Summary:
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.
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.
(Via Goodreads.com)
Pages: 380
Release Date: July 29th, 2014
My Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5 stars
Review:
Silver Shadows is the fifth book in the Bloodlines series (the spin-off series of the Vampire Academy series). The Bloodlines series is one of my favorite series and if you have yet to read it I highly recommend it. But, I suggest reading the Vampire Academy series first.My review of the fourth Bloodlines book, The Fiery Heart (my second most popular review after Champion by Marie Lu) is here: http://www.littleredsreviews.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-fiery-heart-bloodlines-4-by.html. Out of five books so far in the series, Silver Shadows is my third favorite. I felt Silver Shadows was too predictable and I was constantly mad at Sydney for pushing her luck. But, at some points it did have me on the edge of my seat.
*Spoiler Section*
Silver Shadows was my second most highly anticipated book released in 2014 (the first one being The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin) but it was not as good as I thought it would be. Like all of Richelle Mead's books it held my attention but I had to put the book down a few times because I could not handle Adrian and Sydney's suffering. That shows that Silver Shadows was a good book because I was feeling all of the characters emotions.
Sydney is one of my favorite female characters because she is so intelligent, loyal, independent, and compassionate. But, those were her weaknesses in Silver Shadows. She could have laid low and let the Alchemists think they were changing her but she constantly risked everything. Not all of her risks were bad though. She was able to shut the gas off in her room and got people on her side to later help Adrian and Marcus plan the escape. But she could have done it more nonchalantly. At first she would stay under the radar but she would get too comfortable and blow it. She should have listened to everyone when it came to helping Renee. I would have hated not to help Renee since she was so out of it from being re-inked but that put an unnecessary target on Sydney's back. It showed the Alchemists that she would still go against what others tell her even if there are consequences. Ultimately showing that she would continue to be friends with the Moroi and Dhampir even with the consequences from the Alchemists. With that aside, Sydney is still one of my favorite female characters. Silver Shadows showed that Sydney an extremely powerful witch and a kick-butt character.
Oh, Adrian. I was way more frustrated with him than I was with Sydney. I knew Adrian was going to go back to drinking since that is his way of coping and I was okay with that. But, I was not okay with him going to Court. At Palm Springs, Adrian would drink but he would sober up so he could try to find Sydney in her dreams and he had the Palm Springs gang (Jill, Eddie, Angeline, Trey, etc.) to watch over him and help him through this. I knew if he went back to Court, he would constantly party because he had no one to watch over him there. Whenever he first got to Court and asked Lissa and Rose for help to find Sydney I so badly wanted him to tell Lissa and Rose he was in love with Sydney. If he had said that, I know Lissa would have felt pity and helped him. Or whenever Adrian had finally got into Sydney's dream I wanted him to get Lissa and so she could see what was happening to Sydney at re-education. Since, Lissa wanted proof that something bad had happened to Sydney in order to rescue her.
Another reason I did not want Adrian to leave Palm Springs was because I wanted to see the Palm Springs gang. I missed the way everything was before Sydney got sent to re-education. I loved to see what trouble Angeline would get into next or how cute and awkward Jill and Eddie were together. Sadly, I do not think we will ever get that back but, at least it was fun until it lasted. A positive of Adrian going to Court was we did get to see the Vampire Academy gang. We should be seeing a lot more of the Vampire Academy gang because Adrian and Sydney will be at Court during The Ruby Circle.
The Alchemists are such sick people. They claim they are all about morals and such but they are horrible people. They claim the Moroi and Dhampir are bad people while the Moroi and Dhampir are some of the nicest people and both races are more human than the Alchemists will ever be. I hope in The Ruby Circle the Alchemists will be shut down or killed. Killing is a harsh word (it is not one when it comes to the Alchemists though). I don't know how everything is going to happen in one book because it seems like a war is going to go down between them. But, my prediction is there will be another spin off series that deals with the fall out of the war or whatever ends up happening.
Another reason I did not want Adrian to leave Palm Springs was because I wanted to see the Palm Springs gang. I missed the way everything was before Sydney got sent to re-education. I loved to see what trouble Angeline would get into next or how cute and awkward Jill and Eddie were together. Sadly, I do not think we will ever get that back but, at least it was fun until it lasted. A positive of Adrian going to Court was we did get to see the Vampire Academy gang. We should be seeing a lot more of the Vampire Academy gang because Adrian and Sydney will be at Court during The Ruby Circle.
