!
 Hey everyone! My 100 Followers contest just ended, so now for a new one : D I won A Brief History of Montmaray ARC by Michelle Cooper from Random Buzzers and for some reason I received two copies. So that means I'm giving away one copy to one of my fellow readers! Here's a description and picture of the book from Michelle's website:

I need to write down what has just happened. I need to set down the truth. If I write lies or if I write nothing at all, this journal is worthless. I must do this, in case anything happens. All right. This is what happened tonight, every single terrible thing that I can remember...

Sophie FitzOsborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray, along with her tomboy younger sister Henry, her beautiful, intellectual cousin Veronica, and Veronica's father, the completely mad King John. When Sophie receives a leather-bound journal for her sixteenth birthday, she decides to write about her day-to-day life on the island. But it is 1936 and the world is in turmoil. Does the arrival of two strangers threaten everything that Sophie holds dear? From Sophie's charming and lively observations to a nailbiting, unputdownable ending, this is a book to be treasured.
  
To enter:
Please fill out this form, and the winner will be chosen by random.org. Contest will end on January 10th and is open to U.S. addresses only. (If the whole form doesn't show up you can enter HERE instead.)

And the winners of the 100 followers contest are....

The winners of my 100 Followers contest has been picked by Random.org and the winning entries are #7 and #87! So that means Erica of the Book Cellar is the first winner, and she picked Tenth Grade Bleeds! Also, the second winner is nicoliopoli of Hiya it's Nikki who wins several bookmarks and some other goodies! Congrats and I'll be sending you guys emails shortly.  Please respond back with your addresses by Friday, or I will have to pick another winner. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Something, Maybe Review

Title: Something, Maybe 

Author: Elizabeth Scott 
Publisher: Simon Pulse 
Publication Date: March 24, 2009 
Pages: 224 
My Edition: Hardback 
Reading Level: Young Adult 
Where I got it: Library 

Summary from Elizabeth's website:
Everyone thinks their parents are embarrassing, but Hannah knows she's got them all beat. Her dad made a fortune showing pretty girls--and his "party" lifestyle--all over the Internet, and her mom, who was once one of her dad's girlfriends, is now the star of her own website. After getting the wrong kind of attention for far too long, Hannah has learned how to stay out of sight...and that's how she likes it.

Of course, being unknown isn't helping her get noticed by gorgeous, confident Josh, who Hannah knows is her soul mate. Between trying to figure out a way to get him to notice her, dealing with her parents, and wondering why she can't stop thinking about another guy, Finn, Hannah feels like she's going crazy. She's determined to make things work out the way she wants....only what she wants may not be what she needs.
Read the first two chapters!

Review:

Wow this is such a cute, romantic, quick read! I've been wanting to read Something, Maybe since it came out, because I love Elizabeth Scott's first three books. I have never been disappointed by a book she's written, and this one is probably my new favorite by her. It is a unique story line and very hard to put down. It didn't take me very long to read, but I wish it would have lasted a little longer. It is such a cute story that made me smile at the end and think I wish I was her! I kind of expected what was going to happen, but that just made me like the ending even more. I love when books make me feel for the characters, and this one did just that.

Hannah's father is kind of like a Hugh Hefner and is very distant and an attention seeker. It's sad that she has to deal with mean classmates and even neighbors because of having a show-off mom and a crappy, old father. She keeps to herself and likes being invisible because of her parents, so I was happy at the end when she finally opens up and ends up with... (I won't spoil the ending). The story is well written and very fun to read. I highly recommend reading this or any of her other books because you won't be disappointed. I can't wait to read more from Elizabeth Scott who is such a nice and amazing author!

Rating:

Contest Reminder! and Finals, SATs, & Swimming in a Week!

 Hey everyone, my 2nd contest, aka 100 followers contest, with two winners (1 of 4 books of your choice plus bookmarks winner and 1 swag pack winner) ends tomorrow night on the 8th. I'll select the winners by random.org on the 9th and post them that day too. If you haven't entered already than go here now and fill out the form : D
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I just started to study for the SATs which I'm taking on January 23rd. I was looking at my swim practice & school schedules and realized I have finals the 22nd and 25th. I didn't even think about finals when I signed up, so that week is not going to be fun at all. The High School has an early dismissal because of finals on Friday, but I have practice after school from 2 to 5 PM. Then I have Saturday morning practice 6 to 7:30 AM on SAT day. Oh and I have a swim meet the night before finals too.

Also, my coach is little crazy, and we have to have a certain amount of hours to be able to swim in a meet. I've already missed two practice because I was sick and still am sick, and I'm going to miss a couple of practice over Christmas vacation to go to my dads. The only time over xmas break we don't have three hour practices is Christmas day, New Year's day, and Sundays. We also have morning practices from 6 to 7:15 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays...we don't have morning practice when it's a day after a meet thankfully. Anyways, I'm definitely not going to Saturday practice at 6 in the morning, it's so ridiculous! I'm freaking out now over finals and SATs and have no idea where to start studying. If anyone who's taking the SATs can give me any kind of advice or tips, I would totally appreciate it. Thanks!

IMMB (16)

IMMB was started by The Story Siren. In My Mailbox is where I post the books I won, received for review, bought, or borrowed. The book titles are linked to their Amazon pages. These are the books I got this week:

FROM THE LIBRARY:  

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (Audiobook) 

Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion by L. J. Smith (Paperback) 

Invitation Only by Kate Brian (Paperback) 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Hardback) 

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder (Hardback)

RECEIVED FOR REVIEW:

The Real Real by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (Paperback from Engleman and Co.)

What great books did you get this week? (leave your links!)