The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Title: The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3)
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin Books (12th February 2013)
Blurb:

AN ANCIENT MAGIC.
A HEART-WRENCHING DECISION . . .

SYDNEY SAGE IS AN ALCHEMIST.
SHE PROTECTS VAMPIRE SECRETS –
AND HUMAN LIVES.

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she is struggling to decide between following her Alchemist teachings – or her heart.

Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch, a former Alchemist who is now on the run. As Marcus pushes her to rebel, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought.

There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as Sydney searches for the person attacking powerful young witches, she realizes that she must embrace her magical blood – or else she will be next.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

The Indigo Spell is the third book in Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines series, and it continues Sydney’s story. I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, so much so that I then went back and read Mead’s Vampire Academy series from which the Bloodlines series is a spin-off.

I have really enjoyed falling back into Sydney’s rather complicated world. I think Sydney is an interesting character, which is partly why I love the series so much; on the one hand Mead presents Sydney as very much a member of the Alchemists and a believer of their doctrine, on the other almost from the moment we first meet her she doesn’t quite fit the mould. Because of the complexity of her character Sydney really works as the main protagonists of the series for me.

Sydney faces a lot of difficult choices in The Indigo Spell. I really admired the way that she tried to stay true to herself and her beliefs throughout the book, even if she did need an occcasional nudge for her to realise certain things. I also really enjoyed getting to meet Eddie, Adrian, Jill, and Angeline again. Jill seemed very grown up in this book, which I was kind of sad about – she’s only 15 – but she did try to be a good friend. Adrian was . . . well, Adrian. At the same time he was a lot calmer and he was also more sure of himself and his worth in this book.

The plot of the book was not what I was expecting at all, in a lot of ways. There is a lot of information revealed about the Alchemist organisation in this book. A LOT. The information was really interesting, and I’m glad to know a bit more about the group – the fact that there are “rebel Alchemists” was a really interesting concept, which I thought Mead played out well on the page. Marcus Finch was a really intriguing character. I’m still not totally sure what I make of him. He’s very . . . different.

Having finished The Indigo Spell I think I could make some educated guesses about what might happen in the next couple of books in the Bloodlines series, which is a first for me. The ending of the book is particularly interesting, and something of a cliff-hanger in my opinion. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the next book in the series, even if there is a long wait, because I’m looking forward to seeing the repercussions of Sydney’s decisions.