THE INDIGO SPELL by Richelle Mead

Book Three in the Bloodlines series
Publisher: Razorbill
Number of pages: 401
Date Published: February 12th, 2013 
Date Read: October 17th (re- read)
Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Source: Bought






-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Description source: Goodreads)

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do.

Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run.

Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her.

But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought.

There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her.

And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Do you want me to call you Celery Stick instead of Cupcake or Honey-Pie? It just doesn’t inspire the same warm and fuzzy feelings.” 

The Bloodlines series continues to leave me amazed and desperate for more and this latest installment definately does not dissapoint.

The Indigo Spell continues Sydney's story from just after the point that The Golden Lily ended at.

As in The Golden Lily, it opens into a few scenes which remind us how the Alchemists feel towards the Vampire races and provides more insight into Sydney's ralationship with her own race in conrast to that whith her Vampire friends.

As Sydney constantly battles to keep the identity of her Vampire friends a secret from the humans surrounding them she must also hide her friendshipfrom the other Alchemists.
She finds herself getting pulled into a battle of good versus evil to save not only everyone she cares about but the innocents nearby from an scheming witch who could do no limit of bad. On top of these situations she finds herself falling deeply for Moroi Vampire and commonly-known bad boy Adrian.

Despite them having a mutual understanding of each other that runs deeper that she is willing to accept Sydney must decide if she will follow her head or her heart.

With another excessively long list of hilariarity and absoloutely gorgeous moments what isn't to love about The Indigo Spell??

 I for one adore it and found it just as good as it the books before it. The inclusion of magical elements and new characters is something that was well done and didn't feel as though it had been rushed or an after though.

 Marcus was quite a pushy character and im sure that we havnt seen the last of him. Although I disliked him because of his pushiness and self-assured attitude I find that he was quite a well written character besides that and I like the idea behind him and his group.
Quite a few of the plot twists involving Angeline were ones that at this stage seem to be quite unnecessary although I am sure that more shall be revealled in The Fiery Heart.

Aaaaarrgghhh!!! I simply cannot express my excitement for The Fiery Heart it is the book I absoloutely CANNOT wait for this year and would just about kill for!! Aargh! More Adrian!! <3

“Adrian shook his head, still smiling. "I've said over and over, I'd do anything for you. I just keep hoping it'll be something like, 'Adrian, let's go hot-tubbing' or 'Adrian, take me out for fondue.'"
"Well, sometimes we have to--did you say fondue?" Sometimes it was impossible to follow Adrian's train of thought. "Why in the world would I ever say that?"
He shrugged. "I like fondue.”

I rate The Indigo Spell Five out of Five!!!

THE GOLDEN LILY by Richelle Mead

Book Two in the Bloodlines series
Publisher: Razorbill
Number of pages: 421
Date read: June 12th, 2012 (re-read)
Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Source: Bought






-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Description source: Goodreads)

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.

Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Adrian, I'm on a date. Why are you here? On my car?”

The Golden Lily kicks off from immediately after the events concluding Bloodlines.

In the first few chapters, Mead reintroduces the Alchemists and shows us exactly how they feel about Vampires, this resonates in Sydney as she has gotten closer to them than the Alchemists would be accepting of. This is reflected with Sydney getting a look at the effects of getting too close to the vampires (Strigoi especially) and what she would be submitted to if the other Alchemists found out about her strengthening friendships.

Sydney has not only had the impossible task of keeping the vampires in line and from not being discovered by their fellow students and community members in Palm Springs but has also had to deal with the everyday ramifications of living with teenagers and this has not been easy to say the least. But when Angeline joins their 'family' with her more uncivilised mannerisms and expectations, Sydney definitely has her work cut out for her.

Balancing this family life with friendships, a newly discovered love- life and her school time now containing magic use (which the Alchemists highly disapprove of to say the least), if Sydney makes the wrong move, may be sent in for reeducation.

With threats being made to her vampire friends by a dangerous and mysterious Vampire Hunting group, Sydney is torn between her loyalties to the Alchemists and to her new friends.

