#3 Silver Shadows by: Richelle Mead

Description:

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.

Why I Like It:

Bloodlines is a spin off series from Vampire Academy.  While I loved Vampire Academy, I have absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Bloodlines.  This series focuses on Sydney Sage and Adrian Ivashkov.  So I feel like it wouldn't be a review if I didn't give you my choice without giving you a few more books to read.  So one last time....WARNING: This book is the fifth book in the Bloodlines series and yes the plot does build on top of each other.  But this book was too good to keep out of our top 10 books of 2014.

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

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist.  She helps clean up messes...well vampire messes from the humans.  Her job is to make sure that humans are not aware of vampires or dhampirs.  Adrian is a Moroi, a  vampire.  He hasn't had the best of luck with love, especially in Vampire Academy.  But it's Adrian's time for love, but there are still some more hurdles to jump until he gets his HEA.

“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.” 

This book starts off with Sydney in an alchemist conditioning center.  In the previous book the alchemists had found out about her being in a relationship with Adrian.  This is like a cardinal sin to the alchemists.  So when alchemists don't do what they are told, they are sent to a center to get reconditioned.  She was sent to classes with a group of men and women around her age.  Since being the newbie, they don't accept her right away.  But together they do the impossible.  

“But with Sydney... with Sydney, I'd had it all- And lost it all. Love, understanding, respect. The sense that we'd both become better people because of each other and could take on anything so long as we were together. Only we weren't together anymore. They'd ripped us apart, and I didn't know what was going to happen now.” 

Adrian kept trying to find out where Sydney was at.  Adrian was a spirit user and tried to show up in her dreams every night, but he just couldn't connect with Sydney.  Where was she?  Was she still alive?  This spirit usage causes Adrian to go into a very dark place and he slowly starts to lose hope.  Instead of looking for Sydney he becomes depressed and turned to alcohol.  Now this is the point in the book, where I started yelling at Adrian and got really, really mad.  I was so upset that he gave up on Sydney.  Here was Sydney fighting in the alchemist center not giving up, while in other areas of the world, Adrian was drinking.

“Adrian.
He was the reason I was able to survive in this prison.
And he was also the reason I was here in the first place.”

But of course for Adrian and Sydney to get the HEA, Adrian regains his hope in finding Sydney.  Adrian comes to the center where Sydney was held.  He  allows the alchemists to experiment on him just to be with Sydney.  If that's not love, I don't know what is.  So here's the point where I started to like Adrian again.  I have to say that I am proud of Adrian working through spirit on his own, without Sydney.  Good to see that Sydney was still there, even though she wasn't physically.

“Everything I’d fought for, every challenge, every victory … all of it was empty if anything happened to him. Without him, I wouldn’t have had the courage to become the person I was. Without him, I wouldn’t have realized what it truly was to live and love life. Centrum permanebit. He was my center, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do, nothing I wouldn’t give up, to keep him safe.” 

Sydney and Adrian are trapped in the alchemist center together, but at least they are together right?  Well when both of them are there, the alchemists do some pretty crappy experiments often involving both of them and they aren't allowed near each other any other time...unless it serves the purpose of the alchemists.  But during some of those times that the alchemists planned, Sydney, Adrian and the friends she made at the center worked together to plan an escape.  So one night, they put their plan into action and got themselves out of dodge.  But as we can imagine, this angers the alchemists.  

“Sydney Katherine Sage,” he said, his green eyes full of love and earnestness. “Would you do a brooding, deadbeat Moroi the honor of being his wife?”

This puts Adrian and Sydney on the run.  They have to find a place where the alchemists won't find them.  After some close calls, Adrian comes up with a great plan to help protect Sydney, but it causes her to have to give up everything she has known, her dad, sister and the alchemists. So Sydney has to make the biggest decision of her life, marry a vampire and give up everything she knows or give up the love of her life.  

“I know what love is, Mom. I’ve had love that burns in every fiber of my being, that drives me to be a better person and empowers me through each moment of the day. If you’d ever had something like that, you’d hold on to it with every bit of strength you had.” 

 This book had me on the edge of my seat.  Especially the first part of the book.  I experienced a lot of sadness and even shed a few tears, some of those chapters I was angry.  Like so angry that I'm surprised my Kindle is still in one piece, but it had sweet and happy moments and even moments of laughter.

I kept routing for Sydney and Adrian.  I'm a big fan of these two.  They are perfect together and I am so happy that Adrian found her.  After being heartbroken over Rose, I'm so glad he found love again.  This book is also setting up for the Bloodlines final book The Ruby Circle.  This book is set to come out February 10th.  I can not wait to see what happens in the last part.

5*****

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