Book Review: Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

Title: Golden Lily

Author: Richelle Mead

Series: Bloodlines #2

Genre: Teen Paranormal Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: 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.

The Review:

I’ve mentioned before in my review of book #1, “Bloodlines“, that Richelle Mead is one of my all-time favorite authors. I love everything she does, and I have yet to finish a series where I didn’t immediately want to go back and read it again.

All of her works are incredibly character driven, and this one in particular is probably the most introspective yet. While characterization is one of my most important elements when evaluating a book, I often get bored if the book focuses too much on that element. There has to be a balance of character, world-building, ideas, events, and plot to excel with me. Mead is one of the few authors that manages to address all these things while still delving deep into the thoughts of the main character.

Another thing I love about the author is her uncanny ability to make relationships feel natural and progressive. Not only does that help get readers more connected, but it also gives them more incentive to find out what happens next. I feel a stronger connection to her male leads than any other author’s, and I’m certain that has to do with her pacing and the way she develops the love story.

Overall, this series is a 4.5/5 star read, but I have to say it is my least favorite of all of Mead’s works. Thus far, anyway, as she’s got the tendency of making the final few books in a saga unforgettable. If you’ve never read anything by her, I would recommend starting with the “Vampire Academy” series, as this is a spinoff.

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