Review {29} The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

THE INDIGO SPELL

SERIES: Bloodlines #3 | OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:  Bloodlines #1, The Golden Lily #2 The Fiery Heart #4

AUTHOR: Richelle Mead

PUBLISHED: February 12th 2013 by Razorbill

ACQUIRED: Borrowed | Library [Need to Own]

EDITION: Hardcover, 1st Edition, 401 pages

CATEGORIES: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires, Urban Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Witches, Review, Razorbill, February 2013 Release, Richelle Mead, Bloodlines Series, Vampire Academy, Five Star Rating

RATING: 5.00/5.00 | GOODREADS RATING: 4.49/5.00

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WHAT THE BACK OF THE BOOK SAYS: In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series 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: As expected, I abso-freaking-lutely LOVED this book. Seriously, Vampire Academy & Bloodlines have to be at the top of my 'Favorite Series' List. Just when you wonder where the next book in the series is going to take you, you're suddenly transported into action and adventures you never thought possible. 

I was getting kind of aggravated with Sydney in this book, considering she was fighting her feelings for Adrian, yet leading him on. But, being Adrian, he knew she would eventually come around, and told her that he would love her "from afar" until she realized that she's totally in love with him. Let's just say by the end of the book I was happy with where their relationship is.

The Indigo Spell finds us back in Palm Springs and back in the lives of Sydney, Jill, Eddie, Angeline, and Adrian. The book opens with the wedding of Sonya and Mikhail, and then sweeps us back to the west coast. Sydney is able to track down the elusive ex-Alchemist, Marcus, and is surprised to find out who he is, and the group of people he's involved with. Marcus asks her to gather information for their group to help them someday take down the Alchemists, and Sydney agrees. Marcus also offers her the chance to break her tattoo, so that she cannot be compelled by the Alchemists. Intertwined in this, Sydney is still learning magic with Miss Terwilliger, and fighting her feelings for Adrian.

One of my favorite things about Richelle Mead's books, is that there really are no slow parts. There's pretty much something going on all the time on every page. There is such a vast array of characters too, that she wonderfully weaves their sub-stories into the main plot. She is absolutely amazing as an author, and I even find myself wondering if she would ever do another spin-off from Jill's point-of-view. I'd definitely read it!

One of my favorite things when reading, is to experience the protagonist's growths and changes along with them. The Sydney Sage we met back in the Vampire Academy books, to the Sydney here in the 3rd book of the Bloodlines Series are so different. The important things that make her who she is are still there, but she starts to question herself in this book. Who am I? What am I doing? And luckily, she figures out she is the person she is supposed to be. It's okay to love who your heart desires, and to want better for not only yourself but those around you. Sydney is such a wonderful, caring, loving person that it sometimes gets in the way of making herself happy. Luckily, she's starting to realize this.

There are basically three main worlds in this series that Mead has to intertwine- the vampires & dhampirs, the Alchemists, and then the magical world that Sydney's finding herself a part of. I guess maybe Marcus's group could almost be a fourth world. Wait - a fifth - the Warriors. Sheesh! And to keep these all interesting, fresh, and working in a way to involve all of them is quite a feat. I can't even think of anything else to say except to just gush over how freaking AMAZING this series is!

I am super stoked for The Fiery Heart. I literally want that book now! I'm so curious to see what happens and where our characters end up - especially with the cliffhanger we get at the end of The Indigo Spell... 

SIMILAR READS: The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa | Fall of Night by Rachel Caine | With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent | Revealed by P.C. Cast | Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Happy Reading!

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