Bloody Valentine

 

Level: Older Teen

Genre: Fantasy > Vampires/Urban Fantasy

Obtained: Purchased on Amazon

Reviewed by: Nic Echo

About the Book:

In this Blue Bloods novella, Melissa de la Cruz gives us three short stories based around love (hence the title). The first short story revolves around Oliver as he tries to navigate the sense of loss and loneliness at losing Schuyler. The second story gives us insight into Charles's and Allegra's past. Finally, the third short delves more into Jack and Schuyler's romance.

Rating: 8/10

I honestly did not foresee me enjoying this book all that much. I'm not anti-romance, but I'm not the type of guy that wants my entire plot to revolve around it either. So needless to say when I heard that Bloody Valentine was supposed to be about love and romance, I was a bit hesitant. There were points I even debated skipping it all together. However, I am glad I didn't. 

 I ended up finding all the tales interesting, even the one involving Schuyler and Jack. I'll get more into that later. What I think I loved most about the first two is we get more insight into characters we haven't gotten to view much (at least from their eyes). Oliver's was probably the weakest of the three. I enjoyed it well enough, but there wasn't much there. Oliver is hurting from a broken heart and is trying to find a way to mend it. Now, this isn't a horrible concept to explore, but since this is only a short story, we are not given time to navigate those emotions. However, it still gives us more insight into Oliver's mind. We just happen to be at the end of the ride, making his healing seem a bit too quick.

Allegra's tale had to be my favourite though, and again I did not expect to like it as much as I did. I was never much of a Gabrielle fan, but this story made her seem less glorious and more human. Yes, we have gotten to see a bit more into her past in the Misguided Angel novel, but even there, she seemed righteous and damn near perfect. In this story, we get to see her more as a girl rather than her glorious, angelic self. We also get to see Charles as a teenager, and honestly, it felt like real love in this story instead of something contrived. Again, he also seems a little less perfect than how we have viewed him before, and I think it is these things that set this story above the other two.

This now leads us  to the last story about Jack and Schuyler. Now, for those of you who have read my other Blue Bloods reviews, you will already know that I am no fan of Jack and Schuyler. However, dare I say it? I actually liked this tale. Now, without giving too much away, I can say that even though this tale is connected to their romance, it has plenty of adventure and fighting. Let's just say the Countess finds a way to use their love against them. Really the only thing I strongly disliked about this story was how the problem was solved, It just seemed false to me, and I found myself not believing it could work. Still, it was a lot more enjoyable than I originally expected so kudos to the author for that.

All in all, this was a pretty good read. It's not as deep in the romance department as you would expect either. Of course, romance is still there, but there is still action, and you also get more insight into some of the side characters. It's short. It's quick, but it's worth it. If you are enjoying the Blue Bloods series, make sure not to skip this one, even if it's not one of the main novels.

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