The Golden Lily: A Bloodlines Novel

Wow! Richelle Mead does not disappoint with the second installment of the Bloodlines series. The Golden Lily is amazing! It took me four days to finish this book because I have so much going on right now, but every time I'd pick the book up again, I'd get sucked into Mead's world. The pacing for everything is perfect. There is plenty of character-growth, action, and romance in this novel. The Golden Lily cannot be missed.Sydney grows a lot in this novel, but she doesn't change so quickly that it seems unrealistic. Her progress is very natural and believable. She's starting to question the Alchemists (thankfully), but she hasn't completely grasped that they're not the best people ever. But Sydney's not the best judge of character, so it will take her awhile to figure it out. As she's stated, she works with facts and data. Social interactions are beyond her comprehension, so it takes her longer to figure out her feelings and people's true motives than it would a "normal" person. However, she is improving, and I'm confident that she'll end up making the right choices in the end. I really enjoyed watching her grow, and her awkwardness is endearing to me. She makes me laugh, a lot. Almost as much as Adrian.Speaking of my fictional future husband, he is spectacular as always in this novel. He is snarky and sarcastic and wonderful. He also grows quite a bit, and some of his changes are shocking. He is becoming a braver and more responsible Moroi. Also, we get to see A LOT of Adrian because he is involved in every aspect of the plot. I think the overabundance of Adrian is my favorite part of this book, and I can only hope that Mead shows as much of Adrian in future books as well. I feel like I got to know him and Sydney both a lot better in this novel.The action is pretty much nonstop, though when I say action, I don't necessarily mean fight scenes. I mean intense moments, mysterious occurrences, people going missing, romantic tension, things falling apart, etc. There are a few fight scenes, but most of the suspense is because of other, less violent, events. There is one big surprise that I saw coming, but even that had a few twists that I wasn't expecting. Some of the things seemed odd when they were happening, then after everything fell in place, I got all excited like, "oh, NOW it makes sense!"There is plenty of romance in this novel, too. People get together, break up, drift apart, drift together, go against what they thought they wanted, and so on. I like where things are heading, but this book ended with a lot of characters sad, and not just Sydney and Adrian. I think things will work out for each character in the end, and I think that the fans will be really happy with what happens as the series progresses, but the ending kind of ripped my heart out a little. I have faith in Mead, though, and I know she won't lead us astray. Also, I agree with how this book ended, even though it wasn't what I wanted to happen. If things had happened the way I wanted them to happen, then it would not have been believable, and I would not have liked it. As it stands, I can't wait to see how this plays out and what happens in the third installment.The Golden Lily is just an exciting read from cover to cover. I was not bored for a single second while reading it. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster at times, and I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout most of the novel. I laughed a lot because of Sydney's awkwardness, a certain weirdness that has to do with Jill, and Adrian's sarcasm. Even though the ending was a bit sad, I still finished this book with a happy sigh. I can't wait until February! You did an amazing job, Ms. Mead.

