Review: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Title: Bloodlines
Author: Richelle Mead
Pages: 421
Publisher: Razor Pill (Penguin), 2011 Hardcover

Goodreads summary:
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.

My summary:

First, let me state immediatly that if you haven't yet read Last Sacrifce and plan on doing so, do not read this book. I know that it stands apart from Vampire Academy, but it often goes back to what happens in that book. So that would be some major spoilage.

Secondly, I don't think you actually have to read the Vampire Academy series to read this book. As I just said, it does tell you the vital things that happened in the last series so that you understand what happened, but you just won't get that connection to the characters, since most were introduced through out VA.

Now, let's get this review started shall we?

Definitely better than I was hoping! But then again, I kind of had set it at a low standard to begin with. Not that Richelle Mead's writing is bad, it's just that I didn't think anything would be as good as the Vampire Academy again.

I'm so glad I was proved wrong!

The writing was excellent, once more drawing you into the mystery of what was happening. The book engulfs your attention, making you turn the page over and over again until you reach the end. It was wonderful!

The characters definitely played a part in it. Since most were reaccuring characters, I already had that bond with them. Their personalities weren't much different that Vampire Academy, so it wasn't liking they had been rewritten completley. Of course, actions and events change a person in real life, so they were a tiny bit different from the Vampire Academy series.

Eddie, continues to be my favorite! Though now he's a bit more serious.

Jill, Oh you'll love (or not) the plot twist in this one with her.

Adrian, still in love with him. Though possibly now even more! Alas, his heart still seems to be yearning for Rose. But I wonder if that will change soon.

Sydney! The main character of this story, she's by far the most interesting. Her conflicts seem so real, the eternal battle she has with what she knows and with what she grew up with. I feel like this happens often, in the real world and mostly with religion. I have the conflict myself at times, which makes it so much more interesting and personal.

The plot: interesting, though it would seem to have been done before. But of course, the little things Richelle Mead adds to the story makes it interesting and unique in its own way. The setting is great! I always wondered how they would fit in. The problem, interesting.

The new characters are some you're going to love and hate! Just as its meant to be. They're great, and I can't wait for all of you to enjoy them!

Overall: It was a good book, well written and definitley something all Vampire Academy readers will enjoy.

Rating: 4.3/5

Did I fall in love with the book: No, but close.
Would I reccommend it for someone else: Yes! Especially if you read VA.

Here's the book trailer for it. When I first saw it, I thought they were making a TV show. Then I kind of freaked out. So enjoy the USA TV Spot.

Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop at Book Away! It's that time of the year where we can all mourn the banning of good books for potential readers and try to raise awareness to fight censorship (in our own bookish ways).

There are those who, as we would like to think, actually do something to fight censorship. Recently, we got an email from Justin Stanley, President of the Uprise Books Project and it caught our attention.

The Uprise Books Project is a newly formed organization dedicated to ending the cycle of poverty through literacy, providing new banned and challenged books to underprivileged teens free of charge. In a nutshell, lower-income middle/high school students will be able to select banned and challenged books on their site and they'll solicit donations from contributors willing to fulfill their requests.

For more information about the Uprise Books Project, check out this article or their kickstart website: The Uprise Books Project.

For more information about Banned and Challenged books in general, visit the ALA website.

Now to the exciting part! Here at Book Away, we're giving away....

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (paperback)
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott (paperback, different cover than the one pictured below)
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield (hardcover)

There will be at least 1 international winner, who gets to pick which book they would like first :) Number of international winners may change depending on price of shipping, demand, etc. The rest of the books will go to US winners.

*Edit* I (April) wouldn't try to keep anyone away from a book, but I just wanted to give a notice that some of these books are pretty dark, like Living Dead Girl. I read it when I was 15 and even though I enjoyed it, definitely left me shell shocked. So please be aware of the subject matter in a book if you choose it as a prize :) You can read the Goodreads summaries or I can just give a quick non spoilery summary of it. If you really are not interested in the subject matter, we can try to get you a different book. *Edit*

Giveaway?

So, whose itching for a chance to win something?

Well you're in luck, cause I'm itching for the chance to give something away!

But of course, there's a catch.

Seeing as I have the power of over 200 followers (and by I, I mean April and myself) I have decided to use this opportunity to help a good cause.

A close friend of mine is trying to win new band gear for her high school marching band and I've decided to help out.

So vote ( http://pep.si/pcibRD ) now, through the end of September (12 days!) and I'll host a giveaway!

Here's the challenge:

1) If the cause makes it to top 10, we'll hold the giveaway, and I'll giveaway something simple, like swag. (US)

2) If the cause makes it to top 8, I'll giveaway a book. (US)

3) If the cause makes top 5, I'll giveaway a book and some swag. (US)

4) If the cause makes top 2, I'll make the giveaway INTERNATIONAL! (Int)

Yeah, that's right. INTERNATIONAL!

So this is how you vote:

1) Going to this link: http://pep.si/pcibRD

2) Voting by text (learn how to do that http://pep.si/pcibRD )

3) Power vote: the yellow caps that you get off Pepsi bottles. (learn how to do that http://pep.si/pcibRD )

4) All 3 http://pep.si/pcibRD

*All links lead you to the same place*

Now remember, I won't hold the giveway unless it makes top 10, so get to voting!

In My Mailbox (8)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme started by Kristi from The Story Siren where bloggers can share what books they've received and what they're planning on reviewing.

Another week goes by... and April is still in a reading/doing anything slump.  I'm not even watching True Blood anymore, it's mostly just school... and the same time not school because I really don't get that much work...  Hopefully this phase will end soon...  

I didn't get anything book related this week, but here's what I got last week and two weeks ago:

Won:
ARC of Witch Song by Amber Argyle from Jenn @Books At Midnight
ARC of Vanish by Sophie Jordan from Brooke @Brooke Reports
Some epic bookmarks from Ishita @The Reading Fishy

And then I had my little Borders excursion... And yes, 4 out of 5 of these are vampire books, I'm aware.  I'll probably go back before it closes :)/:(

Bought:
The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine
Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

If you don't know what Klout is, you should definitely check it out!  It basically just measures your "influence" on people in social media.  They also have this thing where you can get "perks" based on the topics you are influential about/your klout score/other things that April is ignorant about.

Klout Perk:
Awesome box full of awesome Sharpie products from Sharpie and Klout!  I seriously would have been ecstatic if they just sent me the box.  And I was expecting 2 or 3 sharpies, and they gave me... lots.  So thank you lovely people at Sharpie and Klout :)

So, what did you get in your mailbox this week?

Giveaway Winner!

Thanks for entering the giveaway everyone! We had 169 entries, and random.org picked entry number 10.

The winner for Karina's Birthday Giveaway is...

*insert drumroll*

Kare @Epic Book Nerd

Congratulations Kare!  I've sent you an email but if you didn't receive it, send an email or leave a comment saying so.