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The latest in Richelle Mead's Bloodlines series, Silver Shafows, came out today. I got my copy via iBooks around 9pm last night and devoured it. Needless to say, I have thoughts.
I adored this book. There was a lot I saw coming, but there see also things I didn't really predict and overall I am really happy with it. I wasn't remotely surprised by the ending, because c'mon. The whole premise behind the Bloodlines series is Jill being in danger and I knew we'd have to come back to that. I was pretty sure the end of this book would see Sydney safe and Jill in danger and the moment I heard that SS would end on "the mother of all cliffhangers" I knew it would be Jill going missing.
Things I didn't predict, though:
I LOVE that it was Dimitri giving Adrian the "you're better than this" speech. I know a lot of people play a kind of mutual animosity between Dimitri and Adrian and yeah Adrian definitely has some insecurity and resentment there over Rose, but I've always felt like it was one-sided. Even when Adrian was with Rose, Dimitri made it ear he liked and respected him. I loved this nod to the fact that Dimitri actually has come to see past Adrian's reputation and sees a man worthy of respect, one who is better and stronger than his addictions. That's not to say I think they'll be BFFs anytime soon, but even though Adrian didn't react very well, I loved that moment between them.
Nina. Man, I felt badly for her, because she clearly has feelings for Adrian that he can't return, but otoh, he never REALLY led her on much. And I'm glad he couldn't go through with anything, despite his hallucinated Aunt Tatiana's urgings, but I was sorry to see Nina so obviously hurting too.
Lissa. She's getting a LOT of hate from fandom, but I think people are forgetting that she's the queen of the Moroi and her rule is pretty tenuous. Does it suck that she wouldn't help Adrian find Sydney? Sure. But put yourself in her place. She can't just go around doing special favors for her friends - if she could, Eddie would have been off of probation for killing that moroi who seemed to be trying to kill her. She has to think of her subjects and what's good for them. She's going to catch a lot of fallout from not letting the Alchemists take Sydney there at the end and if she's upset by the position he put her in, I can't blame her. Based on what she KNOWS, I don't blame her for thinking he married Sydney just to try and coerce Lissa into keeping her safe. And at the end of the day, Lissa still has to consider the good of the Moroi as a whole. Being queen of the Moroi doesn't give her any jurisdiction over the alchemists. Do you think Tatiana would have done any differently, much as she loved Adrian? Nope. Unpopular opinion, I know, but I totally understand where she was coming from with all of that.
So back to Jill's abduction. I am 99% sure it's going to be Alicia, the witch Sydney fought before. I'm positive that's who came to Adrian's door looking for her or Adrian and I think she's planning to use Jill to draw Sydney out. I think they'll probably THINK it was the Alchemists or some rebel moroi faction, but my money is on her and that fits with Richelle's comment that we're going to see a lot more of Inez in The Ruby Circle.
I also want to take a moment to talk about what a freaking badass Sydney Sage is. Charming salt in reeducation to help other? Making a WALL OF FIRE to save Adrian? Just generally being a total badass IN A WEDDING DRESS. She has come such a long way through this series.
And Adrian. I've seen a lot of fandom down on his actions in the beginning of the book, but let's not forget that this is a guy who is bipolar and just went off his meds cold turkey, which is a really, really bad thing to do. Let's also not forget that he spent every day for MONTHS searching for Sydney without ANY luck. Is it really a surprise he fell off the wagon? Like the fact that he pulled himself back together and did everything he did to find and save Sydney says so much about how strong he really is. At the end of the day, I love Adrian for the same reason I love Rose. They are both so imperfect and I love those flaws in them. I love that they're very real in their shortcomings. Watching Adrian grow has been one of my absolute favorite parts of this series.
So, yeah, I could probably keep talking about this book, but it's after 2am and I really should sleep.
If you haven't read these books, you seriously need to pick them up. They are absolutely fantastic. This entry was originally posted at https://lenabee.dreamwidth.org/1663049.html. You may comment here or there.
I adored this book. There was a lot I saw coming, but there see also things I didn't really predict and overall I am really happy with it. I wasn't remotely surprised by the ending, because c'mon. The whole premise behind the Bloodlines series is Jill being in danger and I knew we'd have to come back to that. I was pretty sure the end of this book would see Sydney safe and Jill in danger and the moment I heard that SS would end on "the mother of all cliffhangers" I knew it would be Jill going missing.
