If you haven't seen the gorgeous covers for the BLUE BLOODS series, you've been deprived. I mean, just look at it! Beauty!
As is the cover of THE MAGNOLIA LEAGUE. Both, are beautiful. But they also have that same je ne sais quoi-that alluring feeling, mysterious.
I was disappointed to read them and find that the writing was not.
I decided to do the review for these books together because they're SO FREAKING SIMILAR!
-Both involve a main character who knows nothing about their dad.
-Who have lost their mom in some way.
-Have to live with their rich grandmother.
-Are ushered into a society that deals with paranormal rich kids.
-Both start having feelings for a fellow rich, society-member's older brother.
-Neither fit in.
-Both have a guy-friend who doesn't fit in.
And another thing: Both covers don't reflect the writing at all. Like I said, the covers are alluring and mysterious. The writing was short, snappy, and funny at times. Nothing like I would have thought.
I suppose I did like the humor in them, but I was kind of caught off guard, and so couldn't really receive it. I found myself thinking throughout either of them as I read about these posh lifestyles and female clones of Richie Rich, "This is totally unrealistic." And I still think that. The writing was just very... commercial, and, frankly, kind of annoying.
I liked how you got hints about what the societies were about, before the main characters were ushered into them, although I liked Katie Crouch's take on the Magnolia League, more than Melissa de la Cruz's take on the Committee because Mrs. Crouch's was more straightforward and more interesting. Melissa de la Cruz's hints at what the Committee was about kind of felt like she was saying, "Oh, the reader doesn't know they're vampires. I'm so sneaky," while she wrote it. I felt annoyed, because the characters wouldn't just come out and so "vampires" when it was obvious that that was what was going on. I mean, read the back, look at the cover, it's not hard to figure it out.
Another thing I didn't like was how the main characters were supposed to be these strong, independent girls who weren't going to let themselves become part of the status quo, and they just fell in love with the rich boys for absolutely no reason. If you've read them, please tell me why Schuyler from BLUE BLOODS, or Alex from THE MAGNOLIA LEAGUE fall for these guys. Really. Tell me? Because I don't remember any reason for them doing so. They were just like "He's hot," one minute, and the next, they were in this weird relationship.
Broken down for each novel, here are my thoughts:
THE MAGNOLIA LEAGUE's plot was fun, especially what with all the crazy characters in Savannah (by the way, if you've never been to Savannah, I suggest you do. Go to Paula Deen's restaurant and drink some big glasses of sweet tea. Yummy!) I really loved her picture of the South, and of the odd secrets of hoodoo that could be lurking behind any haint blue door.
The characters were a lot of fun. I loved how Alex was just plain and simple and she always said what was on her mind, and she was funny and fun, although I didn't like how unfazed she was that she grew up on a hippy commune and got high.
BLUE BLOOD's plot was a bit annoying to me, and I kept on feeling like I was just about to get to some amazing part, but it just kept on going, and going, and it didn't really capture me and anchor me. I felt like I was in the Dreaded Middle, the entire time. I did like some of the aspects of New York, and how Schuyler and her grandmother had memories of lavish hotels and how they were able to just go off and do expensive crap.
The characters were interesting, though like the plot, I thought I knew enough about them, to keep on reading, but not enough to actually think about them, wonder what they're part of the story is, wish that they're part was being told.
So, in the end, both books are very different from their covers, and their authors writing styles are alike in many ways, but I would still recommend THE MAGNOLIA LEAGUE over BLUE BLOODS, just because THE MAGNOLIA LEAGUE was more fun and it had more humor to compliment the short and snappy writing. It worked.
Well, here are the synops from the back covers:
THE MAGNOLIA LEAGUE - When her free-spirited mother dies in a tragic accident, sixteen-year-old Alexandria Lee is forced to leave her West Coast home and move in with a wealthy grandmother she's never known in Savannah, Georgia. By birth, Alex is a rightful, if unwilling member of the Magnolia League-Savannah's long-standing debutante society. But white gloves and silk gowns are a far cry from the vintage t-shirts and torn jeans shorts she's used to.
Alex is the first in decades to question the Magnolia Leagues intentions, yet even she becomes entangled in their seductive world. The members enjoy youth, beauty, power...but at what cost? As Alex discovers a pact between the Magnolias and the Buzzards, a legendary hoodoo family, she discovers secrets-some deadly-hidden beneath the glossy Southern veneer.
BLUE BLOODS - Schuyler Van Alen has never fit in at Duchesne, her prestigious New York City private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes, instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her grandmother in a dilapidated mansion. Schuyler is a loner-and happy that way.
But when she turns fifteen, Schuyler's life changes dramatically. She has a mosaic of blue veins on her arms, and craves raw meat. The death of a popular girl at Duchesne is surrounded by a mystery that haunts her. And strangest of all, Jack Force, the most popular boy in school, is showing a sudden interest in her.
Schuyler wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?
See ya Friday! :D
