Bloodlines

Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Bloodlines, #1
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: August 23, 2011

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 wither 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 still thinks she's being punished by 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 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, distraction, and forbidden romance lurk both outside—and within—the school grounds. Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only the beginning.

There's nothing like reading a good book to wash the horrid taste of the last.

First, I must say that the series that preceded this, Vampire Academy, was nothing special for me. Every time I finished one book, I always would feel unsatisfied or annoyed by something Rose and the rest of the cast had done. I would skim through pages just to get it over with, stopping only when I spotted the odd interesting scene. When the final book Last Sacrifice was over and done with, the conclusion left a bad taste in my mouth, and I gave away the books, never wanting to see them again. I wouldn't have went on to read the spin-off at all if someone hadn't gifted it to me, and I thought it would have been a waste if I didn't give it a shot. So you can see how surprised I was to find myself loving Bloodlines all the way.

The author offers great, short recaps every so often in Sydney's narrative, but I think for new readers to fully appreciate the baggage these characters' carry and not be spoiled on the previous series's events, I suggest you read through Vampire Academy first.

Sydney has been raised to fear vampires and their half-breeds her entire life. Moroi, Strigori, Dhampirs—it didn't matter whether they were good or evil. They were all unnatural, bloodsucking creatures to be abhorred and hidden away from mankind. Any alchemist that was known to even think of them kindly would be sent to the Re-education Center to be tortured until their lesson was learned. For a while, Sydney was the same in alchemist thinking and had even been the perfect role-model for the profession with her cold, controlled, and responsible personality. Until Rose Hathaway entered the picture.

Little by little, the dhampir earned her trust and later embroiled her in a search to clear her name of murder, which marked Sydney as a traitor when she was caught. Rose had eventually found her evidence, but Sydney would now be looked upon with eyes of suspicion. Bloodlines deals with the aftermath of Last Sacrifice, of all the people Rose in some way hurt.

What makes Sydney different from Team Human's Mel is that Sydney was raised with her prejudice. She was brainwashed, never given time to think for herself or formulate her own opinions about these other species. I know firsthand how it feels to be raised to be intolerant, and it took me a while to realize how wrong I was and that the people I thought I hated for being different didn't deserve to be judged or mocked. And while Sydney has her reservations against vampires, at least she treats them almost as if they were the same and slowly but surely starts to grow to realize that Moroi and Dhampirs aren't the monsters the alchemists claim.

Laurel's words suddenly rang back to me. You know, you can be as scary as hell sometimes. 

I loved that where Rose is brash, impulsive, and insensitive, Sydney actually thinks about the situation and its consequences. She may have an aversion to violence, but this in no way makes her weak. In her own quiet, clever way, she fights back. She cannot verbally or physically rebel against her fellow alchemists without being severely punished or having her sister become a slave to them. Her supervisor, whom she holds a mutual distaste, is a golden boy who could have the higher-ups believe in any twisted version of the truth he says. She already is on thin ice due to the incident with Rose, and one misstep could have her sent to the Re-education Center. I wanted to console her whenever she was feeling frustrated, which was often when having to babysit a teenage princess and her overprotective and sometimes unreasonable entourage.

"Takes a lot of tries before you hit perfection." [Adrian] paused to reconsider that. "Well, except for my parents. They got it on the first try."

Her future love interest, Adrian, is still hung-up over Rose after a month of having broken up with her. There is no Sydrian yet, (which is terrific since that would be highly unrealistic) but the chemistry between them so far is great. I loved that they're just building up trust between each other and in turn, a friendship, which we so rarely see. I loved that they generally bring out the best in each other and help each other grow as a person. I loved knowing that in the next book there will most likely be them battling out forbidden feelings, because I love the desperation of wanting characters to be together than the satisfaction of them actually getting together. While reading Vampire Academy, I did not give a flying fudge bar on whether or not Rose and Dimitri would ever be together. Here, my inner shipper came to fore.

I had no problem with the rest of the characters. I even liked the recurring ones much better here than in the previous books, including Rose. I was immensely satisfied with how the secrets were strung together—I never would have guessed the answer to each one—and how the book was wrapped up. I have to say that Richelle Mead really stepped it up in Bloodlines, and I hope she keeps it up for the rest of the series.