Review: The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by Richelle Mead

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date:  June 12th 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Source: Bought

Format: Hardcover

Goodreads Summary: 

The second thrilling installment in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy spinoff series

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.

My Review:

In accordance to it's name The Golden Lily is young adult gold. Why do I say this? Well, because it is everything that a young adult novel should be. It has suspense, immense character growth, exploration of relationships of both the romantic and familial nature, and it also covers the intricacies involved in friendship. To say that The Golden Lily surpasses it's predecessor (Bloodlines #1) would be an understatement. The Golden Lily was just a breathtaking sequel and blew Bloodlines out of the water. It was just an amazing book. 

When it comes to characterization The Golden Lily shines. Not that it's a surprise. It's not everyday where you find an author who is so consistent in creating uniquely fabulous yet  inherently different heroines in every series they write and Richelle Mead has that gift. It often happens that when some authors write a series, their series kinda emulate each other and can be formulaic to the point where the reader can already guess how things might end or how the protagonists are gonna be like, personality wise. But that definitely does not happen here. Sydney Sage is quite the unique heroine not only when you compare her to other Richelle Mead books but when you compare her to the rest of heroines in young adult novels, today. 


Sydney Sage is a very analytical girl, who is very smart and who has a very perfectionist type of personality. She thrives on order and reason which obviously always leaves her struggling when it comes to social situations or romantic ones, because those situations are not always logical. Adrian Ivashkov, the male lead in The Golden Lily, has a more laid back personality than Sydney, he is extremely witty and sarcastic, and struggles a bit when it comes to people taking him seriously. So interestingly enough, while Adrian has to learn to be more responsible in this book, Sydney juggles with being more laid back and with putting reason on the back burner and learning how to deal with her emotions. And that journey that they have to go through in order to find balance in their lives was really interesting to read about.

Which leads me to the romance in this book. Richelle Mead is now officially, well, in my eyes, the queen of romantic tension. I just love how she never rushes anything, there is no insta-love in this book. Her romances are always so well-developed and well-paced and just heart wrenching yet lovely, all at the same time. And reading her books literally feel so real sometimes even though the settings are not always so, because they are like embarking on a journey with the main characters. You don't know what is gonna happen, but you know you have to get ready, because it's always quite the ride, a ride that will not take one but several books. And in this book we get to cover that universal business of love, the enigma that is love. That business of, "does she like me?" or "does he like me?" or "why would he or she like someone like me?" - that puzzle that is romance sometimes. And it was both fun and heartbreaking. Fun because most of the characters are just really confused about their feelings and so adorable in their fumblings when it comes to the object of their affections. And heartbreaking because it's really obvious to see who is perfect for each other but because they have to learn so much about themselves still, they can't necessarily be together when we the readers, want them to be.

I would have to say that what I loved the most about this book, is that at it's core, it is about recognizing the truth in other people. In The Golden Lily we get to see how closer the group of Sydney, Eddie, Jill, Adrian and Angeline have become and how some other new characters might not be who they portray themselves to be. Adrian and Sydney especially go through the most growth not only individually, but together. In this book, we get to see a bit more to them, what is going on when it comes to their feelings and let me just say, that they are so lovely that it should be illegal. I knew Sydney and Adrian were good people at their core, but they are so much more than you would think, that they just owned my heart. And it doesn't hurt that they share some of the funniest scenes and dramatic ones. Oh, yes, because this book, has it's fair share of danger. There are some crazy things brewing behind the scenes that are quite surprising when they are finally revealed. And I just loved everything. This book was so flawless in it's execution that I am just dying to read the 3rd installment in this series.

My Rating: 5/5

Dreamcasting (5): From books to film

I am a very visual person and when I read a book I like to envision in my head what each book character would look like in actuality and who could play their roles if they ever adapted that particular book into a film.

What is a dreamcast? Well, it's the cast of actors that you think would be perfect to interpret a character on screen. Today I will dreamcast a popular book character and explain why I think the actor I chose for this dreamcast would be perfect for the role of said character.

Dreamcast for Adrian Ivashkov & Will Herondale

 Mathias Lauridsen as Adrian Ivashkov from The Golden Lily

 

So, I actually have dreamcasted Adrian before but reading The Golden Lily (book #2 in the Bloodlines series) really changed my whole view of him. And this time, with the help of a friend, ladies and gents, I have found my new Adrian. Adrian Ivashkov is a character who originally appeared in The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. In Bloodlines (the spin off series to Vampire Academy) Adrian becomes the male lead. Adrian is a stylish and witty vampire royal, a moroi, and in his twenties. The Moroi have distinct features amongst the different types of vampires in the Vampire Academy world. They usually are very tall and lean and often described as resembling human models. Hence, why Mathias Lauridsen, a Danish male model, would make an amazing Adrian Ivashkov. 

