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ihateprozac 's review for:
Misguided Angel
by Melissa de la Cruz
I was completely obsessed with these books a few years ago, but kind of forgot about them in the gap between finishing The Van Alen Legacy and Misguided Angel being published. I've recently been on an audiobook kick though, and after finding the Blue Bloods books readily available in audiobook format, I figured I'd jump back in.
Not gonna lie, I had a bit of a rough start getting into Misguided Angel. I'd completely forgotten how the Van Alen Legacy had ended, and who half of the characters even were. I'd remembered that Jack had run off with Schuyler, and hell hath no fury like a Mimi Force scorned. I'd remembered that Bliss was Lucifer's daughter, and had stabbed herself to avoid going darkside. I'd remembered that Leviathan had been released, and that a bunch of people had died in Rio, but couldn't remember who.
I later remembered that Bliss' cycle parents had been been allied with the Silver Bloods, but didn't remember what that meant. I remembered that Kingsley had been close to Mimi and that he perished, but couldn't remember the circumstances. I completely forgot about Cordelia and Lawrence Van Alen dying, Dylan's death being the catalyst to unleash Leviathan, and Charles Force just up and vanishing. So yeah, it was a bit hard getting back into the swing of things.
I did enjoy the story though. I wasn't sure where it was going for 90% of the book, but it was tied together nicely in the end. Half of the book concerns Jack and Schuyler's hunt for the Gates and saving this random girl, while the other half concerns Mimi and Chinese Venator Deming Chen investigating the kidnapping and murder of several Duchesne Blue Bloods. I wasn't sure one had anything to do with the other, until the existence of the Nephilim was revealed.
Turns out that Silver Bloods had been kidnapping and impregnating human women for centuries, branding them with Lucifer's sigil and forcing them to bear demon children. These demon children were called the Nephilim. Unlike the Blue Bloods who cycle through death and rebirth, the Nephilim are truly immortal. Turns out that the two kidnapped Duchesne Blue Bloods were responsible for the death of a Nephilim's mother in 14th century Florence, so he's exacting his revenge on the Upper East Side in 21st century New York. The random girl that Schuyler and Jack are saving in Europe narrowly missed forcibly becoming the mother of a Nephilim.
Along the way we learn that the term 'twin' does not only refer to bondmates, but that in rare cases some Angels legitimately having a sibling! Deming and Dehua Chen were originally one soul that split in two, and the phenomenon is called 'star born twins'. Deming is the Angel of Mercy, and her sword transforms from the chopsticks she keeps in her hair (a little cheesy and stereotypical, but still cool). We also learn that the Gates of Promise were moved from Italy to Alexandria, setting the scene for the next book!
Now for my actual thoughts on the book. I'm fairly certain that I missed something of significance when it came to the Petruvians and the Gates, most likely because I got distracted while listening to the audiobook. This is not the fault of the author, and hopefully it's recapped for me in the next instalment of the series. But other than that, I feel like something was missing. Maybe it was the fact that this book jumped between different points of view, or that we have no idea where the story is going for 70% of the book, or because this story ventures off the beaten track and deals with the Nephilim, rather than the staple characters and creatures we've seen before.
The previous 4 books were so compelling. I remember sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for Bliss and her father's true identities to be revealed. Waiting for the infiltration of Silver Bloods in the Coven to be revealed. Waiting for the next reference to Lucifer, and the next Silver Blood attack. This book had an overarching mystery, but it just didn't draw me in like previous books have done. I wanted to know who was killing Duchesne Blue Bloods, and I wanted to know where the frak the story with MariElena and the Petruvians was going, but at no point was I ever like 'OMGWTF MUST FIND OUT NOWWWW *consumes book*'
I'm guessing Melissa de la Cruz intentionally avoided hinting that the Duchesne murders and MariElena were related, but I think that actually would've helped the story! I think the mystery would've been that much more compelling if de la Cruz had placed a little more emphasis on the sigils in the Victoria Taylor video and on Schuyler and Jack's hunt in Italy. The characters didn't seem to think much of the recurring image of the sword piercing the star, so as the reader, I didn't think much of it either. Instead of wanting to devour the book as quickly as possible to learn the answers, I found myself a) not caring, or b) wondering where on Earth the story was going to end up.
As far as characters go, this was probably the only book where I can remember liking Mimi Force! She's less of a petty bitch than in the previous four books, owing to Jack's betrayal and her new Regent title. She's an actual leader now, rather than Queen Bitch, and she's actually a decent human being to Oliver for more than 5 seconds! I also quite liked Deming. She was understated and so calm and controlled; I feel like Melissa de la Cruz captured that ancient Chinese warrior vibe perfectly.
In contrast, I found Schuyler and Jack to be annoying and selfish. I hated Schuyler for fucking up Mimi and Jack's relationship, and tearing Oliver's heart out. I hated Jack for breaking his bond with Mimi, for a dull girl he has little to no chemistry with. Sure Azrael is a bitch in this incarnation, but she's more interesting than Schuyler! I can't remember why I liked Schuyler so much in previous books - looking back she's only a little more interesting than the loathesome Bella Swan. It was probably my younger self being like 'oh ho ho she is such a loner outcast, I to0o0otally empathise!' but that I've grown up I prefer characters with actual personality.