The Alchemists are such sick people. They claim they are all about morals and such but they are horrible people. They claim the Moroi and Dhampir are bad people while the Moroi and Dhampir are some of the nicest people and both races are more human than the Alchemists will ever be. I hope in The Ruby Circle the Alchemists will be shut down or killed. Killing is a harsh word (it is not one when it comes to the Alchemists though). I don't know how everything is going to happen in one book because it seems like a war is going to go down between them. But, my prediction is there will be another spin off series that deals with the fall out of the war or whatever ends up happening.
I know the Alchemists were responsible for Jill's disappearance. The Alchemists had the motive because the only way to get Sydney back was for Lissa to hand her over to them since Sydney is under her protection. If word gets out that Jill is gone then Lissa will lose her throne, resulting in a new ruler who will more than likely hand Sydney over to the Alchemists. Or, the Alchemists could use Jill as a bribe and tell Lissa that the only way to get Jill back and to not have word out that she went missing is to hand over Sydney to them. Also, the Alchemists had the resources to kidnap Jill.
On page 379," 'Wait . . . did Angeline see it happen?' I asked. 'No,' said Dimitri. 'That's what's so strange. Angeline went to bed with Jill in the room . . . and woke up with her gone.' 'She didn't hear or see anything. Jill just disappeared like magic.' Rose snapped her fingers for effect."
We know the Alchemists have excess and have created so many types of drugs that would have knocked Angeline out or wiped her memory. I am surprised Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, Sydney, or Adrian has yet to think of the Alchemists as suspects. I feel so horrible for Eddie though. He felt so terrible for letting Sydney trick him into not protecting her from the Alchemists and he believes he is not good for Jill because he could not protect Sydney. Eddie is going to be a mess since Jill disappeared. I hope in The Ruby Circle we will get Jill back and Eddie and she can have a happily every after, like they both deserve.
Speaking of romance, I was glad that Trey and Angeline were able to be together. I disliked that Trey's dad did not see reason and disowned him and cut his funding. But, at least Trey is no longer wrapped up in the Warriors of Light.
I was so excited when Adrian proposed to Sydney. Their wedding was so nice and I hope whenever we get Jill back and get the Alchemists off their backs they can have a real wedding with all their friends and family (well, the family members that still speak to them).
I am not a huge fan of the book covers for the Bloodlines series, but I love the spines of the books. All the Bloodlines spines are written in beautiful fonts in the color from the title of the book. The spines looks fine with the dust jacket on but I prefer the dust jackets off because the spine itself has a lovely shine.
Overall, Silver Shadows was nerve-racking, intense, and an emotional roller coaster. I am so excited for The Ruby Circle, which is expected to be released February 10th of 2015. But, I am sad that The Ruby Circle is the last book in the Bloodlines series, I do not want the series to come to an end.
~Casey
On page 379," 'Wait . . . did Angeline see it happen?' I asked. 'No,' said Dimitri. 'That's what's so strange. Angeline went to bed with Jill in the room . . . and woke up with her gone.' 'She didn't hear or see anything. Jill just disappeared like magic.' Rose snapped her fingers for effect."
We know the Alchemists have excess and have created so many types of drugs that would have knocked Angeline out or wiped her memory. I am surprised Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, Sydney, or Adrian has yet to think of the Alchemists as suspects. I feel so horrible for Eddie though. He felt so terrible for letting Sydney trick him into not protecting her from the Alchemists and he believes he is not good for Jill because he could not protect Sydney. Eddie is going to be a mess since Jill disappeared. I hope in The Ruby Circle we will get Jill back and Eddie and she can have a happily every after, like they both deserve.
Speaking of romance, I was glad that Trey and Angeline were able to be together. I disliked that Trey's dad did not see reason and disowned him and cut his funding. But, at least Trey is no longer wrapped up in the Warriors of Light.
I was so excited when Adrian proposed to Sydney. Their wedding was so nice and I hope whenever we get Jill back and get the Alchemists off their backs they can have a real wedding with all their friends and family (well, the family members that still speak to them).
I am not a huge fan of the book covers for the Bloodlines series, but I love the spines of the books. All the Bloodlines spines are written in beautiful fonts in the color from the title of the book. The spines looks fine with the dust jacket on but I prefer the dust jackets off because the spine itself has a lovely shine.
Overall, Silver Shadows was nerve-racking, intense, and an emotional roller coaster. I am so excited for The Ruby Circle, which is expected to be released February 10th of 2015. But, I am sad that The Ruby Circle is the last book in the Bloodlines series, I do not want the series to come to an end.
~Casey
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