Review--The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

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.

Needless to say, I caved! I said I wouldn't read this until I had Silver Shadows in my hands, and I should have waited! Richelle Mead's The Fiery Heart was as awesome everyone's been saying it was since November! My resolve not to read this until Silver Shadows lasted up until a week before its release. I have to say though I am proud of myself for waiting this long!

After the OMG-ness of The Indigo Spell where Sydney finally admitted to her feelings for Adrian, we get to be right into a relationship of sorts between them. But naturally, they have to keep it a secret, since a relationship between a Moroi and an Alchemist is like the ultimate taboo, it would be bad enough if Sydney were just a human, but that's not the case, so their relationship is the ultimate secret throughout the book. 

It's even harder on Sydney keeping the relationship a secret--along with all the other things going on in her life; like training to harness her magical abilities and working on a way to counteract the Alchemist tattoo's powers like Marcus had been working on--when her sister Zoe is her new roommate. She's also hanging around Sydney and her friends more as her training to be a full-fledged Alchemist. She's a very ambitious sort and can be a rather pain at times. She's all about the Alchemist rules, basically, think of Sydney when we first met her and how annoying it was with her prejudice against Moroi and dhampirs.

And as the word has spread, we finally get Adrian's point of view in this book! And not just a chapter or two, but like half the book! Alternating between Adrian and Sydney's points of view, we get more insight to the character Adrian is and has become! I really felt for Adrian a lot, the struggles he goes through to be a better person for Sydney, all his doubts and pessimism. My heart ached for the guy more than once! He decides to work on his spirit abilities controlling him and try instead to control them through other means.

Our characters go through a lot of growth. Of course, over the entire course of this series to date and their original appearances in the Vampire Academy series, they have come a long way! The both of them!

Yes, we get to see old friends Rose and Dimitri again. Plus the usual Bloodlines crew! I love seeing these guys again and again! It's truly like visiting with old friends.

A lot of real life problems come up for the gang in this one. Struggles with love and romance are everywhere for all of them. We even have a new guy in the crew, Neil, he is another dhampir set to protect Jill.

The romance really heats up in this one too! OMG, the feels! I truly loved seeing Adrian and Sydney together! I loved getting both their perspectives and knowing how they felt for one another! It's truly amazing! I always envy the authors--granted female ones--who can write so beautifully from the male point of view. I feel like that would be super hard, but that's just from my writing standpoint. Needless to say Richelle does it well!

The ending, oh the ending killed me! I knew it was coming too. I was forewarned of course, but I couldn't stand it anymore! I wanted to be totally ready for when Silver Shadows arrived on my doorstep on Tuesday. And of course now, I felt myself screaming with a bit of agony at the ending! True, it wasn't totally unpredicted. We were given hints in the story itself as to what would happen, in a sense. But yeah, totally wish I had Silver Shadows at the ready, like I initially planned! You'll all be hearing a similar rant after I finish Silver Shadows and am dying for the final book too!

If you're at all a fan of Vampire Academy, you need to be reading the Bloodlines series! The Indigo Spell was the game changer for us fans and now The Fiery Heart is the one that really sets our hearts aflame--to be cliched! ;) --we pretty much know our breath will get caught when reading Silver Shadows and then there will be yet more agony and despair as we await the final installment, The Ruby Circle! I am so ready!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars