The Golden Lily (Book Two of Bloodlines) by Richelle Mead

The Golden Lily
Book Two of Bloodlines
Written by Richelle Mead

“You need me? You yell. You want to leave? We go. I'll get you out of here, no matter what.”--Adrian, The Golden Lily, Book Two of Bloodlines, by Richelle Mead

When I first found out that The Vampire Academy series was ending, I was pretty disappointed. I know that all good things must end, but that didn't change the fact that I was going to miss the characters I'd grown to love. Then I discovered that there would be a spinoff series, Bloodlines that would continue the story of some of the secondary characters from Vampire Academy. I was stoked that it wouldn't be the end of Dimitri and Rose. Yay! (If you haven't read the first book, Bloodlines, you need to check it out first.)

Much to my surprise, I think I am more invested in Sydney, the main character Alchemist, than I ever was with Rose. I adore this character. She is brilliant and funny and has her own set of problems and insecurities. I love Adrian as he is separate from Rose. I never realized how much I liked his character until Rose and Dimitri were out of the equation. Now that he's becoming his own entity, apart from Rose and even Lissa, I love his character.

Sydney continues to try to walk that fine line between what is acceptable and what isn't when it comes to her interactions with the Morai she is responsible for. It becomes harder and harder to consider herself separate from the group as they spend more time together and as they must work together to overcome the various situations they find themselves in. Time and again she is forced to make decisions that could have severe consequences if her superiors knew the full extent of what was going on with her "gang" as she fondly thinks of them. To add to the growing stresses of her assignment, she is also still dealing with some confusion over her own inner boundaries of right and wrong as well.

As she is prone to do, Mead left us with another edge of your seat ending. I'm sure that after you finish The Golden Lily, you'll be as anxious as I am to read the next book, which doesn't come out until February 2013. I look forward to watching this series unfold and to continue to see how Sydney deals with her growing attachment to this unlikely "family".