Review: Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) by Richelle Mead

SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS:

Blood doesn't lie...
Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for 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 last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning...

MY TAKE:
While I didn't like this as much as the first Vampire Academy book, this book certainly set the scene for an interesting series.

In Bloodlines, Sydney the Alchemist is tasked with helping hide Jill from assassins. Assisting her are Eddie, Adrian and another Alchemist whom Sydney despises. They assumes the identities of siblings at a boarding school in Palm Springs, on the assumption that the Strigoi wouldn't like that environment. However, there are things afoot there, and the Strigoi are the least of their problems.

If it weren't for the implications of a couple of discoveries that came about during the final confrontation at the end of the book, I probably would have rated this book a three. There were plenty of plot twists, to be sure, but I was able to figure out majority of them fairly quickly early on in the book, even who the real bad guys were.

I was sort of meh about Sydney in the Vampire Academy series, and while I still don't like her as much as I did Rose, I did sympathize with her. Her father is a jerk, and Keith is just evil. As for Adrian, I hated him in VA, but here, while I still think he's immature, self-centered and a charmer, I did like him a little bit better.

I'm excited to read the next book in the series to find out what happens next in the VA universe.

THE GOOD:

1. There are several interesting new discoveries.
2. Rose and Dimitri make brief appearances.
3. It's a promising start to the series.

THE BAD:

1. A lot of the plot twists were predictable. 

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

Dimitri Belikov had arrived. 

READ IT IF:

1. You liked the Vampire Academy series.
2. You like Sydney.
3. You like Adrian.

RATING: