Sunday, April 21, 2013

Review: The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3) by Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date:  February 12th 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal/Romance
Source: Bought
Format: Hardcover






Goodreads Summary:
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.


Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.






My Review: 
This series. This series. THIS SERIES. I am just so in love with the bloodlines books. The Indigo Spell would be the third installment in the bloodlines series. A spin-off series of the very popular Vampire Academy books -that, by the way- got a film deal, so if you haven't read the Vampire Academy books, know that a movie of book 1 is currently being made and you will soon be able to see it on screen. But enough of my Vampire Academy gushing. Lets focus on The Indigo Spell, shall we. This book was full of romance, action, humour, and most of all, excellent character development and world building.




What makes The Indigo Spell shine? I would say that the character development of the main characters: Adrian and Sydney. These are characters that we met originally in the Vampire Academy series. Adrian is a royal vampire, while Sydney is an Alchemist - a human in charge of hiding the existence of vampires to the world. Both groups are very different from each other, but despite differences, Adrian and Sydney have developed romantic feels for each other. Being that their races do not get a along AT ALL. We have a forbidden romance on our hands, y'all. And what does this equate to? Literary gold and lots of drama. Oh, and that's not the only thing, not only are Adrian and Sydney from different races but they couldn't be any more different - personality wise - even if they tried, which makes their relationship even MORE intricate than it already is. And I just love it all.



Often, people feel that the person they fall in love with needs to be very similar to them. Who wants drama in their life, right? It's totally understandable. It's not always easy to get along with people who are different to you. However, life is not as neat as that. What makes the world complex is that is filled with lots of different people. In relationships, I think that two different people can help balance each other out. They can show each other different ways of viewing or doing things that otherwise they may not have thought of on their own because their mode of thinking doesn't let them go there. This is what I think we have in Sydney and Adrian. They are two very different people who on paper do not seem to belong together, but who in fact, are perfect for each other because of their differences. They balance each other out. They help each other grow.



Sydney is a the type of character who is governed by reason. She doesn't stray from rules. She is responsible and very dedicated to her work and what she needs to do. Always trying to keep things in check. Her whole life you can say is about control, which I think has a lot do with strict Alchemist upbringing. Adrian on the other hand is a more loose character. He is fun, more artsy than logical, full of charisma, and very okay with straying from the ordinary. But as different as these characters are, they do have one thing in common. People always expect the same from them, they are judged on their personalities a bit too much. Sydney is the responsible one, while Adrian is looked at as the irresponsible one. Thing is, these characters are much more than they seem and in The Indigo Spell  we get to see more layers to them. Adrian can be very responsible and fierce, while Sydney is not a robot, she feels and can let loose more. 



These characters learn that about themselves through their relationship with each other. Well, their interactions, because in the book Sydney is struggling with admitting her feelings for Adrian, while Adrian is set on knowing that he loves Sydney, and on fighting for. It was a fun journey to read about because it was full of angst with Sydney questioning whether she can love Adrian. There is also a lot of humour in the unraveling of their relationship because of Adrian trying to teach Sydney to break out of her shell. And ultimately, there is a lot of adventure in this relationship because of both characters trying to fight off witches and hiding their relationship from their respective groups, the vamps and alchemists.




Besides this, I don't think I can go more in depth about what happened between both characters because that would reveal some major plot points and spoil the books for some who may read this review but haven't read the first two books yet. Know this though, besides a really intricate relationship, we also have the secondary characters battling their feelings and trying to love who they want and be who they want to be. There is also amazing world building in this book. Not only does Richelle Mead expand on the vampire world in the book, but she gets more into detail about the alchemist world and witches. Yes, there is magic in this book! And lots of it. Just when you think you know everything about the Vampire Academy world, Mead throws more info about how intricate both worlds are and it is astounding. I just always get lost in these books when I read them. They feel so real because of how detailed the author is about everything.



I would definitely say that this book has a lot of humour. Lots of it, thanks to the always amazing Adrian Ivashkov. Prince of everything, in my eyes. Not only did this character get romantic with his words, but his actions, but he always had something witty to say and it just makes his character shine. So much charisma with this character. Sydney also is very funny in the book because she doesn't always pick of up little social or romantic things/interactions because she is just so logical. So there is always a certain innocence to her even though she is so intelligent. It's quite an interesting mix and she is very sarcastic. She has seen and done it all so it's hard to one up her. I cannot wait for the fourth installment in this series in order to see see how Adrian and Sydney's relationship continues to grow.




My rating: 4/5






18 comments:

  1. The book sounds really good all the characters seem to add a lot and I love when the romance can be balanced with an edge of humor I mean life is at times funny.

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    1. Definitely. This book is really character driven and they are just really great. Agreed. The balance of romance and humour is really awesome and reflects life, that is funny at times. So with you on that!

      Thanks so much for reading & stopping by, Brandon! :)

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  2. I'm glad you enjoyed this one so much Jennifer. I had to stop reading because Sydney just bores me to tears. I love Adrian and want to read his story but I just couldn't take any more of her. I do hope to finish it because I want to read Fiery Heart where we get Adrian's POV, but unless its for a significant part of the book, I might not bother.

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    1. Gotcha.

      And oh my word. The Fiery Heart is from Adrian's POV? I didn't know that :O

      *happy dance* - cannot wait!

      Thanks so much for letting me know and stopping by, Suzanne! :)

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  3. I loved Adrian's humour in the VA books, so I'm sure I'll appreciate it here too. It's also great to hear Mead throws in some new twists. I will admit, I had some trouble with Bloodlines, but I'm willing to give this series another try. Great review!

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    1. Yay. I'm glad to hear that, Sam.

      Oh my gosh, YES. Adrian just gets funnier by the minute. I literally laugh out loud with what his character says which is a 1st for me when it comes to books.

      And thank you. :)

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  4. Great review!! Unfortunately, I have not finished the Vampire Academy books. The first one was okay, and I'm going to try and get to the second one. To see if I like the progression of the story any better, so I can continue :D

    I have heard a great many things about the Bloodline Series! If I ever finish VA, I will definitely have to give it a try!!Your review makes it sound like it was an awesome read!!

    Magen Corrie

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    1. I liked VA but I loveeee the Bloodlines series. I do find it different from VA because it's from Sydney's POV and she is a heroine who is drastically different from Rose. She's a bookish gal, too.

      And thanks so much. I do hope that you get to finish VA so you can read Bloodlines. Though, Richelle always reintroduces her characters and settings so if you did jump to Bloodlines, I don't think you'd be lost ;)

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  5. Gah, can you believe I haven't read Vampire Academy yet?! Just haven't found the time for it, I guess. But reading your review, I just know that I NEED to read them, and then read this companion series, because they really do sound fantastic. It seems like RIchelle Mead knows how to write good characters! This was very nicely reviewed!

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    1. You haven't? :O

      Oh, they are SO good. Hope you get the chance to check them out soon.

      Yesss! Richelle Mead does an amazing job with writing her characters. I think that's what I love the most about her books. Even the secondary characters are incredibly well developed and very unique in their own way.

      And thanks so much. I appreciate that! :)

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  6. Sydrian!!! Yay!! So thrilled to see you enjoyed this one. I love how their romance has progressed and how Sydney is loosening up now! Little worried about what's in store now. Great review Jennifer. :)

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    1. I know, right? Adrian and Sydney have grown so much and so has their relationship.

      Oh, don't even get me started on that ending. So nervous for my book babies future (Adrian & Sydney). *bites nails* lol

      And thank you, Rachel! :)

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  7. Great review! I absolutely love Vampire Academy!! I am so excited for the movie coming out! Can´t wait!! I also want to read Fiery Heart so badly, I want to know what will happen with Sydrian :D
    xx
    Dany

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    1. Thanks so much, Dany!

      I'm excited about the the movie, too. Vampire Academy is such a great series.

      I know, right? I need me some more Sydrian, as well. Can't wait to read Fiery Heart! :)

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  8. Amazing review sweetie :D I'm glad you loved this book. <3 Sigh. I really need to start this series, don't I? :) Just hope I will like it.. hih :) Thank you for sharing. <3
    Thank you for commenting on my mailbox. <3
    Love, Carina @ Carina's Books

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    1. Thanks so much, Carina! <3

      This series is amazing. I really like it. If you get the chance to check it out, definitely go for it. You might just find a new fave series! :)

      You're welcome and thanks so much for stopping by! =)

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  9. I'm liking this more wiht each new book as well! I can't wait to discover those scenes you mentioned, and every other Sydney and Adrian moment. My copy was pre-ordered months ago, hopefully TBD won't take too long this time.
    Great review!

    Ronan Valerio (Seattle Criminal Attorneys)

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