Take Two: "Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead

We all do it, we read a book and we make an initial impression of it, whether it is a positive or negative impression it doesn't matter- just the fact that we make one matters. And sometimes the impression that we make can very well be impacted by factors outside of the book (ie. our mood while reading the book, other books we were reading at the time, etc.). We then reread the book (which I don't know about y'all, but I am totally a rereader) and notice things we didn't see the first time around, come to understand those characters who bothered us the first time around or just come away from the book with a totally different idea of how we feel about it. As mentioned, I am a rereader sort of person, whether I reread a book right after my initial time reading it, or months, if not years later, well, I don't think that really matters, what I think matters is that with time something about that book hooks us, reels us in, and forces us to once again pick it up. I thought that it would be interesting if I were to reread some books that I have previously read and/or reviewed to see if my initial impression of the book has changed, hence this new little feature I like to call "Take Two".

You can find my original review of "Bloodlines" HERE. 

From Goodreads: "The first book in Richelle Mead's brand-new teen fiction series - set in the same world as Vampire Academy.

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." 

If possible I enjoyed reading this book even more than I did the first time- I think that why I did was because unlike the first time I read this book I took the time to really savor it (whereas admittedly the first time I read it I most likely rushed through it because I JUST HAD TO KNOW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN). In taking the time to read this book I think that I came to understand the characters better than I had previously- from the mains, Adrian and Sydney, to the secondary characters, Jill, Eddie, Trey, and the likes of. 

Furthermore, I picked up on a lot of little hints here and there within the plot which I had missed the first time around which allowed me to not only better guesstimate what was going to happen at the end of this book (because I had admittedly forgotten almost the entire plot of this book since I had last read it), but which also allowed me to better guesstimate what was to happen in the second book of this series, "The Golden Lily" (seriously, A LOT of little things in this book that you might not give a second glance to play MAJOR roles in "The Golden Lily"- so keep your eyes out for them *Nudge, nudge, wink, wink*).

Also, I was flabbergasted the second time reading this book by the number of small storylines in this book- there are A LOT. I think that it is a testament to author Richelle Mead that the reader doesn't even pick up on all of the various overarching storylines because they are all seamlessly woven into one another (as opposed to a few being more glaringly obvious than others, etc.).

All in all, I am super glad to have enjoyed this book just as much the second time around than the first (because, as some of your may be have noticed, this is typically that is not the case- a lot of the time I find myself being more disenchanted by a book the second time reading it)- this book (not to mention series) is one that I know that I will continue to pick up time and time again for basically forever.

Rating: 10/10

Memorable lines from the book: 

"You're okay. For a human." 
I almost laughed. "Thanks." 
"You can say it too, you know." 
I walked over to Latte and paused. "Say what?" 
"That I'm okay... for a vampire," he explained (145)." 

"... you're okay for an irreverent boy with occasional moments of brilliance" (145).

"Because Jet sounds badass" (219).

'I was no better at reading people than I had been ten seconds ago, but in that moment, I suddenly gained a flash of understanding into the mystery that was Adrian Ivashkov. People didn't believe in him very often. They had low expectations of him, so he did as well. Even Eddie had sort of written him off, He's Adrian. As though there was nothing to be done for it. 


I also suddenly realized that, as unlikely as it seemed, Adrian and I had a lot in common. Both of us were constantly boxed in by other's expectations. It didn't matter that people expected everything of me and nothing of him. We were still the same, both of us constantly trying to break out of the lines that others had defined for us and be our own person. Adrian Ivanshkov- flippant, vampire party boy- was more like me than anyone else I knew" (282).