Bloodlines

Richelle Mead

Publisher: The Penguin Group

Publish Date: August 31, 2011

Format: Hardcover

Series: Bloodlines

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

At the end of the Vampire Academy series, there is a law revealed that no monarch can take the throne without having at least one family member.  This is a problem for Vasilissa Dragomir who is the last of her line, until her sister Jillian is found.  Now, the problem is that in order for Lissa to remain the Queen, Jill has to remain safe and alive.  This is where the Alchemists come in.  They have always protected the human against the Strigoi and Moroi.  In this book, they have the task of keeping Jill safe in order to prevent a civil war uprising amongst the Moroi.

This entails enrolling at Amberwood, going to high school as a senior and sharing a dorm room with Jill.  There are some of the old characters from the Vampire Academy series in this novel.  Adrian Ivashkov, Sydney Melrose and Eddie Castille all have important parts to play in this book.

I thought this book was well written.  It has a good blend of the Vampire Academy series, which I loved, in with this new plot in Bloodlines. This is not a book that is predictable and is hard to put down once you start it.

The first book in Richelle Mead's brand-new teen fiction series - set in the same world as Vampire Academy.

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.

*Seeing the characters I remember from the Vampire Academy series in this book.

*The change that Sydney goes through.

*The fact that you don't need the background of what happened in the Vampire Academy series to understand this book.  What you need to know is explained nicely for you.

*Sydney’s nicknames.  Different people have different names for her.

*Lee - He just seems like a weird character full of contradictions. 

*Keith - He is so full of himself.

*The fact that Eddie feels he wouldn't ever have a chance with Jill.

So, we made the deal, and I, Sydney Melrose, became the proud owner of a brown station wagon.  I named it Latte, hoping my love of coffee would soon transfer to the car.