TITLE: The Indigo Spell
SERIES #: Bloodlines #3
CHARACTERS: Sydney & Marcus
AUTHOR: Richelle Mead
PUBLICATION DATE: 02/12/13
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
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.
REVIEW:
I must start this review saying that I absolutely love Richelle Mead’s writing.
In this novel, the third of the series, Sydney sees herself between her forbidden attraction for Adrian, the need to find out the truth behind the Alchemists and the Warriors of Light connection without letting it transpire to her superiors, the allure of escaping her reality and live on the run with Marcus Finch, the struggle to learn magic, something that all her Alchemist teachings go against, to fight imminent witch danger, and, on top of everything else, she is the one in charge of keeping Jill’s royal identity secret from everyone from the outside and their little group away from problems.
One way of describing Sydney’s evolution throughout the series is picturing an egg, the egg shell being the Alchemist’s teachings that have been part of her life since she was a little girl, and in the same way that it protects her, it also restricts her, but as far as she knew, she was alright with it because that’s the world that she grew up in.
The slight cracking of the shell begun when she helps prove Rose’s innocence in the Vampire Academy series. It was something that went against the orders that she had from her superiors, and she almost got herself in deep trouble with the Alchemists over that. They should not meddle unless humans or the existence of vampires being revealed to humans was at risk.
She beings this series in a sort of probation, she will have to prove herself as a faithful and obedient young Alchemist or risk going to “re-education”, a mixture of prison with brain washing facility.
Throughout the first two books of the series, although the fear of going to re-education is there, the first deep cracks of that Alchemist shell that involves her start appearing and she starts to question the beliefs she was though since a she was a little girl.
In this book, the third of the series, that shell is finally cracked. The reasons of why she no longer feels connected with the Alchemist’s beliefs can be boiled down to four: love, magic, friendship and truth. Love for Adrian, the magic she holds within herself and will depend on to survive, the friendship that blossomed between her, the group that she is in charge of and a few friends at school, and the truth that she uncovered by allying herself with Marcus rogue Alchemists. While it’s true that the truth shall set you free, in Sydney’s case, in can also give her a ticket to a re-education facility and from now on she will have to be even more careful than ever when she speaks, especially in the presence of other Alchemists.
And while in the background of her life, something evil is lurking and she has to prepare for it and confront it, it becomes the perfect setting for her relationship with Adrian to grow stronger, because they both know that they can count on each other, no matter what.
Overall, I think that the way Richelle Meads connects the dots in the various plots within the book (and series) it’s amazing, because you don’t get a one track story, it’s not only about her blossoming love life, or her discovering magic or her going against the Alchemists (although they don’t know it). It’s about all that and more, because all those parts of her life combined bring up different sides of her personality, sides that even she didn’t knew she had in her. And there are also the supporting characters, like Angelique, a troublemaker but ferocious fighter when need be, or Julia and Kristin, Sydney’s school friends and all-things guy/relationship advisors.
I couldn’t believe when I read the last page, I racked the book to see if there was more or at least one little preview of the next book. No such luck. The good thing is that the next book is out in the fall and will be written in both Sydney’s and Adrian’s POV.
Disclaimer: The above review was written by a guest reviewer, is the opinion of that reviewer and not a paid review.
TITLE: Tall, Dark and Vampire
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REVIEW:
