Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, 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, but instead, 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?
After being pretty hesitant
to read the Bloodlines series, after I finished book 1 (read my review here), I
immediately ran out and bought this installment. To put it plainly, I was absolutely
hooked.
After succeeding in solving
the mysteries in Bloodlines, Sydney is praised by the Alchemists for her commendable
loyalty and compliance to follow rules. But she finds herself really connecting
with the once thought to be evil Moroi and dhamphirs, which stirs up a constant
battle within her. Meanwhile, she starts dating a human who is a safe choice
for her, but she begins to feel forbidden thoughts for a certain charming
vampire. When a covert sect of humans that have long ago broken off from the
Alchemists start to turn up, Sydney starts to feel threatened, for her sake and
for her friends. When Sydney delves deeper, she realizes even more that
everything the Alchemist’s have taught her is not correct. Will she let her
past overshadow her thirst for things she never could have imagined she would
want?
Adrian is still the same
party boy I’ve always loved as before, but he has grown drastically. He is
finally taking an interest in being successful in life, not just being
successful in binge drinking and smoking clove cigarettes. All of this growth
is due to Sydney. He wants to become better for her and not just to
impress her, because he knows what she deserves. He is very protective towards
Sydney, and although he is not a fighter, I am sure he would gladly throw
punches for her. It makes me love him even more, which is damn near impossible
because I love him so much already.
Although Jill can be
annoying at times, I feel her maturity grow in each book. She makes some rash
decisions, but they are becoming few and farther between. I have always
respected Eddie, and that certainly hasn’t changed. He is a great protector.
Brayden, Sydney’s boyfriend, is a male version of her. Okay, well that’s not
exactly true. Sydney has passion to go along with her brains while Aiden…or was
it Brandon…no, wait, Brayden is dull
and unemotional. I was glad to see Dimitri and Sonya again, even though they
did cause some expected and unexpected tension within their Palm Springs group.
I have missed my Dimitri. :)
The plot was riveting and
exciting, just as any Richelle Mead book is. It brought about a whole new set
of mysteries, some that were resolved and some that were not. Even this is
technically book 8 if you count the Vampire Academy series with this one, I
have not once tired of it, and that’s saying a lot. Her writing is magical and
addicting as always. The romance really took off in this book, and it was wonderful!
They have an ease with each other that is great to see, and they understand
each other more than anyone ever will. In the first book, I always caught
Adrian picking up on Sydney’s fears and thoughts without even talking. This
increases with The Golden Lily, and it's like they have an unspoken bond between
them. How two people so different find what Adrian and Sydney have, I will
never even begin to understand, but I love it!
This book sealed the deal
of the Bloodlines becoming one of my favorite series ever. After than meannnnnn
cliffhanger, I was SO excited for The Indigo Spell to finally come out. And let
me tell you, things really heat up in
that installment, so get ready.
Favorite Swoon-worthy
Quote: He reached out and pulled
me to him, one hand on my waist and the other behind my neck. He tipped my head
up and lowered his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and melted as my whole body
was consumed to that kiss. I was nothing. I was everything. Chills ran over my
skin, and fire burned inside me. His body pressed closer to mine, and I wrapped
my arms around his neck. His lips were warmer and softer than anything I could
have ever imagined, yet fierce and powerful at the same time.
Rating: 5/5 Tar Heels!
0 comments:
Post a Comment