Book Nerds Across America

Okay, Richelle Mead is actually signing The Ruby Circle here, but see that stack of books next to her? That's Soundless. And I got one. So this picture totally works for this review.

Book Summary
From Richelle Mead, the #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, comes a breathtaking new fantasy steeped in Chinese folklore.
For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.
When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.
But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.
Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever... 

Flo's Review
I devoured this book in a day. It was a crazy, crazy travel day full of unpredictability and literally including trains, planes AND automobiles. But I started Soundless earlier in the day and finished it that night when I finally, finally made it home.

My favorite thing about this book was the uniqueness. I have not read a lot of books based in Chinese folklore, so I really enjoyed the images that this world painted in my mind. Secondly, I was impressed with the amount of research this story must have taken. According to her author bio, Richelle "has always had a particular fascination with mythology and folklore." But I'm sure this unique story probably took some research. Then, there's the idea of being soundless. How do you describe sound? It had been gone from Fei's village so long, that there weren't even words for it. All the ways I can think of describe a sound right now involved these type of sound words, so it was really neat to read about Fei's challenge with this. Finally, if Richelle wasn't a rock climber, then she had to have done some research on techniques and challenges to help her with Fei's trips up and down the mountain.

The beginning felt a little bit rushed to me. Fei makes a really quick choice in what may have been a few hours or even an afternoon, but to the reader it felt instantaneous. I wasn't expecting the ending, and it was entirely magical. It left me with a smile on my face. 

Soundless will be released in November 2015, and it's worth you picking up. This story is a fast read and it's unique and magical. Also, what a pretty cover!

Book Summary
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.

Flo's Review
I wasn't going to review this one, but how could I not?! I read The Ruby Circle basically in a day, only getting up for essential comforts like moving from the bed to the dining table to the couch and then back to the bed and then back to the couch. What I loved most about this book is that the ending was happy and satisfying. I truly can walk away from this series happy about where we've left everyone. The growth of these characters, especially Sydney and Adrian, is absolutely fantastic and knowing where they were in the first book, Bloodlines, makes me wipe away happy tears for them as I close The Ruby Circle.

"The center will hold...because we are the center." <3

If you haven't yet read Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, I encourage you to go forth and do so! 

Flo's Review
Since I was late to start this series, Silver Shadows was the first book I actually had to wait for. I had to wait about a month, and it was torture! (Don't hurt me, guys! Lol). But I would say it was worth the wait. I was struck by a few things about this book. First of all, the horribleness. I don't want to give away spoilers and talk about what happened, but a lot of it was simply horrible. No other way to describe. And what got me the most was that Richelle Mead didn't make it all up I think -- there have probably been similar things done to people in our history. And THAT is what destroyed me.

I love the way that Richelle Mead took the common phrase "things fall apart" and turned it around. (I know, this started in Fiery Heart, but it continues in this one.) That phrase is very passive and submissive, suggesting that things will go badly and there is nothing you can do about it. But Sydney and Adrian disagree -- the center WILL hold, they tell themselves. Because they will make it hold. They have turned themselves from victims into fighters, and I love that.

Of course, Richelle left us with a BIG cliffhanger for the final book in the series, and now I have to wait it out for months and months like everyone else...*sighs*.

In the meantime, I will try to get the Frostbite movie going, so I can get a glimpse of Adrian on the big screen.

Flo's Review
The fourth book of the Bloodlines series starts off with everything going pretty well and happy considering the circumstances of Sydney's situation. She is living her life on her own terms -- enjoying herself and making progress in all fronts of her career. But then things get messy...

I enjoyed several things about this book. First of all, I love poetry. I love Adrian Ivashkov. Mix the two? OMG. *stops to catch breath* Second, we got to see more of Rose and Lissa than we have in previous Bloodlines books, and it's always neat when they make an appearance. I really, really enjoyed reading Adrian's point of view -- that man --er, vampire -- is always funny, but his thoughts as well as his comments was great.

If you are on Twitter at all, you've probably ascertained that this book ended in quite the evil cliffhanger. I have NO IDEA how Richelle Mead is possibly going to make everything okay, and I am simultaneously scared to find out along with being so excited I can barely wait! Thank goodness Silver Shadows comes out in a few short weeks!

Flo's Review
I have to admit -- this one is probably my least favorite of the Bloodlines series so far. There were two main story lines in this book, and I wasn't really attracted to either one. I didn't like or trust Marcus Finch and felt that Sydney was too quick to do both. The story line with Ms. T. felt a little bit forced to me -- like we just needed a reason to have Sydney and Adrian spend a lot of time together, so this is what we've come up with. That being said, it was a quick read and fit very well into the series as a whole. Also, some things literally made me laugh out loud -- Hopper the callistana, for one. AYE for another. Okay, basically I love Adrian. The sweet and then shocking ending of this book made me happy that I had The Fiery Heart on hand to pick up right away.

Book Summary
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. Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist. But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her. When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her. Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?

Flo's Review
This series is fantastic! Sydney is really coming into her own. She is questioning everything she has been taught to believe and is slowly creating her own belief system, based on what she has experienced and what her own heart tells her. This is very difficult for her to do, and I always find myself to be proud every time she makes a decision, has a thought, or takes an action that is truly her own. Among the whole magical story line of Moroi, Dhampirs, Alchemists, and more, there is teenage romance, which I love. At one point in the book I had to exclaim to my friends who had read it: "This book is frustrating me! I just want the people I want to get together to be together!!!" 

When I first met Adrian Ivashkov in the Vampire Academy series, I was like, "Eh. He's alright." I could take him or leave him. Now, everything single word he says and thing he does makes me laugh and melt. "Oh Adrian!" I want to say. All the time. In many different tones of voice with many different meanings. I wish you didn't have such an issue with the sun, then you could come live with me in Florida. You could paint all day while I worked and then we'd get some drinks at happy hour. I agree with the girls, though, that the smoking would be a no go. Anyway, I am officially on Team Adrian.

The scenes with Sydney and Brayden were hilarious. Because the kinds of questions Sydney was asking herself are things that I think all teenage girls ask themselves in those situations. But they ask their friends, while Sydney makes note to find a book on the topic. LOL.

The ending: I was not prepared!! My heart is still recovering. Why didn't y'all warn me?!?!? Needless to say, The Indigo Spell has been downloaded to my Nook and is ready to go!

Flo's Review
I didn't want to put the summary up because I think it's spoilery if you haven't finished the Vampire Academy series yet. My plan after finishing Vampire Academy was to take a break before starting this series. But after you've been with these characters for five books, it's hard to say goodbye. So here I am, jumping into Bloodlines.

Sydney Sage, who we meet in Book 4 of the Vampire Academy series, narrates this series. I had heard that her voice is much different from Rose's and it is. I enjoyed it though. I really got an insight into Sydney -- why she is the way she is, what she thinks, how she reacts, and so forth. I think I relate more to Sydney than I do to Rose, so it wasn't hard for me to become attached and feel her struggles.

The book started off a little slow for me, but I don't know if that's just because I listed to the first part on audio. For whatever reason, scenes seemed to drag out a bit that could have been a bit shorter. But once we got into the meat of the story, I enjoyed reading about the high school drama and the vampire mystery. And yes, because I know everyone is wondering, I even got a greater appreciation for Adrian Ivashkov.

I'm really looking forward The Golden Lily and the rest of the series -- I feel like now that we are settled with the new narrator and new surroundings, the story is really going to take off.