Blue Bloods is a series of vampire novels by Melissa de la Cruz. The series is set in Manhattan, New York.Ward, Kate. "What young adult novel should Hollywood adapt next?", Entertainment Weekly, 21 September 2010La Ferla, Ruth. "A Trend with Teeth", The New York Times, 2 July 2, 2009 The complete series comprises seven books: Blue Bloods, Masquerade, Revelations, The Van Alen Legacy, Misguided Angel, Lost in Time, and Gates of Paradise. The author also wrote two companion novels, Keys to the Repository and Bloody Valentine, along with two spin-off series, Wolf Pact and Witches of East End. Blue Bloods: A Graphic Novel was published on January 15, 2013, also the publication date of the final novel in the series."Will there be more Blue Bloods books? How many books will there be in the series?" Frequently Asked Questions, melissa-delacruz.com. .

The series follows its characters through numerous adventures involving romance, loyalty, mystery, and war.

Melissa de la Cruz has begun a second Blue Bloods series, Vampires of Manhattan.

Characters

The Van Alen family

Schuyler Theodora Elizabeth Van Alen Chase (Dimidium Cognatus - 'half-human, half-vampire') (Sky-ler) A half-blood vampire, the first and only one of her kind. The main character of the series, she must help solve the mystery of the Blue Bloods slayings, and the existence of their ancient rivals, the Silver Bloods.

Allegra Van Alen Chase (Gabrielle, The Uncorrupted, the Virtuous, the Messenger, Archangel of the Light). Schuyler's mother. Her "bondmate" is Charles Force, but she forsook her bond with him to be with her "human familiar", Stephen Chase. According to the Repository files, she subsequently fell into a coma when Schuyler was three. The most powerful of the seven messengers.

Cordelia Van Alen (Seraphiel, Angel of Song) Bondmate of Lawrence Van Alen, and Schuyler's grandmother and guardian.

Lawrence Van Alen (Metraton, Heavenly Scribe) Bondmate of Cordelia Van Alen, and Schuyler's grandfather. He is "Enmortal" and therefore does not adhere to the cycles of birth and death as other vampires do; he remains in the same physical shell for centuries.

Stephen "Ben" Bendix Chase (Human Familiar) Schuyler Van Alen's father, and Allegra's "human familiar".

Schuyler's friends

Oliver Hazard-Perry (Human Familiar/Human Conduit) Schuyler Van Alen's best friend, conduit, and human familiar.

Dylan Ward (Xathanael, the Hidden One) Notorious "bad boy". Romantically linked to Bliss Llewellyn.

The Force family

Benjamin "Jack" Hamilton Force (Abbadon, Angel of Destruction, Twin Angel of the Apocalypse, The Hammer Blow, The Enforcer, The Unlikely, Destroyer of Worlds) His bondmate is his twin sister, Mimi Force, but he forsook their bond to be with his true love, Schuyler Van Alen.

Madeleine "Mimi" Alexis Force (Azrael, Angel of Death, Twin Angel of the Apocalypse, Light Destroyer) Schuyler Van Alen's nemesis. Jack's twin sister and bondmate. After Jack forsook their bond, she chose to be with her true love, Kingsley Martin.

Charles (Van Alen) Force (Michael, Pure of Heart, the Valiant, Prince of the Angels, Supreme Commander of the Lord's Armies, Archangel of the Light) Allegra Van Alen's former bondmate and twin brother, and Jack and Mimi's father. He changed his last name to Force after Allegra broke their bond.

Trinity Burden Force (Sandalphon, Angel of Silence) Charles Force's wife, and Jack and Mimi's mother. Her bondmate, Salgiel, was lost during the Great War in Rome.

The Llewellyn family

Bliss Llewellyn (Azazel, The Darkling, Lupus Theliel, Angel of Love, Wolfsbane) A good friend and half-sister of Schuyler Van Alen, though she was once more closely associated with Mimi Force. Born from a union between Lucifer and Gabrielle (Allegra Van Alen)

Forsyth Llewellyn (Malakai, the Steward) State senator, Bliss's father, bondmate of BobiAnne Llewellyn.

BobiAnne Llewellyn (Andela, of the Dawn) Bondmate of Forsyth Llewellyn, Bliss's step-mother.

Jordan Llewellyn (Pistis Sophia, Elder of the Elders, the Watcher) Bliss's younger half-sister, and daughter of Forsyth and BobiAnne Llewellyn.

Other characters

Kingsley Drexel Martin (Araquiel, Angel of Vengeance, The Angel with Two Faces) A reformed Silver Blood and an Enmortal. A Venator (the Conclave's secret police force), and Mimi's true love.

Augusta "Aggie" Carondolet A Blue Blood student at Duchesne, the vampires' prestigious private school, and one of Mimi's friends. The first victim of the New York slayings by the Silver Bloods.

Dehua Chen (Xi Wangmu, Angel of Immortality) A Venator from the Blue Blood coven in Shanghai, China. Twin sister of Deming Chen.

Deming Chen (Kuan Yin, Angel of Mercy) A Venator from the Blue Blood coven in Shanghai, China. Twin sister of Dehua Chen.

Sam and Ted Lennox Twin brothers and Venators allied with Mimi and Kingsley. Are also the Twin Angels of the West Winds.

House of the Morningstar (Morgenstern)

Lucifer (The Morningstar, Lightbringer, Prince of Heaven, Prince of Darkness, Archangel of the Dark) Leader of the Silver Bloods.

Leviathan (The Giant, the Kraken, Goliath of the Glom) Brother of Lucifer.

Nan Cutler (Harbonah, Angel of Annihilation) The "Regent" of the Conclave; the second-highest-ranking Blue Blood in the New York Coven.

