Tag: Richelle Mead review

The Golden Lily: A Bloodlines Novel Review

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The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead  

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You Can Find the Books At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, nurse one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.
Sydney would love to go to college, viagra sale but instead, cost she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she’s supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she’s been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?

 

My Review:

Please keep in mind, while there will NOT be spoilers for The Golden Lily in this review, there will most likely be spoilers for Bloodlines. You can read the review for that book here. There also will definitely be spoilers from the Vampire Academy series. 

This series just keeps getting better and better. With Golden Lily, you really begin to see the changes that are going through the main character, Sydney, and I think that’s a huge basis for the entire series. The Sydney that we meet in VA is someone who is willing to help out the right people, in that she helps Rose, but she’s also very adamant in her ways. She was raised by the Alchemists. She deals with Moroi because she has to, but she still finds them frightening and unnatural like Strigoi, and she feels the same about dhampirs too. She’s ingrained in this, and she is scared of it as well. I love that in this novel, you start to see the breakdown of that. She is still scared, definitely, but she is learning. Being around two Moroi (Jill and Adrian), and a dhampir (Eddie) really starts effecting some change in her, which really is going to effect the story later.

Plus, Adrian. Oh, Adrian. You can tell even more in this novel how insanely crazy he is about Sydney, and she just doesn’t see it all. I spent this entire book just dying for her to figure out, but I knew she wouldn’t be okay with it. A human and Moroi? No way. Not in Sydney’s life.

But I love the direction the story is going on. It seems like there are different conflicts in each book. In book one, it was Lee and his desire to become a Strigoi again. In book two, it was the Warriors of Light (tiny baby mini spoiler there). Which seems kind of weird, but I don’t think so, not when I’ve read book three. I think that each step in the story is creating a larger picture in the transformation in Sydney’s personality, her views and her beliefs and I think that’s where the story is leading. I think she’s beginning to transform and that her transformation is part of a larger picture. Just a guess there but thats what I’ve been getting and I’m definitely enjoying it. I think a lot more is going to be revealed in the later books and I love that.

I’m not going to lie, the last few pages of the novel were my favorite. I felt a great moment of triumph and then the quick pain of disappointment in a matter of about five pages. It was incredible that it could do that. I finished it at about 3 a.m. and I wanted to keep reading. I wanted to move on to The Indigo Spell SO badly. Just finished that book a couple hours ago (as I’m writing this) and I really enjoyed it as well. The series just keeps getting better and better.

Now I’m off to go read The Fiery Heart, to read more of Sydney and her journey as a closeminded Alchemist to a battle ready girl.

My Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

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Book of the Week-Bloodlines

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I am so proud of myself. It took me awhile to get back into the groove of reading, about it reading a lot like I do, adiposity but now I’m back in it. I busted my way through the last three Vampire Academy books and now I’m reading the fourth and most recent of the Bloodlines series, more about The Fiery Heart. Which means I have some SERIOUS catching up to do as far as book reviews go.

I absolutely loved the Vampire Academy series, more than I thought I would, because, honestly, I try to avoid books with vampires. And now that I’m reading the Bloodlines series, I’m even more in love. That may have something to do with Adrian Ivashkov, but hmm, I’m not sure ;)

For now, enjoy the book of the week.

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

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GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository

Genre:

Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

Part of a Series?:

The 1st Novel of the Bloodlines Series, a spin-off to the Vampire Academy Series

Please keep in mind that while this will not have spoilers for Bloodlines, there may be spoilers for the Vampire Academy series.  

You May Like if You Liked:

Rachel Caine’s The Morganville Vampires, Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Covenant Series

Age Recommendation:

14+

Plot Summary:

From GoodReads:

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…

My Review: 

I am blown away by the continuation of the Vampire Academy world. I am surprised any time that someone can write a series that is longer than a trilogy and keep it really good and awesome, keep it compelling, the story fresh. Richelle Mead definitely did that in the Vampire Academy series. I was interested from page one to the very last page of Last Sacrifice. I was even more surprised and blown away that she was able to continue the story in the spin-off. I currently am reading book four, but this is about book one, so we’ll focus on that.

First off, the characters. The main characters are Sydney Sage, who is the main point of view in the story, and her companions are Jill Mastrano Dragomir, Adrian Ivashkov and Eddie Castile. These are NOT new characters in the slightest. We have seen them all in the Vampire Academy series and got to know them, at least a little bit. Taking them away from the overwhelming personalities of Rose, Dimitri, Lissa and Christian though…we really get to learn about them more, understand them better, and fall in love with them the way you fell in love with the main characters of VA. Sydney kind of annoyed me in VA and I also have a ginormous crush on Rose Hathaway. Adrian seemed…likable but too tragic for me to handle. Jill and Eddie seemed likable as well, but distant except the parts they had in the vampire world.

