Look at me!! I managed to finish not one but two series that I was behind on! This has to be some sort of record for me!! I know the rest of the world read these long ago, but I figure all three of these books deserve at least a bite-sized review. I hope these bite-sized reviews will give you enough of a taste to feed your fiction addiction!
Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead Series: Bloodlines #5
Also in this series: The Fiery Heart
Published by Razorbill on July 29th 2014
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Pages: 380
Source: Purchased
My content rating: YA (Characters have sex but it's not really shown)
My rating:
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 know I truly love this series because it’s been three years since I read The Fiery Heart, and it didn’t take me any time at all to remember what was going on or to reconnect with my favorite characters. That’s honestly saying a lot because lately my brain is a sieve and I’m lucky if I can remember what went on in a previous book in a series for a few months, much less three years!
This book picks up with Sydney in Alchemist custody. They try to break her and get her to turn her back on not just Adrian but all of vampire-kind, but of course our Sydney isn’t so easy to brainwash. Even Sydney isn’t completely immune to torture, though, so I spent the whole book desperately hoping we weren’t going to end up with a shell of the Sydney I’d known and loved by the end of the book (a highly plausible cliffhanger leading up to the final book). I won’t say, of course, what happens. I’ll just tell you that I loved it all.
Poor Adrian was a bit broken in this installment due to his loss of Sydney, but I loved that Mead never pushed him completely over the edge and turned him into someone I couldn’t love and respect anymore. But Adrian did start to fall back into his old ways for a bit (and made some poor decisions in the midst of that), which made me very nervous.
This book was full of action and grit and sent me on an emotional rollercoaster. Honestly, this one was close to 4.5 stars, but I marked it as 4/5 Stars when I finished it, and I guess I’ll let that stand.
The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead Series: Bloodlines #6
Also in this series: The Fiery Heart
Published by Razorbill on February 10th 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Pages: 348
Source: Purchased
My content rating: YA (Characters have sex, but it's not really shown)
My rating:
THEY WILL BE TESTED
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.
Their forbidden romance exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead’s bestselling Bloodlines series.
When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, she and Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world and alter their lives forever.
Don't miss their unforgettable final chapter...
LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL
I can’t decide whether to cheer for such an excellent finale or cry because this series over! There’s no question that this series is an all-time favorite for me, and this final book did not disappoint! There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing (though I’ll admit that I suspected one or two—I still enjoyed the revelations), and Adrian and Sydney’s journey comes to a very satisfying end. We got to spend some time with old friends as well! And one of the things I loved best about this book is the fact that Mead gave us plenty of closure for my favorite couple, but she opened up a new avenue for another spinoff series that I would be thrilled to read! I give this one 5/5/ Stars and the series definitely reaches All-Time Favorite status!
Redemption by Debra Driza Series: MILA 2.0 #3
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on April 26th 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Pages: 408
Source: Purchased
My content rating: YA (Nothing more than kissing)
Mila has been running for her life for so long. But there might be nowhere left for her to go. Especially now that she’s an incredible danger to herself and anyone who dares get close to her.
That’s why Mila has gone into hiding with friend and tech expert Lucas. She can’t take the risk of hurting people worse than the way she hurt Hunter: the boy she’ll always love, the boy who might never forgive her for what she’s done.
But then Mila discovers that General Holland—her ultimate enemy—has plans that are an even bigger threat to humanity than she is. His quest to reclaim Mila is only part of a larger mysterious endgame that will put people’s lives at stake. Mila must make a choice: either push aside her fears and fight him with everything she’s got…or turn her back on the world forever.
Unfortunately, the finale to MILA 2.0 did not excite me nearly as much as the conclusion to Bloodlines did.
First off, I need to start by saying that my 14-year-old son LOVED the first two books in this series. He read them both several times while waiting for the final book to come out (and for me to get my butt in gear and buy it for him, since he’s not really so up on release dates). So, I should have suspected that something was amiss when he was in the middle of reading this final book and he set it aside for several days. When I asked him about it, he said he’d forgotten about it. I guess bells and whistles should have been going off in my head, but he is fourteen and fickleness kind of comes with the teenage boy territory sometimes, right?
Anyway, after he finished it, he told me I had to pick it up right away so that we could talk about the ending. That got my hopes up a bit more. But then I started reading and I was mostly … bored. It just seemed like nothing was really happening in this installment of the series. Mila was trying to solve the mystery of who burned down her house and really killed Sarah, but the answer seemed relatively obvious and I couldn’t bring myself to care. There was a bit of a love triangle thrown in between Hunter and Lucas. It had been a while since I’d read the other two books in the series, but I vaguely remembered liking both of them in their own ways. I was pretty much fine and happy with the way the romance turned out in this book, so that was good, but it just sort of lacked something.
The last quarter of the book picked up a lot and got much more interesting, I will admit. And then there was the ending. Wow—well, I could see why my son needed me to finish so he had someone to talk to about it because … yeah. I just don’t know what to think about the ending. Mostly, though, I think I’m not a fan.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this one. I give the book 2/5 Stars.
Congrats on finishing series! I’m terrible at that. I usually forget release dates and then forget important plot points between books. I’m a disaster when it comes to series.
I usually do those same things. I was actually super-impressed that I remembered most of the details from the Bloodlines series from three years ago. It’s a huge testament to how much I love the series!
I felt the same way after Ruby Circle. I actually liked Bloodlines more than VA. I am still hoping Mead will miss the world and pick up with Declan’s story.
I agree! Bloodlines surpassed VA for me pretty early on. Mead left the door wide open for another series—maybe after she finishes the Glittering Court books?
Bummer about ‘Mila.’ That’s a series I’ve been meaning to start for a looong time! I think I own book one, so at some point, I’ll probably give it a chance.
You might like it more than I did. I thought the first installment was pretty good, and the second installment was better. But the final book was a disappointment for me. Maybe it would have been better if I’d read them all in a row, though.
Yay! I’m glad you finished up two series! I know that was one of your goals for the year. 🙂
Yes—I’m happy to cross a few off my list!
I still haven’t read a book from Richelle Mead *hides face*. I’ve had Vampire Academy on my Kindle for 5 years?! I was so scared that I’d keep seeing Covenant comparisons, so I wanted to make for sure there were a few years, and then some lol, between reading them. 🙂 Congratulations on finishing up two series and I’m so glad you loved Bloodlines!
I love the Bloodlines Series even more than VA, but it probably makes sense to read VA first. It’s hard when you have long series you want to catch up on.
[…] But what I can do is push up my blog titles to make them a little more appealing. And then there is I Finished Two Series! Bite-Sized Reviews of Silver Shadows & The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead a… from Feed Your Fiction Addiction. Obviously these two bloggers know what it takes to draw people […]