I cannot overstate how disappointed I was by this book. I love Melissa de la Cruz! I’ve read a lot of her books, and enjoyed them! I particularly loved the Blue Bloods series, which was contemporaneous with a lot of supernatural romance emerging in YA. Schuyler is a compelling protagonist, and her adventures moved quickly from peril to peril, before ultimately she and her friends triumph over their devilish adversaries. This victory doesn’t come without loss, as Schuyler is forced to sacrifice her true love in order to defeat Lucifer.
Blue Bloods: After Life takes place in a totally different world, with the Schuyler we know suddenly inhabiting the life of a different Schuyler, in a different year, in a vastly different New York. The premise is promising, and then it’s completely unfulfilled.
First issue: world-building. This story takes place in pandemic-era New York, in 2020, and Schuyler is fifteen, in high school again. Some things are very different, she and Oliver have different last names and families, and some things are weirdly the same: Schuyler has the same father, for one thing. And she’s still a Blue Blood, despite not being Gabrielle’s daughter in this universe. What? That’s explained away pretty quickly, but not to my satisfaction. There are also some differences in the history of this world, but that doesn’t seem to affect the present day much? Like, Napoleon died a lot earlier, but that doesn’t change the modern world in a discernible way. The whole alternate worlds thing requires more panache to pull off and it just doesn’t happen in this book.
Kingsley Martin is also in this universe, but he arrived a year earlier, for some reason, and is running the underground resistance. Another thing that just happens! Why would Kingsley just fall out of the sky? No explanation. I will say just about the only compelling thing about this book was his chemistry with Max Force, and their relationship developing. Then, killing Kingsley off? Ugh, why? He’s already died once in this series, how much does he have to take?
I think if I was doctoring this book, it wouldn’t take much to fix the biggest problems. Firstly, the point of views were a great idea, I love seeing into Max’s head, so a good change would be that it’s only Jack who gets thrown into the body of his alternate self. He’s just died in the main Blue Bloods universe, I’d buy it that he would somehow bleed between the worlds or be thrust into another version of himself. Plus, let’s face it, Schuyler’s life in this alternate world is boring, she has little power and even less information. I did not want to read about her being in Zoom classes all day and then sneaking out at night. So, cut that Kingsley and Schuyler fall through, and just have it be Jack. He has this weird imposition of his old self, the one we know, and he becomes conflicted about his position as Lucifer’s golden boy. Meanwhile, you can still have Kingsley and Max fall in love, just the version of Kingsley from this universe, who can still be sabotaging Lucifer. Jack can fall in love with this universe’s Schuyler, and find the strength to turn against the devil. I also don’t like that this is setting up at least a sequel, and possibly a new series. I would just have this be a stand-alone book, and have Jack and Max work together with Schuyler to defeat Lucifer from the inside. Given their positions in his organization, it wouldn’t be that hard to get close to Lucifer and for Schuyler to shish-kebab him. These changes would weed out a lot of what doesn’t work about this book, and lean on the strengths: Max and Kingsley’s relationship, and that between the twins. I think this book actually did build a good bond between Max and Jack, and I think having the book from their perspectives alone would allow that relationship to take center stage in the development of the characters.
The primary thought I had while reading this book was that the author wanted to change some things about the way they told they story, without sacrificing the narrative already existing. It just was a frustrating, boring story with little to recommend it. You’re better off just rereading the original series.
Blue Bloods: After Life is available wherever books are sold, or at your local library. This reviewer was provided with a copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
The Chamber of Spoilers 