Overall: Although it wasn't atrocious, this was probably the weakest book in the series thus far. We got an interesting new character and were introduced to a new species, but we didn't really need an entire story to establish said species' existence. I enjoyed Mimi's character development, but it seems that other characters are now beginning to shit me off. I'm hoping the next two instalments get things back on track.
Not gonna lie, I had a bit of a rough start getting into Misguided Angel. I'd completely forgotten how the Van Alen Legacy had ended, and who half of the characters even were. I'd remembered that Jack had run off with Schuyler, and hell hath no fury like a Mimi Force scorned. I'd remembered that Bliss was Lucifer's daughter, and had stabbed herself to avoid going darkside. I'd remembered that Leviathan had been released, and that a bunch of people had died in Rio, but couldn't remember who.
I later remembered that Bliss' cycle parents had been been allied with the Silver Bloods, but didn't remember what that meant. I remembered that Kingsley had been close to Mimi and that he perished, but couldn't remember the circumstances. I completely forgot about Cordelia and Lawrence Van Alen dying, Dylan's death being the catalyst to unleash Leviathan, and Charles Force just up and vanishing. So yeah, it was a bit hard getting back into the swing of things.
I did enjoy the story though. I wasn't sure where it was going for 90% of the book, but it was tied together nicely in the end. Half of the book concerns Jack and Schuyler's hunt for the Gates and saving this random girl, while the other half concerns Mimi and Chinese Venator Deming Chen investigating the kidnapping and murder of several Duchesne Blue Bloods. I wasn't sure one had anything to do with the other, until the existence of the Nephilim was revealed.
Turns out that Silver Bloods had been kidnapping and impregnating human women for centuries, branding them with Lucifer's sigil and forcing them to bear demon children. These demon children were called the Nephilim. Unlike the Blue Bloods who cycle through death and rebirth, the Nephilim are truly immortal. Turns out that the two kidnapped Duchesne Blue Bloods were responsible for the death of a Nephilim's mother in 14th century Florence, so he's exacting his revenge on the Upper East Side in 21st century New York. The random girl that Schuyler and Jack are saving in Europe narrowly missed forcibly becoming the mother of a Nephilim.
Along the way we learn that the term 'twin' does not only refer to bondmates, but that in rare cases some Angels legitimately having a sibling! Deming and Dehua Chen were originally one soul that split in two, and the phenomenon is called 'star born twins'. Deming is the Angel of Mercy, and her sword transforms from the chopsticks she keeps in her hair (a little cheesy and stereotypical, but still cool). We also learn that the Gates of Promise were moved from Italy to Alexandria, setting the scene for the next book!
Now for my actual thoughts on the book. I'm fairly certain that I missed something of significance when it came to the Petruvians and the Gates, most likely because I got distracted while listening to the audiobook. This is not the fault of the author, and hopefully it's recapped for me in the next instalment of the series. But other than that, I feel like something was missing. Maybe it was the fact that this book jumped between different points of view, or that we have no idea where the story is going for 70% of the book, or because this story ventures off the beaten track and deals with the Nephilim, rather than the staple characters and creatures we've seen before.
The previous 4 books were so compelling. I remember sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for Bliss and her father's true identities to be revealed. Waiting for the infiltration of Silver Bloods in the Coven to be revealed. Waiting for the next reference to Lucifer, and the next Silver Blood attack. This book had an overarching mystery, but it just didn't draw me in like previous books have done. I wanted to know who was killing Duchesne Blue Bloods, and I wanted to know where the frak the story with MariElena and the Petruvians was going, but at no point was I ever like 'OMGWTF MUST FIND OUT NOWWWW *consumes book*'
I'm guessing Melissa de la Cruz intentionally avoided hinting that the Duchesne murders and MariElena were related, but I think that actually would've helped the story! I think the mystery would've been that much more compelling if de la Cruz had placed a little more emphasis on the sigils in the Victoria Taylor video and on Schuyler and Jack's hunt in Italy. The characters didn't seem to think much of the recurring image of the sword piercing the star, so as the reader, I didn't think much of it either. Instead of wanting to devour the book as quickly as possible to learn the answers, I found myself a) not caring, or b) wondering where on Earth the story was going to end up.
As far as characters go, this was probably the only book where I can remember liking Mimi Force! She's less of a petty bitch than in the previous four books, owing to Jack's betrayal and her new Regent title. She's an actual leader now, rather than Queen Bitch, and she's actually a decent human being to Oliver for more than 5 seconds! I also quite liked Deming. She was understated and so calm and controlled; I feel like Melissa de la Cruz captured that ancient Chinese warrior vibe perfectly.
In contrast, I found Schuyler and Jack to be annoying and selfish. I hated Schuyler for fucking up Mimi and Jack's relationship, and tearing Oliver's heart out. I hated Jack for breaking his bond with Mimi, for a dull girl he has little to no chemistry with. Sure Azrael is a bitch in this incarnation, but she's more interesting than Schuyler! I can't remember why I liked Schuyler so much in previous books - looking back she's only a little more interesting than the loathesome Bella Swan. It was probably my younger self being like 'oh ho ho she is such a loner outcast, I to0o0otally empathise!' but that I've grown up I prefer characters with actual personality.
Overall: Although it wasn't atrocious, this was probably the weakest book in the series thus far. We got an interesting new character and were introduced to a new species, but we didn't really need an entire story to establish said species' existence. I enjoyed Mimi's character development, but it seems that other characters are now beginning to shit me off. I'm hoping the next two instalments get things back on track.