The Bloodlines are Finished

Lol, I know, interesting title. However it refers to the book that I've been reading called Bloodlines by Richelle Mead. I know that I have been off of here for a while and really it was because I got busy and stopped reading for a few days.

As of last night though, I finished Bloodlines with a smile on my face. Through all the peril our Sidney Sage had faced she's feeling things that she shouldn't be feeling towards a Moroi and facing the fact she herself may be magical.

A lot for a girl like her to take in. Think about it, a girl raised to believe there are no good vampires, they're all evil and that all magic no matter what kind is unnatural and tainted. Then you find out that the Moroi are actually decent, almost like real people and one of them makes you feel emotions that gives you butterflies in your stomach and makes you blush.

If that's not bad enough the one thing that scares you and you just can't wrap your head around is the one thing that you may be....magical.

Towards the end of Bloodlines, there's a lot of information to take in. A lot of things have changed in about five chapters and the people that you're reading aren't the same ones that you saw in the beginning of the book.

It's an interesting read and is just the first in a very good series. Sadly my attention span just doesn't extend to the second book lol. I'm starting a new one from a different series and author.

Stick around, you may find something you like ;)

Chapter 13

Not much happens in this chapter. Though we do get another piece of the Adrian/Jill puzzle. 

 Jill wakes Sydney up in the middle of the night to go "rescue" Adrian in L.A with no other explanation other than he needs help. 

What do you say to that?

Love is in the Air- Chapter 12

 

Love is truly in the air during this chapter. Everyone is going out on their "family" outing and needless to say everyone's excited except Sydney. She's ok around everyone but her upbringing causes her problems sometimes. 

It doesn't take long to see how much Lee and Jill  like each other. They pretty much ignore everyone and fall behind by a hole. 

Now here's a something you'll start chanting in your head: Adrian likes Sydney Sydney likes Adrian. 

In this chapter you really start to get this high school vibe of does he like me he's looking at me kind of thing.

It's actually kind of cute how adrian kind of looks after Sydney, trying to do it so she can't tell because after all she's a fiercely independent woman. 

I wonder how this will work cuz remember vampires and humans don't mix, it's forbidden. 

Enter Trouble

In chapter 11 it's feeding day for the Melrose family....well just Jill. 

This connection between Jill and Adtian gets weirder. Sydney starts wondering when Jill is actually on the phone with Adruan so much that she knows everything she does. It's a little awkward for Sydney to see this. 

Lee has also now set the date. They're all going to play mini golf. A place that has a few fountains on the course so that Jill can be a little more at ease with her surroundings. It's hard for her to be away from Wayer because her magic is water, it's basically a part of her. 

Now we also catch on to Keith's end game. If he can make it look like Sydney is screwing up he can get her out. Not only by showing she's not taking care of Jill plus being a vampire lover but Sydney has brought up the tattoos. 

Keith has called the tattoos a wild tangent that she doesn't need to think about. 

Let's see what happens next 😄

3 Chapter Crash

Hi everyone!!! Please forgive me for being gone so long but this fall cleaning has kept me busy lately. I started reading last night and I know that I should of stopped and wrote but I just couldn't. Once I started reading I couldn't stop, that is until my husband came in for bed lol. I know I'm so not as fast as I used to b.

So I'm not doing this in chapters. We have three chapters that focus on pretty much a day and a half. It's the second day of school and we have more social issues. Jill is feeling better but she's awkward and out of place. Eddie's roommate, Micah, takes an interest in her during their mutual P.E class. With Jill being a Moroi, she doesn't burn up in the sun like Strigoi do but it does make her miserable and weak. Micah covered for her so that their teacher would lay off of her, even walked her to the next class that she had. 

This is a big worry because both races, human and Moroi do not approve of intermingling. To them both it is a disgusting thing to do. Now don't let your sense of right and wrong get in the way of the story because really, this fact makes the book that much more interesting. 

Sydney calls on the help of Eddie and Adrian to help dissuade Micah from getting any further. Eddie is against this because he doesn't want to isolate Jill from everyone. They brought her to the school to be safe not to make her feel any more alone than she already does. 

Ok fair point well made. So it's now Adrian's turn. Adrian sees the point very clearly and was surprisingly easy to talk to albeit very weird. See Adrian is the wild and carefree one but now has this chivalrous side when it comes to Jill. Yes he will talk to Jill about not getting involved with Micah however when Lee enters into the room and offers to ask Jill out, Adrian flips out. 