Adrian, my poor, sweet, sexy Adrian, he goes through a lot in this book. Working with Dimitri continues to bring up how inferior he feels. Dimitri was rather rude to him a few times but then again I am very protective of my Adrian. Also a visit with his dad reminds us how much Adrian has been put down all his life. They will sure be sorry when Adrian cures all the Stroigoi, saves Moroi kind, and becomes a big hero and they build statues of him. Adrian is very smart, caring, loyal and talented and just needs someone to believe in him. And Sydney does. She continues to support him and I felt them grow so much closer but we still have a very long journey ahead.I am not a big fan of Sydney but she did grow on me a tiny bit in this one. Trey sets her up with Brayden, her twin basically. Sydney tries to have fun with him since he is on her level intellectually but she finds herself worrying about someone else... I felt Sydney finally letting down her guard with the vampires and she really worried and cared about my Adrian, so big bonus points! As much as I am growing to like her, I was still disappointed with some of her actions. She does have a lot of lifelong prejudices to overcome. The alchemists are scary, bad people, and we see in this book what happens when someone is too friendly with the vampires. Sydney will need a lot of strength to break away from them like I hope she will eventually.It didn't help that Jill was discussing her own troubled love life with her. Jill was a bit annoying to me in Bloodlines and while she is still naive, I found that she was maturing. She wants to date and thinks that maybe she can have something casual with Micah. She quickly realizes how difficult keeping secrets can be and that being with a human could never be a permanent thing. Jill begins to take her position as sister to the queen seriously and a human/moroi relationship is simply not allowed. I do feel really bad for Jill and the position she is in.Eddie is still her loyal protector. I love Eddie and also felt a lot of growth with his character. I was very happy with all the character developments. In Bloodlines I really didn't enjoy anyone but Adrian and of course he is still the absolute best part, star of the show, wouldn't be anything without him, but I enjoyed everyone during this book. Eddie is so kind even when trying to keep the new frisky Angeline off his back. She likes to rub up on him during training and well who wouldn't. Angeline was so funny. She was completely out there and did whatever she wanted, causing a lot of trouble for Sydney.I just want to go on and on, especially about Adrian, but I must stop myself. I've probably said too much already! I'm very happy it was the next level of action, romance, character development and Adrian awesomeness that I was hoping for. Adrian continues to swoon an amaze me. I shall head back to my Adrian altar and continuing worshiping until the next book. Feel free to join me. Can't wait to see what happens next.---Day 24. Situation is growing worse. My captors continue to find new and horrific ways to torture me. When not working, Agent Scarlet spends her days examining fabric swatches for bridesmaid dresses and going on about how in love she is. This usually causes Agent Boring Borscht to regale us with stories of Russian weddings that are even more boring than his usual ones. My attempts at escape have been thwarted thus far. Also, I am out of cigarettes. Any assistance or tobacco products you can send will be greatly appreciated.-Prisoner 24601

Very engaging and funny book. I liked it more than the last, especially because of the twists. it was nice to meet Sonya again, but above all Dimitri is back!!!!!!! (now I wait only for Rose, Lissa and Christian). I especially appreciated the evolution of the characters of Sidny and Adrian.

Just irresistible and engrossing....

There is something about this book. Its not just the brilliant writing but the words that capture your heart with such a beautiful story- that you forget where reality ends and a story begins.Adrian and Sydney's love story is still my favourite ever. I think Richelle did an amazing job brining these characters to life and making the reader part of their world. From the issues they overcome and the slow growing love between them this is one fiery romance no other can compete with. Passion built on friendship. Amazing.

It's a nice sequel. The dialogues and characters are still funny on their dynamic. I like almost everything about this book, but I miss more action scenes. I think it's because I read Vampire Academy before and I can't not comparing sometimes. I recommend the Golden Lilly to everyone who loves Buffy, Rose Hathaway and mainly to the ones who love Willow (from Buffy). So, what are you waiting for? Go, read!

Après le très bon début Bloodlines, la saga suit son chemin et offre un deuxième tome très agréable qui fait en réclamer plus.Bon, il faut préciser qu'il ne se passe pas grand chose dans ce tome. Presque toute l'action se déroule sur l'extrême fin, et le roman est centré sur le développement des personnages. Du coup, ça m'a beaucoup rappelé Frostbite, le tome 2 de Vampire Academy - dont Bloodlines est le spin off - qui avait la même construction (et comme pour VA, je suppose que les choses vont aller très crescendo à partir du tome 3). Même avec le manque d'action, le roman ne perd pas son intérêt car Richelle Mead a su créer des personnages particulièrement attachants. Déjà, grand plaisir de retrouver en perso secondaire un protagoniste très apprécié de VA. De plus, l'héroïne/narratrice appartenant (sans s'en rendre compte, du moins au début) à une secte pleine de préjugés, j'accroche bien à la lecture de ses états d'âme et sa progression psychologique. Richelle Mead profite aussi de ce tome pour installer LA love story de la série, qu'elle avait pris soin de ne pas forcer dans le tome 1. Je ne pense pas qu'on atteindra l'intensité du duo Rose-Dimitri dont je suis plus que fan, mais j'avoue que cette love story est surprenante et promet de sacrés moments. Notre Alchimiste, élevée dans le dégoût des vampires, est en effet amoureuse... d'un vampire. Bien qu'elle ne soit pas prête à se l'avouer. Et dans monde de VA/Bloodlines, les relations humains-vampires étant considérées répugnantes et contre nature par presque tous, même par des personnages ouverts d'esprit comme Rose, ça promet beaucoup de drame et péripéties. Bref, The Golden Lily donne l'impression de faire une transition avant que le rythme ne s'accélère. Vite, la suite!