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maddyblenk's review against another edition
5.0
I loved diving back into this world but i miss rose and lissa! i'm excited to see how the series continues!!
marieclaire13's review against another edition
4.0
I preferred this book so much to the entire vampire academy series! Sydney is a strong main character that knows what she is good at but, unlike Rose, doesn’t believe she is perfect in any way. I enjoyed reading about a character who doesn’t feel like she has to save the world all by herself. I picked this book up when I found out that Adrian was a main character in this series as he was one of the few characters I liked in Vampire Academy and was surprised how much I actually liked this story.
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
First in the Bloodlines urban fantasy series and, this story at least, revolves around Sydney Sage, a young Alchemist with sympathy towards the Moroi and dhampirs.
You may want to read the Vampire Academy series first as background starting with Vampire Academy.
My Take
Sydney is rather irritating in her prejudices. She means well, but...she needs to loosen up and get a life. Most of the story is of Sydney's struggles with her feelings about her life, the problems in her life that were caused by her complicity with Rose and the bargain she made with Abe — we do learn just what that bargain was. I think she was cheated.
It does provide Sydney with a growing period. Growth in her own confidence and self-esteem. Exposure to her prejudices and fears. And we see the child inside who wants to prove herself. Attempting to use the adult tools to cover her non-Alchemist actions. It's something of a learning period for all of them as they are exposed to their own problems. Faced with the choice of growth or...continued whining. I don't understand why Sydney, Adrian, Lee, or Eddie don't try and help Jill develop more confidence — besides the modeling gig.
It's weird. All the Alchemists have their heads in the sand when it comes to the Moroi and the dhamphirs. It's as though only Alchemists and humans are capable of feeling or caring for others. I'm curious if Mead will run with this in future installments.
Sydney is so caught up in her "responsibilities" and proving herself that she has no clue about having fun. That scene where poor Bryan is trying to ask her out…! It certainly backfires on her when Jill goes missing! Sydney also needs to learn to CYA. Memos. Have a written or email report on everything. I did enjoy Sydney's useful skills as a pharmacist.
This school is weird, too. They notice every little bit about Jill, but they can't see something as obvious as the metallic tattoos half the school has. Nor do they seem to notice Slade's out-of-control bashing when he tries out for the team or Laurel's nastiness toward Jill. Sydney certainly got her back!
The Story
A recent attack against Jill at the Moroi Court forces Vasilisa to protect her sister. Hide her away until they can get the laws changed. And the Alchemists are willing to help conceal Jill from Moroi, Strigoi, and humans. It is, after all, in their best interests to maintain a stable Moroi government.
Jill will need protection — Eddie will be her brother and a fellow classmate while Adrian represents life. Sydney will be her sister and roommate at the school and run interference as well as transport so Jill can feed.
Meanwhile, Keith does everything he can to prick and poke, making Sydney and Jill's lives miserable. The payback is the Moroi support for Sydney against his nastiness. Even better is Adrian's collaboration on Sydney's illegal forays!
The Characters
Sydney Sage is an Alchemist. One of a group of humans who have watched over the mass of humanity, Moroi, dhamphirs, and Strigoi, protecting all from knowledge and exposure. Sydney has actually had a really lousy life with no childhood. She's uptight...oh, man, is she uptight! A brilliant girl, she has no clue about social interaction. And she's in trouble with her dad and the Alchemists for having helped Rose and the Moroi. Jared, her dad, is a first-class jerk. Controlling, doesn't know the meaning of compliment, and completely self-centered. I just love it when his pathetic perceptions get twisted! Zoe is the younger sister Sydney wants to protect. A very angry Zoe. Carly is an older sister passed over by the Alchemists. With a dark secret.
Fifteen-year-old Jillian Mastrano is Queen Vasilisa's illegitimate sister and a water power — targeted for assassination. Eddie Castile is dhamphir, a Guardian with stains on his record. Adrian Ivashkov comes along for the ride; he wields spirit as well as a lot of selfishness. Too raw from his breakup. And Jill will need him very badly. Abe Mazur, a crook, a scoundrel, Rose's father, and a hold on Sydney is helping with the planning.
The Alchemists who arrive in the night at the Sage household include Donna Stanton, Barnes, Michaelson, and David Horowitz who is a hierophant, a priest for the order who performs ceremonies including the tattooing.
