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Review: The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

May 6, 2015May 25, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Bloodlines #3

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. Alchemists protect vampire secrets – and human lives.

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she struggles to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do.

Then she finally tracks down the elusive, enigmatic Marcus Finch – a former Alchemist who the organization denies exists, and who lives in shadows, on the run. With Marcus’s help, Sydney realizes that the group she’s been loyal to her whole life has been hiding the truth from her. Is it possible that her golden lily tattoo might have more power over her than she thinks?

As she struggles to come to terms with what that might mean, Sydney is compelled to use her magical powers to track down an evil magic user who is targeting powerful young witches. Using magic goes against everything she always thought she believed, but she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her special blood – or else she might be next.

Forging her own way is harder than Sydney ever dreamed. Maybe by turning off her brain – and following her heart – she’ll be able to finally figure out where she belongs.

3 Drink Me Potions

The Indigo Spell diverted from the crazy plots of book 2, The Golden Lily, and had gone into a totally different direction. Boy, does our protagonist Sydney have a lot going on in her life.

1) She totally went against her Alchemist beliefs and has started practicing magic with her witch/history teacher
2) Adrian Ivashkov, aka vampire Moroi, has declared his love from afar for her
3) Some psycho witch is out to get other strong witches, and that road points towards Sydney as well, ’cause you know, she’s got to be a powerful witch on top of excelling at everything else she does
Oh and 4)? She’s found rogue ex-Alchemist Marcus Finch, and now there may be a ton of Alchemist conspiracies and cover-ups she’s questioning

Can things get any crazier? Apparently not. I think. Let’s just set aside the idea of tracking down the vampire hunters, aka the deluded Warriors of Light, for another time because this book is filled with tons of things other than that. Not that I blame Sydney, ’cause that’s already a lot of things to do at the same time.

For once, this 3rd book departs from spending a ton of time with all of the gang that’s been isolated at Palm Springs. Thank goodness for that too, because to be honest, that Eddie and Angeline romance thing freaks me out a little. Can I just shake Jill and tell her to claim her man before it gets even weirder? Please, Jill, just go confess to Eddie. It’s driving me insane! Anyway, that’s most of what goes on with them, although I do miss their banter at times. But like I repeatedly said, there are TONS more crazier things to deal with.

There are A LOT of Adrian and Sydney times though, much to my delight. After what went down at the end of The Golden Lily, I was intrigued to see how Sydney could get over her Alchemist beliefs. Might be helpful considering she’s hanging out with ex-Alchemists and shoved into Adrian’s path at every which way. I love their chemistry and the patience Adrian has with her. Out of all the characters, the two of them have grown the most so far. There are so many different facets that Richelle Mead has shown in Adrian here. Sure, he’s still that witty and charming young guy who flirts with girls and with trouble. But he’s also sensitive and loving and romantic.

If that was considered character development, I don’t know how to describe Sydney’s almost 360 degree change. She’s someone so tangibly real to me. Maybe it’s because we share a love of knowledge, though I must say, she takes it to the way, WAY extreme than most academics I know. Her growing attraction to Adrian isn’t something she can deny and it was deliciously fun to see her breakdown to his charms and patient love for her.

Amongst the romantic scenes, there are also the dangerous, action scenes. From witch chasing and warning young girls from getting their life sucked out of them (literally) to breaking all the rules she’s grown up with to do something for Marcus, there’s plenty of things to satisfy just about anyone. Who said any good romance story couldn’t also contain an equal amount of excellent butt-kicking action? Once again, no true closure for any of the plots that were laid out here, but I think I’ve resigned myself to wait for some epic conclusion in the last installment. Better not disappoint me, Richelle Mead!

Overall Recommendation:
The Indigo Spell is no disappointment. In fact, it adds onto the already big list of crazy things that’s going on in Sydney Sage’s life. With plenty more action and danger coming her way, Sydney is forced to be with Adrian at nearly every turn, which makes it harder for her to deny the attraction that is there between them. Although missing the ever-present interaction of her dear vampire friends, the banter and excitement of what Sydney and Adrian are attempting to do with a witch hunt more than makes up for it. Here’s to another chapter of the Bloodlines series that continually makes for a good read.

Review: The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

May 5, 2015May 25, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Bloodlines #2

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. Alchemists 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. Formorly 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 her 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 Braydon, 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?

3 Drink Me Potions

Book 2 in the spin-off series, Bloodlines, from Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy, continued the pace of what was set in Bloodlines. There was definitely more romance in it. Come on, that Brayden guy that Sydney tried “dating” was hilarious. Sydney’s charm lies in her sweet ability to remember the most random things in the world, but his similar ability to do that was just downright annoying. In a funny way.

With a forbidden romance looming ahead for Sydney down the road, the main focus was the building plot of….insert dramatic music here. The so-called vampire hunters that were postulated from the previous book by a dear old, yet slightly crazy, Moroi. There was also the amazing appearances in this series with Dimitri (from Vampire Academy, of course) and Sonya Karp (also, an interesting person from that series). It’s like watching a show and having cameo appearances of some favourite characters, albeit not the most important people, from the original show. It’s definitely a nice trick to draw in readers who loved them from before. Also, kind of ruins a little of what happens in that series, but ah well. Minor sacrifice to pay. So, it’s preferable to finish reading some of the earlier books in Vampire Academy.

