4.5 stars

I can finally wear color again! My VA mourning-days are over;)
It's true, the first time I read Bloodline, it left a bit of a stake in my heart. It's not that I didn't enjoy it, but I was mourning the fact that Rose and Dimitri's story is truly over, but after re-reading it again to prepare myself for Golden Lily, I'm pleased to say that I properly fell in love with this series like I was meant to from the beginning.

You know, I'm not sure what I should say in this review. A big part of me want to scream and gush about everything that happened, but since this doesn't come out till June, I'm gonna try to keep this spoil-free as much as I can.

I really loved this installment. The Golden Lily has a lot of great moments. And I mean great, but it felt more like a filler then anything else. Not that's necessarily a bad thing. This gave us a chance to get to know more about the newer characters since the other obvious characters have already been established. I felt like I finally connected with Sydney and the Alchemist world.
Since turning over Keith, Sydney is back in good graces with her organization. There is a lot of honor in her accomplishments that are recognized, but there are also true horrors if one goes against Alchemist code. Like the RE-education. I'm equally fascinated and scared to death to see what that is all about and only hope that Sydney does't ever have to.
She's walking a very fine line between duty and friendships. Friendships she shouldn't be wanting much less needing. But I loved the conflict. It looks good on her. As we know, Sydney lacks certain social skills and don't even get me started on the whole dating process. This girl is so clueless, but that's what I loved about her the most. She doesn't expect to be accepted or liked or even desired, but a part of her still wants those things. Wants more then just being a job. She's won my respect and admiration. She's a true friend, selfless, brave and kind.
I'm not sure what else I can say about the rest of the gang. I still don't quite have a hold on Jill's character yet, but I'm hoping that will come in future books. I still love Eddie and I think it's pretty amusing how his predicament worked out. Dimitri fans will be pleased to know he's in this book a lot more then expected. Which is awesome. I've gotten attached to Sonya and Trey, I'm still not sure about Angeline though. We meet a new character, Brayden. He's....swell.
And last but never least, Adrian. He's still the best! I swear I lived for his moments. He's still such a punk, sarcastic and funny and completely melt worthy. But we got to see a more vulnerable side to him that made me want to hug him so so hard.

I'm not sure what to say about the plot line, since, well it mostly wrapped around Sydney. We do find out a few new Vampire related developments which is really cool and we even see a bit of magic in this one which is an element I've always enjoyed and hope will be even more explored. There is some action, but not much. The ending is what had me aching for more...and that's all I'm gonna say about that cause I don't trust myself right now;)

Bottom line, I loved this book. It felt easier going into this one then the first and Mead made it so easy to fall in love with these characters. As always her wring is remarkable. I may have had a shaky start to this series, but I'm a screaming fan girl now!

LOVE! NEED MORE!

(Special thanks to Alexa for sharing your Arc! Big Hugs!!)