Keith Darnell is the Alchemist based in Palm Springs. The apple of Jared Sage's eye; the worm in it for Sydney. A cocky, rude braggart with an outsized ego. He hates Sydney and will do anything possible to destroy her. His job is to coordinate the assignment and report to their superiors.
Clarence Donahue and his son Lee are the only Moroi living in the Palm Springs area and he has a feeder, Dorothy, he is willing to share with Jill. He's anti-Moroi government and anti-Guardians; he should be safe.
Mrs. Weathers is the dorm matron. Kristin and Julia are fellow students who become friends with Sydney. Ms. Terwilliger is the history teacher who coopts Sydney as an assistant. Turns out there's a lot more to Terwilliger than expected. Trey Juarez plans to try out for the quarterback position on the school team...if the tattoos the others are using fail. Greg Slade is one of the guys using the booster tattoos. He's also Ms. Terwilliger's PA and, eventually, wants to be friends with Sydney. Micah is another student with an interest in Jill. Ms. Carson is the PE teacher. Lia DiStefano is a designer in town who asks Jill to do some modeling for her.
Rose Hathaway makes a cameo appearance while Dimitri Belikov and Sonya Karp show later.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a deep orangey-red with a half profile of a black-shirted Adrian studying Sydney. Sydney's green tank-top-clad body faces away from us but Sydney is looking back over her shoulder at us with a cool, calculating look. Her blonde hair is swept back from her face, and her gold tattoo gleams on her cheek. At the bottom of the cover a gold thorny swirl creates and encases the title.
The title seems to refer to the Bloodlines of both Jill and Sydney.
You may want to read the Vampire Academy series first as background starting with Vampire Academy.
My Take
Sydney is rather irritating in her prejudices. She means well, but...she needs to loosen up and get a life. Most of the story is of Sydney's struggles with her feelings about her life, the problems in her life that were caused by her complicity with Rose and the bargain she made with Abe — we do learn just what that bargain was. I think she was cheated.
It does provide Sydney with a growing period. Growth in her own confidence and self-esteem. Exposure to her prejudices and fears. And we see the child inside who wants to prove herself. Attempting to use the adult tools to cover her non-Alchemist actions. It's something of a learning period for all of them as they are exposed to their own problems. Faced with the choice of growth or...continued whining. I don't understand why Sydney, Adrian, Lee, or Eddie don't try and help Jill develop more confidence — besides the modeling gig.
It's weird. All the Alchemists have their heads in the sand when it comes to the Moroi and the dhamphirs. It's as though only Alchemists and humans are capable of feeling or caring for others. I'm curious if Mead will run with this in future installments.
Sydney is so caught up in her "responsibilities" and proving herself that she has no clue about having fun. That scene where poor Bryan is trying to ask her out…! It certainly backfires on her when Jill goes missing! Sydney also needs to learn to CYA. Memos. Have a written or email report on everything. I did enjoy Sydney's useful skills as a pharmacist.
This school is weird, too. They notice every little bit about Jill, but they can't see something as obvious as the metallic tattoos half the school has. Nor do they seem to notice Slade's out-of-control bashing when he tries out for the team or Laurel's nastiness toward Jill. Sydney certainly got her back!
The Story
A recent attack against Jill at the Moroi Court forces Vasilisa to protect her sister. Hide her away until they can get the laws changed. And the Alchemists are willing to help conceal Jill from Moroi, Strigoi, and humans. It is, after all, in their best interests to maintain a stable Moroi government.
Jill will need protection — Eddie will be her brother and a fellow classmate while Adrian represents life. Sydney will be her sister and roommate at the school and run interference as well as transport so Jill can feed.
Meanwhile, Keith does everything he can to prick and poke, making Sydney and Jill's lives miserable. The payback is the Moroi support for Sydney against his nastiness. Even better is Adrian's collaboration on Sydney's illegal forays!
