The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, Book 3) [Paperback]

Sydney's world has been turned upside down; the Alchemists have been lying to her, the magic that she reluctantly wields seems to be growing each day and the Moroi vampire Adrian has proclaimed his love to her. With everything she'd been taught as `right' and `wrong' been completely flipped on its head, she turns her attention to Marcus Finch, a rebel ex-Alchemist that might be the key to the answers she's been seeking. But will her journey lead to salvation or re-education from the Alchemists?

Indigo Spell is the 3rd book in the Bloodlines series, which is a spin off from the Vampire Academy series. Unlike some spin off series where you often ache for another edition in the main series over the spin off, Richelle Mead has done a fantastic job of making Bloodlines stand on its own 2 feet, developing these fantastic characters whilst still containing clever cameos from the previous series, that there's no need to turn back. Indigo Spell is just another great book in the series that I just couldn't put down.

In some ways, Indigo Spell feels fairly different to the previous 2 books in the series. First of all; the series started as a repercussion of Rose's actions of the previous series, and sequential actions taken by bigger factions have been out of Sydney's control. In Indigo Spell however, Sydney takes control; at the start of the book she's dragged into big battles and Marcus' rebellion but by the end of the book she makes the choices she want to make and considering her strict upbringing, seeing her blossom into the woman she is now is incredible. She really grows so much in this book; anyone who's been unsure of her strict ways in earlier instalments will completely get on board with her in Indigo Spell. I've personally always loved her as a character but going on this journey with her is a great read from start till end.

Another element that's different from previous books is that, arguably, a fair amount of previous books have largely involved talking, setting up and character developing - reserving the action towards the 2nd half of the book. From the first page of Indigo Spell however, there's always something happening; first chapter - Sydney's dragged out of bed by Mrs Terwilliger and warned of a powerful evil witch coming, second chapter - Sydney takes a plane to a vampire wedding, and so on. There's so much going on in this book from the Alchemist's secrets to Marcus' rebellion group but the book never feels crowded or rushed. Sydney has a lot to deal with and balancing the different aspects of her life is handled brilliantly, she's also feeling the strain at times which makes her all the more human and relatable despite being in this huge and impossible world.

Let's take a closer look at the different plots of the book; a lot of other reviews have complimented all the hot scenes between Adrian and Sydney, and I will admit they I enjoyed reading them getting very intimate at times but some of my favourite scenes involved their (always) hilarious dialogue and just some great tender scenes where they're just hanging out. For example in one scene they play Monopoly, why? Why not?! They started off as friends, and despite their awkward and tension filled moments when Sydney's struggling with her deeper feelings, it's great to see their friendship still shining through, building their love in the most quirky but wonderful ways.
I also loved Sydney's continue development of her magic and having to help Mrs Terwilliger in the battle with an evil witch. The boundaries of the witch world are pushed even further here with some unusual spells that Sydney learns to protect herself, and then seeing it mixing with the world of the Alchemists and vampires made it all the more exciting that Richelle Mead can make the whole thing blend so effortlessly together. The build up and battle at the end is also very well done, I can't wait to see how much further she grows in the next book; she has a different kind of strength to Rose and that's why it feels so refreshing to read.
Then there's the Marcus subplot; from the cover and minor hints of the previous book, I thought that Marcus was going to be this mysterious figure that'll lead Sydney into his secret world and perhaps be a wedge between her and Adrian, but actually his role is rather different. His introduction is interesting and a lot of the information he reveals to Sydney is very fascinating (again expanding the huge world of Alchemists) but overall I found his scenes and his rebel group slightly underwhelming. Maybe it was because Sydney, our guide, was unsure of them through most of the book and we only meet a handful of the rebels. If that was Richelle Mead's intention then fine, but compared to the mammoth worlds and mythology of the Moroi, Strigoi, Alchemists, Keepers and witches, I felt that Marcus' rebellion group was much smaller and got lost in the other more pressing matters. I'm hoping we haven't seen the last of him and that his role expands in the next instalment as I think he has a lot of potential.

