Helpful Score: 2
This is the second book in the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. Right now there are six books planned for this series; the third book (The Indigo Spell) is scheduled for a Feb 2013 release. This was a decent continuation of this series. We get to see Sydney learn more about magic and watch as she copes with all of the vamps surrounding her.
Sydney is still at school trying to manage Jills safety. The vamps in the story are conducting some testing on Dimitri to see how his blood is different from other vamps. There is a lot of high school drama going on about who loves who and Sydney goes on her first date with a guy who seems to be the perfect match for her. The stakes are upped when one of the vamps is kidnapped by a group of Vampire Hunters and only the Alchmists ages old connection with the group allows Sydney to help out.
I enjoyed this book but when I sit down to think about what actually happened in this book, well not much happens. The first two-thirds of the book deals with Sydney trying to get through her day to day life. She finds a boy just like her (really smart and socially inept) and starts dating. She has a lot of tense scenes between her and Adrian. She tries to comfort Eddie as Jill continues to date a human. She tries to protect Eddie from Angelines unwanted advances. As I said lots of teenage high school drama stuff.
This book really start to get interesting when the Vampire Hunters enter the story. We got hints of this in the first book, Clarence the old vamp who everyone thinks is crazy has been paranoid about Vampire hunters from day one. The history behind this group and the way it ties into the Alchemists history is really interesting.
As the situation gets more dire Sydney has to face up to the fact that she is just never going to be a real physical fighter. In light of this she starts to investigate the magical abilities that first showed up in Bloodlines. This was another incredibly interesting part of the story and I cant wait to see where this goes.
I enjoy Sydney as a character she is sooo different from Rose; she is smart, socially awkward, and just a bit blind when it comes to Adrians feelings. The tension between Sydney and Adrian definitely goes up a notch in this book. The scenes between these two were wonderful; but the way Sydney struggles between the Alchemists beliefs and her love for her friends is heartbreaking at times.
The book ties up nicely and adds a lot of interesting elements to the world. Mead is a very good writer; her writing is easy to read and in general very well done.
Overall a pretty darn good book. Not much happens in the beginning, we just follow Sydney around as she tries to cope with everything she needs to do; it was fun to read but didnt advance the story a ton. The last third of the book though was incredible; lots more about vampire hunters, about Sydneys magic, and some wonderful scenes between Adrian and Sydney. Highly recommended for fans of the Vampire Academy series and for fans of paranormal YA books. I cant wait to see what happens in The Indigo Spell.
Sydney is still at school trying to manage Jills safety. The vamps in the story are conducting some testing on Dimitri to see how his blood is different from other vamps. There is a lot of high school drama going on about who loves who and Sydney goes on her first date with a guy who seems to be the perfect match for her. The stakes are upped when one of the vamps is kidnapped by a group of Vampire Hunters and only the Alchmists ages old connection with the group allows Sydney to help out.
I enjoyed this book but when I sit down to think about what actually happened in this book, well not much happens. The first two-thirds of the book deals with Sydney trying to get through her day to day life. She finds a boy just like her (really smart and socially inept) and starts dating. She has a lot of tense scenes between her and Adrian. She tries to comfort Eddie as Jill continues to date a human. She tries to protect Eddie from Angelines unwanted advances. As I said lots of teenage high school drama stuff.
This book really start to get interesting when the Vampire Hunters enter the story. We got hints of this in the first book, Clarence the old vamp who everyone thinks is crazy has been paranoid about Vampire hunters from day one. The history behind this group and the way it ties into the Alchemists history is really interesting.
As the situation gets more dire Sydney has to face up to the fact that she is just never going to be a real physical fighter. In light of this she starts to investigate the magical abilities that first showed up in Bloodlines. This was another incredibly interesting part of the story and I cant wait to see where this goes.
I enjoy Sydney as a character she is sooo different from Rose; she is smart, socially awkward, and just a bit blind when it comes to Adrians feelings. The tension between Sydney and Adrian definitely goes up a notch in this book. The scenes between these two were wonderful; but the way Sydney struggles between the Alchemists beliefs and her love for her friends is heartbreaking at times.
The book ties up nicely and adds a lot of interesting elements to the world. Mead is a very good writer; her writing is easy to read and in general very well done.
Overall a pretty darn good book. Not much happens in the beginning, we just follow Sydney around as she tries to cope with everything she needs to do; it was fun to read but didnt advance the story a ton. The last third of the book though was incredible; lots more about vampire hunters, about Sydneys magic, and some wonderful scenes between Adrian and Sydney. Highly recommended for fans of the Vampire Academy series and for fans of paranormal YA books. I cant wait to see what happens in The Indigo Spell.