The Characters
Sydney Sage is an Alchemist. One of a group of humans who have watched over the mass of humanity, Moroi, dhamphirs, and Strigoi, protecting all from knowledge and exposure. Sydney has actually had a really lousy life with no childhood. She's uptight...oh, man, is she uptight! A brilliant girl, she has no clue about social interaction. And she's in trouble with her dad and the Alchemists for having helped Rose and the Moroi. Jared, her dad, is a first-class jerk. Controlling, doesn't know the meaning of compliment, and completely self-centered. I just love it when his pathetic perceptions get twisted! Zoe is the younger sister Sydney wants to protect. A very angry Zoe. Carly is an older sister passed over by the Alchemists. With a dark secret.
Fifteen-year-old Jillian Mastrano is Queen Vasilisa's illegitimate sister and a water power — targeted for assassination. Eddie Castile is dhamphir, a Guardian with stains on his record. Adrian Ivashkov comes along for the ride; he wields spirit as well as a lot of selfishness. Too raw from his breakup. And Jill will need him very badly. Abe Mazur, a crook, a scoundrel, Rose's father, and a hold on Sydney is helping with the planning.
The Alchemists who arrive in the night at the Sage household include Donna Stanton, Barnes, Michaelson, and David Horowitz who is a hierophant, a priest for the order who performs ceremonies including the tattooing.
Keith Darnell is the Alchemist based in Palm Springs. The apple of Jared Sage's eye; the worm in it for Sydney. A cocky, rude braggart with an outsized ego. He hates Sydney and will do anything possible to destroy her. His job is to coordinate the assignment and report to their superiors.
Clarence Donahue and his son Lee are the only Moroi living in the Palm Springs area and he has a feeder, Dorothy, he is willing to share with Jill. He's anti-Moroi government and anti-Guardians; he should be safe.
Mrs. Weathers is the dorm matron. Kristin and Julia are fellow students who become friends with Sydney. Ms. Terwilliger is the history teacher who coopts Sydney as an assistant. Turns out there's a lot more to Terwilliger than expected. Trey Juarez plans to try out for the quarterback position on the school team...if the tattoos the others are using fail. Greg Slade is one of the guys using the booster tattoos. He's also Ms. Terwilliger's PA and, eventually, wants to be friends with Sydney. Micah is another student with an interest in Jill. Ms. Carson is the PE teacher. Lia DiStefano is a designer in town who asks Jill to do some modeling for her.
Rose Hathaway makes a cameo appearance while Dimitri Belikov and Sonya Karp show later.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a deep orangey-red with a half profile of a black-shirted Adrian studying Sydney. Sydney's green tank-top-clad body faces away from us but Sydney is looking back over her shoulder at us with a cool, calculating look. Her blonde hair is swept back from her face, and her gold tattoo gleams on her cheek. At the bottom of the cover a gold thorny swirl creates and encases the title.
The title seems to refer to the Bloodlines of both Jill and Sydney.
ingo_lembcke's review against another edition
5.0
Started December 20th, 2013.
Just after finishing the 6-book-series Bloodlines.
The story continues, but from Sydneys pov and I guess from the first chapter, away from the court and Rose, Lissa, Dimitri.
Interesting twists and turns, most I did not see coming. And a romance starting near the end of the book.
A very good continuation of the story from the Vampire Academy-Series.
Not so much action and again the often used Highschool-Setting with all the drama and bullying, but still worth reading.
So, this far, no star less, but I am not sure if it will stay that way trough the next books in the series.
Also not as much action as the Vampire Academy books, but the difference is ok.
So far, Sydney, is interesting enough, the whole book is from her point of view-.
If you do not know the Vampire Academy-Series it is not required reading beforehand but a good idea.
Highly recommended.
Just after finishing the 6-book-series Bloodlines.
The story continues, but from Sydneys pov and I guess from the first chapter, away from the court and Rose, Lissa, Dimitri.
Interesting twists and turns, most I did not see coming. And a romance starting near the end of the book.
A very good continuation of the story from the Vampire Academy-Series.
Not so much action and again the often used Highschool-Setting with all the drama and bullying, but still worth reading.
So, this far, no star less, but I am not sure if it will stay that way trough the next books in the series.
Also not as much action as the Vampire Academy books, but the difference is ok.
So far, Sydney, is interesting enough, the whole book is from her point of view-.
If you do not know the Vampire Academy-Series it is not required reading beforehand but a good idea.
Highly recommended.
mojci's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
my fave comfort book🩷
narcissia's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ish?
