Series Review: The Bloodlines Series by Richelle Mead

I've never really done a series review before, but since I have quick opinions on each book and some things to say about the series as a whole, I thought it'd be easier than posting four separate pointless reviews. Below are the mini-reviews for the following:

Bloodlines (#1): ISBN: 9780141337111, released: August 23, 2011;
The Golden Lily (#2): ISBN: 9781595143181, released June 12, 2012;
The Indigo Spell (#3): ISBN: 9781595143198, released February 12, 2013; and
The Fiery Heart (#4): ISBN; 9781595143204, released November 19, 2013.

**The following mini-reviews may contain spoilers for the Vampire Academy series. Click here for spoiler free reviews of the Vampire Academy series**

     SERIES REVIEWS:

BLOODLINES (#1);

     I went into this first book looking forward to continuing a series I enjoyed a lot, Vampire Academy, but not expecting anything fantastic. While I enjoyed VA, it wasn't life changing and I had a lot of grievances over Mead's writing and choices in the story. As I started Bloodlines, I realized there was nothing life changing at first either, and then I realized that Mead was actually not doing some of the annoying things she did throughout VA, e.g., info dumps, etc. I ended up liking it a whole lot more than I expected to and really connected with Sydney, Adrian (who I really hated in VA) and some of the other minor characters (though Jill tended to get on my nerves). I loved it more than I think I loved any of the VA books and was so eager to move on to book 2.

THE GOLDEN LILY (#2):
*Please note there may be spoilers for Bloodlines in this mini-review*

     I ended up enjoying this one a lot but not quite as much as I enjoyed Bloodlines. I was annoyed by the way a lot of things played out, specifically a certain rescue that took two days! WTF! Some things just didn't go the way I'd hoped but one thing that did go the way I'd hoped was the Sydney/Adrian dynamic. I won't spoil anything that happens in this book but I love their friendship and the way they developed and Sydney stopped being an uptight little snotball (well, somewhat stopped) and opened up a lot. I really learned a lot about Sydney and grew to love her even though she was an uber-bitch in book 1.

THE INDIGO SPELL (#3):
*Please note there may be spoilers for the previous two books in this mini-review*

     I went into this one really wary, too, because a blog friend of mine, Kelly of Dandelion Dreams, didn't like it as much as the others. I was a little disappointed with the direction the Marcus Finch thing went in and I was especially surprised with the way the witch thing ended up going. All of those things aside, I LOVED this one for one reason and one reason only: Sydney/Adrian. I need nothing else in these books other than "Sydrian". This book was more character-driven this time around but I was totally okay with that. I can't count how many times my heart nearly burst from swoon and excitement and happiness and sometimes sadness. If it weren't for the out of place witch thing and the anti-climactic deal with Marcus Finch, this would've been a perfect novel!

THE FIERY HEART (#4):
*Please note there may be spoilers for the previous three books in this mini-review*

I just... am at a loss for words when trying to describe The Fiery Heart. By page one, I was already grinning like a fool and thanking the bookish gods for giving us Adrian's POV. He was hysterical, and so, so sweet, and sometimes reading about him made me a little sad. Adrian came off as very arrogant and selfish in the VA series and that's most of the reason I didn't like him. In The first three Bloodlines books we get to know him better, but nothing like in The Fiery Heart. My heart belongs to Adrian, that's all I can really say that sums it all up.

Sydney and Adrian were amazing - they just did something unnatural to my emotions with all of their interactions. And then comes the end of the book, which I guess I should've seen coming but I was very near hyperventilating and now I NEED Silver Shadows in my hands right now. It's even worse knowing I'll finish Silver Shadows in two days tops and won't have the next book for God only knows how long, 6 months, a year? Needless to day, The Fiery Heart was the best of the series so far and I think I'm going to re-read this one, just to relive all the feels.

SERIES RATING: ★★★★ 1/2 - Loved it!

I seriously didn't think I'd ever get around to reading the Bloodlines series or like it enough to read the whole thing because while I enjoyed VA, I didn't love it - not nearly as much as I love Bloodlines anyway. So when I finally picked them up and fell in love, it was quite the pleasant surprise. All four books were great, especially the last two which were fantastic!

Have you read the Bloodlines series yet? What did you think about them? If not, are you planning on reading it? You're in for a treat if that's the case! Let's talk books!


Happy Reading! A.