There's an age difference. He's just using her. As long as they all go out as a group, can Lee be with Jill. Lee just happens to be just smitten enough to agree. 

Now here's one out of two kickers in all three chapters. Keith was there at Clarence's while Sydney was talking to both Lee and Adrian. What he had to say to Sydney after that wasn't pretty at all. Sydney was not supposed to socialize with the "vampires" and no he would not expedite a doctor's note to excuse Jill from P.E because their job is to keep her alive not comfortable. Keith told her that he would over look this incident but not to let it happen again or he'd have her taken off the duty.  

Funny thing is Adrian heard all that. He actually apologized for Keith because he shouldn't be such an ass. Back at the dorms, once Sydney got back, she got an earful from Jill. Jill knew about the entire visit with Adrian. She didn't expect Adrian to call Jill so soon or to tell her everything that had happened. 

Saved by the call, Sydney's new "boss" called her to get her coffee. Yes Sydney is taking up her last period bu helping her new teacher with her book. Meeting her at the library, Sydney collects more information about her tattoo puzzle. It turns out that people are getting metallic tattoos to either get high or improve their physical skills. The only people that Sydney knows can do that are the Alchemists and they had spent years perfecting the formula. 

This is the last kicker in the chapters. When Sydney got back to the dorm after a late and confusing night, Jill was crying in her sleep. When she woke the girl, Jill started apologizing about how she acted and what Keith had said. It left a lingering question in Sydney's mind about how close Jill and Adrian really were and what was really going on with everything. 

Jill and Adrian....a Couple?

No I am glad to say that Jill and Adrian are not a couple. 

In chapter eight we can start to piece together certain things about Jill and Adrian's relationship. 

It's oddly dependent. Jill depends very heavily on Adrian and when Sydney and Jill arrive at Clarence's house to see Adrian a piece of the puzzle falls into place for us readers. 

Adrian is suffering from and I quote 'one hell of a hangover' the same thing Jill was accused of having while in school. Then when Jill tells Sydney how Adrian is still hung up on Rose like real bad, she talks like it was herself that was wronged instead of Adrian. Getting the picture yet. I could tell you but that would spoil the surprise ;)

First Days are Horrible- Chapter Six

Yeah Sydney's day may have started off great but like most first days of school they take a turn for the worst. Think about. When have you had a great first day of school?

The first day of school you worry about how you're dressed and where you'll end up, where your friends will end up. It never goes completely smooth. 

In Sydney's case though, she was homeschooled her whole life so this experience is even more foreign to her then Jill or Eddie because though they are coming from a Private school, they still had to be social with others. 

The dress at Amberwood is about the same as Sydney wears day to day as an Alchemist so the uniform doesn't bother her in the least. Jill on the other hand detests it, as any girl used to wearing her own style would say lol. 

Jill and Eddie were easily placed in classes while it was Sydney the poor girl that was hard to place. With her being homeschooled she knew everything. However with this being a cover up and all, the Alchemists had her records faked and she had to take mostly classes that she already knew. The counselor mentioned she had to take a course in forgein language and that was Sydney's line. When she told the woman that she spoke five languages fluently, of course she wanted Sydney to take the tests to prove it. 

Sydney became a teacher's pet in her Ancient History class. She loves the topic and the sub-topics were things that her father had felt that she didn't need to know but loved to learn about. Many of the topics, Sydney had taught herself in what down time she had from the Alchemists. 

Here's one of the best parts about this chapter, you get the definition of an Alchemist plus how it relates to the book. For once I'll quote the book. 

"The Alchemists had arisen in the Middle Ages as 'magical scientists' trying to turn lead into gold. From those early experiments, they'd gone on to discover the special properties of vampire blood and how it reacted with other substances, eventually branching out into the crusade to keep vampires and humans separate from one another."

I think that it's amazing how an author can combine their fictional world with actual facts and actually be clear. Some can't mix the two and have a clear definition. 

Now here is where we also add another layer of mystery in the plot. Everyone keeps staring at Sydney's tattoo on her face. All Alchemists have one to keep them from talking about the Alchemists and their duties. The two girls that Sydney actually talks to so far actually asks her what it does. Weird question to ask about a tattoo don't you think? 

A Tattoo doesn't do anything but look good. When Sydney asks why they would ask that type of question.....go figure bell rings, time to go back to class. On top of that quizzical conversation, Jill seems to be missing. Not trying to cause a stir, Sydney asked her P.E teacher where her 'sister' might be. All she could tell her was that she was sent to her dorm. 

Try not to laugh on this one, Jill was sent back to her dorm before first period even ended for.....you ready?....For having a hangover. Now Sydney had been with Jill all night, they're roommates after all and Sydney even got up to check on Jill once during the night. Jill was sound asleep. 

However if you were to look at the girl you would think the exact same thing. The only thing she asked of Sydney was to take her to Adrian. Now Sydney had stood up for the girl saying she would go fight her case for her but Jill didn't want that, just Adrian. 

Oh yeah and to not tell Eddie about the trip because for some reason he would flip out. 

So lets just recap the mysteries we have in only six chapters:

*Why Jill is so tightly bound to Adrian?

*Why Sydney's tattoo is such a big deal?

*And why is Eddie so nervous around his roommate, Micah?

Three mysteries in six chapters, will there be more lol

Introduction to Amberwood Prep Chapter Five

In this chapter everyone goes their seperate ways to do the job they were given. 

It's a tearful goodbye between Adrian and Jill for reasons no one yet knows. It definitely has our friendly alchemist Sydney intrigued. 

Mainly though we're introduced to the actual high school Amberwood Prep. By most standards it's a huge school with three secretions: east, central and west. 

East is the girls dorm while west houses the boys. Central is the best part, it's the academic building where all classes take place. Lucky them they get shuttles to take them from building to building so the kids don't have to put up with the heat. 

Sydney gets jealous of Jill and her guardian Eddie because of how easily they fit in. Alchemists are home schooled and never cover human interaction apparently. 

This is also where we meet Micah. Eddies roommate and a ghost from his own past. That's going to be explained a little later though. No one understands right now why Eddie is awkward around Micah. 

Sydney now has to get over her fears of being so close to a vampire for long periods of time. Jill being how she is, just sees Sydney as a friend. I don't think she actually understands the alchemist way. With that being said Jill actually treats Sydney as a friend and vents some of her drama to her. 

Jill doesn't think Lissa actually likes her because since they found out they were sisters, Lissa has barely said two words to her. Then she almost let slip what is between her and Adrian. When that happens things should get very interesting ;)

Chapter Four-Secrets

Come to find out in this chapter everyone has a secret their holding back. It's strange how so many people can have a secret that no one knows even an inkling about. 

And don't dismay, Richelle Mead has brought in Rose for a cameo appearance. As always Rose commands the room by doing nothing more than waking into the room. 

Abe Mazur of course is still at his most antagonistic. Baiting poor Keith and tormenting Sydney. 

There's also now a link between Jill and Adrian that no one wants to explain. The same with the attack on Jill. No guardian will speak of what happened, not even Rose will tell Sydney. 

Spooky right lol and very intriguing. Read on to see what happens next as Sydney becomes Jill's sister and roommate at Amberwood Prep. 

Chapter Three- Enter the Party

Lol yeah you kind of have to laugh at seeing the first little phrase under the Chapter 3: "Palm Springs was agony". Wow, what a way to start off.

In this chapter, we see Sydney and Keith drive up to Palm Springs to ready things for Jill and her dhampir. Richelle doesn't say for sure if he is her official guardian or not.

The whole drive, Keith is saying how bad the Moroi are and how dhampirs are worse because they are neither human nor vampire. They should never have exist in the first place.

Once they are all settled in for the arrival of everyone, Keith goes home and instead of staying with him Sydney decides to just get a hotel room. Are you getting how bad she hates him yet?

She settles down and starts to relax just a little and decides to call her mother. The way she left had Sydney feeling uneasy to say the least. When she called it was nice to talk to her mom but things got tense quickly because her father had snuck her out of the house without letting Sydney say good-bye.

See Sydney's mom has no part in the Alchemists, she is a mechanic and really hates how they treated Sydney. She had even said that at times she hates Sydney's father and what is a daughter supposed to say to that? Especially one that still years for her father's love and approval.

Not to mention when Sydney had left, she left with her sister furious at her. Zoe was also fighting for her father's love and approval and in protecting Zoe, Sydney made her look incompetent in front of all the superiors. It hurt Sydney badly to have to leave her without setting things right, but it wouldn't matter anyway because of the oath in the tattoo on her cheek keeps her from talking against the Alchemists.

She wants Zoe to grow up and be her own person, live her own life. Once she would join the Alchemists  her life would be theirs. You make no decision on your own and you believe what they tell you without a doubt as well as do exactly what they say. Why is it so bad that Sydney doesn't want that for her sister? Sydney can't get out because she's already in and won't risk them taking Zoe.

Now here's the absolute funniest part of chapter three. All that talk Keith had put up about how bad the Moroi are but he can handle being around them when necessary...yeah total b.s.

They went to the house where the only Moroi they know lives in Palm Springs to meet Jill. Not only was Jill there but so was Abe Mazur, Adrian Ivashkov, the host was Clarence and Eddie Castile (the dhampir).

Keith was scared out of his mind and made himself look like a fool. Adrian opened the door for them and Keith stood there with his jaw down to the ground. Of course Adrian being Adrian had to antagonize the poor boy.

Much to Sydney's nightmares, Abe was there as well which meant all of her secrets were there as well. If she was in trouble for helping Rose then if the Alchemists found out she was making deals with a Moroi she would really be in trouble.

Hopefully in chapter four we find that the zmey (the snake in Russian) will keep her secrets between them and only them.

Bloodlines- Chapter Two

You don't expect to see a whole lot of plot change from chapter to chapter but what you can see is character change. 

In this case, Sydney shows how badly she really wants her father'a love. All her father wanted was one boy amongst the girls but instead he just had three girls. 

When Keith had stayed with them one summer during training, Sydney's father took to him like an angel. The boy could do nothing wrong an he was treated like a prince. Of course then it angered the girls but who wouldn't that piss off?

Now that Sydney is fighting for her place back with the alchemists and Keith is against working with her, it's heart breaking to see her father side with him instead of his own daughter. 

The pressure you start to see on this woman is tremendous. She's trying to get back in where she still feels she belongs especially now that she understands the moroi a little more but she's also trying to protect her younger sister and keep the secret of her eldest. 

Now she's off to Palm Springs to this prep school trying not to worry what lies ahead. Sadly her father didn't even say good bye he said in a few more words don't screw up. 

What a thing to say to a daughter who just wants to make you proud. 

Bloodlines- Chapter One

So chapter one of the book is usually always your introduction. With spin off series it's usually an introduction along with a brief summary of the story it is spinning off of.

Bloodlines is no different except for the fact all your recap is in the story itself. There is no prologue or 'in the previous story...'

As promised Richelle Mead has started with Sydney Sage's story. Our lovely, ex-vampire hating Alchemist. Yes an Alchemist in this story is still one that messes around with science to bring about magical things.

This particular Alchemist however is the one that disobeyed all teachings and helped our awesome dhampir Rose Hathaway escape from Moroi prison and prove her innocence. That action got Sydney, well for lack of a better term right now, sidelined from all duties.

Now, the Alchemists need Sydney's assistance. Lissa's illegitimate sister Jill Mastrano is in danger. The Moroi have this pesky little rule that in order to be Queen you have to have at least one family member alive. Stupid rule but hey if it works for them who's to argue? However it puts Lissa in a precarious spot because Jill is the only family that Lissa has left alive and just the year before found out about her sister when the people voted her Queen.

Sydney, in chapter one, has to convince her superiors (her father included) that she and not her younger sister Zoe is up for the task. It's when she finds out what the task is that she starts getting cold feet.

Sydney and Jill are to be roommates at Amberwood Prep, and that's not the best part. She has to liaison with Keith Darnell with whom she is mortal enemies with. The reason why comes a bit later in the book, for now you only know that there is a secret between the two of them that makes them hate each other with a fiery passion.

For a first chapter, Richelle Mead sets the mood to intriguing right off the bat.

Bloodline- Richelle Mead

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead is something that I have read before but Richelle Mead is a bloody genius and it's a book that I enjoy re-reading. Also I promised my best friend +charlotte a that I would catch up on the whole series which requires starting at the beginning.

This is the first book in her spin off series from Vampire Academy. With that being said if you have read Vampire Academy then this book and series is a must read. Also if you haven't read Vampire Academy at all then you need an intervention and a time out to read it lol.

"When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she is 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 sympathsizing 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 hiding, the drama is only just beginning."

This is the synopsis from the back of the book. It gives you as readers the chance to get an unbias view of the books plot, thus giving you the chance to decide if you would like to read it as well.

If you do decide to give this book a chance I welcome you to comment on the posts here with your opinion and thoughts of it.

Different people have different opinions as well see things in a different light. Hopefully some of you have already read it and we'll be enlightened by your point of view :)