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sâmbătă, 10 septembrie 2011

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead - review

So, a couple of days ago, i finished reading Bloodlines by the famous [and personally favourite] author Richelle Mead. This book is the first in the spin-off series of "The Vampire Academy" and from the start, i must tell you that i actually enjoyed it.
Let's begin.


Official synopsis : When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.  Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive - this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood.


I will start as always, with the storyline. It's nice that Richelle wrote this spin-off series and developed the concept of the "Alchemists". Personally, i was intrigued about this group when i read about them in Vampire Academy Series. And, she did a good job with the novelty factor. She used what she already had ( the tattoos and the Strigoi) and she transformed this into an awesome and intriguing plot.

The narration. The same as Vampire Academy Series, Bloodlines is as a first person narrative, in Sydney Sage point of view. Yes, i missed Rose Hathaway very much because she didn't use to think too much about some action. Even in the series someone describes her like "kill first - talk later" [funny!]. But with Sydney, the narration is a little trickier. She DOES overthink. Her thoughts are described very well, and that helps very much at the portaying part, but it has also a disadvantage because it makes action slower.

3, 2, 1, Action! Well, there is enough action. If you want to read this book for action you can certainly do it, but you have to know it : this action is more elaborate. Sydney is a smart person, an intelligent one that has a good intuition and knows how to use it. I can say that i like the first part and the last part of the book. There were plenty decisions, fights, uncovered feelings, solved mysteries that kept me reading. As for the middle part, Richelle is taking her time. She elaborates her plans, tricks reader's minds, and introduces the mystery. But somehow she rushes with the action in the end of the book, leaving us with our mouths open wide [believe me!]. So there isn't uniform action (but that's not a problem).

Here's the fun part. The characters. Well, at first i thought i won't enjoy the book because the main love interest is Adrian Ivashkov [and i'm a Dimitri Belikov fan]. But then, i read the quotes, spoilers and stuff [i can't help it when it comes to favourite authors] and found out that some of the characters from Vampire Academy would appear. I still think i screamed too loud at that time. But the characters actually surprised me in a good way. Sydney Sage is described so well that i grew fond of her in the end. She may overthink, be a nerdy-type, lack of action(at first) and face-to-face confrontation, but i understood her properly. 
I won't say the same thing about Adrian Ivashkov. He was well-treated in this book, i appreciate him a little more, and he seemed to get to his former funny quotes. If you are already an Adrian's fan, gosh, you'll love it. And the rest of the characters created or brought back by Richelle made this book perfect at this point. 

Relationships. Well this is another good point too. You won't be disappointed. And i can't tell you very much about this, cause it would be soooo spoilery... I can say only this : there is something completely unexpected between Adrian and Jill, something about Eddie, a niiiice moment between Adrian and Sydney, the resolved mystery between Sydney and Abe, and a bunch more. Richelle, your rock at this.

Some other details. I already said that the action is a little slow in the middle, and rushed in the end. There was some predictable stuff. It's a lot better if the author surprises the reader. 

And what annoys me in the way "i-cannot-wait-till-the-other-one-comes-out" is the end. The last sentence. Even if you are Dimitri or Adrian fans, you'll still remain kinda shocked. You'll probably think "is it good?" or "is it bad?". For me, this line was actually the best from the entire book.

Anyway, to sum all this up, i dare say that Bloodlines is a worthy to read book. I don't even care if it will surpass Vampire Academy, or if it won't. I simply enjoyed it and can't wait for the next one.

So, my rating for this book is...
9 to 9.5 out of 10!

At this moment, you won't find Bloodlines in Romania unless it's in English. Still, you can order Vampire Academy that is copyrighted and translated by LEDA Books.

Also, for NEWS about this series, check the most comprehensive website : http://bloodlinesfans.com

What did you think about this Book? Have you read it? If you didn't, would you? Use the comment area below!

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