But in this novel, you’re given the chance to love them all and I immediately do. I definitely am more of a Rose fan than a Sydney fan BUT I do love Sydney. I love that she presents such a contrast to Rose. She’s more of a strategy girl, using her intelligence and logic to solve problems, though she’s more than willing to fight when she needs to. Jill and Eddie prove their worth, and I love them both. I loved their humor, and their commitment. Jill has a lot to deal with. She’s an illegitimate heir to the Dragomirs, which makes her relationship with Lissa very awkward, and her life is on the line, and she has to learn to be a royal. She handles it with grace but you can see her youth and uncertainties and she’s a very real character. I also really liked Eddie as well, especially with the internal conflicts he has between his emotions and his duty. It was very real, and its was good to see a different point of view of a dhampir besides Rose or Dimitri.

But I think the character that really made me love this book (and the following books) is Adrian Ivashkov. In VA, he just seems…I like him, definitely but he seems to be going about things the wrong way, dealing with his issues, and his spirit with alcohol and cigarettes and dark humor. But getting to know him through Sydney’s eyes, especially when its so obvious to everyone except Sydney that he’s falling for her, was amazing. I am madly in love with Adrian, way more so than I was with Dimitri. Dimitri was too perfect, but Adrian has faults, and he has that wicked sense of humor. He’s the “bad boy”, and you all know how I feel about those guys.

I also really love the story. I love how Richelle Mead took a problem, an issue from the first series and made it very important in the second series, and put it in the hands of a different main character. I also like that it involves so much of the high school drama as well, and introduces the idea of magic. I love that we are introduced to such a adamant character such as Sydney, and hopefully will see her change as time goes on. I also think the story is great because we get to see problems solved by a totally different character. Rose always had a weapon in her hand, or was the weapon herself. Sydney is a weapon as well, but she is in a different way, and I love that. I’m interested to see how her mission to protect Jill from assassins changes her and her ways, and the way she was raised as an Alchemist.

Now, I’m on book four so I know a lot of what happens next, and let me just say this: this book leads into an incredible series. I am so glad I read this book as quickly as I did and I can’t wait to finish The Fiery Heart…but also not because then I have to wait months for the 5th book. I’m not excited for that. But I’m urging you all to get involved in both of these series. You will NOT regret it.

Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars

Recommended or Not?:

Definitely! I think you should the Vampire Academy series first, definitely but if you read that series, and didn’t read this one, you’re missing out. This book starts the story perfectly and propelled me into finishing the rest of the series as quickly as I could. I am now reading the most recent novel, The Fiery Heart, and am sad to finish it because I don’t want to wait for the next one! I adore Sydney, Adrian, Jill, Eddie and the rest of the Bloodlines cast.

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I hope you enjoyed this week’s featured book. Stay tuned for more reviews soon!

Happy Reading!

Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice Book Reviews

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I don’t normally do dual book reviews but I read this so quickly, case and they sort of blended together, so its easier for me to do that. Also, since then, I’ve read three more books and I need to review those as well, so it would just be easier for me to review them together.

Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

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You Can Find the Books At:

GoodReads-SB/LS

Amazon-SB/LS

Barnes and Noble-SB/LS

Book Depository-SB/LS

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

Please keep in mind that while there will be NO spoilers for these two books, there will be spoilers for the previous four books. You can read the reviews for Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss and Blood Promise by clicking their titles. 

For Spirit Bound:

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri’s birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s-and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives beyond the Academy’s iron gates to begin. But Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he’s out there, somewhere.
She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won’t rest until Rose joins him… forever.

For Last Sacrifice:

Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules. She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardians to come.
Now the law has finally caught up with Rose – for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back…and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your whole life is about saving others, who will save you?

My Review:

I am incredibly impressed with how much better each of these books get as the story goes along. I’ve made it clear before: series that go longer than a few books don’t usually hold up. At least I don’t tend to think so. Its hard to continually keep a story going. But Richelle Mead does it, and does it very well. After the complete heartbreak that was Blood Promise, I was immediately hooked back into the story, and finished these two books quickly.

The characters become so much better than what they were in the first four books. They become more complex, they are more than just teenagers. Rose and Lissa and Adrian and Dimitri and Christian, and all of them, its more than just the typical teen problems. They are now so much involved in their world, in the politics and the sort of dramatics that are going on that they just didn’t see when they were in school. I also think this is the novel where they begin to grow up. They are starting to experience things that make them older, wiser, smarter. Rose went through the entire experience in Russia with Strigoi Dimitri, and that has changed her. The journeys that the characters take as Dimitri returns, as a murder occurs and Rose is framed for it, as Lissa embarks on a challenge that will change her life…they all change. I think Richelle Mead really realizes that her characters are not children anymore and she reflects that so much in these last two books.