I liked it. I like Sydney, though I think Rose is more fun. There are some things I loved, like that one poor guy asking Sydney about movies and most of Adrian's dialogue and interactions with Sydney (and his interactions with Keith because those are hilarious). But there are other things that I think were meh, such as basically every part of the plot involving that Lee guy. I imagine that the Lee plot line will have a point in future books.(?) But that whole arc was sorta sloppily done all around and is easily the weakest part of the novel. I occasionally became annoyed by the way in which Sydney's thought processes were written. I do think Mead's writing style is more suited to a character like Rose than Sydney, though I expect that will improve as the series progresses. I found Sydney to be an interesting character in VA and I enjoy her POV as a fresh perspective in this world and look forward to learning more about the Alchemists. I, of course, also love Adrian and his snarky wit.
I liked it. I like Sydney, though I think Rose is more fun. There are some things I loved, like that one poor guy asking Sydney about movies and most of Adrian's dialogue and interactions with Sydney (and his interactions with Keith because those are hilarious). But there are other things that I think were meh, such as basically every part of the plot involving that Lee guy. I imagine that the Lee plot line will have a point in future books.(?) But that whole arc was sorta sloppily done all around and is easily the weakest part of the novel. I occasionally became annoyed by the way in which Sydney's thought processes were written. I do think Mead's writing style is more suited to a character like Rose than Sydney, though I expect that will improve as the series progresses. I found Sydney to be an interesting character in VA and I enjoy her POV as a fresh perspective in this world and look forward to learning more about the Alchemists. I, of course, also love Adrian and his snarky wit.
commedesenfants's review against another edition
5.0
Originally posted here: http://living-a-thousand-lives.tumblr.com/post/28904501584/bloodlines-bloodlines-1-by-richelle-mead
WARNING: If you haven’t read the Vampire Academy books yet…there will be spoilers for these here. It’s unavoidable.
The Cover
I’m not a big fan of covers with big faces on them. Or any faces really. I like to imagine the characters in my head but when I see covers like this, they kind of influence it. I don’t like it. In this case, the models look a lot like how you would imagine Sydney and Adrian to look like but it’s only a small consolation. I also don’t like the “Rose” font, I connect roses with…well, Rose, so it really doesn’t fit this series. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable to be seen with this in public.
The Story
This is a spin-off series to Richelle Mead’s “Vampire Academy”(VA) novels. In the VA world vampires exist. There are different kinds though. The Moroi are “living” vampires, i.e. they are born and mortal and pretty much like humans, well except for the fangs and drinking blood and being sensitive to the sun (they won’t incinerate though) and the superhuman strength, oh and they can do elemental magic. The Moroi are the good kind of vampires. Then there are the Dhampirs. They are half human and half vampire. They don’t drink blood nor do they have fangs, they have the Moroi strength though and are usuall very athletic, that’s why the Dhampirs are there to protect the Moroi from the Strigoi. The Strigoi are the bad vampires, the immortal ones. They are made, either involuntarily turned by being killed and then fed Strigoi blood or they are Moroi who have intentionally drained another person, and by killing that person they turned to an evil Strigoi. Then there are the Alchemists who are humans. This secret organisation has sworn to protect the human race from all vampires, i.e. Moroi, Dhampirs and Strigoi. Their view is that vampires are unnatural and ungodly creatures and that humans can’t know about their existence, they are disgusting beings that shouldn’t exist. That’s the Alchemists doctrine.
So now that this short overview is done, we can finally get to Bloodlines.
Sydney Sage is an Alchemist and she, like all of her kind, is terrified of vampires. Her newest assignment, however, is to actually protect one - Jill Mastrano. Jill is the half-sister of the young Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir, and it is very important that Jill stays alive as only then can Lissa continue being queen. After a murder attempt at her life, Jill’s sent to a human boarding school in Palm Springs with her Dhampir guardian Eddie Castille and another Moroi, Adrian Ivashkov, in order to keep her safe. Sidney is assigned to Jill in order to keep her save from the Moroi assassins, as well as to keep her undetected by the humans. Of course, being in hiding is not all fun and games and Sydney soon discovers that strange things are happening at Amberwood Prep, like half the student body has tattoos that look strangely like Sydney’s golden lily tattoo (which is infused with Moroi magic) and have strange effects on the people having them.