Okay so it's no secret that I simply LOOOOVE these novels, mostly because of Adrian *swoon*, but I love not only his character development but also that of others such as Angeline, Eddie and Jill and of course Sydney herself.

With Angeline beginning as a quite rough and out of place character she finds her niche in the 'family' and starts to integrate quite well into the human culture and society of school. I like how she changes and begins to learn about respect and love and all manner values and qualities and that she begins to demonstrate these herself. I find that she is a very likable character and her growing relationship with the others is great as well as her growing sense of maturity and responsibility.

Jill is a totally different kettle of fish throughout both Bloodlines and The Golden Lily she certainly has her moments. Her childish side comes through whenever boys or the modelling are concerned and she often does not take others into consideration  Besides that she is has a likable character and I really like the idea of her and Eddie possibly being together in future novels because Eddie seems to ground her and help her to consider other people.

I think that Adrian and Sydney (mostly Adrian though) provide the majority of the humour, so much so that there is an almost endless list of hilarious lines such as these ones:

“But I’m just going to be out there having a tea party with her cats or whatever it is she has in mind."

and

You used nunchucks on a moose?"
Wolfe got a haunted look in his eyes. "I used all sorts of things on that bastard.” 

....that had me laughing so hard every few chapters. I am SO glad that the amount of humour was increased and that it did not seem as though the humour was out of place of forced in any way.

 Although aspects of the plot were quite predictable I found that others were actually quite surprising and unexpected. I think that the balance between character development and storyline plot was perfect and Adrian was PERFECT (as always).

Okay I simply CANNOT wait to re- read The Indigo Spell!! More Adrian!!!!!

"Day 24. Situation is growing worse. My captors continue to find new and horrific ways to torture me. When not working, Agent Scarlet spends her days examining fabric swatches for bridesmaid dresses and going on about how in love she is. This usually causes Agent Boring Borscht to regale us with stories of Russian weddings that are even more boring than his usual ones. My attempts at escape have been thwarted thus far.

Also, I am out of cigarettes.

Any assistance or tobacco products you can send will be greatly appreciated.
-Prisoner 24601"

I rate The Golden Lily Five out of Five!!!

BLOODLINES by Richelle Mead

Book One in the Bloodlines series
Publisher: Razorbill
Number of pages: 421
Date read: September 5th, 2013 (re-read)
Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Source: Bought






-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Description source: Goodreads)

Blood doesn't lie...

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives.

When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway.

But what unfolds is far worse.

Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding.

To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California.

But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Takes a lot of tries before you hit perfection." He paused to reconsider that. "Well, except for my parents. They got it on the first try."

Bloodlines is the continuation of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series.

Instead of following the adventures and escapades of Rose, Lissa and Dimitri it follows that of alchemist, Sydney and her trials in keeping a vampire princess safe for a couple of months.

Faced with the expectations of the alchemists community around her, who are waiting for her to screw up and fratanise with vampires again. But Sydney is determined to keep her younger sister out of the alchemists clutches by fulfilling a task which may jepardise her relationships with those she cares most about in the alchemist world.

Syney once again gets to spend time with the shy Jill (sister to Vampire Queen Lissa), the ever flippant party boy Adrian and the protective guardian Eddie.

Battling her instincts to bring her supervisor, Keith, down a few pegs through revealing his dirty lttle secret.

Sydney must tow the very thin line between being friendly and professional towards the vampire group to avoid causing herself anymore trouble and being sent for reeducation, though this may be difficult when there is a traitor amongst them.

  

I LOVED Bloodlines!!! Although I have read it before, it is a novel which I can read numerous times! I really enjoy the development of the characters and the dimension that Mead gives to the who we were able to meet briefly but did not get to properly meet, during the Vampire Academy series.

As a character I simply adore Adrain, I love him!! Since I first met Adrian in Frostbite I fell for him and I'm not ashamed of it hehe, he is gorgeous!! Such a funny, sweet and thoughtful personality I cannot help but adore him <3

The development of Sydney is one that I think was well executed, so much so that her character (which I found I couldn't identify with in past novels) was one that I grew to like and enojy the company of. I found that she grew in herself even just in this novel, as did the others.

