REVIEW {35} THE FIERY HEART by Richelle Mead

THE FIERY HEART
SERIES: Bloodlines | OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES: Bloodlines #1, The Golden Lily #2, The Indigo Spell #3, Silver Shadows #5 (Release Date: 7/29/14)
AUTHOR: Richelle Mead
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: November 19th, 2013
EDITION: Hardcover, 438 pages
ACQUISITION: Own
CATEGORIES: Bloodlines, Richelle Mead, The Fiery Heart, 5 Star Rating, Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Vampires, Witches, Review, Love Triangles, 2013 Release, 2014 Read
RATING: 5.00/5.00 | GOODREADS RATING: 4.47/5.00
ADD TO GOODREADS

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: 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.

In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure — and re-education — looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this smoldering fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe.

MY THOUGHTS: *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS* Considering I have absolutely loved every book in this series so far, as well as the entire Vampire Academy series, there was no doubt in my mind that I'd absolutely adore this latest installment in the Bloodlines series as well.

Can I just take a minute to state the obvious, and tell you all what the best part of this book is? I can do it quickly in just three words. Ready? Sydney and Adrian. They are full steam ahead with their relationship - which we all know is totally not okay by Alchemists standards - but really, the heart wants what the heart wants and Sydney's wants, needs, has to have, Adrian.

This book follows suit with it's non-stop action and "Whoa did that just happen?" moments. We have all the regular players, plus a new dhampir named Neil, whom Jill and Angeline both are crushing on. But Neil's heart lies in a recently-restored-from-Strigoi named Olive. And besides - Angeline can't stop thinking about Trey (Yep, that Warriors of Light Trey), and Jill and Eddie are both interested in each other, but Eddie can't get over his feelings of not being good enough for a Princess. Luckily, Jill takes the first step towards showing Eddie she doesn't care if he's "just" a dhampir. 

The main theme of the book, is Sydney's continuing to help Marcus and the rebel ex-Alchemists, while juggling her job in Palm Springs in the midst of hiding her relationship with Adrian from her Little-Sister-Turned-Alchemist who is disgustingly loyal and obedient to their controlling Alchemist father. Sydney's magic use and training goes even further, when she joins a coven and starts working on her own formulas to make the ink Marcus needs to break the Golden Lily tattoos that Alchemists are given to control them.

Everything is going great - Sydney's able to hide her love for Adrian, keep Zoe under wraps, and make sure everything's running smoothly. That is she thinks everything is going great. Unfortunately, it's the person she loves nearly as much as Adrian who betrays her and causes her entire world to come crashing down.

I loved every minute we got to spend with Sydney and Adrian together. They are the textbook definition of opposites attract, and their dynamics work so well together. I usually do not like dual-narration in books, but I think Mead was able to wonderfully give Sydney and Adrian their own voices, and gave us the ability to see things from both of them - as well as what was going on with one when the other wasn't there. They both have their fair share of struggles and inner demons carried over from the previous books, but one challenge we experience with Adrian, is his choice to start taking medication to help control Spirit, after he is left to suffer the consequences of a "Spirit Hangover". He fights within himself to justify that the meds will help, and in true Adrian fashion, begins beating himself up when he needs Spirit and isn't able to access it because of the pills. One of my favorite Adrian-isms is his "Escape Plans" for himself and Sydney.

We see more of how controlling the Alchemists are when we spend time with Zoe. Sydney sees so much of her former self in her younger sister, and hopes she can help Zoe see that the Alchemist way of life isn't the best choice. Unfortunately, Zoe is under her father's mind-control, and ultimately causes the destruction of Sydney's life in Palm Springs, and that of everyone she loves and cares about. With the details of their parents divorce, we can see love isn't something the Alchemists tend to really consider being important. 

The Fiery Heart leaves us at a gnarly cliffhanger, which is Mead's M.O. We have Sydney in a "jail" cell being held captive by the Alchemists, who are ready to re-educate her; and Adrian and Jackie Terwilliger who are desperate to save her. I cannot wait to read Silver Shadows, number five in the series to see if Sydney and Adrian are able to find their way back to each other.

SIMILAR READS: Daylighters (The Morganville Vampires #15) by Rachel Caine | Revealed (House of Night #11) by P.C. Cast | The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2) by Julie Kagawa | Oblivion (Nevermore #3) by Kelly Creagh | Sentinel (Covenant #5) by Jennifer L Armentrout

Happy Reading!

Laura

Review {2} Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Bloodlines

Author: Richelle Mead

Series: Bloodlines #1

Other Books In The Series: The Golden Lily #2; Vampire Academy Series #1-6

Published: August 23rd 2011 by Razorbill

Edition: Hardcover, 421 pages

Obtained: Library
Categories: Young Adult, Vampires, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy,  Suspense, Action
Rating: 4 Stars

When Alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive - this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood.