The Protagonist
I know a lot of people think that Sydney is boring and passive and weak, espcially compared to Rose Hathaway (the MC in VA). But I disagree. Well, one thing is right, Sydney is nothing like Rose, but that’s a good thing. We already got the strong, impulsive and confident heroine in the VA novels. Wouldn’t it be incredibly boring and repetitive to have the same kind of heroine here? Sydney might not be as physically strong as Rose, she might not be as kickass as Rose, but people forget that you can actually be kickass without literally kicking ass. Sydney’s powers lay in her mind. She is extremely smart and analytical. She thinks before she acts and doesn’t run head first into unknown situations but that doesn’t mean that she’s passive. She’s only human so obviously she isn’t as physically strong as Rose, her strengths lay elsewhere. Sydney and Rose are a lot alike in other ways though. They are both incredibly loyal to those they love and would do anything to protect those they care about (and I mean ANYTHING). They also put duty above anything else.
I really like Sydney even though she is not perfect or maybe because of it (as I said nothing worse than a Mary Sue). She’s a perfectionist through and through and has extreme body image issues. Whereas Rose was extremely confident in her looks and body, Sydney is the opposite, she is avoiding any sugar and calories in order to be as thin as Moroi girls. This lack of self confidence results from a very severe upbringing by an overachieving father with unrealistic expectations in Sydney. I feel like I can identify more with Sydney than Rose, because she’s human with very human problems but also because she’s a thinker and bookworm and cautious, which is a lot like me. Despite being so book smart and pragmatic, she’s also compassionate. Her social skills might be lacking but she’s always kind and polite to everyone and tries to make everyone comfortable and tries to help them in anyway she can (she’s a typical “problem solver”), even the Moroi and Dhampirs she fears so much. Throughout this book, you can really see her character development. A lot of people are put off by Sydney’s views towards the Moroi and Dhampirs, but I think it is important for her character growth. Plus, these views have been indoctrinated into her mind her whole life. It is hard to shed these kind of believes even when you see that they might be wrong with your own eyes.
The Heart Rate
I can finally talk about Adrian! My love for Adrian Ivashkov is just unhealthy. The thing is, I don’t even know how it happened. I loved him from the very first moment he turned up in Frostbite and throughout the books my love only grew and my heart broke for him when Rose broke his in the last VA book. THANK GOD! I mean, not for Adrian being hurt but for the fact that Adrian and Rose didn’t work out because then there would be no Sydney/Adrian (Sydrian). My love for Adrian is probably only topped by my love for Sydrian. Because these two are just perfect for eachother. Again, on the surface you think they have absolutely NOTHING in common. But somehow they are the only ones who understand the other perfectly. Anyway, I think I’m going to make a separate Sydrian post because otherwise this review will turn into a very long Sydrian love fest.
Back to Adrian. Why do I love him so much? He’s gorgeous, with tousled brown hair and emerald eyes, he drinks, he smokes, he’s sarcastic and snarky and doesn’t take anything serious, just your typical handsome bad boy. So, I really shouldn’t like him. And these things are definitely not the reason why I love him (ok the good looks ARE a plus), because this is only one side of Adrian, it’s more like a cover he uses. Adrian’s actually extremely loyal and caring, he’s very perceptive and possesses a natural charm. In short, he’s totally swoonworthy.
The Good
- Sydney, Jill and Eddie pose as students at Amberwood Prep, a human boarding school. Ever since I read “St. Clare’s” by Enyd Blyton and then Harry Potter when I was young, I thought that boarding school sounded so great. No parents, you see your best friends every day, daily sleepovers, pranks etc. Obviously, I know that it probably isn’t anything like in my imagination. But stil, I have a soft spot for books that have boarding schools in them.
- I’ve never been to the US let alone Palm Springs and while I don’t like the heat, it sounds really nice there. Plus, it is nice to see a vampire novel without the typical gloomy gothic setting (though Clarence’s house sounded a bit creepy tbh).
- The supporting characters are great and not one-dimensional. Obviously we get to know Jill and Eddie better than others. Jill had her rebellious and annoying phase but she’s 15, so I’ll forgive her especially since she matured a lot by the end of the book. Eddie is just awesome. No need to elaborate. Sydney’s human friends Kristin, Julia and Trey were hilarious but also great friends to her. I’m really glad that Sydney is finally able to make friends her age and who don’t have anything to do with her job, this also allows her to have a more or less normal life for the first time.
