REVIEW + DISCUSSION: bloodlines by richelle mead

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
Series: Bloodlines #1
on August 23rd 2011
Pages: 421
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
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I wasn't free of my past, not yet.

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 allegiences 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 Dragomir - 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 Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden romance lurk both outside - and within - the school grounds. Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only just beginning.

okay, so if you don’t know, i binge read vampire academy last year, and i honestly didn’t realize how badly i needed to be back in the vampire academy world until i started this book. i was in such a huge ass slump (i had not picked up a book in like, 2 months) and this series brought me right out of it! i finished it in a whole week and had zero regrets about doing so.

it’s been awhile since i have read the vampire academy series so i honestly have nothing to compare it to when to comes to whether mead’s writing style has changed or shebang like that. but i can tell you that it feels like it hasn’t changed. bloodlines was definitely something that i could jump right back into, despite how long i have been away from the series or even the vampire academy universe and the fact that this series about a whole new set of characters and storyline.

something i also loved about this book – and series in general – was how it opened up new territories in the vampire academy world. the main character is an alchemist, a group of people who basically babysit the moroi (vampires). in vampire academy, we don’t know much about the alchemists which bloodlines remedies and i honestly find  this world so fun to read about so getting to know more about it is always a plus. (i also really love how this world has more to offer aka more books to offer @ richelle mead wink wink)

this series obviously follows a whole new different set of minor characters we previously saw in vampire academy and a new situation for these characters. one of my favorite things about this book was getting to know the minor characters a lot better. in vampire academy we very much get a thorough idea of who rose is, who lissa is, even dimitri but we don’t really get to know some of the minor characters that i loved. and honestly, i am glad i waited a little before getting to bloodlines because i know that if i had read it right after vampire academy the only thing i would have been thinking about is rose and dimitri and what the fuck they’re up to. time and space to just get over the series before diving into this one was good because i have had something like that happen to me before. so yeah, good characters live in this book! it’s one of the reasons why i love vampire academy so much – the characters here are the best.

obviously i am not going to talk much about this series in general but if you’re looking for the beginning of a fabulous series filled with cries, laughs, twists and turns, great friendships, and romance i would definitely advise to pick up either vampire academy or bloodlines. you don’t need to have read vampire academy to read bloodlines, mead does a fabulous job explaining things through each book but honestly, i think things would make a lot more sense if you read vampire academy before bloodlines. plus after finishing bloodlines, i have to say i kinda prefer vampire academy. DOESN’T MEAN THAT BLOODLINES SUCK AND I DON’T LOVE IT BECAUSE I DO, vampire academy was just a tiny bit better. read both though because both of them will have you SHOOK. (and bloodlines spoils so much of vampire academy and no one wants to go into a series knowing all the plot twists right?)

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