Bloodlines (Bloodlines Series #1)
Author: Richelle Mead
Purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Synopsis: Sydney’s
blood is special. That’s because she’s an alchemist—one of a group of humans
who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They
protect vampire secrets—and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with
vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her
allegiances in question, her future is on the line.
When Sydney is torn from her bed in the
middle of the night, at first she thinks she’s still being punished for her
complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse.
Jill Dragomir—the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Draomir—is in mortal danger, and
the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called
upon to act as Jill’s guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the
unlikeliest of places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The
last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now
she has to live with one.
The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney
will be safe at Amberwoord Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden
romance lurk both outside—and within—the school grounds. Now they’re in hiding,
the drama is only beginning.
Brought to you by TeamNerd Reviewer
Annabell Cadiz
Review: I first heard about the Bloodlines
Series via fans on Twitter but didn’t pay much attention to it. I am not a
fan of Richelle Mead. Her first series The
Vampire Academy was HORRIBLE! Rose was not only a girl who took the word
whore to a whole other level but she was incredibly selfish, reckless beyond
needing and self-centered. I didn’t waste my time reading all the books in the series
because frankly I could barely get through the first two (and I had to skim
through the second one). I did pick up the final book in that series and
skimmed through it only to discover how predictable it all was and my
assumptions of Rose from the beginning remained as true until the end. So
suffice to say, I wasn’t exactly excited to read Bloodlines but I was curious to know what all the hype was about,
especially after my best bud Bridget loved The
Golden Lily, the second novel in the Bloodlines
Series, so much. (But then again she’s also a fan of the Vampire Academy Series so that probably
should have been a warning of caution for me =P).
Surprisingly
though I ACTUALLY did enjoy Bloodlines.
Perhaps because of the fact that Rose and Dimitri weren’t involved so much with
the story (THANK GOD!) or the fact that Sydney, the main lead, was ACTAULLY
portrayed as a SMART woman.
Now Bloodlines
is a SPIN-OFF SERIES which means the plot is pretty much the same as the VA
Series with a few differences: Sydney Melrose had made a huge ghastly mistake
in the eyes of her community of Alchemists by aiding a vampire (Rose) in escape
and must now prove her loyalties. She is sent off to boarding school, assigned
to protect Jill, Queen Lissa sister since the entire vampire community isn’t
exactly thrilled that Lissa is Queen. Attempts have been made on Lissa and
Jill’s life so until things get settled down Jill must be housed somewhere away
for safe keeping. Enter Amberwood Prep, where our gang of misfit characters are
to hide away: Sydney our book smart, sassy, racist Alchemist; Jill, the young
princess in training; Eddie, a dhampir who is Jill’s guardian; Keith, the
dirtbag Alchemist who is in charge of everyone; Lee, a Moroi who is the son of
Clarence, the old dude’s house the vamps will use to get their feedings, and of
course, the oh-so-loveable Adrian Ivanhkov, the rich, playboy vampire with
magical spirit powers (who was used disgustingly by Rose in the VA Series).
I did enjoy the
fact that the book was told from Sydney’s perspective. She is smart,
analytical, strong (even though everyone underestimates her) and has a good
heart. But she also happens to be a racist but then again, she was groomed to
be. You see, Alchemists are trained not to like vampires, not to be caring or
sympathetic toward them in any regard. They are trained to believe vampires are
unnatural and abominations so I could understand why Sydney kept having this
internal struggle with herself over wanting to befriend the vampires she was
assigned to protect and wanting to run the hell away from them. I’m not saying
I like racists or am I encouraging racism in any way, shape or form, but I can
understand WHY she thinks the way she does, especially after meeting her father
and the other Alchemists. Sydney likes following rules and likes to keep things
in order because that’s the only way her father ever shows any ounce of
affection toward her so when she broke the pact of the Alchemists and helped
Rose and Dimitri she was shunned and wants so desperately to have her father’s
approval again. Alchemy is the only thing she’s ever known, the only world
she’s ever lived in so I can sympathize with her. Sydney is slowing breaking
out of that world as she grows to develop a tentative friendship with Jill,
Eddie, and Adrian. She’s still terrified but she’s open minded and I give her
props for that.
Jill, on the
other hand, was an entirely waste of protection and page space. She spent the
entire book whinnying, complaining, feeling sorry for herself and throwing tantrums.
I couldn’t see the point of her character. I would have just let Jill get
killed if I was Eddie. If she’s ever to become Queen she would definitely be
assassinated.
Keith is a
douchbag extraordinaire and he played his part to a T. Lee was sweet and a
cute, awkward nerd. I liked the twist with his character closer to the end.
Eddie was an okay character. He is neither there nor here since his character
didn’t really shine. I mean he had the kickass-strong-as-hell-fierce-gaze thing
every dhampir has down and he was kind but his character wasn’t developed
enough to really make a big splash.
Then there’s
Adrian. The only character I liked from the VA Series. He’s still witty and
infuriatingly charming as ever. He still drinks too much and parties too hard.
But this time around, Adrian is more broken, much darker thanks to his fallout
with Rose (why he is still hung up on her I don’t understand). I liked seeing
Adrian’s sensitive side and his brotherly love for Jill but the best parts
where when he would banter with Sydney. Sydney doesn’t exactly warm up to
Adrian and they slowly build a love/hate friendship with each other.
For fans who
expect an action packed book you will be disappointed. There are small moments
of action throughout the book but the main action comes closer toward the
ending, about when eighty percent of the book is done. Bloodlines gives a lot of backstory of Sydney’s connection to the
Alchemists, Rose and Dimitri, her dark past with Keith and discovering who is
creating the tattoos that mimic Alchemist power and being sold to students at
Amberwood. The book is heavy with details and with Sydney’s thoughts which I
didn’t always mind since I liked learning about the Alchemist and why she hated
Keith so much, that revelation was sick and I was totally on Sydney’s side. But
there was a good amount of repetition and the pacing is slow and steady. There
are some really good moments of suspense but the story has many moments of dragging
on because it’s weighed down by boring moments with Jill and Sydney’s
judgments. The ending was pretty okay. I saw it coming and am not entirely
happy about who’s come onto the scene but I liked Sydney and Adrian so I will
give the second book a try.
Fans of the Vampire Academy Series will most likely
not love Bloodlines as much because
the action is sub-par and Sydney is nothing like Rose (which I am incredibly
grateful for). But for fans who have escaped the stupidity of that series and
who enjoy a good paranormal tale, should give this book a try.
Despite the fact
that Bloodlines is heavy worded with
descriptions, thoughts, prejudice and at times useless scenes, it has potential
to be something good.
Let’s hope
Richelle Mead manages to pick up the action and doesn’t ruin Sydney by turning
her into a clone of Rose.
About the Author: Scorpio Richelle Mead is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works on her three series full-time: Georgina Kincaid, Dark Swan, and Vampire Academy.
A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.
A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.
Where to Find the Author
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