*****

My Thoughts: I read all six books in the Vampire Academy series back-to-back and continued the trend with Bloodlines. I was happy to see Sydney Sage as the main character in the spin-off series, as well as familiar faces like Jill Dragomir, Adrian Ivashkov, and Eddie Castile. All secondary characters in Vampire Academy, they all get their own tiny spotlights in Bloodlines.

Sydney has quickly become one of my favorite characters of all time. Smart and sassy, Sydney craves knowledge and is loyal, devoted, and dedicated. She often puts herself last, and everyone else ahead of her own needs. She questions the ethics of the Alchemists, and wars within herself over her pledge to the Alchemists, and the vampires she's quickly forming friendships with.

The storyline works well for what is needed to build the basis for the series. Sometimes I found things to be a tiny bit predictable, but for the most part the story was fresh, and entertaining which is good. A spin-off series can easily fall flat, but Mead's easy-to-read writing style and engaging characters and plot keeps things moving and doesn't allow room for it to become stagnant.


One of the best story lines is that of Adrian and Jill. In Vampire Academy we saw Adrian as an immature, substance-abusing spirit user who had a whirlwind romance with Rose Hathaway that ended less than amicably when Dimitri Belikov was restored from Strigoi back to Dhampir and the two picked up where they'd left off... leaving Adrian heartbroken and reeling. For someone who easily slipped into old habits, what happened between himself and Jill now forces him to straighten up his act; no more drinking, no more random hookups with girls he barely knows. Adrian is probably one of my favorite characters and easily crush-worthy. I definitely feel the chemistry between Adrian and Sydney so I'm not going to lie - very curious to see if anything there pans out!


Another character I was glad to see more of, is Eddie Castile. Eddie's career has been downgraded because of his assisting Rose with releasing Victor Dashkov from prison. With no real guardian post, Eddie's sent to Palm Springs along with Sydney and Jill in order to pose as their "brother" and to be a guardian to Jill. Eddie is given a dorm room with a guy named Micah, who eerily resembles his dead best friend, Mason. Eddie also reveals to Sydney that he's crushing hardcore on Jill, but feels as a lowly dhampir with a tarnished record, he could never be a good match for a princess like Jill.


Jill is still dealing with the blow she was dealt in Last Sacrifice, the final installment in the Vampire Academy series. Jill is still trying to emotionally and internally deal with the fact that her mother had an affair with Eric Dragomir, Vasilisa Dragomir's father. Jill is still feeling like Lissa hates her, or only needed her to gain her position on the throne as the next Queen, and doesn't truly want anything to do with her. Jill also has her first taste at love with Lee Donahue, the son of Clarence Donahue - the only Moroi in Palm Springs who has seceded himself from the Court and lives a quiet life with his son. He is suffering from the loss of his niece, whom he is convinced was killed by vampire hunters - which I am curious to see if Mead will ever introduce vampire hunters into the series - would be kind of neat as long as it's kept unique! Lee ends up being someone that nobody expected, which leaves Jill brokenhearted.


Sydney is also dealing with the fact that she's currently not in favor with the alchemists, and nearly loses the assignment to her younger sister, Zoe, who she is determined to protect from the alchemist career. This drives a wedge between Sydney and Zoe, one that affects her greatly. Sydney feels like her relationship with Jill is similar to that of her relationship with her sister. Both are strained, and she desperately wants to correct them. Sydney is also to report to Keith, another alchemist whom she has a rocky past with. Keith and Sydney's older sister, Carly, had a relationship in the past, which ended when Keith raped Carly. Sydney makes a deal with Abe Mazur, which is hinted at in Vampire Academy, but is finally revealed in Bloodlines. Luckily at the end of the book, Keith gets what is due to him and I feel it was justified.

I also love how Sydney was able to create magic, which scares her to no end. Helping out Ms. Terwilliger, her history teacher who had a sneaking suspicion about Sydney, leads to this revelation. I can't wait to see how this progresses in the future. Sydney has a lot of internal struggles to muddle through.


The story line involving the students getting tattoos eerily resembling the golden lily tattoo emblazoned on Sydney's cheek raising many questions - especially when she finds out that the tattoos can make athletes faster and stronger, and even give you stamina and a huge high. Sydney begins to investigate this, which leads her back to Keith. When first reading this, I kind of didn't care for this whole idea. However; after digesting the book and letting it sink in, I actually think it's pretty cool! It'll be interesting to see where this story line leads us down the road in the future installments in the series.


My final words for Bloodlines: Incredible start to what I'm sure will be an action-packed, suspicion-raising, betrayal-filled wild ride!!


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Happy Reading,
Laura