Friday, March 27, 2015

REVIEW: The Ruby Circle (Bloodlines #6) by Richelle Mead

Title/Series: The Ruby Circle | Bloodlines #6
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: February 10th 2015
Format: Hardcover | Pages: 348
Genres: YA, Paranormal, Urban Romance, Fantasy
Source: Amazon
★★★★ (4/5) Stars!

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The epic conclusion to Richelle Mead's New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series is finally here...

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.

After their secret romance is exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead’s New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series. When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world.



This is so bittersweet. I'm so happy to have finally read, well binged really, this series and fall completely in love with it. Yet now I sit here so sad that I've reached the end. I'm not ready for it to be over. I'm so happy that both Adrian and Sydney's characters had made enough of an impression and impact on us fans of the Vampire Academy series, enough of one to bring forth this whole new spin-off series resulting in Bloodlines. I wasn't always happy with every action or the way things went, but regardless I have to admit I've been more of a Bloodlines fan than I have VA and that's saying something because I freaking love VA.
If Sydney were here, I knew she'd tell me this was foolish, that I was frivolously using spirit I didn't need to and possibly damaging myself.
Like I said though I wasn't happy about everything. There were a few times when, in facing something dangerous and chaotic, things were resolved almost too smoothly. Sometimes with barely a scratch on them. Now I'm not saying I wanted death and destruction or anything, it just didn't feel real. Well as real as a story involving vampires, witches and humans can be. I didn't want to feel the loss and sorrow that I'd associate with losing a beloved character but I couldn't help the fact that after a big confrontation or escape or rescue or any sort of thing of that nature happened and everything would turn out, well, okay, I'd tend to skim back a few pages thinking....that's it? That's all that happened? I know that it may seem like such a silly and trivial thing to be negative about but I feel like that is my one great big complaint on an otherwise amazing series.
Everyone else had gone very still and very silent, as though sensing the gravity of what was to come.
I've loved a good chunk of these characters for years now. It's been fun to watch them evolve from characters I already thought were awesome into something even better than they were at the start. I loved that throughout Bloodlines characters like Adrian and Sydney were still able to shock me with their actions. Most of the time it was in good ways but there were times they brought on a whole new level of frustration that I'm surprised my books are still in one piece!
Later, when dinner had wound down and we were all around the table, I found myself gazing around and unable to believe this was how my life had turned out.
The close of this series, while once again going almost too smoothly, was still in many ways perfect in my opinion. I still feel like maybe there was at least one thing that didn't really get resolved fully and I'm still left wondering what is to come of it. But as far as the characters and relationships built, both in a romantic and a friendly way, all left me feeling very happy and blissful. All of these characters really came together like a family. A family that stretches into both series and I think that's what I loved most. Not just the Sydrian feels, which let me tell you it's been a couple weeks since I've finished this and I'm still feeling them. But it's that sense of family that this group of characters has created.
Sydney trailed her fingers down the side of my face. "That's because we're living it, Adrian. This is the only escape plan we need."
For someone like me who has a history of being disappointed with series enders I'm excited to say that this one was anything but disappointing. I love Richelle Mead's writing and the worlds and characters that she creates. They're so vivid and imaginative and the entire Bloodlines series is no different. I can't get enough of these characters and, just like with Vampire Academy, I will be rereading the Bloodlines series as often as possible for years to come. My favorite book in the series? The Fiery Heart hands down.




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