Things I didn't predict, though:
- Carly being blonde. I have always pictured her as a brunette in my head, so her description surprised me.
- Duncan not being a mole. I was so suspicious of him from the beginning, so it was a pleasant surprise that he turned out to be okay.
- Sydrian getting married. I actually gasped out loud when I read that part. I didn't see it coming this soon at all, but the whole thing was brilliant. I especially loved Sydrian running around and kicking ass in their wedding clothes. And Rose's comment about the shoes cracked me up. I also loved that the cuff links became Sydney's ring. Lovelovelove.
- The lack of Abe. I really expected him to get involved in finding Sydney and I'd hoped for Rose's involvement, too. I get why it didn't happen that way, but still.
- Daniela Fucking Ivashkov. I think I speak for everyone when I say I kind of wanted to smack her during the earlier chapters, but she she stood up to Nathan FINALLY and stood up for Adrian and Sydney in front everyone? I p much cheered out loud I expected her to be a lot more taken aback by him and Sydney, especially given the wedding, but I loved that moment where she stood up for her son. And where she basically told Nathan where to shove it, FINALLY.
I LOVE that it was Dimitri giving Adrian the "you're better than this" speech. I know a lot of people play a kind of mutual animosity between Dimitri and Adrian and yeah Adrian definitely has some insecurity and resentment there over Rose, but I've always felt like it was one-sided. Even when Adrian was with Rose, Dimitri made it ear he liked and respected him. I loved this nod to the fact that Dimitri actually has come to see past Adrian's reputation and sees a man worthy of respect, one who is better and stronger than his addictions. That's not to say I think they'll be BFFs anytime soon, but even though Adrian didn't react very well, I loved that moment between them.
Nina. Man, I felt badly for her, because she clearly has feelings for Adrian that he can't return, but otoh, he never REALLY led her on much. And I'm glad he couldn't go through with anything, despite his hallucinated Aunt Tatiana's urgings, but I was sorry to see Nina so obviously hurting too.
Lissa. She's getting a LOT of hate from fandom, but I think people are forgetting that she's the queen of the Moroi and her rule is pretty tenuous. Does it suck that she wouldn't help Adrian find Sydney? Sure. But put yourself in her place. She can't just go around doing special favors for her friends - if she could, Eddie would have been off of probation for killing that moroi who seemed to be trying to kill her. She has to think of her subjects and what's good for them. She's going to catch a lot of fallout from not letting the Alchemists take Sydney there at the end and if she's upset by the position he put her in, I can't blame her. Based on what she KNOWS, I don't blame her for thinking he married Sydney just to try and coerce Lissa into keeping her safe. And at the end of the day, Lissa still has to consider the good of the Moroi as a whole. Being queen of the Moroi doesn't give her any jurisdiction over the alchemists. Do you think Tatiana would have done any differently, much as she loved Adrian? Nope. Unpopular opinion, I know, but I totally understand where she was coming from with all of that.
So back to Jill's abduction. I am 99% sure it's going to be Alicia, the witch Sydney fought before. I'm positive that's who came to Adrian's door looking for her or Adrian and I think she's planning to use Jill to draw Sydney out. I think they'll probably THINK it was the Alchemists or some rebel moroi faction, but my money is on her and that fits with Richelle's comment that we're going to see a lot more of Inez in The Ruby Circle.
I also want to take a moment to talk about what a freaking badass Sydney Sage is. Charming salt in reeducation to help other? Making a WALL OF FIRE to save Adrian? Just generally being a total badass IN A WEDDING DRESS. She has come such a long way through this series.
And Adrian. I've seen a lot of fandom down on his actions in the beginning of the book, but let's not forget that this is a guy who is bipolar and just went off his meds cold turkey, which is a really, really bad thing to do. Let's also not forget that he spent every day for MONTHS searching for Sydney without ANY luck. Is it really a surprise he fell off the wagon? Like the fact that he pulled himself back together and did everything he did to find and save Sydney says so much about how strong he really is. At the end of the day, I love Adrian for the same reason I love Rose. They are both so imperfect and I love those flaws in them. I love that they're very real in their shortcomings. Watching Adrian grow has been one of my absolute favorite parts of this series.
So, yeah, I could probably keep talking about this book, but it's after 2am and I really should sleep.
If you haven't read these books, you seriously need to pick them up. They are absolutely fantastic. This entry was originally posted at https://lenabee.dreamwidth.org/1663049.html. You may comment here or there.