Also posted on Rally The Readers.

I loved the Vampire Academy series, so it was a no-brainer that I was going to read Bloodlines. I wasn’t sure how I would like Sydney as a narrator because I didn’t find her character especially compelling in VA. Plus, assuming narrating duties from VA’s indomitable and ever witty Rose Hathaway is no easy task. Although there’s no substitute for Rose’s copious quips, Sydney manages to hold her own in terms of keeping the story interesting. I think that her best scenes are with another familiar, and very welcome, VA face, Adrian Ivashkov, who turns up here in all his charming, arrogant, snarky glory. Yes, Adrian’s back! He provides the perfect foil for Sydney, and the interaction between these two pretty much forms the basis of my five star rating. Before reading this, I couldn’t have pictured them finding common ground with each other, but there’s DEFINITELY chemistry there. I can’t wait to see how that develops.

For anyone who’s read the Vampire Academy novels, the plot of Bloodlines is pretty straightforward. The puzzle pieces join together rather quickly, but I enjoyed the process all the same. The novel ends with one of those moments that makes you want to run out immediately and get the next book in the series. Tragically, that isn’t possible at the moment. [b:The Golden Lily|8709523|The Golden Lily (Bloodlines, #2)|Richelle Mead|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328313119s/8709523.jpg|13582370] will be released on June 12, 2012. I’m sure I’m not the only one for whom the wait seems unbearably long!

This one’s definitely a keeper for my shelf. I’ll probably pick it up frequently just to brush up on some Adrian quotes.