Review: Silver Shadows

Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Bloodlines, #5
Published: July 29th 2014
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Hardcover, 380 pgs
Buy: Amazon

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.

What on God’s green earth is going on with Richelle Mead? She keeps throwing these beautiful, dark works at us and expecting us to just roll with the punches! Take is easy on us, Richelle. We readers are such sensitive creatures.

Consider that your warning, my friends: Silver Shadows is Mead’s darkest work so far. Starvation, torture, interrogation and mindless self destruction are just some of the things are heroes have to deal with. Compared to that, Rose’s time as Dimitri’s personal snack bar seems like a walk in the park. Our heroes are strong and they are smart, but even the strongest break if you put them under enough pressure. Mead puts Adrian and Sydney through hell in this book, facing them with the kind of things that are likely to have lasting consequences.

Like The Fiery Heart before it, Silver Shadows is told both from Adrian’s and Sydney’s perspectives, and both are done excellently. Richelle Mead has such good grasp of these characters and she has once again proven herself to be an excellent psychologist. Even in this subgenre that doesn’t always strive for emotional complexity, she gave us characters that are genuine in their actions and emotional reactions at all times.

I have to reiterate: parts of this book are very difficult to read. My heart broke for Sydney and Adrian, and even Adrian’s self destructive tendencies didn’t make me want to strangle him like they usually would. We always knew Sydney was the stronger one, but Adrian can be depended on when push comes to shove.

Everything else I could possibly say about this book is a spoiler, and I’d never do that do my readers. Silver Shadows ends with a cliffhanger that leaves us in breathless anticipation of The Ruby Circle, sixth and final installment of the Bloodlines series. Things are so painful and complicated already, I don’t know how my poor heart will handle any more, but my copy is already pre-ordered and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.