Book Review- Bloodlines

I just finished reading Bloodlines by Richelle Mead for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.


Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive - this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood.

I read somewhere that this series is spinoff of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series.  I've never read that series (I have all the books, just haven't gotten around to reading it yet) but it didn't seem to matter. 

This was interesting vampire world with two different sets of vampires.  I'm not sure I've read a book yet where that was the case.  That being said, the Moroi vampires were my favorite in this book.  Jilly was so sweet and seemed the most normal, and Adrian and Eddie seemed like great guys.  Sydney, an Alchemist was kick-butt, but I found her to be cold.  I think she was supposed to be this way, trained to be this way since she was a kid.  But it didn't make me like her very much. 

There was one thing I had an issue with: Sydney's weight.  There's this scene where she's trying on her new uniform and is devastated because she thinks she's a size zero, but is a size two those clothes.  I mean, really?  Yes, there were several times where Adrian told her she needed to gain weight, but I don't think Sydney's view of her weight is really the right signal to be sending to girls reading the book.

That being said, I enjoyed the book.  It was interesting, and different (to me anyways) and caught my attention.  It was a little too science-y and distant for me to LOVE it, but I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Golden Lily.

I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.

Bloodlines will be released on August 23, 2011.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 66
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 52
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 50

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.