The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

So I was at the bookstore when it opened, the morning this lovely came out. I seriously adore this author. She writes the hands-down best vampire books out there. I read this book (like most books I love) in one sitting.

{Please stop reading if you have not read book 2. I am about to spoil some things!}

It takes place right after book 2: The Golden Lily ended. Book two ended with a lot of things up in the air, particularly the relationship status of Sydney and Adrian. We were introduced to new groups, new supernaturals like witches, and new alchemist dilemmas. And I went into this book thinking there was no way it could compete with the action packed fight scenes and drama-filled romance scenes of books 2. I was wrong. It definitely competed.

Despite the major kiss at the end of book 2, Sydney is in denial about her feelings for Adrian. A lot of this book is about Sydney letting go of old prejudices and learning to think for herself. She already is best friends with a group of vampires, learning magic from her favorite school teacher, and going above and beyond the typical protocol required of alchemists in the field.

Sonya gets married in this one! And Sydney actually gets to fly out to attend the wedding as part of a bringing together of alchemists and vampires peace concept. There’s more kisses and declarations of love from Adrian! And of course the tension between those two is just so good! And then there are the two major problems. 1) Sydney’s favorite witch teacher has an evil sister whose been draining young women of their powers. She drains them completely, killing them and leaving their bodies to look decades older than they are. All so she can stay younger longer. Oh, and she most certainly will want to find Sydney now that she’s closer to her school and can tell how powerful she is. 2) There’s the whole Marcus Finch mystery.

Marcus Finch used to be an alchemist! And for someone who is veering further and further from alchemist prejudices, Marcus Finch is very interesting. Between fending off Adrian, helping out her vampire friends, doing her job, maintaining a high grade point average, and working as a study aid for her favorite teacher, Sydney already has a lot cut out for her. Add some long car rides to find girls being targeted by evil witches, learning to do some powerful protection spells of her own, searching for Marcus Finch, and then proving to Marcus Finch and his band of rebel followers how serious she is, Sydney doesn’t ever seem to really be able to sleep.

There’s politics, romance, lots of magic, plot twists, mysteries, action, rebellion, and so much more! There’s a bit of shared dreams in here again! There’s dancing and meeting up with old friends (briefly). There’s a hilarious scene with a certain self-defense teacher. And there are terrifying scenes where Sydney almost blows her vampire friendly cover. Oh, and then there’s the archives, which is like the largest magical/alchemist library there is! I loved the scenes that took place there.

I was super impressed by how Sydney’s and Adrian’s relationship evolved and grew. I was super impressed by how Sydney herself evolved and grew as a leader. Watching her do so many things that she would normally be against was just so much fun! I found the whole Marcus Finch storyline fascinating! I kind of hope that it is not over. I like the idea of more people realizing that the alchemists are not all good. There’s actually some sort of dystopia type moments when Sydney realizes just how messed up her world and the people in charge of it are. I’m really hoping for an all out alchemist rebellion, even though I know Sydney has to put on her poker face to continue to protect her friends.

I like that while there is a lot supernatural stuff going on, and that a huge element of everything is the vampires, this book clearly stands out as an alchemist book. It is about alchemists, and everything else is bonus. And I like that the alchemists have become just as, if not more so interesting than the damphirs, vampires, and now witches. Mead just continues to create more and more ideas that venture off the normal path.

I wish there were more cameos of past characters, but I also get they are not the focus here. The focus is all about Sydney overcoming such tough odds. And frankly that was pure awesome. She has grown from a sort of mediocre character to one super amazing YA main character. And I love how Mead can write such growth for her characters. I give this one a 10/10. I have a lot more waiting to do for the next one.