Sunday, March 23, 2014

Book Review: The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead (Bloodlines Book 4)

INFO:
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Received from Publisher for Review

THE SYNOPSIS:
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 Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure — and re-education — looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this smoldering fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe.


MY THOUGHTS:
I wasn't as excited to read 'The Fiery Heart' as I usually would have been with any other installment of the great 'Bloodlines' series. My reasons for this vary between a very intimidating TBR I have had looming over me, various other tasks I have been wanting to accomplish and the weird "hype" for this novel. In ordinary circumstances I would have wanted to read this book as soon as I got it.

When I say "weird hype" I am talking about the youtube trailers. They are not the best quality book trailers I have ever seen and whenever I saw one, the words 'over dramatic teenage vampire soap opera' sprang to mind. The book trailers had me expecting that Sydney and Adrian would finally be together and it would be love-letter soppy with a hint of Adrian drama. I was going to be majorly disappointed in Richelle Mead if she did this to the series. Luckily  it turns out that the book trailer was the only thing that was over-dramatic and that the novel didn't stray too far from the rest of the series.

When I finally got around to reading 'The Fiery Heart' I did enjoy it, but I just didn't have the time to dive into it completely and finish the book right away. I haven't read much this year or last year, so my reading pace at the moment is not really anything to judge this novel by. 

As for the actual writing... Richelle Mead has written this one differently by alternating POVs between Sydney and Adrian (well, at least I don't remember her doing this in the past...) I liked this because I thought it was nice to see things from Adrian's Point-of-View for a change. Adrian and Sydney are both making big changes and Adrian is growing up a lot. It was nice to see. Not because anyone should have to change themselves for someone, but because it was making them into better people. 

I also noticed that Richelle Mead likes to use the word "crushing" a lot.  Well maybe not a lot but once a writer uses a word in a way i wouldn't expect, more than say 2 times, I remember. sorry, I can't help it...

Like all of the other books there was the shock factor. In the 'Bloodlines' books the "enemy" can come from a very unexpected source. There was also a pretty equal measure of human and vampire drama, which (if you have read any of my other fantasy reviews you will know) I love this in YA Fantasy fiction. It just goes to show that if you are buying a book for your teenage sibling, relative, daughter or even yourself that it's not going to be completely removed from the real world. There are always lessons that can apply to real life and messages in the text to be thought about.

The un-conventional 'Bloodlines' family continues to grow and evolve during 'The Fiery Heart'. We also have a few small reunions and some introductions. As usual I don't want to spoil too much here, but I just feel like it makes the whole Bloodlines/Vampire Academy world so much more realistic. 

I also thought that Sydney's personality has changed considerably along with her beliefs during the series. And, it made me start to wonder how deep the connection between personality and beliefs go. 

And finally, that ending! Why do I continue to engage in these relationships with series that just leave me on a cliffhanger?

Overall, the usual 5/5 stars  for a Richelle Mead book. It was all feeling kind of mediocre until that cliff-hanger! And, now I guess I will just have to wait for the next sequel as patiently as I can... Please tell me I don't have to wait until next year! Also, if you have not read 'Vampire Academy' or 'Bloodlines' I definitely recommend it, unless you hate vampire books.

Your Favourite Blogger,
Natalie

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