Bloody Valentine

Holy novella Batman! Bloody Valentine is a fantastic tie in novella to the already much loved by me Blue Bloods Series. This is one of the few series I have been reading even before I became a book blogger and my love for all things Van Alen has yet to diminish one bit.

What I freaking love about this book is the fact that we get to see so much about Allegra, so many mysteries are laid to rest as we learn more about the early life of Charles and Allegra van Alen. We even find out who Schuyler’s human dad is!

We also see Oliver make some bad decisions while trying to overcome his addiction to being bitten, and his love for Schuyler. During this time we are introduced to one of the Witches of de la Cruz’s new adult title coming soon The show more Witches of East End.

The bonding, oh my the bonding. Of course with Jack and Schuyler it couldn’t come off without some hitches but it was beautiful. I feel like a mother who’s baby is all grown up and is getting married as I read these two lovers exchange important life long vows.

I seriously cannot wait for the next book Lost in Time slated to come out in October of this year!

FTC Disclosure: I bought this book on my Nook. show less

Holy novella Batman! Bloody Valentine is a fantastic tie in novella to the already much loved by me Blue Bloods Series. This is one of the few series I have been reading even before I became a book blogger and my love for all things Van Alen has yet to diminish one bit.

What I freaking love about this book is the fact that we get to see so much about Allegra, so many mysteries are laid to rest as we learn more about the early life of Charles and Allegra van Alen. We even find out who Schuyler’s human dad is!

We also see Oliver make some bad decisions while trying to overcome his addiction to being bitten, and his love for Schuyler. During this time we are introduced to one of the Witches of de la Cruz’s new adult title coming soon The show more Witches of East End.

The bonding, oh my the bonding. Of course with Jack and Schuyler it couldn’t come off without some hitches but it was beautiful. I feel like a mother who’s baby is all grown up and is getting married as I read these two lovers exchange important life long vows.

I seriously cannot wait for the next book Lost in Time slated to come out in October of this year!

FTC Disclosure: I bought this book on my Nook. show less

Bloody Valentine is a little book full of short stories relating to romance in the Blue Bloods universe.

I meant to read this years ago, but it disappeared into the depths of my book shelf. I finally found it the other day, and I decided I might as well read it. I'm sure, somewhere, I have the remaining books of the Blue Bloods I meant to years...half a decade ago...

The short stories were cute, but I don't remember half of what happened in the Blue Bloods universe. With that being said, I wouldn't recommend reading this book outside of the series. Make sure you are reading the series so you understand everything that is happening. I did a little research on Goodreads to review what had been happening in the series so far, but it would show more make way more sense to read it within the series.

Oliver, Allegra and Schuyler's stories were adorable and sweet, and I think this is a great addition to the series. I'd like more sweet stories like this for other series as well!!

Overall, it was cute and I enjoyed it. It's definitely just some YA side stories so it's not a must read for me by any means. If you're into the Blue Bloods, this is for you. It's vampires, ooey gooey romance, excessive drama, and lots of gossip! What else can you ask for from a YA board school-esque story? It's like Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries had a baby.

Three out of five stars. show less

I thought Bloody Valentine was a lot of fun. It fills in some holes and gives extra information about Allegra and Schuyler's dad. There are three short stories, one about Oliver after Schuyler leaves him, one about Allegra and Ben, and then another about Schuyler and Jack.

All of the stories were quick reads and I liked getting insight into the characters. I thought that there was a rather large jump in between books 4 and 5 (The Van Alen Legacy and Misguided Angel), like how Oliver got over Schuyler, and how Schuyler and Jack bonded. This cleared that up, which I appreciated. I also really loved getting more insight into Allegra's and Charles's characters (and meeting Schuyler's dad!). Allegra is such an interesting character because we show more hear a lot about her, but don't get to see her. Reading about her running around and going to school was a nice change.

One thing I didn't like was how Schuyler and Jack were able to resolve the conflict in the third story. Honestly, it wasn't very believable for me, which kept this story from being really great. On the up side, however, there were a few drawings included at the end, which I thought were cool.

