Christine is pretty much the reason I read the Vampire Academy books. I have, technically, sworn off all vampire books…forever. Well, maybe not forever but for a very long time. But Christine was so excited about Richelle Mead’s series and Dimitri in particular. So when I found a copy of the first book in my local indie bookstore for 40% off, I figured I had to. Then of course I hated myself for not picking up all the books while I was there.
Needless to say, I was very excited to be able to begin the journey of this new series with Christine from the very beginning and am so excited about it and about getting to discuss it as it comes out. I’m eager to be impatient.
Also, all this “Goodbye Harry Potter” stuff that’s happening this week is possibly making me very emotional towards books Or, more emotional than usual.
We’ve kept the Bloodlines spoilers to a minimum but there are some big spoilers for the Vampire Academy series in the review below. Beware if you have not read it.
Caitlin: Before I say anything else, I have to say that I loved Sydney as a main character. I identified with her so much more than I did with Rose. Rose, I admired and liked. Sydney felt more like someone I might know, and hang out with. Someone who has problems at home that she can’t stop from affecting everything else that’s going on in her life.
And…I might get crucified for saying this but…while I liked Dimitri as a character more than I like Adrian, I love the dynamic between Sydney and Adrian a little more than the dynamic between Rose and Dimitri.
Christine: Hmm… you just might get crucified for saying that.
I have to agree with you about Sydney as a main character, though. I identified with her more than I ever did with Rose. Her voice and sly, devious ways were great and rather fun to read. I can’t wait to learn more about her.
Honestly, before I read Bloodlines, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Sydney. The little we see of Sydney is from Rose’s point of view in the Vampire Academy series, so it was never completely about Sydney. It was more of her function in the story. But having read Bloodlines now, I can safely and enthusiastically tell everyone to read it because… wow. It’s good.
Caitlin: Not only good, it was laugh out loud funny. Adrian is such a goofball sometimes. Like him trying to distract a tattoo artist.
“And a parrot on his shoulder. A skeleton parrot. Or maybe a ninja skeleton parrot? No, that would be overkill.” -Adrian
And I liked that the set up of the book mirrored the set up of Vampire Academy. There was the beginnings of a BIG PLOT that is obviously going to spread though out the series. And there was also a mystery that was solved within the covers of this installment. So, you left the book feeling like it wasn’t a cliffhanger, but also needing to know more about where the story is going.
Christine: I did love Adrian and Sydney’s interactions. Their back and forths were hilarious. Sydney’s funny. Like, I would hang out with her and it would be awesome funny. And Adrian has such an ego, but he’s not serious about it when he says stuff like, “I just rely on natural talent. … When you have such a wealth of it to draw from, the danger comes from having too much.”
There seemed to be several mysteries within this first book, most of which were resolved. I have no idea the direction the overall arc it’s going to take, just like I didn’t know where VA was going, but I’m absolutely certain Richelle Mead will give us one hell of a ride. Just, please, no gut-wrenching sobbing after the third book, Richelle. I don’t think I can take yet another of your series leaving me broken-hearted.
Caitlin: Yeah, I have no idea where it’s going either. I mean, we can expect to see Sydney grow and become more her own person and a more powerful person. Possibly in more ways than one. And I figure we’re going to see Adrian finally grow up. Hopefully while keeping his awesome sense of humor. But, what will the plot be?
Also, I both loved and hated that there was no romance in this book. Well, there’s a little romance on the side, I guess. But nothing for Sydney. Which sucks for the reader but is very true to Sydney as a character.
Christine: I wasn’t really expecting romance. With this book set only a month after Last Sacrifice ends, Adrian is still very much hung up on Rose, and Sydney still dislikes all vampires. And if you remember, we didn’t see much romance in the first book of Vampire Academy either, except for on the side with Christian and Lissa, so I was fine without it. Really, I just wanted to get a feel for Sydney and how her and Adrian would work together, which this book did beautifully.
There was even a moment when Adrian was responsible. *gasp* I know. It shocked me as well.
I think Sydney will be a great influence on him as a friend, or even just as a person in his life because she’s not afraid to call him a spoiled brat to his face. It doesn’t even have to go beyond friendship between them for me to be happy with this series. But that might have something to do with me loving Dimitri so much that everyone else pales in comparison.
Caitlin: Dimitri is pretty awesome. I have to admit, because I didn’t read the Vampire Academy series until after Bloodlines was already announced, ever since I met both Sydney and Adrian I’ve been thinking about them together. So, I’m really eager to see more. I can see how Sydney’s no-nonsense attitude and Adrian’s nonsense-all-the-time attitude create a good chemistry so I will be devastated if nothing romantic happens between the two of them.
Devastated.
Also, I liked Eddie.
Christine: I liked Eddie as well. I liked him from Vampire Academy, too, so it was nice to see him play a bigger role in Bloodlines and learn more about him. Actually, you get the opportunity to see a lot of people from the VA series, which was great because Last Sacrifice was so open-ended that I felt there wasn’t a true conclusion to everyone’s story. Now it makes sense that Richelle wrote it like that, because there isn’t a conclusion yet. The story is going on.
Also, I feel like I should tell y’all. I tortured Caitlin for weeks with the knowledge that the last line of Bloodlines is the the absolute BEST last line EVER. It really, truly is.
Every book from now on should end with that last line. It would make me so very happy.
Caitlin: We should go back in time and give other books this last line. In fact we should do this on our next podcast. We can just spend an hour saying the last lines of books, followed by this line. I want to do this right now.
Christine: Sounds good, but we’ll have to wait to upload until Bloodlines is out. Don’t want to spoil people. Otherwise it doesn’t have the same effect as reading it for yourself.
So, overall, if you’ve read the VA series, I think you’ll love Bloodlines. Even if you haven’t read the VA series, I think you’ll like it. You might not get all the little things about the characters and how they are connected to one another, but you’ll love Sydney too much to care. (Hopefully.)