Written by Hannah French and Maša Tome
Two fangirl besties discussing all things nerdy. Yes, we did a thing. A thing where we sit down and discuss our favourite things and try to convince you to join us in fangirling about them! Today’s focus, a book series that isn’t talked about enough – but should be – is Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines. Read on to see us fangirl about this book and tell you why you should definitely pick this one up.
A brief summary of Bloodlines
In Bloodlines, the heart-shattering spin-off of Vampire Academy, we follow the story of Sydney Sage, an 18-year-old Alchemist who is tasked with keeping the princess of the Moroi world hidden and safe from the assassins who are threatening her life and with that the future of the Moroi. Sydney is joined by Jill, the shy Moroi princess, Eddie, her faithful guardian, and Adrian, irreverent party boy who joins the trio because of a deep-hidden secret. Can they work together, keep Jill alive, and save the Moroi world from political collapse? Or will their squabbles and constant threats from both the Moroi and Alchemists reveal their scheme and ruin them all?
Describe Bloodlines in 5 words!
Maša: I have to go with forbidden love and magic and…
Hannah: We’ve got to mention vampires and let’s go with loyalty.
Maša: Yes, perfect!
What do you love most about the series?
H: Adrian!
M: Naturally, he is one of the biggest factors (if not the biggest one!). But basically, just everything! Sydney is also amazing, she’s such a badass. And I love how she’s not your typical YA badass, not a fight-y type (and same goes for Adrian)! She has her smarts and her books and … Basically a Hermione and Nina Zenik from Six of Crows mixed together!
H: I also love the side characters in this book. They all have great storylines and you will be rooting for them all. They are not just cardboard cutouts, there to further the main protagonist’s development. They have relevant backgrounds and goals. And we can’t forget about the plot itself!
M: Sydney is an Alchemist and she overcomes her prejudice about the vampires she learns to fight for what she believes in and make her own choices! We also need to mention the romance *swoon*.
H: It has the greatest forbidden romance, I am telling you! Romeo and Juliet who?
Everything you need to know about the main characters
H: Let’s start with our protagonist Sydney Sage! Independent, straight-forward and overly logical. She is a stereotypical Ravenclaw.
M: Yeah, she has all those Ravenclaw traits and what I love most about her is the character development she goes through! From her childhood she’s been told to believe that all vampires are “evil creatures of the night” but she slowly realises that those might just be prejudices born from fear! This quote says it all:
“The greatest changes in history have come when people were able to shake off what others told them to do.”
H: Her partner in crime Adrian Ivashkov is the notorious party boy. Pretty much everything Sydney is not. Adrian is a Moroi, burdened by his mysterious power that impacts his mental health more than he would like to admit. Adrian comes across as a carefree and arrogant guy but there is more hidden beneath the surface.
M: Adrian is one of the main protagonists of Vampire Academy, the series that comes before Bloodlines, and at the end of that series he is left with some pretty serious emotional wounds. Plus another thing that we just have to point out is his loyalty. That’s why I’ll always say he is *the* Hufflepuff! His loyalty to Jill Mastrano shapes the whole story.
H: Adrian is totally a Hufflepuff but he also has some serious Gryffindor tendencies. Let’s just talk about how impulsive he is and he is also very brave.
M: He’d want you to say that he is very “manly” brave. *laughs* But toxic-masculinity is not in his vocabulary. I think that’s one of the things I love most about him. He will say things like “That was very manly, wasn’t it?” but it is very evident that he does not condone any sort of sexist behaviour!
H: Adrian does always say that; “These hands don’t sully themselves with fighting.” His loyalty to Jill is so heartwarming and sweet. Jill is a girl who has a huge responsibility on her shoulders but still remains incredibly sweet, kind and caring. She grows up before your eyes in this series, she becomes the princess she was always meant to be. So of course we have another Hufflepuff here! And then last but not least, the Dhampir aka the guardian of the group, Eddie Castile. Our resident Gryffindor!
