REVIEW: Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) by Richelle Mead

Title/Series: Bloodlines | Bloodlines #1
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: August 23rd 2011
Format: Hardcover | Pages: 421
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Source: Amazon
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!

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The first book in Richelle Mead's New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series

When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive--this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood. 

Oh, Adrian. How have I missed thee? Let me count the ways...

As I drove away, I decided the Alchemists needed an entire department devoted to handling Adrian Ivashkov.

You know, you'd think with how much I am indeed obsessed with Adrian Ivashkov I would have started this series sooner right? Well much to the dismay of at least one of my friends, I put my procrastination skills into overdrive on that one. I'm really bad with waiting when it comes to a series. Once I get to that last line of the last chapter I need to know that the next book is sitting there waiting for me. I live for the binge read, having all those books piled up next to me and burning through them. So even though I kept hearing things like, OMG read them already!...somehow, someway I held out until the release of The Ruby Circle. And now for the binge to commence!

I'd been raised believing that both races of vampires, Moroi and Strigoi, were dark and wrong.

It is so good to be back in this world and be with so many familiar characters whom I've loved again. I love Richelle Mead's spin on the vampire world. It's very unique and not just the same old thing done again and again. Of course there are still all the standard staples to every vampire story. The fangs, the diet, the inhuman beauty, the aversion to sunlight. It's the perfect mix of the old and familiar blended with the new and interesting. I've already read the Vampire Academy series twice since I discovered it and can't wait to continue on with Bloodlines and add them to the lineup.

The Alchemists had been playing Men in Black for centuries, long before humans dreamed of life on other worlds.

The reality of this spin-off series happening had me completely over the moon. I think you can tell from my review opener exactly why that may be. I feel like I'm going to be in this small minority, probably of one haha, among my friends most especially when it comes to just how into this series I will be since I've always been more Adrian over Dimitri. I mean, don't get me wrong, I adore Dimitri and there's no one more suited for the other than Rose and Dimitri...but my heart still belonged to, and was broken for, Adrian. He needed closure and I needed it for him! I found Sydney and the Alchemists extremely interesting in VA as well and I couldn't wait to find out more about her and her heritage. Plus the idea of a forbidden romance brewing had me all kinds of excited. Bring on the Sydrian feels because I kind of think I'm going to need them like I need air.

Because with those words, I began to put together a fragile theory of what he might be talking about.

While I will say that there were quite a few things that, at least for me, I found predictable. Well more so that I figured them out early on. I had tons of wild theories and I'd feel confident in saying that probably half of them turned out to be right. I don't really feel as if this was a bad thing, for me at least. I get equally excited about puzzling something out as I do being completely surprised or thrown for a loop. This book did very well at accomplishing both of these things for me and even the stuff that I did figure out didn't lessen my enjoyment because it was easy to see where it was going.

It was more like the kind of touch that simply said, You aren't alone. It was really the only thing he could offer. And in that moment, it was enough.

This was such a great start to this series. Plenty of favorite characters from VA made appearances, even if only briefly, plus there's a whole new set of people to both love and hate. And I do mean hate, I even wished a very slow and painful death on one of them. I'm really pleased with the storyline thus far. It's open to so many possibilities. Mystery, betrayals, magic, action, violence and swoons. I was already on the edge of my seat wishing I could figure out a way to read faster and figure out what the heck was going on! I've heard mixed and not so positive feelings about the books I've yet to read, but I'm trying to remain hopeful that this positive feeling from finishing Bloodlines isn't just a one time thing.