 

There is even a quote in the Golden Lily that describes Adrian as looking like a "pensive European model" at some point and Mathias is European and a top male model in the fashion world. Adrian also has always been described as being quite handsome and in my head, I've always felt like Adrian probably had a certain mystique to him, in his look. And Mathias is, like, the epitome of that. This man could be wearing pastels and still look intriguing and pensive. There is just something about the structure of his face and his look, that screams that. And Mathias has that height and lean structure. The precise height and lean look that characterizes moroi, especially Adrian. Also, Mathias on camera, has this natural charisma to him. So, yes, Mathias Lauridsen = Adrian Ivashkov for me!

Nicholas Hoult as Will Herondale from Clocwork Angel & Clockwork Prince

Nicholas Hoult made quite the impression on me in the films A Single Man and Xmen: First Class. I thought he was highly compelling with a very powerful glance. In Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, Will Herondale, is an English young man that lives in Victorian England as a shadowhunter (a warrior of angel blood who fights demons). He is described as being tall, handsome, with extremely striking blue eyes and black hair. Nicholas is tall, handsome, with very beautiful blue eyes, black hair and he has an English accent. I don't know about you guys, but I think he would be a perfect Will Herondale. Will in Clockwork Angel comes off as sarcastic, determined, and a fighter and in Clockwork Prince we get to know the softer side of him and get to uncover some of the layers to his character. I think Nicholas could portray those array of emotions perfectly and he just looks like Will. He really does match the Will I pictured in my head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Have you ever dreamcasted your favorite book characters? If you have, let me know about it. Also, if any of you have a different dreamcasting idea for the character I mentioned in this post, I would love to hear about it, as well. Thanks for reading :)

 

In Her Shoes (12): Sydney from The Golden Lily

In Her Shoes is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Vanya at YA Story Teller. To participate, simply put yourself in the shoes of a heroine you've recently read about, and then talk about what you would do in her place, or what you've learned from her.

Featuring this week:

Sydney Sage from The Golden Lily

Sydney Sage is a main character in The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead which is the sequel to Bloodlines (a spin-off series of the amazing Vampire Academy). And if you haven't read Vampire Academy or Bloodlines yet, you need to. They are fabulous books that are so well-written that I can't even start to express the level and magnitudes of awesomeness that these books contain in their pages. The talent that Richelle Mead has when it comes to world-building and characterization is breathtaking. So good. But back to the Sydney Sage from The Golden Lily.

What I love about Sydney is that she is one of the most unique female characters I have encountered in Young Adult literature. Her personality traits are so rare in fact that many people like to cast her off as an 'unrealistic' character. Which, in all honesty, I can't say I'm surprised at since Sydney's personality is not the most common in literature and in real life for that matter. But girls like Sydney do exist. 

Sydney is an alchemist who is trained to hide the existence of the vampire world from humans. If I was to describe Sydney, I would say that she is an incredibly logical person, dedicated, responsible, selfless. Sydney is so logical, that she totally misses out on details like social cues/romantic cues because of how analytical her mind is. And what is fun about Sydney is that her blend of incredible smarts/logic and obliviousness to social interactions and situations make her trés adorable. I mean, you can't help but feel for her because of how she sees regular things and the fact that OH MY WORD this girl is so intelligent with everything she does, but put her on a date and it's like you just sent this girl to Mars on a date with a little green Martian :D

Would I change something about Sydney? The answer is: NO. I love Sydney. She is such a breath of fresh air amongst so many heroines that all seem to kinda resemble each other. Sydney's biggest asset is her mind and what I love about her in The Golden Lily is that she is starting to learn more about having friends, dating, questioning the strong beliefs that she has been raised with, accepting and learning to take more care of herself. Because thing is, Sydney is so responsible that she totally forgets about herself while helping everybody out and that can burn out a person. I can see her starting to notice that and her growing and developing. Also, I love that she is so sharp and that is she doesn't know something, she goes out to learn it. Sydney is no damsel in distress, that's for sure. No drama. She gets thing done. And I know she is fictional, but I'm jealous of her because she gets to hang around Adrian Ivashkov - so if I was in her shoes, id be happy. Adrian is hands down one of the funnest and best male characters out there right now in YA fiction.

Showcase Sunday #7

Showcase Sunday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Vicky at the Books, Biscuits and Tea blog. It is a meme inspired by Pop Culture Junkie and The Story Siren. The goal of this meme is for us bookish peeps to showcase & highlight the books that we have either bought, borrowed, won, downloaded, or received for review the past week :)

BOUGHT

The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by Richelle Mead

 

 

 

 

What book loveliness did you receive this week? :)