Masquerade - Mellisa De La Cruz

SPOILER ALERT






In this book Schuyler continues her search for the solution to Blue Bloods. It has been two months since her grandmother ended her cycle and she hasn't found anything. She decides to go to Venice as Cordelia had suggested. Oliver, her best friend, gets them there with his dad who was on a business trip two weeks. They don't find anything until the day before they leave when Schuyler finally catches her grandfather who is a shape shifter. He proves to be no help and they go back to New York disappointed. Back home the Committee is planning the exclusive 400 ball, also known as the Patricians ball witch raises money for the Blood Donors Committees next full year. Only the rich, powerful, and unhuman can attend and they come from around the world. More new vampires are dieing and Schuyler is at a loss. A new boy comes to school named Kingsley Martin. He is flamboyant and charming, and installs himself as the new big man on campus, even replacing Jack Force while becoming a friend to Jack's twin sister Mimi. In Mimi's past lives she had always married Jack, though they hadn't been twins yet. That they were twins meant they had finally joined in heaven. Yet she noticed Jack distancing himself from her. She couldn't figure out why. They finally had the Four Hundred Ball wear the new vampires were presented to the older ones in their new bodies. Schuyler was too young. She didn't have anything to wear so she wore the dress her mother had worn when she was presented, before she fell in love with a human and swore never to take another human familiar putting herself into a coma. When she enters everyone thinking it was Allegra, her mother, for a moment. Jack is even more entranced. Later Mimi throws her teen masquerade afterparty. Mimi has realized that Schuyler is the cause for why Jack is distancing from her and she is angry. Kingsley has suggested a book of black arts, to summon a Silver Blood to kill her enemy. Mimi is reluctant at first but when other tries fail she agrees. Meanwhile Shuyler's grandfather has come to New York from Venice. He had relented his earlier cowardice and come to help defeat the Silver Bloods. He began to train Schuyler on her new powers since the Committee has neglected all the new vampires. She does better then could be expected which is attributed to her being the only half blood vampire, born through her mother instead of entering the cycle through blood. The only set back is that she gets week after excercizing her powers because her vampire blood overcame her human blood. She had to get a human familiar. Bliss, another vampire friend, had taken a familiar with someone she didn't know and regretted it because she now felt a connection with him and she didn't even know him. Schuyler didn't want to do it with someone she didn't know. She tried to do it with Oliver but he didn't want to and ran away. She realized her mistake and chased after him to the Repository, the vampire's extensive library where Oliver had an office. Mimi had gone downstairs with Kingsley and they started the ceremony. They threw a peice of Schuyler's hair in the fire that Mimi had stolen and summoned the Silver Blood. The Silver Blood killed the Chair of the Committee and seriously hurt Bliss. Schuyler was unharmed. The Committee held a trial to see what had really happened. Kingsley was actually a Venator. A vampire assasin sent to spy and seek out who hosted the Silver Bloods. He claimed the culporate was Mimi. Everyone was shocked. Mimi was to go to Venice and have his blood burned. Mimi's father who had lead the vampires was lowered in their eyes and a white vote was proposed by Schuyler's grandfather and he was elected to lead. He made Schuyler go with them to Venice and Jack asked if she would do the only thing that could be done to save Mimi, and only she could do it since she was Allegra's daughter and Allegra was in a coma. Schuyler complied though at danger to herself since she would have to drink Mimi's blood to access her memories, but she couldn't drink her dead or she would become a Silver Blood. She barely managed to stop. Mimi had been set up by Kingsley Martin, the Martins had hosted the Silver Blood. Mimi was released though she still didn't like Schuyler. The Silver Bloods were still out there. The Martin's had run but another, more powerful family was still out there, in the Committee, and hosting the Silver Bloods.

I REALLY like this series and am only sad that the next book comes out in September, I want it now! Plus, there is supposed to be at least six books in this series, I don't know if I can stand all the waiting. That is the only problem I can find with good books and series, waiting for them to come out.