Book Review: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1)

Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: August 23, 2011

Narrator: Emily Shaffer
Listening Length: 12 hours and 53 minutes
Audiobook Publisher: Penguin Audio

Goodreads:

Blood doesn't lie...

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...

Review:

I have to admit I have never “read” a book by Richelle Mead.  I listened to the entire Vampire Academy series as audiobooks and loved them.  So when I decided to start the Bloodline series it was an easy decision to listen again particularly because I think Emily Shaffer is a wonderful narrator. 

Bloodlines is written from the perspective of Sydney  a young but experienced alchemist whose job is to make sure the human world doesn’t find out about vampires.  In this series, one of the royal Moroi’s (vampires) has to go live at a private boarding school with humans.  Setting this book in a human school is a nice difference from the Vampire academy which was set in a vampire school and focused on the relationships between vampires and Dhampirs.  There are some great new characters in the form of students and teachers.  In this book Richelle Mead spends more time discussing the world of Alchemists and explaining why it is that humans are so unaware of vampires but how easily the veil of secrecy could be lifted.   

Some of the dominant themes in the book focus on building young women’s self-esteem, concerns about body image, young men’s desire to be more powerful, and of course overcoming ethnic group prejudices.  You might be wondering at this point how such serious topics get explored in a book about vampires.  All I can say is that they do, and in a way that is incredibly entertaining.  One of my favorite characters from the Vampire Academy series has a starring role in this book, that’s right, he’s back!  ADRIAN.  He is probably one of the funniest yet tragic male characters in young adult fiction.  He’s in rare form in this book and seems to be heading down some new paths.  Sydney also comes into her own by the end of the book and some new details are revealed about her background.

You do not have to read the Vampire Academy series in order to understand or appreciate this book or the new series.  However for fans of the series there are plenty of references to characters and plots from the first series.  In fact there were times when I wished I owned the books so I could go back and refresh my memories.  Overall great listening experience and great book!

Posted by Sheri

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