Bloodlines Series Review

    

Bloodlines

By: Richelle Mead

Series: Bloodlines (Books 1-6)

"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..." (Book #1: Bloodlines)

My Rating:

(4 Bows)

My Thoughts:

     It should be noted first and foremost that this series is a companion series to The Vampire Academy.  I would HIGHLY recommend you read that series first because 1) there are some spoilers in this series that would give away the ending of the first series and 2) because I liked that series more than this one.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the Bloodlines series!  I cannot place my finger on exactly why I prefer the first series, but I do.  Now, on to the review of Bloodlines series...

     This series alternates between the POVs of Sydney, a rational alchemist whose duty it is to protect humans from the knowledge of vampires and supernatural beings, and we also have Adrian who is the wit and charm of this book.  Together, they balance out the story between seriousness and witty humor.

     One of the things I liked early on in the books is that it shows that both characters have addictive personalities.  While I think this could have been delved more into Sydney's side, we get plenty of Adrian's "insane" behavior until the end of the series.  I liked seeing his struggles with it, how Sydney dealt with it, and how everything came together.  There were times throughout the series that I felt that both Adrian and Sydney were not being fair to one another regarding Adrian's spirit use.

     I can't really place my finger on what was lacking in this series to bring it up to a five star series, because it had that potential.  Every time I try to think of why, I can always refute the claim.  At first I was thinking there was not enough action, but there definitely was.  Then I was thinking that maybe the series got bogged down by extensive plot development, but without that we nearly wouldn't have had a series to keep me intrigued.  Maybe I didn't buy the romance enough between Adrian and Sydney (spoiler alert, but not really cause it's obvious), but I thought that they balanced each other out well.  So, the only thing I can say is that this series was really good and entertaining, but it wasn't amazing.

     If you have the same feelings as me, let me know why you think the Bloodlines series, while really good and a series I would recommend, did not live up to the first series!