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The wait is over, and another begun. Like its predecessors before it, Eclipse will please, and leave readers wanting more.
Picking up with life in Forks racing towards graduation, Bella is under house arrest, she and Jacob still aren’t speaking, Charlie is barely tolerating Edward, who himself is more polite than Bella thinks Charlie deserves, and her plans to become a vampire are solid as ever. If only that were the end of the list of worries.
There’s still Victoria, forever hunting Bella to avenge her mate’s death. And the Volturi, displeased with a human knowing their secret. And, after winning her freedom, and going to see Jake, Jake and Edwards’ mutual dislike. Edward, of course, is the first to get a grip. And in Bella, the werewolves and the vampires find common ground. After a break-in at her house, Jake and Edward realize Bella, and everyone else involved, would be better protected if the sides worked together. For a long time, that leaves Jacob on his own, largely lacking in sleep, but he won’t hear of not doing his part.
Then there’s the matter of the murders in Seattle. Eventually, the Cullens suspect vampires. Newborns. An area with which Jasper has a great deal of experience.
A plan begins to form, and after some more insightful thought on Bella’s part, changes, as the plot thickens. For her part, she can’t stand any of it. Knowing that her friends are putting themselves in danger for her. Regardless of their claims that it will all work out, she can’t relax. And after hearing in detail what newborns can do, she starts to worry after herself, and what she’ll become when she changes. Whether she’ll still be herself.
A lot of big questions get asked, and answered, in this installment of the series, which is sure to please. For my part, I’m now eagerly, and rather impatiently, awaiting Breaking Dawn.
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Sequel to Blue Bloods, this is a title I’d been waiting for awhile. And in no way did it disappoint.
Schuyler, off in Italy searching for her grandfather with best friend Ollie, is missing school, and all the preparations for the Four Hundred Ball. And the even more exclusive party Mimi Force has decided to throw afterwards. With Cordelia dead, Schuyler is pretty much alone in the world, and growing desperate that her search has led her nowhere. Even worse…when she does finally find what she’s looking for, it leaves her only more disappointed.
Back in NYC, rumors of the Silver Bloods still abound, and still the Committee claims there’s no need to worry. Only when they lose one of their own do they sit up and take notice.
Schuyler’s grandfather, ashamed at the words she’d left him with in Venice, has come home. He alone believed in the Silver Bloods, and took steps to train Schuyler against an attack. When the attack comes, he moves for a vote of new leadership of the Committee. In the meantime, he’s embroiled in a personal battle–the battle for custody of Schuyler. With Cordelia gone, Charles Force has petitioned the court for custody of Schuyler. Schuyler wants none of it.
There’s no lack of tension in this story, between the mystery, the danger, the love triangle, and the subplots. Blue Bloods fans will be well pleased, and left hanging, looking forward to what’s next.
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Rating: 
Schuyler Van Alen leads a mixed-up life. She attends a prestigious NYC school, where she doesn’t fit in with her peers, except her best friend Oliver, and though her family used to be one of the wealthiest in the city, their holdings are now few and money sparse. She doesn’t know her father, her mother has been in a coma in the hospital for most of her life, and she lives with her foreboding grandmother.
When the uber-boy at school suddenly takes an interest in her, she doesn’t know what to think. And despite herself, she finds herself drawn to him. A fact which his twin sister takes much issue with.
After being invited to join The Committee, an elite society everyone at school knows about, Schuyler learns some startling things about herself and her family that she isn’t sure how to deal with. As it turns out, Schuyler isn’t human. And her best friend Oliver isn’t just her best friend. He’s a servant of sorts. And the dog she mysteriously found–also not an accident.
As mysterious deaths continue to plague the Blue Bloods, a secret from deep in their past comes forth. Silver Bloods. Fiends who feed on and kill Blue Bloods. Schuyler and her friends struggle to solve the mystery, losing much in the process. Left with many questions and nearly no answers, all Schuyler knows is its her mystery to solve, and only she can do it.