Sydney is enjoying her newfound dorm room at the Academy, a perk from finding the bad guys and saving the day in the first book of this new series, BLOODLINES. Angeline is a dhampir who has taken over as roommate to Jill, a princess-in-hiding for vampire political reasons. Things are going pretty well, the small motley group of vampires, dhampirs and Sydney finding genuine friendship in a situation that is usually awkward.
The downfall for Sydney is the independent study she is doing for one particular teacher. The magical spells make her uneasy as she believes it is inhumane, but she struggles through it with distaste. She refuses to try any of the spells, much to her teacher's dismay. She's also watching the new relationship that Jill has made with a human. They seem to be getting really friendly, and Sydney knows the relationship can't go further than friendship. Jill's a vampire, and he's human. That keeps her busy, but she's about to get even busier.
A barista, Brayden, is just like her in many ways. He uses logic for everything in his life, and Sydney begins dating him. She's never dated anyone before, so she's enjoying the new social aspect of her life. Not to mention, she's been trying to help Adrian change his life. He's going to college, and he's working with two others in trying to find a way for the Strigoi, very horrific vampires, to become Moroi again. The Moroi are vampires, but they are virtually harmless compared to the Strigoi.
When a new group of people come to town, their arrival threatens one of their own. Sydney tries to do her job to the best of her ability, but this time, it may not be enough. Not to mention, she may have to question all of her beliefs if she hopes to put a halt to the threat around them. Not to mention, she's having feelings for someone that is not her boyfriend, someone forbidden to her.
THE GOLDEN LILY, the second book in the BLOODLINE series, picks up where the first one left off. The characters develop a bit in this installment, and the addition of a few new characters really enhances the storyline. I loved Adrian and his witty, sarcastic attitude, whichreally lightened up some tense situations. Sydney matures, as well as Jill, in this action-packed, thoroughly entertaining story with just the right amount of drama and taut scenarios to keep the reader guessing and riveted. I can't wait for the next book in this engaging paranormal adult series, THE INDIGO SPELL, coming out September 2013.
The downfall for Sydney is the independent study she is doing for one particular teacher. The magical spells make her uneasy as she believes it is inhumane, but she struggles through it with distaste. She refuses to try any of the spells, much to her teacher's dismay. She's also watching the new relationship that Jill has made with a human. They seem to be getting really friendly, and Sydney knows the relationship can't go further than friendship. Jill's a vampire, and he's human. That keeps her busy, but she's about to get even busier.
A barista, Brayden, is just like her in many ways. He uses logic for everything in his life, and Sydney begins dating him. She's never dated anyone before, so she's enjoying the new social aspect of her life. Not to mention, she's been trying to help Adrian change his life. He's going to college, and he's working with two others in trying to find a way for the Strigoi, very horrific vampires, to become Moroi again. The Moroi are vampires, but they are virtually harmless compared to the Strigoi.
When a new group of people come to town, their arrival threatens one of their own. Sydney tries to do her job to the best of her ability, but this time, it may not be enough. Not to mention, she may have to question all of her beliefs if she hopes to put a halt to the threat around them. Not to mention, she's having feelings for someone that is not her boyfriend, someone forbidden to her.
THE GOLDEN LILY, the second book in the BLOODLINE series, picks up where the first one left off. The characters develop a bit in this installment, and the addition of a few new characters really enhances the storyline. I loved Adrian and his witty, sarcastic attitude, whichreally lightened up some tense situations. Sydney matures, as well as Jill, in this action-packed, thoroughly entertaining story with just the right amount of drama and taut scenarios to keep the reader guessing and riveted. I can't wait for the next book in this engaging paranormal adult series, THE INDIGO SPELL, coming out September 2013.
* Quoted on goodreads.com*
Sydney Sage is 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 secretsand human lives.
Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, shes been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, Californiatasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.
But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age-old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoithe fiercest vampires, the ones who dont die. But its her fear of being just thatspecial, magical, powerfulthat scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone elsesomeone forbidden to her.
When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydneys loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how shes supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas shes been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.
Should she trust the Alchemistsor her heart?
Sydney Sage is 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 secretsand human lives.
Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, shes been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, Californiatasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.
But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age-old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoithe fiercest vampires, the ones who dont die. But its her fear of being just thatspecial, magical, powerfulthat scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone elsesomeone forbidden to her.
When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydneys loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how shes supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas shes been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.
Should she trust the Alchemistsor her heart?