Sydney has changed so much since we first met her in Blood Promise, and her journey has been great so far. I couldn't put the book down and with the great twist at the end, the wait for the next book is going to be incredibly hard. If you've loved the Bloodlines series so far, don't hesitate to pick this up. If you have yet to take the plunge from Vampire Academy to Bloodlines, I highly recommend it, you won't regret it.

Sydney is feeling very conflicted between what the Alchemist's have taught her and what her heart feels after the events of the last book. Therefore she goes in search of Marcus Finch a former Alchemist who has escaped and has a way of stopping them controlling. At the same time an evil witch is targeting young women with magical powers and Sydney must master her abilities or she might be next.

The Indigo Spells the brilliant third book in the Bloodlines series which has romance, action and an unpredictable plot. While this book is excellent, it definitely felt like a middle book and I hope we get to explore more about the Alchemists world in the next book.

Sydney is much more uncertain about everything in this book compared to Bloodlines and The Golden Lily which I felt added another level to her. I also like that she is less obsessed about what she ate as I did not like that aspect of her. I love that we got to see another side of Adrian and how really sweet and romantic he is.

I hope we get to see more of Jill, Eddie and Angeline in the next few books, as since Bloodlines, they seem to becoming less important characters as the series goes on.

I can't wait for The Fiery Heart to come out in autumn, especially as it is told from the point of view of both Sydney and Adrian. I would recommend The Indigo Spell to people who enjoyed Vampire Academy and liked the other novels in the Bloodlines series.

Struggling to write reviews has become a common thing for me when it comes to Richelle Mead's books. I love everything about them, and I cannot contain my gushy fangirling. Since this is my review, I decided not to contain myself this time. But I did try to at least make it mildly coherent, for your sake!

- A* to Sydney's character development. If you think back to how she was in Bloodlines - or even in the Vampire Academy series - you will immediately see that she has come such a long way already, and we're only halfway through this series. I didn't have any strong feelings towards her initially, especially since she was such a different character to Rose Hathaway, but I have actually come to adore her.

I love that Sydney is now more open to experimenting with magic. In The Indigo Spell we see her perform a lot more magic, both because it has become a necessity at this point, and also because she's not completely against it like she was in the beginning of the series. In addition to being more open to her magic, she is also more open to questioning the Alchemists, who we all know are not such goody-goodies as they seemed.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how Sydney progresses in the future, since she's already much less close-minded than before. What is she going to be like by the time we get to the final book in the series? Is she going to lead some sort of rebellion? Heh. I cannot wait to find out.

- Sydney and Adrian. *fans self* You guys, you don't understand. Their scenes!!!!1!1 After leaving the pair of them at a not-so-great place in The Golden Lily, I was happy to find that Adrian and Sydney aren't ignoring each other. They're together A LOT. Their connection is so lovely, and I loved their funny scenes as much as their emotional scenes. And as for the hawt ones... Whew. Two words: AYE and Tables.

- Marcus Finch. I don't know about you, but I'm a little disappointed by his character! I think this was meant to happen, though, since Sydney comes to the realisation that this guy might not be able to compare to all the hype that Sydney has built up in her head. I really liked being introduced to him, though, and I think he was extremely important to the storyline as well as Sydney's character growth.

- More magic! EEEEE! I've been loving all the magical stuff that's been going down in the past books in the series, and I was so happy to discover that magic is basically invading Sydney's life. Not because I want to torture her, but because it's natural to her AND it makes for a good story. The whole evil magic user thing was brilliantly done, and while I saw a twist coming, I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did. That was crazy! There is one epic fight scene at the end, which meant that Sydney had to use her magic. She was AWESOME.

- Hilarious. Brilliant writing, etc etc etc. Basically everything I always say about Richelle Mead's books! She manages to balance the drama and the humour and the romance and the action and everything so perfectly. Her books never have a dull moment, and while I am sometimes irritated, that doesn't mean I don't love what's going down. There is a particularly hilarious scene in which Sydney and Adrian inadvertently become parents (do with that what you will) and I laughed so hard I almost cried.

The fangirling wasn't too bad, was it? I think I did pretty well, if I do say so myself. Now I'm just going to sit here and twiddle my thumbs while I wait for Mead's next two books to come out later this year.