*Review originally posted on Pages Of Forbidden Love *Some Spoilers if you have not read or finished the Vampire Academy Series I just have to say thank goodness for spin-offs! I read The Vampire Academy series over winter break and I loved it. I was so sad to finish the last book. I was just not ready for it to end just yet but then I found that Richelle Mead wrote a spin-off (Bloodlines) and I just about jumped for joy. Vampire Academy ended with so many things still open so I was very excited to start this series.The last thing Sydney wants is to look like she is super close with Vampires, especially after getting in trouble for helping clear Rose’s name in the last Vampire Academy book, but in order to keep her sister free from the Alchemists control she gets the job to watch over Jill. Not all the Moroi are happy to see her sister Lissa as queen and after an attack Jill is sent into hiding to protect her life and Lissa’s crown.Thinking that they will be safer some place sunny the girls are sent to a private school (Amberwood Prep) in Palm Springs where they must pretend that they are sisters. Sydney’s job is to watch out for Jill and make sure she gets to her feedings. Sounds easy enough but Keith Darnell, a slime ball from Sydney’s past, makes things difficult for her. He is considered her superior and anything bad he says about her can cost her the job.It is bad enough that people want to kill Jill. She really doesn’t need the added pressure of starting a new school. Especially a human school where it is evident that she is very different from everyone else. She has to hide that she is Moroi and she can’t use her magic. Poor Jill has the hardest time settling in. Everyone else tries to make things easier for her but then she just feels like she has even less control of her life.Of course they aren’t going to send Jill off to Palm Springs on her own with just Sydney to protect her. Eddie Castile is Jill’s guardian and also must attend classes at Amberwood Prep as their brother. I was so glad to read that Eddie was going to be in this series. He always takes his job seriously and he is extremely protective of Jill.Sydney, Jill, and Eddie are not the only old character from Vampire Academy. Bloodlines also brings back… wait for it… ADRIAN! I freaking love Adrian and he is probably one of the main reasons I didn’t want Vampire Academy to end. He got the short end of the straw at the end of that series so I am glad to see him back. I really hope his story ends well by the time this series is over.Moving to Palm Springs also brings new characters. There was Clarence the Moroi that has offered his feeders services and houses Adrian. Lee is Clarence’s son. He attends college in LA but is around a lot and hangs out with everyone else. Their new private school also brings in a whole new group of characters.Bloodlines created new secrets and new threats. Palm Springs was supposed to be the best place to go to be free of dangerous Moroi and Strigoi but mysterious deaths, missing students, questionable tattoos and regular high school mean girls are cause for more worry.I think this was a good start to the series. You get to know old characters a little better and get an introduction on how those characters are going to interact with each other throughout the series. New characters were also introduced and I just know they are going to make things even more interesting. There wasn’t a lot of romance going on but the book wasn’t devoid of flirting so I see some major potential. Overall I think Bloodlines was a good introduction to what I hope will be another amazing series. I cannot wait for the Golden Lily to come out in June. It is too far away.
