Swoon Thursday # 32 - The Golden Lily

 

The fabulous girls over at YA Bound created this super HOT meme.
 

Here's how it works. From the book you're currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering.
 

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag#YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog!

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Yay! It's Swoon Thursday.

So where does my choice come from this week?

 

The Golden Lily

by

Richelle Mead

 

 

First - The Blurb:

 

 

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.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?

Second - My Thoughts:

Okay, today I'm going to keep my thoughts brief.

As many of you already know, The Golden Lily follows directly on from Bloodlines. Does the series improve?
For me, yes it did.

Admittedly, there is still not a whole lot of romance in this book, but there is some. And of course, my favorite scene is the one which happens right at the end.

After completing this book, I'm really looking forward to The Indigo Spell to see how things develop from this point on.

My Rating - 4 out of 5


Third - My Swoon:

He reached  out and pulled me to him, one hand on my waist and the other behind my neck. He tipped my head up and lowered his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and melted as my whole body was consumed in that kiss. I was nothing. I was everything. Chills ran over my skin, and fire burned inside me. His body pressed closer to mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips were warmer and softer than anything I could have ever imagined, yet fierce and powerful at the same time. Mine responded hungrily, and I tightened my hold on him. His fingers slid down the back of my neck, tracing its shape, and every place they touched was electric.

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Okay, so what do you think?
 

If you liked my Swoon, please leave a comment below!