Vampires of Manhattan: The New Blue Bloods Coven

by Melissa de la Cruz

Series: Book #1 The Vampires of Manhattan
ISBN: 9781401324711
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Publication Date: September 1st 2014
Number of Pages: 240
Source: Local Library
Goodreads
I do not like the summary posted on Goodreads, so instead I linked the book's Goodreads page above and below I am copying what is written on the book jacket:

In a city that never sleeps, an evil has awakened...

It's been ten years since the Blue Bloods vampires vanquished Lucifer, and the Coven has enjoyed relative peace and prosperity under their ardent new leader, Oliver Hazard-Perry.

That is, until Hell's Bells start ringing.

Pentagrams are appearing all over New York City and Oliver can't help but fear their ominous presence. These harbingers of doom are bringing back memories of the Great War, but this time, no one is letting the warning signs go unnoticed.

Then a human teenager is found murdered in the subway tunnels under the city with a pentagram drawn in blood above her body, and the vampire secret police suspect the unthinkable: she was killed by one of their own, a horrifying breach of their code. Venator Ara Scott believes this could only point to a conspiracy designed to unravel the victory they fought so hard to win, and she'll do anything to stop it.

Meanwhile, Mimi Martin is learning the hard way that Hell doesn't necessarily make for a hot marriage. After leaving her husband behind to trade fire and brimstone for Chardonnay and Broadway, she's finding that life without Kingsley might be its own kind of inferno. Plus, there's that incessant ringing in her ears...

And Oliver is not willing to let anything get in the way of being officially crowned Regis at the newly revived Four Hundred Ball. This is his chance to give himself fully to the community he's sworn to protect, and to officially devote himself to his human familiar, Finn Chase. Perception, though, does not always lead to reality.

Living between Heaven and Hell, love and death, life and blood...

Welcome to the new Blue Bloods Coven.

My Rating:

That summary is practically as long as the book - just kidding! But at 250 pages, this is a very fast read! I am classifying it as New Adult, though my library has seen fit to place it in our YA collection. This is for older and more mature teens only in my opinion.

Thought this series was over? How could we think that? There are already two spin-offs to this world, it gets confusing a bit. We have the witches (The Beauchamp Family series) and the wolves (Wolf Pact). So let's just continue on shall we?

Oliver has become the Regent of the Coven, Schuyler & Jack have cut themselves off from everyone to live life as viticulturists (aka vineyard owners) and Mimi is *GASP* working! 

"Sometimes, Oliver also wondered how much he had lost when he gained his immortality. His sense of humor, for one; he hadn't laughed in a long time. He never used to take anything seriously - money and position least of all. But now he was Regent of the Coven, and he had no time for childish games, and there was little trace of the sarcastic teenager he had been." - Vampires of Manhattan, 13

We are introduced to a new character, Ara Scott, and see the development of other characters we know from the previous series. There are multiple points of view (which worked for this book) and we also have the plot split into "present" and "five weeks earlier."

This was an intriguing story, I liked the inventiveness of this new "evil plot" and how it came about. Completely blown away by the revealing of the "bad guy" - he/she seemed so sweet!

All of our "main" known characters from the previous series (Oliver, Mimi...) are thirty years old and it is a little odd to read. Ara is *I think* 24 years old, so it is a little better - but yeah, characters age-wise, this book can't be regarded as a teen novel. The storyline deals with teenagers dying, so this is the connection to the YA world.

"Vampires of Manhattan is a continuation but also a new beginning. New coven. New rules. New danger. Same fabulous city of New York." - Melissa de la Cruz 

 If you are eager to continue the Blue Bloods story, this book is for you. There is sexual content and some graphic details surrounding some of the bloody deaths. The main characters are in their mid-20s to 30s. It is a fast-paced read without a whole lot of depth.

There will be a sequel, as the ending is a cliff-hanger!