The Bad
N/A
The Rating
★★★★★
Well, 4.5 stars because there is not enough Sydrian (again, there will be a whole post dedicated to them, probably when I’ve reviewed The Golden Lily). It’s actually embarrassing how many times I’ve read and listened to the two books in this series. The fact that the next book, The Indigo Spell won’t come out until February next year doesn’t help. I really like the VA books, but I LOVE the Bloodlines series. It’s borderline obsession. I’m not claiming that these books are literary gems or anything. They are just fun and entertaining with great characters that make me care about them (way too much to be healthy actually) and that’s all I want in a good book.
WARNING: If you haven’t read the Vampire Academy books yet…there will be spoilers for these here. It’s unavoidable.
The Cover
I’m not a big fan of covers with big faces on them. Or any faces really. I like to imagine the characters in my head but when I see covers like this, they kind of influence it. I don’t like it. In this case, the models look a lot like how you would imagine Sydney and Adrian to look like but it’s only a small consolation. I also don’t like the “Rose” font, I connect roses with…well, Rose, so it really doesn’t fit this series. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable to be seen with this in public.
The Story
This is a spin-off series to Richelle Mead’s “Vampire Academy”(VA) novels. In the VA world vampires exist. There are different kinds though. The Moroi are “living” vampires, i.e. they are born and mortal and pretty much like humans, well except for the fangs and drinking blood and being sensitive to the sun (they won’t incinerate though) and the superhuman strength, oh and they can do elemental magic. The Moroi are the good kind of vampires. Then there are the Dhampirs. They are half human and half vampire. They don’t drink blood nor do they have fangs, they have the Moroi strength though and are usuall very athletic, that’s why the Dhampirs are there to protect the Moroi from the Strigoi. The Strigoi are the bad vampires, the immortal ones. They are made, either involuntarily turned by being killed and then fed Strigoi blood or they are Moroi who have intentionally drained another person, and by killing that person they turned to an evil Strigoi. Then there are the Alchemists who are humans. This secret organisation has sworn to protect the human race from all vampires, i.e. Moroi, Dhampirs and Strigoi. Their view is that vampires are unnatural and ungodly creatures and that humans can’t know about their existence, they are disgusting beings that shouldn’t exist. That’s the Alchemists doctrine.
So now that this short overview is done, we can finally get to Bloodlines.
Sydney Sage is an Alchemist and she, like all of her kind, is terrified of vampires. Her newest assignment, however, is to actually protect one - Jill Mastrano. Jill is the half-sister of the young Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir, and it is very important that Jill stays alive as only then can Lissa continue being queen. After a murder attempt at her life, Jill’s sent to a human boarding school in Palm Springs with her Dhampir guardian Eddie Castille and another Moroi, Adrian Ivashkov, in order to keep her safe. Sidney is assigned to Jill in order to keep her save from the Moroi assassins, as well as to keep her undetected by the humans. Of course, being in hiding is not all fun and games and Sydney soon discovers that strange things are happening at Amberwood Prep, like half the student body has tattoos that look strangely like Sydney’s golden lily tattoo (which is infused with Moroi magic) and have strange effects on the people having them.
The Protagonist
I know a lot of people think that Sydney is boring and passive and weak, espcially compared to Rose Hathaway (the MC in VA). But I disagree. Well, one thing is right, Sydney is nothing like Rose, but that’s a good thing. We already got the strong, impulsive and confident heroine in the VA novels. Wouldn’t it be incredibly boring and repetitive to have the same kind of heroine here? Sydney might not be as physically strong as Rose, she might not be as kickass as Rose, but people forget that you can actually be kickass without literally kicking ass. Sydney’s powers lay in her mind. She is extremely smart and analytical. She thinks before she acts and doesn’t run head first into unknown situations but that doesn’t mean that she’s passive. She’s only human so obviously she isn’t as physically strong as Rose, her strengths lay elsewhere. Sydney and Rose are a lot alike in other ways though. They are both incredibly loyal to those they love and would do anything to protect those they care about (and I mean ANYTHING). They also put duty above anything else.