I digress. The pace was set nicely, as usual. It wasn’t as unpredictable. I guessed the “twist” a mile away, even from book 1. The characters are all still their crazy usual self, with the addition of a new dhampir, Angeline. She’s even more whack than Jill, Eddie, Adrian and Sydney put together–well, maybe minus Adrian. He’s kinda whack when he’s high on Spirit using, which is the element that he controls. I just love that Mead makes all the main characters so essential and…just loveable. Yeah, they’re imperfect and have the craziest quirks, but that’s what makes them real and distinguishable from each other. Flat, boring characters drive me insane.

Although there was some action in this installment, I guess being part of a rather longer series limits the amount of epic actions that each one can have. I was sad to see that there really was no closure. Maybe just more questions about Alchemists and their ways.

Before I end this review, I just have to go back to the romance, ’cause you know, a good romance is hard to find and love. From book 1, I wasn’t immediately sure who was the particular love interest for Sydney as…well, there was no romance for her in it. With this second installment, I love that Mead took the time to make a plausible connection between Sydney and Adrian, who was still hung up on his ex-girlfriend at the time of their initial meeting. It wasn’t love at first sight. But with the building attraction simmering just underneath the surface whenever they hung out, it made the wait worth it to see two completely different people complement each other just so well. I truly look forward to seeing how this crazy romance is gonna turn out.

Overall Recommendation:
Another interesting installment in the world of Alchemists, Moroi and dhampirs, Richelle Mead gives more tidbits to the crazy things this series has to offer. From protecting a princess Moroi to attending to their love affairs, Sydney has too much on her plate. Action abounds and intrigue is at its highest as she continues to navigate human high school all the while trying to maintain her Alchemist ways. With the same loveable characters from before, witty dialogue and a forbidden romance makes the plot a definite read for those who loved the world the author has created with these 2 series. Another recommendation, although I hope there would be more action and closure next time.

Review: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

May 4, 2015May 25, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Bloodlines #1

I wasn’t free of my past, not yet.

Sydney’s blood is special. That’s because she’s 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. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiences in question, her future is on the line.

When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she’s still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir – the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir – is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill’s guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the unlikeliest of places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one.

The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden romance lurk both outside – and within – the school grounds. Now that they’re in hiding, the drama is only just beginning.

3.5 Drink Me Potions

Sydney is unlike a lot of protagonists I have the pleasure of following around in a long series. She’s brilliantly smart, yet tries to dumb her knowledge down when it seems to bother people around her, and attentive to what others need. She truly cares for people, which is the root cause of her problems.

Because vampires, even half-vampires, are not technically considered “people” to the Alchemists.

It’s forbidden to even like them, let alone associate with them, yet her job forces her to live with them. Of course, she doesn’t fight or argue with her superiors about any of the things they demand of her. She sounds like a mighty pushover, but that’s because she was raised that way by a tyrant for a father.

This story could simply be another human falling for the charms of a vampire. But, to be honest, that is remotely nothing like what Bloodlines is about. It’s about honour and duty and finding that thin balance between caring for her charge, a vampire princess, while maintaining a professional distance. In fact, there really is NO romance in this story for Sydney. It’s strange as most stories seem to love the romance angle, but it doesn’t really take in the first installment of the series. And it works even better that way.

There are so many things happening in the plot. From dealing with the craziness of human high school while watching over a bunch of vampires in hiding, to Alchemist-like tattoos surfacing on humans and dealing with the ever-annoying Alchemist co-worker of hers, Sydney has WAY too much on her plate to consider romance into it. There’s definitely plenty of intrigue and mystery going on that needs to be solved to keep a reader happily reading.

Also, the characters are all a wonderful group. Besides Sydney, each and every vampire “family” member she’s taking care of has such unique personalities. Adrian’s laidback and the typical party boy but there are moments where I really wonder what his true story is. Given, I haven’t read a ton of the the Vampire Academy series yet, so there may be more to him there. Eddie, a dhampir, is charming and protective. Jill can be stubborn sometimes, but she learns to work it out with her new situation. If it’s so easy for me to love them, you can see why it’s so easy for Sydney to as well.

I could go on about this story, but that’d be way too long of a review. I love the idea of the Alchemist group. It’s so unique and fascinating, intermingling their stories with the vampires. A group of humans dedicated to keeping the vampires a secret from humans for their safety? Totally cool and can go in so many ways. Especially ’cause they consider vampires as unnatural and…well, evil. Let’s just say I can’t wait to finish this series (thankfully they’re all out now), and see where all the foundation and groundwork Mead put in goes. I couldn’t stop reading. Finished it in one day.

By the way, that ending? Didn’t quite see the culprit coming. Although I really should have what with all the mysteries I read. That’s a big compliment.

Overall Recommendation:
Although the vampire genre has really been overdone by this point, this new series following Sydney, an Alchemist, is a far cry from anything I’ve seen yet. Mixed heavily with the chaos of having to protecting a vampire princess from harm while keeping her distance from them, both physically and emotionally, is already hard, but add in a mysterious Alchemist-tattooing parlour and human manifestations of magic, Sydney really has it coming for her. There are so many problems she has face, although the hardest ones are the ones dealing with the fundamental Alchemist teachings she now sees in a different light. Balancing her duty with her genuine care for these “unholy creatures” is definitely gonna come back and bite her. Richelle Mead’s newer series may very well be more exciting than the Vampire Academy series.