#BookReview: Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead - 5 Wine Glasses

Title: Silver Shadows
Series: Bloodlines #5
Author: Richelle Mead
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Published: July 29th 2014 by Razorbill
Links: Goodreads | Kindle | Amazon | B&N
Source: Library
Reviewer: Crystal
Rating: 5/5

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 Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.

Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .

Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where all bets are off.

Thoughts:
“But with Sydney... with Sydney, I'd had it all- And lost it all. Love, understanding, respect. The sense that we'd both become better people because of each other and could take on anything so long as we were together. Only we weren't together anymore. They'd ripped us apart, and I didn't know what was going to happen now.” -- Adrian Ivashkov

SILVER SHADOWS by Richelle Mead is the 5th book in her AWESOME YA Bloodlines series.  Do not attempt to read it as a standalone.  To be fully enjoyed, this series needs to be read in order.  That's not a bad thing as all the books in this series have been fantastic.  This book picks up where Bloodlines #4, THE FIERY HEART, left readers utterly devastated.  SILVER SHADOWS is the best installment yet - exceeding my already high expectations!  Richelle, again, uses dual POV to relate the story from both Sydney and Adrian's points of view, and it totally ROCKS!

The Bloodlines series is a spin-off from The Vampire Academy series, which was another totally awesome series!.  the Bloodlines series focuses on Sydney, the Alchmist, a human teen who's part of a group to keep the existence of vampires secret from the world.  Sydney has been taught from birth that vampires and dhampirs are evil and unnatural, but her beliefs have changed as she's been assigned to go into hiding with Jill, Adrian, and Eddie...

As the story opens, Sydney is sequestered in the Alchemist's Re-education Facility and Adrian is struggling without her and hitting roadblocks trying to find her.  There's lots of angst, action, romance and surprising twists.  It's an emotional roller coaster for sure.  There are scenes I had to force myself to breathe through as they were so suspensefully gripping.   The Alchemists are beyond despicable.  My heart went out to both Sydney and Adrian in this tale as they both struggled with their own demons.  There's definitely some very intense, rough spots within these pages.  I was grateful that both found solace in the adage that the "center must hold" and I found those parts especially moving with the strength of their trust in each other.   Adrian is super sweet and swoonworthy.  Sydney is fierce, fearless and even more tenacious with her strong sense that Adrian would not give up on her.

I'd like to share just a few of my favorite quotes:

"I don't do things in halves, mom. Especially when it comes to love.” --  Adrian Ivashkov

“Sanity’s overated, my darling.” --  Adrian Ivashkov

“I took a deep breath and said: “I fell in love with a vampire.” -- Sydney Sage

“Everything I’d fought for, every challenge, every victory … all of it was empty if anything happened to him. Without him, I wouldn’t have had the courage to become the person I was.  Without him, I wouldn’t have realized what it truly was to live and love life.  Centrum permanebit.  He was my center, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do, nothing I wouldn’t give up, to keep him safe.”  -- Sydney Sage

As always, Richelle's writing is exceptional!  I won't post a spoiler, but I will share, that in the end, I was left with a contented smile.  Even though there's another cliff-hanger ending, the book left me with a happy glow.  If you are a fan of this series, you're going to inhale it!  IF you're not a fan, you should be!   I  L - O - V - E - D  IT and I can't wait to read the final sure-to-be-epic installment, THE RUBY CIRCLE, due to be released in Feb, 2015!