An intriguingly different look at vampires, which will leave you eager for the next installment.
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This book took me a long time to get through. The style is very odd, and hard to follow if you start thinking about it. If you don’t think about it, it moves right along.
This is the story of a father and daughter, both caught up in the legend of Vlad/Dracula. Paul gets introduced via his advisor in Graduate school when they discuss a mysterious book he found with his things one night while studying. It turns out Professor Rossi, the advisor, has one too.
That night, after their talk, Professor Rossi disappears, which leads Paul feeling compelled to find out what’s happened to him. Using the papers Rossi left him, he sets off to the Library to find out anything else he can regarding Vlad Tepes. Much to his surprise and dismay, another student seems to be studying the very same topic. While she seems wholly unapproachable, Paul decides he has to talk to her.
After meeting at a diner and sharing stories it comes to pass that Paul and Helen take off together for Romania, where they hope to glean enough information to form some new leads. From there on out, their paths keep crossing those of just the right people to help them, with a few hurdles along the way of course. And with each new acquaintance, they’re drawn deeper.
Their travels take them from Romania to Hungary to Bulgaria and back. Their discoveries are passed down to us via word-of-mouth, postcards, and letters.
Any vampire fan or Dracula fan should find a lot to like in this book. So long as you’re ready to give it your full attention, it shouldn’t disappoint.
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This is one of the most satisfying love stories I have read in a long time. Pure fantasy. So what if the boy of her dreams is a vampire? Bella is a feisty, albeit clumsy teen unaware of her own appeal forthe males (human or not)in her class at Forks High. Edward, 18 for over 100 years, is gorgeous, aloof and devoted to saving Bella (from herself, himself and his enemies). The plot is so compelling, and young love so well evoked I skimmed through the nasty bits to find out if they live happily ever (as in really forever) after. And then learned there’s a sequel.
A well written first novel, not just for teens.
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Sookie Stackhouse has always led an interesting, if not fulfulling, life, thanks to her “disability.” Able to hear the thoughts of others, and not necessarily to shut them out, trouble has followed Sookie whether she wanted it or not.
As a waitress in a local bar, she does her best never to hear the minds of her co-workers or boss, and while she hopes to block out the clientele as well, she doesn’t have much luck. So when a vampire starts frequenting the bar, sitting in her section, and she realizes she can’t hear him, he becomes heaven on earth.
She’s intrigued for other reasons of course, as are most of the town. But as strange events start coming to town, silence becomes more and more a commodity. Sookie is forced to hear the things people think of her, her relationship with Bill, speculations on the spree of murders and her brother’s possible connection to them.
Despite doubts and well-meant advice, Sookie clings to her relationship with Bill, all the while trying to solve the mystery herself, to clear those she cares about, as well as to save herself.
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Rating: 
Every bit as amazing as it’s prequel, if not more so. To do this book real justice I may have to go back and read it again…for reasons I can’t really go into without ruining too much, I read it a little too fast.
Picking up where we left off at the end of Twilight, Bella is now recovered from her attack, still dating Edward, and now has a job at a store in town. Life seems pretty much perfect, except for the minor detail of her still not having what she wants.
Despite her wishes, the Cullens have planned a Birthday party for her, and while she’s displeased, she tries to cut them some slack, once Edward points out that they’ve not been able to celebrate a real birthday in over a hundred years. And party-lover or not, she has to admit they’ve gone all out.
But, clutz that she is, it isn’t long before disaster strikes in the form of a paper cut, leading to Jasper having to be dragged from the house, the rest of the family (other than Carlisle) quickly following after. Once she’s been stitched up and bandaged. Edward brings her home, and his gift to her makes the night perfect despite the badness. In fact, she can’t imagine a better birthday.
But it isn’t meant to last.
Abandoned, Bella spends the next handful of months in a daze. At a complete loss, Charlie has know idea how to help her. But she refuses to leave Forks, and so all he can do is watch her struggle on.
