Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead | Rating: ★★★★★

“Are you in a suit?" I managed at last, my voice choking up. "You didn’t have to dress up for me."
"Quiet, Sage," he said. "I’ll make the hilarious one-liners during this daring rescue."

Richelle Mead is at it again! And by that I mean, she’s being an absolute angel and nightmare and the ultimate goddess of suspense all at the same time. No! Joke! I repeat: no joke.

Silver Shadows is just as fast paced as every novel Mead has ever written and then some. I can’t say all the emotions I felt while reading this one because it’s indescribable but I guess you should trust me when I say it, this book will make you feel e v e r y t h i n g. Prepare yourself for a surge of emotion and a whole world of danger, because whereas The Fiery Heart was all about passion and love, this one takes on a darker tone, while still holding onto the romance and humor of the rest of the series.

Last we saw, Sydney and Adrian were separated when the Alchemists caught wind of their relationship. Sydney Sage was turned in by her own, and younger sister, Zoe Sage and things really hit the fan. After all this time of keeping their relationship a secret, they have been discovered and during an altercation in the night which our previous installment ended, Sydney has sacrificed herself to save her friend Eddie (who was with her when she was taken) and is now being held at an Alchemist reeducation center.

Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) by Richelle Mead | Rating: ★★★★★

“The greatest changes in history have come when people were able to shake off what others told them to do.”

Returning to the same world her Vampire Academy series is set in, Richelle Mead introduces us to characters we’d already come to know (and love) in their own spin-off series titled Bloodlines. Although taking place in the same world and having a similar structure, Bloodlines is on the fast track to take on a life of its own.

And it’s really quite satisfying.

In this first installment we see through the eyes of Sydney Sage, who we know as the alchemist who befriends and helps dhampir, Rose Hathaway, in the original series. We know Sydney to be a bit more standoffish in comparison to the other characters due to her strict upbringing and the way in which she was conditioned to feel and think, and in Bloodlines we get an understanding of who she is and what exactly she feels.

Hint: her thoughts and complex and conflicting because the longer she spends in the company of those she once viewed as “evil and unnatural” she grows to care for them a great deal. Old habits do die hard, though, and in spite of the newfound warmth towards them she has an awful lot of struggles when it comes to what she feels and what she believes she should feel.