Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) by Richelle Mead



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4 out of 5 stars

Bloodlines, the first book in the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead, is a spinoff of the Vampire Academy series. Before starting this book, I had long since finished the Vampire Academy series. I was really excited to read this one. Particularly because Sydney Sage was the main character of the series. And having just finished the first book, I must say that it was interesting to read an Alchemist's POV. Alchemists are a group of humans that devote their lives to protecting humans from the vampire world. They serve as a bridge between the human world and the vampire world, keeping the two races apart. If a member of either party tries to make a commotion or cause a disturbance, the Alchemists deal with. They do things like keep the Moroi (good, live, magic practicing vampires) world secret from humans and destroy Strigoi (evil, undead, non-magical, vampires) bodies before humans discover them.

If Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy) was the color black, then Sydney Sage is the color white. These two girls are stark opposites. Not just in that one is a Dhampir (a half-human, half-vampire) and that the other is an Alchemist, but they're personalities are completely different. Rose is a social, outgoing, fierce, and occasional rebel while Sydney is an introverted, non-outgoing, dresses in dreary colors, always following the rules kind of gal. She has poor social skills and is very dense. Seriously, she couldn't tell if a guy was asking her out or just making small talk about cinema. She didn't even consider the first option. It was that bad with her. But, I guess you can't blame her considering she was home schooled her entire life,  and never had a boyfriend (Nevermind, I've never been in a relationship and I can tell you when a guy's asking you out or just making conversation.)  Despite all that, I liked Sydney's character. She's sarcastic, intelligent, and kinda pretty (but who says they all have to be hot). If there's anything Rose and Sydney have in common though, is that they'd do anything for those they love.

Now, about the plot. I was conflicted with the plot of this book. I didn't know whether I liked it or didn't. The characters were there, the setting was okay, but what this book lacked was action. I guess that's what the characters were hoping to avoid, SPOILERS considering Jill needed protection from the rebel Moroi. The whole point of moving to Palm Springs in the first place was to avoid the action. So, that's figured out. But the "action" we got was kind of pathetic. It was actually more of a drama kind of thing than of action. Some of the dilemmas the characters faced were ridiculous, especially Jill. "Oh, whoever of the three guys that admire her should Jill pick to go out with?" (Whereas Sydney had one very, very brief moment of admiration from a boy.) "Oh, however, are we going to get Jill to the fashion show now?" "Oh, I wonder what type of coffee Ms.Terwilliger wants today?". Those parts annoyed me a little. I loved the Adrian Ivashkov's scenes. Adrian sort of reminds of Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl. What with the low expectations people have of him, his wallowing in his sorrows by drinking, his whoring, his mysterious and unpredictable behavior, his flip-switch moods, and the way you never really know what he's thinking. I can go on and on. I really enjoy Adrian's character. He's cute and has a snarky sense of humor. He was one of my favorite characters from the Vampire Academy series. I'm glad he's going to be a reoccurring character in this one.

So, did I like this book? Yes! Will I read the rest of the books in the series? Absolutely, I have the next three books. Is it going to get better? Most certainly.

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