I was definately was not expecting the plotline to take the twists and turns that it did and by the end come to many of the outcomes that it did. This was a journey that I found was a rollercoaster of emotion and developing connections between characters. I love the style in which it was written, the plot and its many twists and, of course, the characters!

“Yeah? Can you draw a skeleton riding a motorcycle with flames coming out of it? And I want a pirate hat on the skeleton. And a parrot on his shoulder. A skeleton parrot. Or maybe a ninja skeleton parrot? No, that would be overkill. But it'd be cool if the biker skeleton could be shooting some ninja throwing stars. That are on fire.” 

I rate Bloodlines Five out of Five!!!

UNTIL I DIE by Amy Plum

Book two in the Revenants series
Publication date: May 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen
Number of Pages: 368
Date read: May 16th 2013
Genre: Supernatural, Romance, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Source: Bought 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Description source: Goodreads)

In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Until I Die continues to follow the story of Kate Mercier and her boyfriend Vincent Delacroix as they discover how to live together and deal with important issues like how to live a normal life, despite Vincent being a Zombie of sorts, as well as the importance of family and support from those who love you. 

As Kate delves further into Vincents world of Numa (bad zombies), Revenants (good zombies) and the possibility that other fictitious creatures may not be so far from the imagination, she grows as a person and really starts to evolve into herself as she wants to be and begins to live. With the ever charming Vincent by her side she is able to take on everything life challenges her with, until Vincent starts to keep a secret from her, a secret that he says will solve their problems. The trouble is that whatever he is up to is taking its toll on him in a bit way, leaving looking drained and not at all himself.  If that isn't enough, there's the ever present Jules keeping an eye on her when she least of all wants looking after and the icy ancient friends of JB who will do everything to get in her way.

With the Numa quiet after the death of their leader, the revenants suspicions begin to rise. True to form, attacks begins, seemingly random at first but they begin to lead towards one big idea, one important key that could leave the fate of not only themselves, but the human race in their hands.

Until I Die was a lot more action packed and faced paced than Die For Me which I quite liked. I found it to be detailed and very enrapturing to the point that I honestly could not put it down. The way that Amy Plum spun the story was interesting, with twists and turns that I had not even considered. She told the story in such a way that it seemed as though it were really happening and it sprung to life around me. I have always liked the idea of living in Paris and continuing the story here and not taking it back to America, like I thought could have been a possibility, was great. The romantic atmosphere of Paris together with Vincents old fashioned ways was really cute and was the perfect image of what a lot of girls would love their boyfriend to be like. 

Kate kept being quite the stereotypical female protagonist but I think that it actually sort of works in this sort of story, the changes that she has gone through make it seem more worthwhile. Despite her having many of the characteristics similar to those in other books Kate has a personality that I find to be attractive and fun. She is loyal to those she loves and actually has a great bond with her older sister. While her grandparents can be a bit overbearing at times, and she does not always do what they tell her to, she still adores them and this shows through clearly. Above all, her love for Vincent and her acceptance or his 'family' is admirable, the strength that she shows is different and I LOVE that it isn't all about the physical side of her and Vincents relationship. Sure they kiss etc. and the desire is there but there's more to their relationship than that, they build it up and also don't always get along, which I find to be a refreshing twist.

Anyway, I really loved this book and will definitely be reading book 3 in the Revenants series If I Should Die!! 

Here's the blurb for If I Should Die for those of you who are interested!

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

“And I've got THIS," I pulled out the signum and held it up for him to see, "that says I'm kindred. And I've got THIS," I pointed at my head, "that says I'm as smart as you. And I have THIS," I held up my middle finger, "that says go to hell, you immortal bigot."

And with that I spun around and stomped out the door, filing the expression on Arthur's face in a mental folder labeled "Kate's Proudest Moments"."

I rate Until I Die Four out of Five!