Eventually, sparks of life return, as Bella vows to become reckless, purchases two used motorcycles, and heads down to La Push to see Jacob Black about fixing them. While there, she remembers how much she liked being around Jacob, and her visits quickly turn into a regular thing. Between them, and the sound of Edward’s voice in her mind with each reckless act, Bella begins to feel alive.
And then Jacob turns on her.
Life quickly becomes on trial after another, as Bella refuses to let Jacob go, and after a mid-night visit does some hard thinking to piece the puzzle together, much to the chagrin of his new friends. Then a cliff-diving stunt gone bad sets in motion a whole ‘nother set of events, even more incredible and harrowing.
Even more than Twilight, New Moon will leave you eagerly awaiting what comes next.
(Next installment due out October 2007)
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Rating:
Bella Swan isn’t looking forward to life in Forks. Though her dad is easy to be around, she’s spent most of her life without him. On top of which, she can’t stand the weather, and she knows she won’t fit in.
So when the first week of school is full of stares and whispers, Bella’s not surprised. Some of her classmates seem friendly enough, though some also seem overly friendly. All in all, things seem to be going fairly well. Until Biology, when her lab partner takes an immediate dislike to her, more along the lines of hatred.
When Edward Cullen stops coming to school, Bella assumes it must somehow be her fault, and can’t imagine what she did that was so bad. She finds out from a classmate that the Cullens are frequently absent, being big campers, and is somewhat appeased. But unprepared for Edward’s reappearance and attitude change.
While most of the school stears clear of the Cullen family, and Bella herself finds them intimidating, she’s also enthralled, especially with the ever-changing Edward. After he saves her life, it only gets more complex. The more she learns, the more curious she becomes, and the more reticent he is to tell her.
This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. The story is great, and the characters will pull you right in. I, myself, am currently awaiting the sequel (with not enough patience).
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When Cal came to NYC from Texas, he was looking forward to starting college. He never suspected, after wandering into a bar, that his life would take a turn into permanent change. He certainly didn’t intend to start turning any girl he kissed into a “vampire.” But, it happened, and now he spends his time being educated by the Night Watch, hunting down his short list of girlfriends, trying to right the wrongs.
When he finally finds Sarah, his first and only real girlfriend, it hits him hardest. Who she was, what she became, the fact that she remembers his name… She seems different. But no one wants to listen to him.
All his converts caught, Cal turns his attentions back to trying to find his progenitor: a girl he can only recall by first name and face. When fate leads him to her, or to where she once was, Cal begins to question what he’s been learning, and what he’s being told. Things are amiss in the world of Peeps, and Cal intends to get to the bottom of it.
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When Luzy Szabo was six-years-old, she found a dying bat in her yeard. Not knowing what it was, other than a small critter, she picked it up and brought it to show her mother, who quickly beat it to death with a broom and threw it in the trash. When her father arrives home, he’s angry, and worried, as Lucy’s hands are covered with scratches. She knows they’re from berry bushes, but doesn’t want to get in trouble for being someplace she wasn’t stupposed to be, so she doesn’t say anything. And off to the hospital for rabies shots they go.
A few months later, Lucy is diagnosed with Diabetes. And no matter what anyone says, she’s convinced the events are related.
Life for Lucy changes after this. The shots, the worry, the constant equation of food + insulin + blood sugar. She grows into an angry teen, with a theory that early diabetics were the people the vampire legends stemmed from. She even writes an essay about it.
The essay doesn’t go ober well with her teacher, nor with her parents, who then search her computer and decide they don’t like some of the internet sites she’s been visiting. With no computer, and feeling friendless, Lucy becomes even more sullen. When a new guy shows up in town, she starts breaking rules to hang out with him. She also stops paying attention to her illness.
Forgetting to eat, overexertion, missed shots, and poor judgement lead to an episode of ketoacidosis, hospitalization, and eventually, change.
A new spin on vampirism, and an intriguing look into the life of a teen with chronic illness, Sweetblood is a quick read that gets the mind churning.
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