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.
Alright, it is time for California for my YA
reading challenge. “Bloodlines” is
actually the first part of a spinoff series from the “Vampire Academy” series
and is pretty great! It is clearly in the Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy
genres, which is the newest popular genre of teen literature. The first of the “Vampire
Academy” series came out in 2007, which was around the time that the book “Eclipse”
was released. I don’t know if it would be considered a series influenced by the
success of “Twilight,” but it did come out at a time where Vampire fiction
started to grow. I feel that the “Vampire Academy” series has stood out in its
own against the “Twilight” series. This is not to say that “Bloodlines” is
better, but it is nice to see it have a different take.
I will say that I
didn’t know until I finished the book that it was a spinoff. Many books that
are spinoffs do not do a good job of becoming their own and do horrible jobs of
explaining what’s going on. “Bloodlines”
is kind of refreshing in that most of the issues were explained. Though not
gonna lie, I am still confused on some of the different levels vampire races
and the exact alchemists powers.
It is probably easy to say that many teens would love this
series (it did hit the NYT Best Seller’s list so no “probably” there). Also “Bloodlines”
is written with relatable school situations that even vampires and alchemists
deal with, in addition to us mere humans! There’s difficulty with classes, mean
girls, and opposite sex distractions. Oh yeah, pretty relatable for most teens.
I would venture a guess that most young adult librarians have these books in their
library collections or want to get them. I would definitely recommend them and after
being on the NYT Best Sellers, it’s clear the public loves this series.
I just had one teensy problem that I have to kind of rant
about just a moment. Sorry to do this! So Sydney being an alchemist has real
problems with the vampires and their magic, claiming that is “not natural” or
part of the “natural order of things”. As an alchemist, she only uses natural
products to make potions and ointments. She completely freaks, when Jill
demonstrates her powers in manipulating water and any magic involved. OK, so
you gonna go there Sydney (yes I know she isn’t real, but bear with me). You get
a tattoo on your face that gives you special abilities, such as being unable
to tell anyone your secret, superior intelligence, and even certain personality
aspects. Yeah, that’s way different than manipulating the elements of the earth
or sucking blood to survive. Sydney, you have magical abilities. Magic in
itself is kind of considered unnatural. Believe it or not, a tattoo should not
be able to change your personality or give you abilities that are um…gee…unnatural.
Seriously get off your high-horse Sydney Sage! Don’t hate me I still love you
as a character, but chillax on the natural order of things kay? You live in a supernatural
world; the natural order is already effed up!
That all being said, I enjoyed it and is a unique vampire
read. After this challenge has passed I will have to actually read the full
series. Five down, 45 more to go!
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