Fantasy&Education

Review: Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richelle Mead

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 Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.
Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .
Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where all bets are off.

For my romanian readers, you can buy it from here.

My thoughts: (Roxana):



From the first moment when I finished to read The Fiery Heart I wanted to put my hands and start reading the Silver Shadows, because let's face it, the cliff hanger at end of book 4 it was horrible and brilliant at the same time, because I just wanted Adrian and Sydney to be happy...

So, you can see way I was so anxious and scared to read this book, but like always, Richelle Mead delivers everything that you want in a book: action and romance, but this time we have so much angs and pain on our hands that we have to prepare ourselves for this crazy ride. Unfortunate for us, it doesn't get better, even more we see both of our characters having to fight on their own and trying to survive to their new life and while one of them does, the other not so much...

“What is it with you and girls, Adrian, dear? Why do they either mean nothing to you or everything? It's always an extreme."
"Because I don't do things in halves, mom. Especially when it comes to love.” 




Yes, people... it's all about Adrian, because I was really loking forward to see him grow up, now that he learned so many lessons during the previous books in the Bloodlines series, but he still messed up. I know that he has some issues with spirit and all that jazz, but I was really looking forward to a new version of Adrian...

Even though, I wanted to strangle him many times during this book, I also wanted to hug him, because it's a dificile situation, something that he didn't have to confront until now, but maybe I'm not so objective because of my love for him... yes, I'm Team Adrian all the way...
But, he DOES redeem himself until the end of the story when he takes some dangerous actions to save Sydney.
“Out of old habit, I put my hand on my collarbone, touching a cross that was no longer there.
Don't let them change me, I prayed silently.Let me keep my mind. Let me endure whatever there is to come.”


“I took a deep breath and said: “I fell in love with a vampire.”
And like that, I was blinded by light.”

Sydney... Oh my God, Sydney... this girl doesn't give up, even though the Alchemist are trying to break her again and again, using every dirty method they know, and I cheered her every time, because she's a strong and smart girl. If you remember, some readers has said that she's weak and can't compare with Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy series, and while I'll admit she's not Rose, I wouldn't want her to be, because in rehabilitation survives the smart one, and while Rose is smart, she's also very impulsive, acting on the moment kind of girl. But here is pure Hell and  the Alchemist organization have all the power it takes to make them see their 'truth'.



We also got to see in action Marcus and his Merry Men, for those of you who didn't think they are good for something, they will are joining their forces with Adrian and together they use their ressources to save Sydney from the Hell she is in.
We also got to see old characters and new ones, from Nina or Duncan to Rose and Co., and I loved every freaking moment, because it reminded me from Vampire Academy age, with their humor and wit, but we also see Adrian and Dimitri really talking for the first time, and while their interactions doesn't end very well, it's still something because it shows how much Adrian overcome his past with Rose and how strong his feelings are for Sydney...

“As amusing as it was to see him lovestruck, we had to stay on track. I snapped my fingers in front of Marcus's face. "Focus," I said.”
Final Decision- I can't speak higly enough to convince you to buy and read this wonderful book, because it deserves every penny. It has everything you want in a book: love, desire, action, fantasy, evil organization and vampires. But what is so addictive about it is the fact that it doesn't seem like you're reading a fantasy book, the feelings of the characters are so raw, and described in a completely realistic way that you can't help yourself and fall for them, even feeling their pain...

My rating : 5/5



“You’re better than this, Adrian. Whatever the reason, you’re better than it. Don’t trick yourself into thinking you’re weaker than you are”

The Bloodlines series...

	Adrian's Lost Chapter (Bloodlines, #0.5)  by Richelle Mead
	Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1)  by Richelle Mead
	The Golden Lily (Bloodlines, #2)  by Richelle Mead
	The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, #3)  by Richelle Mead
	The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines, #4)  by Richelle Mead
	Silver Shadows (Bloodlines, #5)  by Richelle Mead
	The Ruby Circle (Bloodlines, #6)  by Richelle Mead

About the Author 


Scorpio Richelle Mead is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works on her three series full-time: Georgina Kincaid, Dark Swan, and Vampire Academy.

A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.

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 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.

Recenzie:


Cred că am menţionat deja că inima mea va bate pentru totdeauna în ritmul numelui Adrian Ivashkov... bine, asta e stânjenitor, puţin... dar nu mă pot abţine! În această carte el ne prezintă acea imagine care ne-a făcut să ne îndrăgostim de el în Academia Vampirilor (să nu-mi spuneţi doamnelor, că nu aţi fost dezamăgite, puţin, când Rose l-a ales pe Dimitri, după ce Adrian a fost atât de atent, răbdător şi iubitor cu ea în 'Limitele Spiritului'? 

Ei bine... mi-am dorit să revăd acea faţă a lui, care m-a cucerit irevocabil- iar acum... ahhh... a fost perfect... haios, grijului, sarcastic, PROTECTOR (dap, nu doar Dimitri poate să fie aşa), cu alte cuvinte un iubit în devenire perfect....

De ce în devenire? Pentru că Sydney i-a spus clar şi concis că cei doi nu vor fi împreună niciodată, sub nicio formă, în veci vecilor....dap, l-a spulberat complet în încheierea romanului 'Golden Lily şi, chiar dacă a stat puţin bosumflat şi iritant de drăgăstos în colţul lui, cel puţin pentru un timp, Adrian s-a decis să preia în mâini frâiele situaţiei şi să o convingă, cu răbdare şi statornicie, că sunt perfecţi unul pentru celălalt!

Astfel începe romanul. Sydney se pregăteşte să se îmbarcheze pentru cursa către Curte, unde se va desfăşura nunta lui Sonya cu Mihai, vă amintiţi de ei? Ei bine, acum cei doi sunt în sfârşit fericiţi, iar totul pare să decurgă perfect, doar că se întâmplă ceva ciudat cu Sydney...

Golden Lily-Bloodliness#2 - Recenzie

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Sinopsis:

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?