This is the sixth book in the Blue Bloods series by Cruz. I almost didnt read this book because I have been very disappointed in the last two books. Then I heard that the seventh book, Gates of Paradise, was going to release the end of Jan 2013 and that it was going to be the final book in the series. So, I decided to go ahead and read this book. This book continued to be lackluster. There are a ton of POVs and not a lot going on.
The story is told from Mimis, Schuylers, and Allegras POV. Jack and Schuyler have been married and Jack is convinced to delay his vengeance on Mimi in order to help Schuyler search for one of the gates. Mimi is determined to journey to Hell in order to win back Kingsley and Oliver is along helping her out.
Allegras story is told in the past. She tells about how she fell in love with Ben and betrayed Charles. I think this is supposed to be getting us the back story about why Allegra ended up in a coma. However the timing of these portions is confusing and the story itself is boring. This backstory could have easily been explained in a few paragraphs instead of one third of the book. Also having these sections prefaced with a date would have alleviated some of the confusion.
The book is more like three novellas parsed awkwardly together than one continuous story. All in all I was not impressed. I wasnt even going to read this book until I saw that the next book, Gates of Paradise, will be the final book in this series.
All of the female characters seem to have lost their spunk and are merely pawns of the men they love. Schuyler ends up following what Jack around and is constantly being saved by him or being kept safe by him. Mimi journeys to Hell in the hopes that Kingsley still loves her. While Mimis story does tie into other things, I was surprised that her retrieving Kinsley was such a big part of the story.
Allegras back story is just as sad and disappointing. She betrays everyone to follow her true love and then ends up messing things up horribly.
The story is boring overall, predictable, and scattered. I just dont care whats happening, too much has been added that doesnt matter to the main story. I do miss Bliss and wonder where shes gone to.
The book was decently written and readable. Just not all that engaging or interesting.
I guess go ahead and read this is you want to finish up the series. Just dont expect a lot. The main female characters are love-sick fools who betray those around them in the name of love. I have a lot of trouble engaging with any of them.
Overall another lackluster addition to this series. Its okay, the story progresses some, but definitely not as good as early books in the series. There are too many POVs and too many things going on that arent related to the main story. This is more like three novellas squished into one book than an actual book. I would like to finish the series, but I am not sure if I will read Gates of Paradise if it is another exercise in mediocrity like this book.
