Review: Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

silvershadowsSilver Shadows
(Bloodlines, #5)
By: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: July 29, 2014
Genre: Paranormal YA
Rating:

Goodreads

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.

 

 

1thoughtsSilver Shadows starts off 3 months after The Fiery Heart. Sydney’s in some underground alchemist re-education center which is like a torture camp meant to psychologically rewire their brains to what the alchemists deem acceptable. Sydney’s spent months in a cell no larger than a bathroom, wearing nothing but a paper-thin gown which is meant more for modesty than comfort, and is given just enough gruel to stay alive. Needless to say, the story starts off with Sydney is a rough place. Meanwhile, Adrian’s in despair and spiraling out of control with his drinking habits because of what happened to Sydney. Silver Shadows follows both Sydney and Adrian during this tough time as they both hold on to the hope that Sydney will make it out of there with her sanity still intact.

Silver Shadows wasn’t what I expected. Who knew Richelle Mead could get so dark and twisted? What Sydney goes through is horrible. Not only is there the psychological game of “if you’re good and tell us what we want, we will give you something small in return… in the future”. Oh, no. There was physical torture as well that was associated with images of the moroi. So that in the end those being “re-educated” would associate the moroi with pain and negativity. Reading about Sydney’s experience what the heart of the story. It was the more gripping and suspenseful portion between the POVs. While Sydney may not have been kicking butt like a guardian would, she is a very mentally strong character and she showed that strength in Silver Shadows.

I wish Adrian’s POV was as entertaining to read as Sydney’s was, but it wasn’t. I’m sad to say that Adrian fell back into his old ways of being perpetually drunk and party hopping among the royals at court. There really wasn’t much going on with his side of the story and I would have been a-okay if the author decided to only follow Sydney for a good potion of Silver Shadows. After all, her side was where all the action was.

However, things pick up towards the end and there were some things that I had not seen coming. Not at all. I cannot wait to read the final book in the series. There seems to be a lot left open and I’m curious to see how Mead ties it all together.

 

1favequote“Ah, I can’t wait to tell our kids about this. ‘Hey, honey, remember the time we bribed our way aboard a senior citizen tour bus going to Vegas?'”

 

 

Previous reviews from Bloodlines
Bloodlines
The Golden Lily
The Indigo Spell
The Fiery Heart

 

5 Thoughts on “Review: Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

  1. Having a POV that is mainly drunk and party hopping doesn’t sound like it added all that much to the story. I need to read more RMead books 🙂

  2. Adrian sounds like a douche here.

  3. Sucks this one wasn’t as good as the others, but at least the series is still going strong.

  4. Yes, dark days for Sydrian in this one and I agree I also got annoyed by Adrian! But keep reading!!

  5. Ooo interesting on her going so dark! I’m disgustingly far behind with this series. It’s shameful.

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