I would definitely recommend this book for fans of the series; like I said, it's a fast read, and it fills in some holes. Bloody Valentine is a great addition to the Blue Bloods series. show less

For reasons I don't understand, I love this series and I keep reading all the 'in between' books. This one is a collection of three short stories that take place before the most recent book, and far in the past. I liked them all and it went a long way to keep me from being annoyed with Jack and Schuyler. I also still love Oliver. I did find, though, that I don't care as much about Schuyler's mother as I could, but that was okay. I cannot wait for more in this series.

Ok, well that took about an hour to read, if that. I don't know about this series. As it goes on, I'm getting increasingly disinterested in it. The character development was very nicely done in the first few books...but now the characters fall flat on the pages. I use to really like Schuyler's character because she was independent and did her own thing. Now she's so dependent on Jack it's nauseating.

I also don't understand this whole half book between the actual book thing (the keys to the repository, bloody valentine). If Cruz just added some more details they could basically be their own books in the series. Maybe it's just me but these books feel so rushed with all the information she tries to cram into it. I would have liked to see show more the fight scene between Jack and the venators in more detail, but it just happens and bam it's done.

I also didn't like how Allegra was portrayed in this book. We don't really know much about Allegra because for almost the whole series she has been in a coma, but as Cruz writes of Allegra before the coma happened, she just seemed annoying and selfish. She treated Charles like crap when all he did was love her as was supposed to happen in their subsequent lifetimes which made me really start to dislike Allegra's character.

I feel like Cruz would be better off in making these full books instead of in-between books. This one was interesting but I had those issues with it. I guess we'll just have to see where the next blue bloods book takes me. show less

Enhanced by the cover and already grabbed by the Blue Bloods series, of course I had to have this book. I don't know if I was the only one, but I had a misconception on what this book is. Reading the description, I thought that the book was not necessarily a spin-off, but that the plot was different from the rest of the series. I knew that I wouldn't find answers to all the questions that Misguided Angel (see review HERE) left me with, but I wasn't quite expecting what I got. So, if any of you are as confused as I was, here's the deal with this novel: it is comprised of three short stories. One is told from Oliver's point of view, one from Allegra's (as a teen), and the last from Schuyler's.

Oliver

Suffering from the effects of "the show more sacred kiss", Oliver cannot get Schuyler off his mind. He especially can't seem to fathom how he practically gave her away to Jack a few months ago. Utterly consumed by his desire for the only thing he can't have, Oliver attempts to mask his emotions with whisky from The Holiday bar. On the night as he decides to do something risky and life-altering, Freya, the bar tender, is there to help him. As their relationship progresses, Oliver sees that Freya has some secrets of her own.

Allegra

Waking up in a hospital gown with a throbbing headache and only a vague recollection of what happened is never fun. But waking up next to Bendix Chase, the most popular red blood boy in school? Could be worse. This blast from the past is the story of Allegra and Bendix and ultimately, how Schuyler came to be.

Schuyler

After escaping the confines of the Countess in Misguided Angel, Schuyler thought she was free to be with Jack (for the time being anyway). But oh was she wrong. Caught again in a horrible decision, she must choose between being honest with her true love Jack and killing Oliver, or lying and risking Jack's life to save Oliver's. Schuyler's story is fast paced, heart-warming and heart-breaking, and overall intense.

I enjoyed these stories, they are a nice addition to the series. It gives the reader a chance to learn a little more about the characters and understand more of what is going on in the main series. So simply rating how much I liked the stories, I would give them a "Liked It" rating. However, the stories were extremely short which would be fine if they were clearly labeled "short stories", but they weren't. Paying $14.99 for hardly any pages is a bit ridiculous. My rating definitely reflects a bit of my disappointment. With that being said, if you can find a good deal on the book (amazon is selling it for $8.99) or borrow it from the library (or a friend), read it. It was a fun addition to the series, I just felt a bit ripped-off.

(Check out my review on my blog http://ilikethesebooks.blogspot.com/2011/01/bloody-valentine-by-melissa-de-la-cr... ) show less