Book Review: The Fiery Heart

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.

Richelle Mead is absolutely killing the proverbial ‘it’ with the Bloodlines series. She took an already well-established world and expanded it to feature a completely different conflict that still somehow fits in the world she created in Vampire Academy. I would probably be lying if I said I preferred Sydrian to Romitri (they just aren’t as epic as Rose and Dimitri, don’t lie), but they are such a great couple with some serious conflicts. I mean, poor Adrian. I wasn’t sure he was going to make it through this book.

I really thought Spirit was going to be too much for him and we’d have a very serious situation on our hands.

I don’t know how Richelle Mead manages to pack so much into each book. The story is always so huge. This is not just a story of star-crossed lovers (although there is a lot of that). There’s so much happening with trying to figure out how exactly the Moroi can use Spirit to defend themselves against the Strigoi, and then Sydney is working on her magic, and then there’s a bunch of drama with Sydney and her sister Zoe, then all the stuff about the rebel Alchemists and trying to figure out how protect them against re-education.

And that’s not everything. Not by a long shot. And then you get to see all your old faves: Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, Christian, Sonya…it’s like one big family reunion. There are new characters mixed in with the Bloodlines crew; a new British, boring as dirt Guardian. Ms. Terwiliger starts a hilarious romance with a surprising character.

Sexy times abound. With Sydrian, not Ms. Terwiliger and her beau.

Sydney grows so much and it’s really apparent in this book as she deals with her sister. You see her looking at her sister’s prejudices and thinking “wow…that used to be me.” And then she laughs cause she’s dating a Moroi and the reader just gets all these warm-fuzzies. On the other hand, Zoe, aforementioned sister, is really annoying. I wanted to smack her every time she opened her mouth. I don’t know how Sydney could live with her.

Unfortunately, Sydney’s new change of heart causes her to do some pretty dumb things. Which leads us to the horrifying end of the book. It sets up the next one beautifully, but it’s also very frustrating for the reader. Think about how you felt at the end of Shadow Kissed. Oh yeah. Richelle pulled one of those. Again.