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commedesenfants 's review for:
The Golden Lily
by Richelle Mead
Originally posted here: http://living-a-thousand-lives.tumblr.com/post/29407387509/the-golden-lily-bloodlines-2-by-richelle-mead
Spoilers for Bloodlines
The Cover
My dislike for big faces on covers hasn’t changed but I’m biased to this series and this doesn’t bother me as it would be with other books. I like that it’s finally a “lily” font now.
The Story
In the last book we found out that former Strigoi can’t be turned again. For the Alchemist and Moroi alike this opens some great opportunities and they obviously want to research this phenomenon. Dimitri and Sonya Karp are the heads of this research group, to the displeasure of Adrian who had agreed to help them before he knew that the boyfriend of the girl who broke his heart(let’s be honest here, Rose kind of tore it out and trampled on it…even if it was unintentionally). Sydney and the Amberwood gang (who have another member, Angeline) are still in hiding but they all seem to have gotten into a routine. Of course, they can’t catch a breath as there are new threats lurking and Clarence’s paranoia suddenly doesn’t seem so crazy anymore.
The Protagonist
Sydney is really struggling to connect what the Alchemists have taught her with her own feelings. She’s started to see the Palm Springs group as friends and that puts her in a dilemma. The Alchemists do not tolerate fraternizing with vampires. If they ever found out that Sydney truly cares for her vampire friends, she’s in danger of being put into re-education, which is the worst thing an Alchemist could go through. It’s great to see how far Sydney has come, she used to freeze up in fear when she was merely in the same room with a vampire but she is starting to question things and to think for herself. She learns that it’s not about what you are but who you are, that humans are also capable of evil. While she’s still not sure to follow her heart or head, in the end what matters to her most is loyalty to those she cares about and she’s willing to risk everything for them. Sydney is still hilariously socially awkward and I think it’s really great how she tries to take care of everybody. I mentioned before that there is nothing worse than a Mary Sue and Sydney is definitely not one. She’s so confident about her intelligence and brain but when it comes to her appearance and body she’s insecure to a fault, which as I said is a result of her critical father, and doesn’t see herself like others see her. She’s always there for her friends and takes care of them and doesn’t want anything in return. She’s happy when they are happy. Which is great but it’s also dangerous because she never thinks about herself and would rather risk her health than to let anyone down. Sydney is such a diverse chracter that it’s easy to relate with her, she’s strong but weak, confident but insecure and so much more. She’s the kind of girl I want to be friends with.
The Heart Rate
It’s so clear in this one that Adrian is head over heels in love with Sydney - well it’s clear to anyone but Sydney. It’s adorable. Three words: Slushie, cross, springtime yellow (ok that was 4 words…but springtime yellow counts as one to me…whatever). As I said, I love relationships that are developed slowly and seeing Sydney and Adrian’s relationship progress is amazing. They have so much chemistry but the best part is that they know and understand eachother better than anyone else. There is so much that it against them but I’m sure they will defeat the odds in the end.
The Good
- Magic: We learn more about magic in this one. I think it’s a fascinating aspect.
- Koolin’ Around: The Anti-Drugs and Safe Sex musical with smash hits such as “STDs are not for me”
- I like that we learn more about the human organizations. In VA we got to see how the vampire world works and all about their politics. Thanks to Sydney’s POV we learn more about the other side.
- Dimitri and Sonya: I love that other characters from VA make appearances. Dimitri is still the badass zen master and Sonya is still gentle and sweet. I like that Sydney can go to them when she needs advice. I really hope we’ll see more of the old gang in the next book (like Christian, Lissa and Mia).
The Bad
N/A
The Rating
★★★★★
This one gets full marks. Because of that ending! Bloodlines was a good introduction to this new series and while the mystery and action in the first book was better, The Golden Lily really moved along in the plot and character development department. The only “bad” thing: The Indigo Spell won’t come out until February next year…boo!
Spoilers for Bloodlines
The Cover
My dislike for big faces on covers hasn’t changed but I’m biased to this series and this doesn’t bother me as it would be with other books. I like that it’s finally a “lily” font now.
The Story
In the last book we found out that former Strigoi can’t be turned again. For the Alchemist and Moroi alike this opens some great opportunities and they obviously want to research this phenomenon. Dimitri and Sonya Karp are the heads of this research group, to the displeasure of Adrian who had agreed to help them before he knew that the boyfriend of the girl who broke his heart(let’s be honest here, Rose kind of tore it out and trampled on it…even if it was unintentionally). Sydney and the Amberwood gang (who have another member, Angeline) are still in hiding but they all seem to have gotten into a routine. Of course, they can’t catch a breath as there are new threats lurking and Clarence’s paranoia suddenly doesn’t seem so crazy anymore.
The Protagonist
Sydney is really struggling to connect what the Alchemists have taught her with her own feelings. She’s started to see the Palm Springs group as friends and that puts her in a dilemma. The Alchemists do not tolerate fraternizing with vampires. If they ever found out that Sydney truly cares for her vampire friends, she’s in danger of being put into re-education, which is the worst thing an Alchemist could go through. It’s great to see how far Sydney has come, she used to freeze up in fear when she was merely in the same room with a vampire but she is starting to question things and to think for herself. She learns that it’s not about what you are but who you are, that humans are also capable of evil. While she’s still not sure to follow her heart or head, in the end what matters to her most is loyalty to those she cares about and she’s willing to risk everything for them. Sydney is still hilariously socially awkward and I think it’s really great how she tries to take care of everybody. I mentioned before that there is nothing worse than a Mary Sue and Sydney is definitely not one. She’s so confident about her intelligence and brain but when it comes to her appearance and body she’s insecure to a fault, which as I said is a result of her critical father, and doesn’t see herself like others see her. She’s always there for her friends and takes care of them and doesn’t want anything in return. She’s happy when they are happy. Which is great but it’s also dangerous because she never thinks about herself and would rather risk her health than to let anyone down. Sydney is such a diverse chracter that it’s easy to relate with her, she’s strong but weak, confident but insecure and so much more. She’s the kind of girl I want to be friends with.
The Heart Rate
It’s so clear in this one that Adrian is head over heels in love with Sydney - well it’s clear to anyone but Sydney. It’s adorable. Three words: Slushie, cross, springtime yellow (ok that was 4 words…but springtime yellow counts as one to me…whatever). As I said, I love relationships that are developed slowly and seeing Sydney and Adrian’s relationship progress is amazing. They have so much chemistry but the best part is that they know and understand eachother better than anyone else. There is so much that it against them but I’m sure they will defeat the odds in the end.
The Good
- Magic: We learn more about magic in this one. I think it’s a fascinating aspect.
- Koolin’ Around: The Anti-Drugs and Safe Sex musical with smash hits such as “STDs are not for me”
- I like that we learn more about the human organizations. In VA we got to see how the vampire world works and all about their politics. Thanks to Sydney’s POV we learn more about the other side.
- Dimitri and Sonya: I love that other characters from VA make appearances. Dimitri is still the badass zen master and Sonya is still gentle and sweet. I like that Sydney can go to them when she needs advice. I really hope we’ll see more of the old gang in the next book (like Christian, Lissa and Mia).
The Bad
N/A
The Rating
★★★★★
This one gets full marks. Because of that ending! Bloodlines was a good introduction to this new series and while the mystery and action in the first book was better, The Golden Lily really moved along in the plot and character development department. The only “bad” thing: The Indigo Spell won’t come out until February next year…boo!