Review: Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Author: Richelle Mead

Publisher: Razorbill
Page Count:  416 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: July 29th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: Silver Shadows
Source: Purchased

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.

I am a complete sucker (excuse the pun) for the Vampire Academy/Bloodlines world. They're fun, intense, romantic, and just plain a good read that will keep you up late into the night. As this is the fifth novel in the Bloodlines series, I will warn anyone who hasn't read the previous books that there will probably be a few spoilers for those books but I'll refrain from talking about the BIG CRAZY THING that happened in this one other than just my reaction! For anyone who is going to stop reading here because spoilers, I'll just say this: I think that this was by far the best instalment in this series so far. It was fast-paced, swoony-romantic, and had me reading way past my non-existent bedtime.

I was both impressed and horrified by Mead's no-holding-back on the Alchemist's 'techniques' in their re-education centre. It was definitely reminiscent of devices used in the past on people who are gay to try and 'flush it out of their system' per say. I wanted to throw my arms around Sydney and tear her away from this terrible place. Adrian of course was interesting in this book as he spiralled a bit, leaving me shaking my head but still loving him nonetheless. But then.. then there was the BIG THING that happened somewhat at the end which I've seen done in one or two other YA's recently that just made my eyes go like this: 

While a bit surprising, it also made a lot of sense and I didn't mind it all too much, though some of the extravagance seemed a bit out of character to me. ANYWAY, if you haven't read this one, GO DO IT NOW! If you're like me, you won't regret diving back into the world of the Dhampir and Moroi and Alchemists one bit! It's fun, somewhat of an escape, and perfect for one of those bad days where only well-loved characters can cheer you up. 

Happy reading!
~Kristy