Bloodlines

For my first review, I wanted to post something I'd drafted a while ago, even if it's not totally relevant to today and everything that has just hit shelves.
I`d love to hear your thoughts and comments on my review style! I`m a little new at this, and want to make my reviews as engaging, informative and accessable as possible :)

I devoured 'Bloodlines' the second I got my hands on it, way back at the beginning of September, but it's already a favourite re-read.

On a quirky trivia note, Bloodlines is actually one of the LAST books I read in hard format, as it was just before my move when I converted to a Kobo to make my book collection a little lighter ;)

Septerber, 2012:

Title: Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1)
Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: August 23, 2011
Pages: 421
Publisher: Penguin Young Reader Group

Well, I’ve waited six long months for this book and am glad to say it did not disappoint!

Richelle does a spectacular job of drawing her readers into the universe, but makes the book diverse enough that even if you haven’t read her (spectacular) Vampire Academy series, you’ll be able to jump right on in!

In Bloodlines, Richelle lets Sydney, one of the mysterious Alchamists, take the reader to sunny Palm Springs, CA – not your typical Vamp Hangout, which makes it perfect for Dragomir Princess Jill – aka Jailbait – who is forced into hiding after an attempt on her life. Everything starts out as well as can be expected – sure Sydney could do without the annoying Keith, but her job is more important than her annoying co-workers, so she sticks it out, doing everything she can to make sure Jill is comfortable and safe, while clearing her own name, slandered in VA’s sixth book, Last Sacrifice.

Do you HAVE to have read the VA series to read Bloodlines? No, but it does help answer a few questions, and gives detail to subjects that Sydney (our narrator) just glosses. Plus, it introduces five of the main or main-ish characters fully.

What could Richelle have done better? Give the characters a little more history. Sure, 90% of her readers are sticking around from VA, but for the 10% who aren’t, they’re going to be wondering why Eddie is so special, and who Adrian is. Plus, they’re gonna be very WTF – why is this Rose chick popping up so much? She’s not even in the book!

On that note however, I found there were a few `gimmie` points if you`re already familiar with the VA series and Richelle`s Moiri world – a couple of questions that a familiar reader could answer early in and conclusions they could draw ahead of time. However, this didn`t slow the pace or make the book any less interesting!!

Congrats Richelle on another addictive book! I can`t wait to sink my teeth into The Golden Lily aka, Bloodlines #2, due out May 2012.