Review: The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead
Published: November 19, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 420 (Paperback)
Series: Bloodlines #4
Source: Bought
My Rating: 3 of 5 stars

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.

In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure—and re-education—looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this smoldering fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe.

As this series progresses I've found that for some reason I've become less invested in these characters and their world. I still enjoy reading about Adrian, Sydney, and the other characters, but so far this book and the book before it haven't been as satisfying as I would like.

The Fiery Heart is almost entirely centered around Sydney and Adrian's relationship. So if you're someone that prefers less romance and more plot then this book probably won't be for you. I know it's important to show that their relationship has grown and that Sydney is ready to take it further than she thought she would, but sometimes it just got to be too much. They were constantly in a state of romantic bliss and that's nice for a little while, but an entire book of that just isn't for me. 

The other characters are practically nonexistent for most of the book. Sydney and Adrian aren't the only two characters I like from this series, so I would have liked to see more of Jill and the others. There was an appearance from Rose and Dmitri, but that was also short because obviously this series isn't about them.

The ending was by far the best part because finally something happens to really move the plot forward. It isn't a surprise what happens to Sydney because it is pretty obvious that the author set everything up for this exact ending, but that didn't take too much away from the ending for me.

In the end, I would have liked more action and just a little less romance from this book, but I still enjoyed it.