I’m feeling very, very emotional having just finished this. I started reading the Vampire Academy books way back when I was only 13. Back then, but all the books had come out and the Bloodlines series wasn’t even announced yet. That was 14 years ago. And this reread reminded me how I love these characters just as much as when I was a teen.

I do find Bloodlines a lot more enjoyable than VA. I do really like those books, but reading them as an adult is hard because the age gap is really creepy.

Spoiler

I LOVED watching these characters grow so much. Sydney, of course, so awesome to watch bc she goes into it still so biased against the moroi. But at the end she’s married to one. She was terrified of magic and now she’s a BADASS witch.<\spoiler>

Now this is a spoiler but I’m not shrouding it bc I think it’s important people know about it if they want to read this series.

TRIGGER WARNING: She overcomes disordered eating. Which I’m so proud of bc that is such a small detail of the book that really makes Sydney feel so human (for lack of another word.) It showed why she felt the way she felt and also how Adrian helped her overcome it. I also want to mention that while it definitely needs a trigger warning, it’s such a small part of the book that it didn’t trigger me and I don’t think it would trigger most. They don’t even call it disorder eating or anything, I just picked up on it. But of course, use caution if you wanna read this series!

Spoiler

Adrian. Adrian grew SO much!!! By the end he’s completely sober, doesn’t drink anymore, learned to cook (which he wears an apron for!!!!), and the best part in my opinion: he’s a damn preschool art teacher. How cute is that???

Oh and you can’t forget Declan. They becoming parents was not something I EVER predicted and I just honestly feel like it’s perfect for them? Sydney was basically a mom throughout the whole series already so it wasn’t so hard for her to step into those shoes. And Adrian truly feels like such a natural dad, I love it.