The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

Title: The Golden Lily
Author: Richelle Mead
Pages: 418
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students--children of the wealthy and powerful--carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought.


Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead's breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher.


Review: This book was so good! I feel like this book was better than Bloodlines even though I really enjoyed that one too! Richelle Mead just keeps bringing new things into the world when you thought there wasn't much more to learn of it. 


Sydney is now a bit more accepting of those around her and starting become more comfortable with them. She is still looking out for all of them and trying to do the best she can. She also starts to see that not everything that she was taught is exactly as they say.  Little by little she sees things a bit different. I loved reading of all the different things that she knows which just makes you realize how smart and intelligent she is. One thing I really enjoyed was how she knows she can't fight like Rose but still wants to be able to put up a fight. She might not fight like Rose but she knows how to in a different way.

In Vampire Academy I didn't really like Adrian as much as others but this book let's you see deeper into his character and I have to say that now I love him! He's still that bad boy we all know and love but we get to see different sides to him. He's starting to take control of his life and now does something that he loves. I loved how he's trying to help in his own way. And that ending killed me because of how Adrian must have felt.

Another character that we can't forget is Eddie. In Vampire Academy we didn't get to see a lot of him but I love how here we see him more. Just like a lot of character he has gone through bad times that are now affecting the decisions that he makes. Angeline was awesome to read about. She had never experienced life like this so seeing her adventures and the things she does was awesome. And Jill. I feel kind bad for what she is going through and having to give up things. And again towards the end it was kind of sad for her too.

I feel like things have just started to get better and there is still much to see so I can't wait to read the next book, The Indigo Spell, which I'm sure will be amazing. I want to see Sydney embrace that part of her that she doesn't want to but that has helped her. I can't wait to see what happens next with all the things that were revealed in this book!

Books of Before (3)

Books of Before is going to be random books that I want to read and are available to read whenever I want to. They could have been published last week or last year or even more! =)

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Why: I've seen how a lot people really liked this series but for some reason I never had the urge to read them. I actually tried reading it once but I couldn't get into it but I feel like it's only right to try again.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Why: I had been wanting to read it for a long time but I would always pick up something else. Now that all the bo0ks are out I feel like I wouldn't have to wait a whole year for the next book so that encourages me even more to read it. 

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Why: It was inspired by Persuasion by Jane Austen and it's set in the future! I know I haven't actually read Persuasion but I saw the BBC adaptation of it and I loved it! This story might even be the one I love the most. Especially with Captain Wentworth!

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Pages: 441
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.


But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Review: I know I'm really late in reading this book but I finally read it and it was really good! Lena lives in a world where everyone is afraid of getting infected with love. In her world this is the worst thing that could happen and when they turn a certain age they go through a procedure that will stop them from getting it.


At first I didn't really like Lena because she didn't see that what was happening was wrong. She was always trying to do what the government told them was right. She was afraid of getting in trouble and looking at her past I can see why she was this way but I still didn't like it. At the end of the book I was happy to see that she had changed her views on things and actually did things that went against everything that she had been told.

Hana was such a good friend to Lena who tried to help her to the end even if she would also get in trouble for helping her. I actually enjoyed reading more about Hana at the beginning because she went against many things that they had been told. I feel like Alex made a huge impact on Lena. If she hadn't met him she would still be believing in all the horrible things that she had been raised to believe.

This was a slower book but I still enjoyed it a lot. There aren't a lot of action scenes but I feel like it fits with the story and what they are fighting for. I'm excited to learn more of what is outside and how Lena will be living now that things have changed for her. I know I will be reading the sequel soon!

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Title: Bloodlines
Author: Richelle Mead
Pages: 421
Released: August 2011
Synopsis: 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.

Review: I had been sad to see the Vampire Academy series end so when I found out there would be a spin-off series I couldn't wait to read it. Which is why I don't see how I could have lasted almost a year without reading it. Bloodlines follows Sydney who is the Alchemist that we learn about in Blood Promise. Sydney now has to work with Moroi and dhampirs to keep Jill safe from those who want to harm her.


It wasn't as easy to love Sydney like I loved Rose but as I read more I started to warm up to her. Her fear for vampires and their world was annoying but I can see how she has so much trouble being near them when all her life she has been taught that they're bad. Throughout the book, though, she starts to get more friendly with them and started seeing them as normal people which is something I enjoyed reading about. 

One thing I hated in Last Sacrifice was how things ended with Adrian. I loved seeing him in this book more often than we did in the others. I have to admit I wasn't a huge fan of Adrian Ivashkov before but now that we're seeing new sides to him I'm starting to really like him. And Eddie! I loved Eddie in Vampire Academy and even more now that we see more of him. I love how he just wants to be able to protect everyone.

I was a bit hesitant to read Bloodlines since I wanted to love it but Richelle Mead didn't let me down. I absolutely loved jumping back into the world that Richelle has created and learning more about things that we knew and some that we didn't. I'm sure as the story progresses things will just get better!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Pages: 452
Released: September 2011
Synopsis: Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.

Review: This is one of weirdest books I've read but also a really good one. Mara wakes up in the hospital with no memory of how she got there. She has had an accident that also involved her friends that unfortunately died. Mara knows that she must remember that night again if she wants to know what really happened. 


Having Mara as the one person you're seeing everything through made me question everything thast she wss seeing. After going through an accident where her friends were killed, she starts to see them around. Her mind was a strange place where even she doesn't know what to believe when she sees and hears things. She's an interesting character to say the least. Everything that happens around her is something that she questions and in turn makes me wonder what is real and what is not. 

And of course there is also Noah Shaw. His accent sure does make him much more interesting for me. I liked finding more of him at the end and of what he was going through and that he was always there for Mara. Mara also has some of the best siblings. I'm not sure my sister would be kind enough to help me in the ways that Daniel did. I kind of wish I had a brother who would cover for me when I needed it. =)

That ending! I was not expecting that! So now I don't exactly know how to react to the things that Mara saw and heard. I feel like I can't say much without saying everything that happens. Definitely one of those that you need to read for yourself to fully understand it. I'm excited for the next book and see how Mara deals with everything that keeps happening to her. And of course, who doesn't want to see more of Noah.

Book Haul (54)

So these are the books that I have gotten recently!

Books: 

Native Son by Richard Wright

Legend by Marie Lu

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead 

Happy Reading! =)