Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1)

by Richelle Mead

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I haven't read the Vampire Academy series, and I think I should have before reading Bloodlines. I immediately felt like I missed something. WHAT IS THIS HISTORY SYDNEY HAS AND WHY WON'T YOU TELL ME! ... After referencing it a dozen times, Mead finally clues the reader in, and I managed to get through the whole book with only the Vampire Academy film for reference... but learn from my mistakes. Read Vampire Academy first. It will save much frustration.

As far as the characters go, I immediately decided that they were all horrible besides Sydney. I was wrong. Sydney is also incredibly shallow and the QUEEN of bad decisions. She lost SERIOUS points when she started complaining that she was not a size 0 at every possible opportunity. And the fact that every boy in the story fell in love with whiny Jill. I just couldn't relate to any of these entitled characters. Every decision made was for selfish reasons and half of them are so shifty I could scream.

I would have put this down if I wasn't so determined to find out the whole story behind the tattoos. As it turned out: CALLED IT. Every little shifty motivation, totally predictable. Still, they drew me in enough that I finished the book, which is something. That, and the world!concept was interesting. I enjoy the concept of different types of vampires and despite the clear brainwashing involved, the alchemists were interesting as well. The tattoo plot and the world get this two stars.

This didn't turn me off the Vampire Academy series - especially as I've heard that's better anyway. But I will definitely not read the sequel to this one.