I really like Sydney even though she is not perfect or maybe because of it (as I said nothing worse than a Mary Sue). She’s a perfectionist through and through and has extreme body image issues. Whereas Rose was extremely confident in her looks and body, Sydney is the opposite, she is avoiding any sugar and calories in order to be as thin as Moroi girls. This lack of self confidence results from a very severe upbringing by an overachieving father with unrealistic expectations in Sydney. I feel like I can identify more with Sydney than Rose, because she’s human with very human problems but also because she’s a thinker and bookworm and cautious, which is a lot like me. Despite being so book smart and pragmatic, she’s also compassionate. Her social skills might be lacking but she’s always kind and polite to everyone and tries to make everyone comfortable and tries to help them in anyway she can (she’s a typical “problem solver”), even the Moroi and Dhampirs she fears so much. Throughout this book, you can really see her character development. A lot of people are put off by Sydney’s views towards the Moroi and Dhampirs, but I think it is important for her character growth. Plus, these views have been indoctrinated into her mind her whole life. It is hard to shed these kind of believes even when you see that they might be wrong with your own eyes.
The Heart Rate
I can finally talk about Adrian! My love for Adrian Ivashkov is just unhealthy. The thing is, I don’t even know how it happened. I loved him from the very first moment he turned up in Frostbite and throughout the books my love only grew and my heart broke for him when Rose broke his in the last VA book. THANK GOD! I mean, not for Adrian being hurt but for the fact that Adrian and Rose didn’t work out because then there would be no Sydney/Adrian (Sydrian). My love for Adrian is probably only topped by my love for Sydrian. Because these two are just perfect for eachother. Again, on the surface you think they have absolutely NOTHING in common. But somehow they are the only ones who understand the other perfectly. Anyway, I think I’m going to make a separate Sydrian post because otherwise this review will turn into a very long Sydrian love fest.
Back to Adrian. Why do I love him so much? He’s gorgeous, with tousled brown hair and emerald eyes, he drinks, he smokes, he’s sarcastic and snarky and doesn’t take anything serious, just your typical handsome bad boy. So, I really shouldn’t like him. And these things are definitely not the reason why I love him (ok the good looks ARE a plus), because this is only one side of Adrian, it’s more like a cover he uses. Adrian’s actually extremely loyal and caring, he’s very perceptive and possesses a natural charm. In short, he’s totally swoonworthy.
The Good
- Sydney, Jill and Eddie pose as students at Amberwood Prep, a human boarding school. Ever since I read “St. Clare’s” by Enyd Blyton and then Harry Potter when I was young, I thought that boarding school sounded so great. No parents, you see your best friends every day, daily sleepovers, pranks etc. Obviously, I know that it probably isn’t anything like in my imagination. But stil, I have a soft spot for books that have boarding schools in them.
- I’ve never been to the US let alone Palm Springs and while I don’t like the heat, it sounds really nice there. Plus, it is nice to see a vampire novel without the typical gloomy gothic setting (though Clarence’s house sounded a bit creepy tbh).
- The supporting characters are great and not one-dimensional. Obviously we get to know Jill and Eddie better than others. Jill had her rebellious and annoying phase but she’s 15, so I’ll forgive her especially since she matured a lot by the end of the book. Eddie is just awesome. No need to elaborate. Sydney’s human friends Kristin, Julia and Trey were hilarious but also great friends to her. I’m really glad that Sydney is finally able to make friends her age and who don’t have anything to do with her job, this also allows her to have a more or less normal life for the first time.
The Bad
N/A
The Rating
★★★★★
Well, 4.5 stars because there is not enough Sydrian (again, there will be a whole post dedicated to them, probably when I’ve reviewed The Golden Lily). It’s actually embarrassing how many times I’ve read and listened to the two books in this series. The fact that the next book, The Indigo Spell won’t come out until February next year doesn’t help. I really like the VA books, but I LOVE the Bloodlines series. It’s borderline obsession. I’m not claiming that these books are literary gems or anything. They are just fun and entertaining with great characters that make me care about them (way too much to be healthy actually) and that’s all I want in a good book.
isagirardi's review against another edition
3.0
miss Mead is big on age gaps and i don’t usually mind but 15 is to young. that’s a child
graciejames's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0