M: Eddie is fiercely protective which stems from his pretty traumatic past (you’ll have to read Vampire Academy to find out what this means). Well we can easily say that all of these characters deal with some pretty heavy issues but that makes them even more relatable and their stories more powerful! We all carry things that are not fun or light but that somehow shapes who we are.
Why you should pick Bloodlines up and what themes are discussed
H: Bloodlines isn’t the typical vampire book. It’s so much more! If you want something with a bit older characters and some great discussions about mental health and addiction I would definitely go and buy this series right now.
M: Yes, the mental health rep in Bloodlines is very accurate, and I love the way the author connected some illnesses with the magical parts of the story. The bipolar disorder rep really stands out and it is one of the best ones I’ve seen in books to date!
H: Adrian struggles with addiction and his spirit powers. Both of these impact his mental health We see him try to come to terms with the illness and try to cope using different methods.
M: So on one hand we have bipolar disorder rep and on the other the series talks a lot about body image issues and unhealthy behaviours that stem from that. You will see Sydney’s struggles from the first book and her trying to reach for perfection when there is no such thing.
H: Closely related to this is that we see both Jill and Sydney struggle with low confidence and figuring out who they are. They both learn to defy what they’ve been told is right and have great character developments throughout the series.
M: Of course we also can’t forget about the consent talk – Richelle weaves it in seamlessly and in different situations, be it related to sex or not. It is a very much present theme but maybe not in the most obvious ways. All these themes make Bloodlines a timeless read!
What makes Bloodlines special and/or relevant today?
M: Everything we just pointed out! There are some underlying mental health themes that work really well with the urban fantasy plot and enrich the story as a whole.
H: The prejudice that we see from the Alchemists is very relevant in today’s political climate! Richelle discusses how people’s assumptions can influence the way people are treated and broader decisions are made. She also shows that people’s perceptions can influence how they act.
M: There is also the forbidden love part and that is another theme for the ages – even in our “progressive” world there are still relationships that are not as accepted and are in many ways coloured by prejudice. Our main love story deals with everything that comes from people not accepting your love as equal and as strong as some other relationships.
H: Talking about the relationship in this book, let’s mention that these two characters have one of the healthiest relationships that I’ve ever read about in books. These two communicate so well and support each other in everything they do. There is none of that male dominant, possessiveness trope. They build their relationship on trust and it’s a very believable slow burn. We can see their friendship blossom into something more. This relationship is also about accepting someone, flaws and all.
“He was too perfect, despite being one of the most imperfect people I knew.”
M: One of our favourite parts of the series are also the friendship dynamics – be it between Jill and Sydney who never show any jealousy or competitive behaviour towards each other, they are just two girls loving and supporting each other which screams “girl power”, or between Eddie and Adrian. These two guys never get into fights over who’s the “alpha” male, there is just no toxic masculinity – every one of the characters is a fighter in their own right.
H: We also need to talk about the friendships between girls and guys. Eddie and Sydney have a very sibling like relationship, they never even consider being anything but friends. The same goes with Jill and Adrian, they have very strong relationships and there is nothing romantic about them. It’s a beautiful representation about girls and guys being friends. We need more of that.
Book recommendations if you liked Bloodlines?
H: Obviously Vampire Academy! If you haven’t read it yet that is the best choice – plus you get more of Adrian. *wink wink* Also you could read anything by the queen herself, Cassandra Clare! She also discusses important themes, has a wide range of friendships, and she deals with all of these without “shoving” them in your face and being too heavy.
M: Some more recs… Okay this is super hard, actually! Bloodlines is just a really unique series and it’s harder than I thought it would be to come up with some good recs! Oh, maybe The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Although it’s a different genre the feel of the series is quite similar. The leading ladies are also badass and the side characters are well developed and totally epic!
H: And if you’ve already read all of those you can just reread Bloodlines as you can never read them too many times. Maša can attest to that! She’s read the second book, The Golden Lily, about… Nineteen times? Yes, she is obsessed.
M: I am. So the moral of the story: Go read Bloodlines and join the fanclub.
Obviously Adrian!