Book Review | Silver Shadows (Bloodlines Book #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.

Ever since the release of The Fiery Heart back in November, I couldn't wait for Bloodlines Book 5. Richelle Mead is my favorite author, and whenever one of her books comes out I'm always there bugging my local stores to see if they've had them in yet. Especially where the Bloodlines series is concerned.

So when Waterstones delivered my pre-ordered copy of Silver Shadows to me early, I screamed in delight. Actually screamed. And did a little dance. I think I actually annoyed my parents so much with my constant going on about the book, and when it finally came they were happy to get rid of me for a few hours. Barricading myself in my room, I finally indulged into the next chapter of Sydney and Adrian's story.

This review will contain spoilers from the Vampire Academy series and the previous Bloodlines books. It will NOT contain spoilers from Silver Shadows.

So The Fiery Heart left off with a huge cliffhanger which literally had me tugging on my hair in frustration. It left me feeling heartbroken and wary about the future, much like Adrian. Oh Adrian. I just wanted to hug him, hold him close and tell him everything would be okay. Centrum Permanebit damn it!

With Sydney, it was hard not to get emotional with everything she goes through. And boy does she go through the ringer. If you didn't hate the Alchemists before now, you certainly will by the end of the book. Especially Sydney's father and Zoe - I don't think I've been so angry with characters in a book before!

'She was the girl. The one who changed everything. The one who changed me.'

Whereas The Fiery Heart was more tension filled, Richelle Mead was right when she said Silver Shadows was more romantic based. Whilst Sydney and Adrian are forced to be apart, you can feel the struggle they both go through to hold on to hope that they will be reunited in the future. At some points I wanted to shake Adrian for sinking so far into despair, and praise Sydney for remaining so strong. 

Another thing I loved was that we got to see a considerably darker side to the Alchemists. I remember when I first read the Vampire Academy books that I was intrigued by the Alchemists, and now I'm really glad we've been given more of an insight into how they work. And believe me, Silver Shadows proves that they are not an organisation that you want to mess with.

We're introduced to new characters in Silver Shadows, and some of them are very intriguing. Duncan stands out as a interesting character to me. As the first seven chapters have already been released online, it's safe enough to say that Duncan becomes a key part of Sydney's life in re-education, and is the first person to actually, well, be nice to her.

But this small act of kindness, this nice and ordinary gesture between two people...well, it almost broke me when nothing else had.

Aswell as new characters, we also get to see some of our old favourites from the Vampire Academy world. Rose and Dimitri - I always love seeing these two, just seeing how strong they are since their story ended. A scene with Dimitri and Adrian also occurs aswell, and whilst it doesn't end in the best way, it makes me happy that there may eventually be an actual friendship there. It just shows how far Adrian has come, and how much Sydney has healed him and helped him move on. Lissa also makes quite an appearance in the book, and I must say my feelings towards her are mixed. At some points I just wanted to shake her and say WHY?!?! Thankfully by the end, I warmed to her a bit more (when you read it, you'll understand why ;) ).

Sadly for me, I felt that there wasn't enough of a presence of the crew in Palm Springs. I guess with Sydney in re-education and Adrian heading back to Court, there wasn't much chance to feature them all. I am hoping that Richelle may do another spinoff series after this ones ended, maybe focusing on Jill and Eddie? Or Angeline and Trey? Who knows! :)

She was perfect. Radiant. Glorious. A vision.

I have to once again go back to the romance in this book. Whilst I don't want to spoil anything for you guys, once you've read the book you'll understand why I fangirled so freaking hard and almost woke up my parents from squealing in delight. Honestly, it was perfect. And I must admit I got a bit tearful. Darn you Richelle Mead and your ability to make me feel so much about a book!!

The book again ends in typical Richelle Mead fashion, and ends on a cliffhanger. Why do you do this to us? WHY? 

I'd been responsible for a lot of shenanigans in my life, but this was the first time I'd ever actually rendered an entire room speechless.

Overall, Silver Shadows is gripping, heart-breaking and a complete emotional rollercoaster. I have to say its possibly the best book by Richelle Mead that I've read so far, and it makes you crave more. I have to give it 5 stars!

How about you? Have you read the Bloodlines books? What did you think? Or have you read Silver Shadows? Let me know!

❤