Double Book Review: Bloodlines & The Golden Lilly

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Released: August 23rd, 2011
Read: April 2017
Publisher: Penguin Group
Format: Hardcover, 421 pages
Series: Bloodlines No. 1

Summary from Goodreads:

I wasn't free of my past, not yet.

Sydney's blood is special. That's because she's 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 secrets - and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiences in question, her future is on the line.

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 unlikeliest of places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one.


The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden romance lurk both outside - and within - the school grounds. Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only just beginning.

Review:

This was one book that satisfied an itch. After Vampire Acadamy, I was itching to relive the excitement that was the world of the Moroi. And after a while of procrastinating and reading other stuff I finally read Bloodlines. While it is different, BELIEVE me, it is just as good! The beauty of it, is that it isn't a carbon copy of it's mother series, and it actually stands on it's own. One may even argue that you could read it without prior VA knowledge. But I digress, this book was superb. I grew really attached to Sydney (our heroine) and how dang smart she was. It was refreshing to have a main character that is smart and sees no need to rush to get a boyfriend. Her character had a lot of emotional depth, and the dilemma she faces at living with a vampire makes her quite human. Unlike the original series, there are real conversations on whether or now vampires are human, what makes us human, and how can we coexist (man I make it sound like vampires are real...). Sydney is conflicted because of her Alchemist beliefs and it makes for an interesting read. Plus this book also brings back fan-faves Eddie, Jill and Adrian. I had no idea how much I loved Adrian and his self-destructive ways until I read this book. Rose clearly didn't know what she had when she was with him. All in all, this book is amazing, as it feels familiar enough to VA to feel like home, but it still holds it's own.

Favourite Quotes:
“Mmm. O positive, my favorite.” 
― Richelle Mead, Bloodlines

“The greatest changes in history have come when people were able to shake off what others told them to do.” 

― Richelle Mead, Bloodlines

Rating:
8.5/10

The Golden Lilly by Richelle Mead

Released: June 12th, 2012
Read: April 2017
Publisher: Penguin Group
Format: Paperback, 418 pages
Series: Bloodlines No. 2

Summary from Goodreads:

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. Alchemists protect vampire secrets - and human lives.

Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she's been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California - tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formorly 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 her 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 Strigoi - the fiercest vampires, the ones who don't die. But it's her fear of being just that - special, magical, powerful - that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Braydon, 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 else - someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney's loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists - or her heart?

Review:
So as you may see, I am kinda on a Richelle Mead kick right now, specifically the Bloodlines novels. While I am always wary starting book two (given shitty histories of sequels, hello Insurgent?) this book picked up right where book one ended and it just keeps getting better. Sydney is same as ever, and this time she GETS A BOYFRIEND! Yes you read that right. Who would've thought? And for once, this boyfriend is OK with her being genius-level smart. However, what makes this book is the arrival of two well known VA characters: Sonya Karp and Dimitri Belikov (swoon!!). This new gang is ready for everything, and it feels as if it's in this book that the series has found it's way in the post-VA world. I truly loved this book, but for one very specific reason. You could tell from page one that there was some sexual tension between Sydney and Adrian. And oddly enough, I loved it. It seems that they would be really good together! The plot for this is a little darker (vampire hunters!) but the balance between that and high school life is perfect; not too much, not too little. This was a really strong sequel, and I am already getting my hands on book three!

Favourite Quotes:
“Adrian ordered a martini, earning disapproving looks from his father and me.
'It's barely noon,' said Nathan.
'I know,' said Adrian. 'I'm surprised I held out that long too.” 

― Richelle Mead, The Golden Lily

“Why not see which is brighter: your aura or the sun?” 

― Richelle Mead, The Golden Lily

Rating:
9/10

Perfect for people who love: Vampires, teen books, romance, drama, supernatural, drama

Let me know what you think!
Happy Reading,
Mari

Book Review: Lair of Dreams

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Released: August 25th 2015
Read: May 2016
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover, 613 pages
Series: The Diviners #2, here's my review of the first book.

Description from Goodreads:
After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O’Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. With her uncanny ability to read people’s secrets, she’s become a media darling, earning the title “America’s Sweetheart Seer.” Everyone’s in love with the city’s newest It Girl…everyone except the other Diviners.
Piano-playing Henry DuBois and Chinatown resident Ling Chan are two Diviners struggling to keep their powers a secret—for they can walk in dreams. And while Evie is living the high life, victims of a mysterious sleeping sickness are turning up across New York City.
As Henry searches for a lost love and Ling strives to succeed in a world that shuns her, a malevolent force infects their dreams. And at the edges of it all lurks a man in a stovepipe hat who has plans that extend farther than anyone can guess…As the sickness spreads, can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld to save the city?


Review:
Holy cow! I thought that like most sequels, this one would fail to capture the magic that the first one did. I was happily proven wrong. This book (while not QUITE so scary) managed to keep the suspense from the reader until the very end. While I thought that it would be hard to follow the plot from the first book, she managed to create a mystery with the same excitement as the last one. In this novel, the old characters were developed upon, and new ones introduced. In many series, it sometimes feels like the existing characters are almost forgotten, or set aside. Not in this one. Although we got to know the new people, the old were still very much there. Goodness... this is actually such a good sequel! I couldn't stop gushing about it while I was reading, because there were many twists and turns that came from nowhere. The only thing that could've been improved was the "horror" element. It could've been scarier, like the first one was. But still an AMAZING read! And luckily there are still two more books to go!

Favorite Quote:
“We are made by what we are asked to bear, Ling Chan,” 

― Libba Bray, Lair of Dreams

Rating: 8/10

Recommended for people who love: mystery, horror, romance, suspense, supernatural, strong female leads, historical fiction

Happy reading!
Mari

Book Review: The Crown



The Crown by Kiera Cass

Released: May 3rd, 2016

Read: May 2016

Publisher: HarperTeen

Format: Paperback, 279 pages

Series: #5 of the Selection

Description from GoodReads: When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.

Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.


Review:
   I read the Selection series a few months before the One was released. I waited religiously for it's release. Then waited again for the Heir and now again for the Crown. Oh boy, was it worth the wait!
   This was a beautiful conclusion to a wonderful tale that I will miss dearly. But it was sort of weird watching America "grow up" and then watching her daughter "grow up". The fact that America was a little more distant in this series and book in particular was sad, because I really wanted to get to know grown-up America. It did really give us a different perspective into Maxon, though, which was nice.
   The boys, now that all the grossness was eliminated in the last book, are all nice people, and the reasons that they're let go in this book are valid (and at some points a little sad, or sweet). I'm a little disappointed with who Eadlyn ended up with, as he was not the one I liked best. But she did end up with someone who complimented her.


Quotable Quotes:

"Maybe it's not the first kisses that are supposed to be special. Maybe it's the last ones."

"Some see a weed; some see a flower. Perspective."
"Your impression of everyone is probably wrong in some way."


Rating: 9.5/10


Read if You Liked: the Glittering Court, Entwined, good relationship building, gal pals


Optimistically yours, Ola