I also really enjoyed how she wrapped up these novels. I didn’t expect the things that happened to happen. I know that’s very vague but I don’t want to ruin the story in the slightest for those of you who have never read it. I think she creates all this drama, in the unexpected plot turns, like Rose being framed, and Lissa’s…challenge and I didn’t expect the outcome for any of it. I was gripping my Nook in excitement, staying up until all hours to finish the books. There was so much tension, so much mystery to the end, and it keeps you wondering how on earth it was going to end. I honestly didn’t see it coming at all. I also love all the feelings the books gave me. There was so much heartbreak but also romance, and happy endings too. I had these times of emotions that I could barely handle. There is a part with Dimitri, Rose and a little boy….and that part drove me to tears.

I think that Richelle Mead creates an incredible world, with really well developed characters. Her books have it all: action, romance, politics, coming-of-age-ness (yeah, I just made that up), humor, and so much more. It took me years to read these books because I don’t read vampire novels, but these are so much more than vampire novels. In fact, it wasn’t hard for me to forget that these characters were vampires. Her world is wonderful, and I love Rose and the rest of the characters. Its no wonder that she returned to that world for the Bloodlines series. Its addicting and fun, and I am truly in love with these books.

My Rating:

Spirit Bound: 5 out of 5 Stars

Last Sacrifice: 5 out of 5 Stars

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Shadow Kiss Book Review

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Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

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You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

It’s springtime at St. Vladimir’s Academy, erectile and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn’t been feeling quite right. She’s having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all… might be seeing ghosts.

As Rose questions her sanity, new complications arise. Lissa has begun experimenting with her magic once more, their enemy Victor Dashkov might be set free, and Rose’s forbidden relationship with Dimitri is starting to heat up again. But when a deadly threat no one saw coming changes their entire world, Rose must put her own life on the line – and choose between the two people she loves most.

My Review:

Note: This review will NOT contain spoilers for THIS novel, however there WILL most likely be spoilers for the first two novels of the series. 

I think this is the book that finally sold me fully and completely on the Vampire Academy series. I have thoroughly enjoyed the first two novels, and have enjoyed them enough to continue to read them, especially since everyone keeps telling me to read them, and keeps applauding me the further that I venture into the series. However, I think that with the first two books, I was merely reading them and enjoying them, and marveling at the fact that I was so enjoying books about vampires (gasp!) but after this third book, I can say, officially that I’m converted.

I am a fan. I’m a fan of the Vampire Academy series and I haven’t even finished it yet. This book was incredible. From beginning to end, it had me hooked. There was SO much going on in this book and it was hard to keep track of what was going to happen, what could possibly happen. Richelle Mead has completely mastered the idea of a red herring. She has your attention for so long on something and then suddenly, wham! Something happens that you honestly would have never expected and it leaves you wanting to throw the book against the wall. Not in a bad way though, in the best way. I was left absolutely flabbergasted, unaware that this was the way the book was going to end. I am COMPLETELY broke right now and am unable to purchase the fourth book right now, and I hate that. I want to know what happens next!

I really like that in this book, you really start to see more of Rose’s personality outside of her duty. Because of the events that have taken place in previous novels, she’s kind of a wreck in this novel but she refuses to believe for a moment that she is. She continues to stand tall, and straight and she refuses to ever let anyone think something is wrong because of her duty. She doesn’t want Lissa to know because Lissa will feel anxiety and Rose is extremely protective of Lissa and is her future guardian and doesn’t want to cause burden on her. She doesn’t want to share it with Dimitri, I feel, because it makes her look weak and it makes her look maybe younger, and that’s the last she wants. She’s in the last stages of her guardian training and its so hard for her. But as she starts to sort sift through the things going on in her life, she starts to focus more on herself and less on everyone else. She starts to question all the things she’s been taught is 100% law her entire life.

And I really like that direction that she’s going in, even if I’m confused and scared and anxious about where it will take her. I appreciate that Rose is dhampir, a guardian and that she wants to protect Lissa, but I’ve always felt like everything in the world gets set aside for that, including her own personal choices and life. She doesn’t really get to choose where to go to school; she’ll go to school wherever Lissa goes to school. She can’t choose to be with the one she loves because of her duties as a guardian. There is a lot holding her back and I feel like there is a huge part of this novel where she starts to question that and I like that. I like that Rose is not stuck in her ways, but she questions and she changes and she challenges and its going to be interesting to find out where this goes in the next few books.

I don’t want to say too much more because I fear that I will spoil it all but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. There was so much that Richelle Mead put into this novel. There was a TON of action, there was friendship and romance and there were loyalties tested, and there was the psychology of what was going on with Rose that causes a lot of tension and anxiety and there’s just a lot going on in this book. From page one to the very end, it had me absolutely hooked and I can’t wait to speed through the rest of it to find out what happens next to the characters. She has a beautiful world built and a wonderful, exciting and gripping story going on and I am already so addicted.

So call me a fan. I’m a bandwagon fan, but I’m here. These books are SO good so far.

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars