Review: Vampires of Manhattan by Melissa De La Cruz

[Royal Bibliophile]

Title: Vampires of Manhattan
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Series: The New Blue Bloods Coven
Pages: 240 pages

I've been a long-time fan of the Blue Bloods series and I love the concept of The New Blue Bloods Coven.

I have always enjoyed the opulent, luxurious world of the Blue Bloods, and the fact that their entire existence is kept secret from humans just makes them all the more alluring. I liked that this series is more adult than the Blue Bloods series, which is fitting since the characters are older now, along with the original readers of the Blood Blues series. But don’t fret, even if you haven’t read the original series from Melissa De la Cruz you will still be able to keep pace and understanding throughout the novel; if anything it will only spark your interest to read the previous. This novel is written more for the New Adult/Adult age group whilst the original Blue Blood books are geared more towards the younger crowd.

“He’d been a skinny human teenager, but he was almost thirty years old now, and to put it bluntly, he was ripped.”

Vampires of Manhattan is set 10 years after the Blue Bloods won the war and are celebrating their victory over Lucifer. But wait . . . someone is killing young adults girls and burning or painting pentagrams all over Manhattan causing mayhem for Oliver and his human female familiar/lover Finn, who just happens to be planning the legendary Four Hundred Ball for the first time since the war. With the help of the Venators old and new, the mystery of who or what is killing the young girls is a thrilling ride to be discovered.

Many of the characters have brand new lives, including Araminta Scott (formerly “Minty” but now known as “Ara”) who is now a Venator, an enforcer of sorts, specializing in paranormal activities and crimes. Ara brings some new sass to the pages, at first though, I had a strange feeling that she was going to be just another Schuyler yet older.

“She scrambled into her clothes, putting on a worn black sweater over her think black tank top, grabbing a pair of black jeans from the pile on the floor, and pulling them up over her skinny hips.”

But as the story progressed it was easy to see that Ara is far from a Schuyler incarnate. She’s strong yet flawed, struggling in her daily life to make a difference to keep Manhattan safe and peaceful from the threats that linger in the shadows.

Former character also make their grand appearance, Mimi & Kingsley are BACK! It seems that marriage haven’t dulled their personalities, Kingsley’s still up to ‘no good’ (or is he), and Mimi, well even though she is now out of hell and has joined the work force she is still one for glitz and glamour, a force to be reckoned with. I enjoyed the gamed between them, the realistic distrust and marriage troubles. All if it just made the story more believable.

“…He loved her so much, but sometimes, once you had your beloved, it was natural to pay attention to other things. After all, that was the point, wasn’t it? Of a so-called happy ending? To move on to other concerns? To stop worrying about love? Come to think of it, what was a happy ending after all? It wasn’t as if once the credits rolled and the lights came on or an author wrote, “The end,” you stopped living, because there was so much more of life to live, wasn’t there? Besides, there was no such thing as happy ending for the likes of them….”

The ending was an interesting cliffhanger. I did not see the Oliver- Finn showdown ending as so, and FINALLY two of the most beloved characters in the series finally make an appearance. It's quite obvious, though heartbreaking, as to whom the new enemy is, and I am curious to see how it is all going to unravel.

Although this wasn’t one of my top 10 read of 2015, I am looking forward to reading what happens next in the series.