Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
Fans of Vampire Academy series would be very familiar with the writer behind it; Richelle Mead. They would also likely know that Mead has decided to come up with the spin-off series from the successful VA books, the first of which is called Bloodlines. This spin-off series tell the story of several different supporting characters from Vampire Academy. It is told from the point of view of Sydney Sage, the Alchemist that first appeared in the Vampire Academy series when its heroine—Rose Hathaway—was searching for the man she loved in Russia.
As an Alchemist, Sydney’s job is to hide the vampire world from human knowledge. Her job is to protect humans from vampires, and she has been raised her whole life to believe that vampires are wrong, unnatural, and evil. Now, however, she has a new assignment in which she has to live with one of them. Jill Mastrano, Lissa Dragomir’s half-sister, is in danger because she’s the only relative Lissa has left and the only thing keeping her on the throne as the new Moroi Queen. To protect her, Jill is sent to a human boarding school with Sydney to keep an eye on her, Eddie Castille as her dhampir guardian, and Adrian Ivashkov, the unfortunate Moroi whose heart has been broken by Rose.
And so this unlikely band of assorted races begin their adventures, masquerading as one big family as they got themselves enrolled in a normal school filled with nothing but humans. While Sydney is happy that she gets to experience something other than homeschool, she’s also not so thrilled about this assignment. And then there’s her Alchemist contact Keith Darnell, which was possibly the most irritating person she has ever met. Not to mention the mysterious tattoo problem that seems to be spreading around the school and the ravings about vampire hunters coming from the old Moroi who was hosting them in their house. This is promising to be one complicated escapade indeed.
While Bloodlines might not be as immediately interesting as Vampire Academy, largely to do with the fact that the main character has changed from one kickass vampire slayer to a studious, serious, and rather prejudiced Alchemist, I still quite enjoyed the story. I like the dynamic of the really different characters, and I’m especially intrigued by the direction the romance is going. There’s barely enough hints of it in this first book, but all of it makes sense once you read it, and I can’t wait to see how it will develop and how the characters will tackle the seemingly impossible relationship. I have always particularly liked Adrian and was devastated with his tragic end in Vampire Academy, so I’m especially looking forward to seeing him happy and just seeing more of him and his charming, gorgeous, witty, irresistible self for a few more books to come! If you’re a Vampire Academy lover, my advice is not to hold Bloodlines to the same standard. Enjoy it as a new series, don’t hold high expectations for it, and you might just love it for what it is.
