Review: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Let's face it. The Vampire Academy series was so brilliant that Mead just had to write a spin-off series. And once again, I might be a bit late for the party, but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy Bloodlines, the first book about the Alchemists. At least, I think this series is going to be written from the perspective of the Alchemist. Sydney doesn't seem to me (or any to any of the characters in the book for that matter,) to be a good and loyal Alchemist. Sydney is well ... a little too much like Rose Hathaway, the lead from Vampire Academy--willing to think for herself and to break the rules for the right reasons. The Alchemists, who in many ways seem rather cult like, don't seem to appreciate that.

Anyway, Bloodlines opens with Sydney volunteering to go in the place of her sister to undertake a task that seems rather unpleasant. She has to act as guardian and protector to Jill, a newly discovered Maroi princess and sister to the Queen. Jill is in hiding, of sorts, at a boarding school in California. Sydney has to pose as Jill's sister and put up with an odd assortment of people who are assigned to the task of protecting Jill--including Adrian, Rose's rich bad boy ex-boyfriend from Vampire Academy. And then there are a few vapid boarding school kids and a very strange teacher, a mystery surrounding tattoos and the less than trustworthy Keith, the Alchemist district co-ordinator. Meanwhile, the real enemy slips under the radar for most of the book.

I enjoyed reading Bloodlines, though I had several problems with parts of the story. It's difficult to believe that no one other than Sydney could see Keith's many failings, that Adrian is a love interest is well, pleasantly obvious I guess, and Mrs Terwilliger, whose quirks were meant to be endearing just seemed annoying--in particular the unfunny and seemingly never ending "Sydney Melbourne" jokes, and false comments that all Australians are descendants of criminals. (Check your history books, Ms Mead.)

Anyway, I suspect that something other than Alchemy lies in Sydney's future and I am interested in seeing how this series unfolds.

Bonus Question: Which is your favourite vampire novel or series?

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