Sunday 3 February 2013

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Review: The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

The Indigo Spell by Richelle MeadThe Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist - she protects vampire secrets - and human lives.

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she is struggling to decide between following her Alchemist teachings - or her heart.

Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch, a former Alchemist who 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 the person attacking powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood - or else she might be next.
From Amazon UK

I love this series. Everyone who knows me as a blogger knows. So it will be no surprise to anyone to hear that I was SO excited when I received The Indigo Spell, the third book in the Bloodlines series, that I started reading it the very same day. And wow.

Sydney isn't having the best winter. Adrian, gorgeous Moroi vampire who refuses to believe she has no feelings for him, and won't back down. With his constant flirting and getting far too close, Sydney is having a hard time believing herself, too. She is also searching for Marcus Finch, a possible ex-Alchemist who left the fold after finding out some of their secrets. Suspecting that the Alchemists have lied to her, she wants to find out what Marcus knows. But when Marcus tells her what the Alchemists are really up to, and asks her to help him find proof, Sydney is disbelieving; has she really been lied to her whole life? Can she really go against everything she knows? But Adrian and Marcus are the least of her troubles; Ms. Terwilliger, her history teacher and sometimes magic instructor, has discovered a witch has come to town who is after the lives of young, untrained witches. Sydney must immerse herself in the magic she hates so much in order to try to save lives - and her own.

On the whole, compared to the other books in the series, The Indigo Spell feels a lot less busy when it comes to action. Despite this, it's still an incredible book. There a lot more working things out, learning, discovering and searching - and of course huge amounts of sexual tension - rather than a lot of danger. The things discovered and learned are fantastic when it comes to how this series is going to progress. I can't see where things are going to go, but there's a definite feeling of no-where good.

Although they're still about, we see a whole lot less of Jill, Eddie and Angeline than you would expect; for the moment, there is no major threat to Jill's life, and so Sydney is finding out all she can about the possibly corrupt Alchemists. She has a hard time stepping away from all she knows and loves, but her logical brain can't deny the inconsistencies, nor the facts laid out to her by Marcus Finch. However, those three do have their own lives going on while Sydney is dealing with everything on her plate, and there are some rather interesting developments there! Sydney shows how clueless she can be yet again, not catching on to what was glaringly obvious to me.

The Indigo Spell is a much more magical book than the others, with a lot of Sydney's time spent learning new spells and how to defend herself against the evil sorceress, and the tension surrounding trying to find her and keep safe is hugely exciting! I personally would have preferred more details in these spells - what's said? What are the different things she used? What are the hand gestures? But, I suppose, if we were told this for every single spell she learns, The Indigo Spell would be a hell of a lot longer than it's 401 pages!

The Indigo Spell is also the hottest of the series! There is no denying the affect Adrian has on girls, and as much as she would like to be, Sydney is not immune. Her body will tell her one thing, while her Alchemist brain is screaming at her something else. And Adrian doesn't play fair; he might say he'll stay away, but he finds loopholes, and to say his feelings for Sydney are obvious in the understatement of the year, as he takes every opportunity to tell her exactly how he feels. We all know Adrian is hot, and has his adorable moments, but in The Indigo Spell we see just how sweet and vulnerable this guy can really be. He is just incredible! God, I wanted to shake Sydney so many times, though! Come on, just face the facts, woman! Or if you're going to continue to deny everything, just point him in my direction.

But then we come to the ending, and oh my god! My jaw literally dropped, and I was internally screaming "Nooooo!" I can't believe Mead did this to us! How long do I have to wait to pick up The Fiery Heart, the fourth book in the series?! Not only do I need to know now how things are going to pan out because there are So. Many. Problems., but also because it's going to be told from both Sydney and Adrian's points of view! I have no idea how anything can happen next, but I know one thing for sure - it's nothing good. So excited! Fans of Mead need to get this book ASAP!

Thank you to Penguin for sending me a review copy.



Add to Goodreads

Published: 12th February 2013
Publisher: Penguin
Buy on Amazon US
Richelle Mead's Website

My other reviews from the series:
Bloodlines (Bloodlines Book 1)
The Golden Lily (Bloodlines Book 2)

My reviews of the Vampire Academy series:
Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy Book 1)
Frostbite (Vampire Academy Book 2)
Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy Book 3)
Blood Promise (Vampire Academy Book 4)
Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy Book 5)
Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy Book 6)

10 comments:

  1. Great review Jo! I'm so happy to hear you loved this! I don't have a problem with the "less action" thing at all - I'm quite happy to sit here and watch Sydney and Adrian develop ;) Very excited to dig into my copy when it arrives! <3

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    1. Oh yeah, this book doesn't lose anything for having less action, it's still super exciting for other reasons! JUST YOU WAIT! Adrian is just.. *sigh*. I think I might love him. Haha! Really hope you love it! :)

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  2. I just popped by to say I AGREE WITH ALL THAT AND MORE. Because, you know, Mead is a BAMF author and there's no way this book could disappoint. We should come up with a VA handshake or keychain or something. LOOVE.

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  3. "Or if you're going to continue to deny everything, just point him in my direction." Buahahaha, I'm thinking the same thing!! My door is ALWAYS OPEN, ADRIAN.

    I finished this last night and... SUDHSJFNUIJNJK!!!! I could not get the smile off my face every time Adrian was on a page. I LOVE the play between him and Sydney, it's just so.. KLSUFJHDNJKHJK! IT LEAVES ME INCOHERENT, JO. I'm loving how much Sydney has come since we first met her and oh god, the ROMANCEY TIMES <3333333333

    AMAZING REVIEW FOR AN AMAZING BOOK AND I AM DYING FOR THE FIERY HEART. Also, love that we kind of know what The Fiery Heart is now! Although I'm not entirely sure what it means for a title... time will tell.

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    1. Haha! I said it first, I called dibs! :P

      YES! Adrian and Sydney! Just awesome! I do love seeing them together, and seeing all the sparks. They are just so GOOD together!

      And again, YES! So excited for The Fiery Heart! Richelle does say in her post that the title will make sense after reading The Indigo Spell but.. :S Unless it refers to Sydney's heart? Otherwise, I have no clue. BUT! I can't wait too long, Brodie, what am I going to do?! :(

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  4. Fantastic review! I am looking forward to this book even more now that I know that something major must happen at the end...

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    1. Thank you! Oh it's SO GOOD! But so... :O! No idea where it's going to lead, but such a fantastic book! Really hope you enjoy it!

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  5. UUUUUUGH.
    JO.
    I AM IN PAIN.
    I still haven't read BLOODLINES and it's partly because of time and partly becuase I AM SCARED.

    Another book 3 from RM with an KSDFGSFJKFG ending? *whimpers*
    BUT FEELS. OMG. IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE ARE FEELS.

    I love the sound of this: "However, those three do have their own lives going on while Sydney is dealing with everything on her plate, and there are some rather interesting developments there!"
    It reminds of Blood Promise, where Rose if off doing her own thing, and Lissa still has her story going on the in the background?

    AWESOME review. I am so excited.

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  6. Thank you! :) Oh, you really need to get started, Sarah! It's such a fantastic series! Lots of feels! So much! It's brilliant!

    The difference with Blood Promise is that you see what's going on with Lissa because of Rose and Lissa's bond. Syndey doesn't have a bond with anyone, so we only see what happens when she's told or gets involved, so we don't see it like we did in Blood Promise. But still a fantastic sorry!

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