Book Review: Bloodlines

Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published: 2011, Penguin Group
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Bloodlines is a companion series to Vampire Academy. This series focuses on Sydney Sage, an Alchemist who appears in the Vampire Academy series. Alchemists are responsible for protecting the human world from the vampire world, and Sydney is pulled from her bed one night and given an important mission: she is going to be sent to Palm Springs, California to protect an important Moroi (vampire) girl. Sydney must attend Amberwood Prep, a private high school, as part of the mission. Not only must she repeat her senior year of high school and deal with the ensuing drama, but she also has to live with vampires, whom she has been taught to regard as disgusting monsters. No pressure. 

This book was a lot of fun. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the Vampire Academy books, but it was still good. It's hard to tell at this point, though; I'll make a final decision about that once I finish all six books. I did find it difficult to get into, however, since I read the VA series when I was in high school. 

Oh, well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The story was fairly slow-moving. There was a lot of set up in the beginning, a lot of descriptions of past events and some Alchemist info-dumping. While this was not the most interesting stuff to read, it did help me re-immerse myself into the world. Once Sydney gets to Palm Springs, though, things get more exciting. There are a bunch of familiar characters from Vampire Academy, and I got a little nostalgic seeing them pop up.

I'm currently on the fourth book in this series, The Fiery Heart, so I'm trying to avoid writing any spoilers. Bloodlines is an entertaining book, but it is a lot of set up for the rest of the series.  Each book has its own subplot, but there is an overarching plot that spans all six books. 

I really, really, love the characters, though. I wasn't sure about Sydney at first, but she grew on me. All the characters are so distinct and important to the story; no one is wasted. If you liked the Vampire Academy series, I suggest you pick up Bloodlines. You do need to read all the VA books first, however. I would also recommend this series if you like a good slow-burn romance, because this one is fantastic.