Book
Details
Paperback: 417
pages
Publisher: Razorbill;
Reprint edition (8 Jan 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595146024
ISBN-13: 978-1595146021
Summary
"Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of
humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and
vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.
Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.
But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her.
When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.
Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?"
Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.
But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her.
When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.
Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?"
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Rating:
The Golden Lily is the second book in
the Bloodlines series, and the review for the first book can be found here.
After being introduced to Sydney, the
alchemist in the previous book, we become comfortable in the world that she
exists in, very different from the one we saw her try to fit in to with the
vampires in the previous series. Yet here we are again, following Sydney, our
classy and intelligent narrator, in to the depths of what she really does as an
alchemist.
This book is more of an exploration
in my opinion of Sydney herself and the things she stands for. Bonding with the
new friends she has made and come to accept, Jill, Eddie and oh so sassy
Adrian, we see Sydney question her roots and what she’s really doing. Her
beliefs are being tested and her loyalties are on trial.
Something I’ve realised more and more
as I read the book, was how much I loved Richelle Mead’s writing. Almost like I’ve
taken it for granted. There were parts to this story that I didn’t particularly
enjoy as much, yet Mead’s flawless writing, character depictions and narration
willed me on to get to the end. Her writing style is entrancing, and thanks to
it, I came to enjoy this book a little bit more after my initial hesitation.
The Golden Lily was nonetheless a
good book still, a little disappointing after the dramatic entrance of
Bloodlines, as I felt this story held less suspense and drama, yet the
characters, the dialogue and the smiles I had throughout the book were well
worth picking it up. We see romance continue to blossom *no spoilers for you
guys* as well as seeing key developments in ties of friendship that Sydney is
coming to accept.
This gets my fat little thumbs up,
and be sure to check out the review for the 3rd book in this instalment,
called “The Indigo Spell”, the review for which you can view here.
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