Vampires

Blue Bloods The Blue Bloods, Lucifer's loyal army of angels who fought alongside him in an epic war when he sought to win the heavenly throne, are fallen angels forced to live on earth as vampires. They have excellent speed, high intelligence, a photographic memory, and enhanced senses. When victory was nearly within reach for Lucifer, the twin angels Abbadon and Azrael, his most loyal lieutenants, stood down, an act that was soon followed by many others. They betrayed Lucifer and turned to Michael, but it was too late to save themselves. Banished from Heaven, the angels awoke on Earth as immortals, cursed to survive on human blood and to live forever through cycles of reincarnation.

Gabrielle chose to descend to Earth out of love for them, and was joined by her heavenly twin Michael, who could not bear to live without her by his side. They were called the Uncorrupted, as they were not vampires by sin, but by choice. Together, Michael and Gabrielle created the Code of the Vampires, the rules that they would all follow through the centuries to bring peace and beauty to the world, with the hope to one day be forgiven and be allowed to return to Paradise.

Silver Bloods Fallen angels who have remained loyal to Lucifer and have no desire to return to Heaven or to follow the Code, Silver Bloods each have the strength of a thousand vampires. Instead of feeding on humans, they fed on their fellow vampires—the Blue Bloods—consuming their souls and memories; this act led to a life of turmoil and misery, and turned their blood silver. This causes them to appear schizophrenic. In past centuries, they had been enslaved by the Blue Bloods on Earth, until they rose up and fought against them in a ruthless massacre. Michael declared war against Lucifer and his followers, eventually banishing Lucifer into Hell, securing him behind 7 impenetrable gates. The Blue Bloods continued to live their lives safely, but rumors of the Silver Bloods' return continued to circulate every hundred years or so.

Half Bloods Half Bloods are the product of one Blue Blood parent and one Red Blood (human) parent. They harbor the same powers as Blue Bloods and can also take human familiars. Only one Half Blood has ever been born: Schuyler Van Alen. Her parents were Allegra Van Alen Chase, a Blue Blood, and Stephen Chase, a Red Blood.

Summaries

Blue Bloods Publication Date: March 27, 2006

Schuyler Van Alen never fit in at Duchesne, her private school, preferring second-hand clothes to designer labels, and living in a old mansion with her grandmother, Cordelia, the only family she has. While most find her unusual, she is content with her life and her two friends, Oliver Hazard-Perry and Dylan Ward.

But when Schuyler turns fifteen, her life suddenly begins to change. Aggie Carondolet, a Duchesne classmate and close friend to Schuyler's nemesis, Mimi Force, is found dead in one of the city's nightclubs, she notices mysterious, intricate blue veins pulsing from her arms, and Jack Force, a dashing and popular boy who happens to be Mimi's twin brother, begins to take a sudden interest in her.

She receives a letter telling her that she has been accepted into "The Committee", and although she's not sure she wants to attend, she agrees due to the insistence of her grandmother. When she arrives, she finds that she has more in common with her classmates than she thought. She is a Blue Blood—a vampire. A society of powerful and influential Americans whose ancestors can be traced back for centuries. Schuyler and Oliver, whom she learns is her human Conduit, are suddenly thrown into a race to find the answers to the questions that she, and everyone else is asking. Have their ancient enemies, the Silver Bloods—vampires who prey on vampires—suddenly returned after having thought to be vanquished? Is the incriminatory circumstance of Schuyler's birth that broke the most sacred code of vampires the reason why her mother has been trapped in a coma for so many years?

After a tragic attack involving Cordelia, Schuyler soon finds that she herself is in danger, and that she has a long journey ahead of her that will take her to every corner of the world.

Masquerade Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Schuyler and Oliver have traveled to Venice, Italy, in search of her grandfather, Lawrence Van Alen, who is said to have the answers she is looking for to solve the mysteries of the Silver Bloods. When they meet him, Lawrence doesn't believe that he can help them, and they dejectedly return to New York. As they return, the Blue Blood community is preparing for the annual Four Hundred Ball, the grandest event in all of New York City. Schuyler attends the ball with the hopes of seeing Jack Force, her forbidden crush, but he barely acknowledges her. After the ball, however, Schuyler receives an invite to a secret Blue Blood masquerade ball, covertly organized by Mimi Force. Schuyler attends, again with the hope of seeing Jack. When she is kissed at the party by a mysterious masked vampire, she presumes that it is Jack, only to later suspect it was someone else. Bliss Llewellyn meets a masked gentleman, hoping that he is Dylan Ward, who had disappeared during the speculated return of the Silver Bloods.

When Schuyler returns home, she is thrilled to find that Lawrence has returned to New York. He hires help to restore the dilapidated mansion to its original glory, while starting Schuyler's training to hone her vampire skills. The lives of the young vampires continue to become more mysterious, with Bliss experiencing recurrent blackouts, visions of a man in a white suit, and a menacing voice that only she can hear, while Schuyler is growing weaker as her mixed blood complicates her transformation from human to vampire. When Lawrence learns that Schuyler needs to take a human familiar in order to stabilize her transformation, an act that is not allowed until the vampire has turned eighteen, he suggests that she choose Oliver.

Meanwhile, Mimi Force, teamed up with Kingsley Martin, the mysterious and striking new Duchesne student, is conjuring a plan to be rid of Schuyler, whose budding relationship with Jack is putting Mimi and Jack's sacred bond at stake. Her plan turns into a disaster that puts countless others in danger, and her blood legacy into question, forcing a blood trial. Could the allegations against Mimi possibly be true? And what will the shocking return of a tortured vampire say about where Schuyler's allegiance lies?

Shelter Island (short story) Publication Date: September 1, 2007